Although N411DX has been painted in this special scheme to promote the US Olympic team since December 2021, appearances in sunny conditions at Heathrow has so far been rare. Seen here completing DL20 from Seattle.

Titling changed from "Dubai Expo"

While operating with 3 Sqdn in Afghanistan, this Harrier was badly damaged by debris during a rocket attack on Kandahar airbase. It was returned to the UK for repair assessment and was deemed to be damaged beyond economic repair, so in 2008 was allocated for ground instructional use at RAF Cottesmore. With the withdrawal of the Harrier fleet in December 2010 it was restored externally and, in April 2011, was placed on the gate at RAF Wittering.

Pot of gold at the end of the Lasham rainbow. MyAirline is a new Malaysian LCC and commenced service on 1st December 2022 from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Langkawi using the three A320s it has so far received. This ex-EasyJet Airbus is one of three more due to be delivered and left Lasham on 2nd December for temporary storage at Tallinn after several days of fog delays.

This 1978-vintage Lynx is preserved in the markings in which it served 815 NAS aboard HMS Endurance in the South Atlantic, having been airfreighted from Brize Norton to the Falklands aboard an An-124 in October 2008. This is not the first time the Lynx has been on public display - apart from being in the static at the 2006 Yeovilton Air Day, XZ246 made an appearance at the Ideal Homes Exhibition in London in 1983!

XP345 initially served the CFS at Terhill in camouflage, later gaining the yellow overall scheme for SAR work. It is now exhibited by the Yorkshire Helicopter Preservation Group in the markings carried after being returned to camouflage for service at RAF Akrotiri with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus. Displayed outdoors at the 2018 RAF 100 airshow at Cosford, this Whirlwind had the distinction of making the final flight of the type by the RAF - on 1st March 1982 it was the last to land of a formation of Whirlwinds in a flypast at Akrotiri to mark the disbandment of 'B' Flight, 84 Sqdn.

After initial use in recce pod trials, XV406 moved to the A&AEE for more trials work. On entering RAF service, she served with 23, 29, 43, 54 and 111 Sqns. Retired to gate guard duty at RAF Carlisle and later moved to the Solway site, now displayed in the impressive markings of its last operating unit. I was pleased to reunited with this Phantom, having a photo of me sitting in its cockpit at the Finningley RAF Review in 1977.

The South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum houses some very rare helicopters, albeit in cramped conditions making photography difficult. Only the ninth Whirlwind to be built by Westland, XA870 first flew in May 1954 and was initially allocated for RN service in the Far East but was found to be unsuitable. It then spent much of its service life in these colours aboard HMS Protector and was notable for the rescue of scientists from Roux Island in Antarctica in 1956. A few days after taking this shot I discovered the wrapper from the 1960s Airfix kit of XA870 during a clear-out, long since forgotten!

Over 28 years of service with the RAF, this 1952-vintage Canberra served with a long list of units, as follows, with credit to Damien Hurst's excellent Thunder & Lightnings site: Stn Flt RAF Waddington, Stn Flt RAF Upwood, 231 OCU, Stn Flt Upwood, 231 OCU, 56 Sqdn Cyprus, Stn Flt RAF Wyton, 100 Sqd, 231 OCU, 360 Sqdn and finally with 231 OCU again. Sold back to BAC in 1981 and stored at Samlesbury till 1988, when acquired by the Solway museum. It is to the credit of the hard-working staff there that I found almost all of the outdoor aircraft in unusually fine condition after recent repaints.

Built as a Gannet AS.4 and entering service in 1957, XA459 was converted to ECM.6 in 1961 and served 831 NAS at Culdrose until 1966. After use as a ground instructional trainer, it was moved to the museum at Cardiff airport in 1979 and when that collapsed in the late 1980s, passed through a series of private owners, landing up at White Waltham in 2006, appropriate as that is where Fairey built and test-flew Gannets. Acquired in very poor condition in 2020, once again the Solway volunteers have done a brilliant restoration job.

A long-term Carlisle resident having arrived at the museum in 1977. Operated by 238 OCU, North Luffenham from 1955 to 1958, this night-fighter Meteor spent most of its service life as a research and communications aircraft at RAE Llanbedr.

Looking splendid in a 56 Sqdn repaint completed this year and looking so much better than the grey colours in which it was previously displayed, this is really ex-Saudi Lightning ZF583. It was first flown in 1968 as G-27-51 and delivered in July of that year to the Royal Saudi Air Force at Jeddah. Served as 53-681 with 6 Sqdn and 2 Sqdn and with the type's withdrawal from Saudi service, BAe bought it back (as part of the deal to sell Tornados) in January 1986. After hopes to sell on the ex-Saudi machines proved fruitless, they were offered to various museums.

This Phantom on the gate at RAF Boulmer replaced a Lightning back in the early 1990s and was until May 2022 displayed in 92 Sqdn colours, that being changed to 19 Sqdn as seen here. XV415's career encompassed many squadrons - 23, 29, 31, 56, 92 and 111 as well as 228 OCU, but never 19 Sqdn.

Taken out of service at Heathrow after its last service from JFK on 12th August 2000, G-BOAA was moved by road and sea to East Fortune in 2004. The manner of its dismantling caused a lot of consternation at the time, the wings being sawn off in order to move the airframe across London to load onto a barge on the River Thames, which then took about five days to sail up the North Sea coast.

Registered to the Ministry of Aviation in 1954, this Dove was one of nine used for navaids calibration by the Civil Aviation Flying Unit, and was the last to be removed from service when retired in 1981.

This Twin Pioneer CC.1 served the RAF as XM961 between 1959 and 1967 with 230 Sqdn at Benson and 21 Sqdn in the Far East. It was then moved to Halton for use by No 1 School of Technical Training and allocated 7978M. In 1973 it became one of eight acquired by Flight One of Staverton. They had experience of maintaining JF Airlines' fleet of this type and when Kemps Aerial Surveys stopped flying in 1972, their Ordnance Survey contract was awarded to Flight One, who converted several Twin Pins for this work. Dbr in 1982 when struck by another aircraft in a gale and moved to the museum.

More widely known for its operation of Islander aircraft, in 1968 Loganair obtained this single Beech 18 for charter work. In 1969 it inaugurated the airline's only international service, Glasgow-Aberdeen-Stavanger, but passenger loads were poor and it was discontinued in 1970 after 16 months. Withdrawn in March 1975, the aircraft was gifted to the Royal Scottish Museum a year later. Previous identities were N24R, N555CB and N575C and it was first registered in the UK in 1964 to Survey Flights Ltd in Northern Ireland.

Operational with 19 and 92 Sqdns in Germany from 1962, this Lightning modified to F.2A status early in its career and was withdrawn in 1977. After five years being used for decoy duties at RAF Leuchars, it was saved for exhibition at East Fortune. The two blue diamonds on the tail are a nod to 92 Sqdn's history in pre-Lightning days when they flew Hunters in the famous 'Blue Diamonds' formation team.

Retained by Hawker Siddeley as a developmental test aircraft and also used by Rolls-Royce for evaluation at Filton, this is the oldest actual Harrier existing (ie not counting its predecessors, the P.1127 and Kestrel). By the late 1980s it had a GR.3 nose fitted and was transferred to the Royal Navy as a ground handling trainer, hence the tail marks it still carries.

The Ferranti Flying Unit based at Edinburgh Airport used this night-fighter Meteor, which was ex WM261, between 1960 and 1973 to test radar equipment and to transport company personnel. The paint scheme of white with a red stripe led to the aircraft being nicknamed 'Mentadent' after the brand of toothpaste.