TEESSIDE Airport is gearing up for today’s airshow and The Northern Echo was invited to see the amazing sights of Teesside, North Yorkshire and Darlington from the sky.
We headed to the airport yesterday for a flight in the Catalina amphibious flying boat, which served in the Second World War.
The Catalina was involved in significant actions including the location of the German battleship Bismark and the sighting of the Japanese invasion force heading for Ceylon.
First we were talked through the safety procedures and were told not to expect a business class experience.
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Although luxurious is not the word I would use to describe the experience, it was definitely exciting and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The inside of Catalina looked almost like a submarine, quite dark but with ‘bubble windows’ to the rear of the plane which were great for seeing the views of the North East countryside.
The interior looked as though it could be used as a set on a period drama, just some 1940s fighter pilot hats would be needed to finish the look.
From boarding to take off took around 15 minutes and it was extremely noisy. We boarded the ten-seat plane and after not too long we were flying, with beautiful views of our region below, including the distinctive Huntcliff at Saltburn.
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Seeing the North East from a bird’s eye view was definitely an experience, especially as were lucky enough to have blue skies.
We were in the air for just over 20 minutes. The flight overall was smooth apart from a few bumpy moments, although this was a very blustery day so we can blame the British weather.
With a crew of six, we knew we were in good hands.
The time flew by and I happily could’ve stayed in the plane for twice as long.
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