Formula One Racer

Yet another debut for both aircraft and pilot - this time in the form of, literally, a Formula One Air Racer. There are a number of differences between this and the motor racing machines of a similar name. For a start this tiny Cassutt Racer has 100hp which doesn't sound like a lot, but when that's propelling a mere 400kgs it's more than enough. Made from a tubular steel frame, unlike the four wheeled Formula One the material otherwise used is wood. This machine dispenses with the need for a couple of hundred people and millions of pounds just to make it run for a few hours - it was built in a shed.

It's tiny, as we've mentioned and has just about got enough space for the pilot; in this case Lee Kingman who is making his Old Buckenham debut. This is Lee's second season of Airshows; he's already displayed at Sywell and Duxford and we're only too pleased to be a part of his first steps into the world of display flying.

He's doing so in quite a machine. Originally designed by an airline captain called Tom Cassutt, this home built machine is capable of 248mph and, theoretically, capable of flying over 450 miles. You'd have to be mad to want to do so as, like all racing machines it's not exactly comfortable, but who cares - it's absurdly quick and that's what really counts.