Linton GIN - Münster, Germany
31 August 1969
Münster ( Germany ) is York's twin town.
The team & their groundcrew left Linton-on-Ouse on 29th August 1969.
They took along a spare aircraft & Linton-on-Ouse Station Commander Gp Capt John Lewis .
The guys flew 75 minutes to Valkenburg ( Holland ).
Then a further 60 Minutes from Valkenburg to RAF Gütersloh ( Germany ).
On the 31 August 1969 they flew from RAF Gütersloh to Münster, taking their ground crew with them.
They landed in Münster.
A "Full" show ( at 500ft) lasting 15 minutes was performed for the public, including landing & taking off in formation, in front of the public.
The team & groundcrew returned to RAF Gütersloh on the 31 August.
Then on 2 September, they flew back to Linton-on-Ouse with stops at Valkenburg & RAF Waddington.
Linton GIN pilots / Aircraft flown
XR666 / 47 - Sid Edwards ( Passenger Dave Coldicutt )
XP634 / 49 - Al Colesky
XP683 / 51 - Joe Whitfield
XR700 / 46 - Dave Waddington ( Passenger John Bishop )
Dave Coldicutt - Reserve & Commentator flew out in XR666 / 47 with Sid Edwards & back with XP633 / 41 with Grp Cpt Lewis.
Pilot details have come directly from their log books.
I have various newspaper clippings from this show. Click on the images below for larger versions.
The Northern Echo carried a front front page picture & an article within its pages on 29 August
According to Dave Waddington's & Dave Coldicutt's log books the pictures used in the above article & front page were indeed taken on 28th August 1969.
As can be clearly seen, he was flying #46 ( in position #4 back of the box,
again with John Bishop as passenger) & Al Colesky was flying #49 ( on the right ).
These numbers match exactly what was recorded in their log books for the Münster show.
The pics show Joe Whitfield was flying #41 / XP633 ( on the left ) & Sid Edwards was flying #51 / XP683 ( leader ).
These pictures were taken from an aircraft flown by Dave Coldicutt.
Here are better copies of the 2 above pictures.
This scan comes from a German paper ( before the show ) - The text says ( roughly ) "The 4 pilots of Yorks jet aerobatic team
( Munsters twin city), with their mascot , a Cockrel, which they choose as their "mascot" because they paractice their
breathtaking routine almost daily, early before they start their normal working day"
This scan comes from a German paper ( after the show ) - The text says ( roughly ) "More than 20,000 viewers
experienced more than 4 hours of flying spectacles, at the Münster Aero-clubs International Airshow, on Sunday afternoon.
Amongst the highlights were Parachute jumpers, Gliding displays, an Airship & an aerobatic display from Jets."
This scan comes from the Yorkshire Evening post. It is dated 5 September, almost a week after the Münster show.
But refers to the show & associated events. I have modified the scan to put the printed columns next to each other.
Here's a couple of scans of the program from this event. ( Linton Gin are event # 22 )
If you have further details or photos of this show, please feel free to use the "contact" link on the left.
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