The 10th Freddie March Spirit of Aviation concours d’elegance for pre-1966 aircraft was staged at the Goodwood Revival historic race meeting at the former RAF Westhampnett near Chichester over the weekend of 8-10 September. This year, aircraft that had filled the top three positions in previous competitions were invited back, providing an eclectic mix of civil and military types.
The judges — including architectural critic and writer Jonathan Glancey and fashion model turned TV presenter Jodie Kidd — voted the Aircraft Restoration Companyoperated Bristol Blenheim IF ‘L6739’/G-BPIV to the top spot, the Duxford-based aircraft having also won on its previous appearance in 2015. In second place was the Old Flying Machine Company’s Spitfire IX MH434, which made a memorable low-level pass down Goodwood’s finishing straight in the hands of the late Ray Hanna during the press day for the first Revival back in 1998. Third was yet another Cambridgeshire-based aircraft, in the shape of Nigel Pickard’s Spartan Executive NC17633, which shares a hangar at Little Gransden with Nigel’s second Spartan, NC17615 (see January 2010 Aeroplane).
Making its first non-Duxford UK appearance at Goodwood was the Salzburg-based Flying Bulls’ Lockheed P-38L Lightning, N25Y, which stole the show in the flying display in the hands of Raimund Riedmann.
