Madsen Pirie

I went up to the top deck of the Varsity Hotel, a fairly new feature on the Cambridge skyline.  There’s a bar on the flat roof on the sixth floor, and since the surrounding countryside is pretty flat, it gives a good view of the town and its environs.

There was an extra show this time, though, because a vintage fighter plane made a noisy approach.  It seemed to be a World War 2 Hawker Hurricane, painted in RAF colours.  It circled the area three times, then sped off to the southeast.  My best guess is that it was part of a practice or preparation for the Spring Air Show being held at Duxford on May 26th.  There is an aircraft museum at Duxford, just south of Cambridge, and World War 2 planes often feature in its flying displays.  The Hurricane was one of the two mainstays of the Battle of Britain.  It was not as fast or as manoeuvrable as the Spitfire, but was cheaper to make, easy to fly, and was resilient.  Often the Hurricanes would go after the attacking bombers while the Spitfires took on their fighter escorts.  The sight and sound of it certainly livened up an early summer evening above Cambridge.

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