Flying beside the sea

Today was an Open Day at Oban (North Connel) airfield, some 6 miles NE of the town, right beside the sea. Rather a dull morning, but a sunnier afternoon was forecast, so I drove up there after lunch and enjoyed a mostly sunny afternoon with a lovely backdrop of white clouds. The airport was opened as a civil airfield in the 1930s, but became an emergency landing ground for Fighter Command in WW2. It has a couple of long runways and it was always said that Concorde could land here, should she choose to come!

The main display today was a WW2 Consolidated Catalina flying boat, Miss Pick Up,  which has been displayed here several times in the past. She wasn't flying today as it was pretty windy, but there was a queue of people waiting to go on board at £5 per head or £10 for a family. I didn't line up this time having been inside before.

Various small planes took off and landed including a Britten-Norman Islander which normally flies out to various islands. I took a few pics of her landing in a gusty moment and have put a couple on as extras.

There was a hangar full of small planes to see and a row of classic cars which always turn up at these events. Added to that was a hangar full of craft tables, a mobile eatery and and an ice-cream van which ensured that a good time was had by all!