(Edition No.362) At last year’s Waddington International Airshow, the gathered masses were enthralled by the appearance of the awesome Saab Viggen, which really did go on to be one of the highlights of the year for many. Twelve months on and RAF Waddington, with a little help from Saab, have done it again, as they managed to entice the Historic Flight back to Lincolnshire. Again, the show boasted the appearance of the mighty Viggen, but this time it came with reinforcements, in the distinctive shape of the Saab Draken and once again, the Swedish stole the show. The picture above shows the arrival of the Draken on Friday evening and without doubt, this beautiful Cold War fighter was the big draw for many enthusiasts, as it has been many years since we have seen one display at a UK Airshow.

The Saab 35 Draken (Dragon) is an indigenous Swedish of the Cold War period, which possessed extremely impressive performance for that era. Featuring a unique ‘double delta’ wing design, the Draken was never designed to be a dogfighter, but the resultant aircraft was particularly agile and proved to be one of the most effective jet fighters of the day, securing overseas orders from the Austrian, Finnish and Danish Air Forces. It was an extremely rugged aircraft, which was designed from the outset to operate from the unique terrain of , making full use of specially reinforced public roads in wooded areas and to be serviced quickly and effectively by operatives with very little training. This flexibility would keep the Swedish Air Force extremely effective in time of conflict, making them a particularly slippery opponent. Powered by a single Swedish built version of the Rolls-Royce Avon 200/300 , the afterburning Draken was capable of speeds in excess of Mach 2 and despite its tail-less design, it was a very stable aeroplane indeed and had it not been for the strict foreign policy of the Swedish government of the day, the Draken could have been adopted by many more of the world’s air forces and significantly more than the 651 aircraft which were actually built, could have been constructed. The last air force to use the Draken operationally was actually the and it was an Austrian machine that I last saw display at a UK Airshow, many years ago at Leuchars. A stunning reminder of Cold War air power, the Draken is a really interesting aircraft and at a time when many air forces are trimming down their forces and standardising their aviation assets, this magnificent aircraft is a very welcome addition on the Airshow circuit and without doubt, my highlight of the season so far. Indeed, it has to be argued that classic jet aircraft of the 70’s and 80’s are now becoming some of the best loved Airshow performers and I sincerely hope to be able to catch many more Draken displays in the years to come. For the time being, well done Waddington for providing us with a real aviation treat.

The Airshow domination of these classic Saab jet fighters coincided with the release of both a Draken and a Viggen in the die-cast aviation world. Both models proved to be a huge hit with the collector and although we still have very small supplies of each model available, they are both sold out at the distributors. Featuring high metal content and the beautifully distinctive delta lines of these Cold War warriors, this could be your last opportunity to mark this Saab Summer with one of these limited edition models. Click on this SUPER SAAB link to take a closer look and secure your example.

Over the past few days I have been able to photograph more of the LATEST RELEASES on the diorama and there really are some magnificent models amongst them. Particularly noteworthy are the latest 1/48th scale fighters from Hobbymaster, in particular this magnificent Republic P-47D Thunderbolt, which comes complete with nose artwork. ‘Whack – Hairless Joe’ was the personal mount of Col. Dave Schilling of 56th Fighter Group, flying out of Boxted airfield in Essex, where he was a member of the famed Zemke’s Wolf Pack’. Ending the war as the most successful USAAF Fighter Group, this magnificent model is without doubt one of the best WWII fighter models yet produced in die-cast – please keep these coming, Mr Hobbymaster!

Finally for this week, it has now been confirmed that the much anticipated UK debut of the F-35 Lightning II at the RIAT Airshow will not now be taking place. This will disappoint thousands of enthusiasts, but you could lift the gloom a little by snapping up one of just six USAF F-35 models we have available – we believe that we have the last UK stock of this sell out model release – click on this Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II link to secure this sought after model!

Thank you very much for reading our latest Newsletter, which we hope you enjoyed. Copyright MMXIV.