Making a welcome return; one of two flying Westland Lysander's, courtesy of our friends at the Aircraft Restoration Company.
This was the clandestine aircraft of choice for clandestine missions. Taking agents in and out of occupied France, for example, with the help of the Resistance and at night. Lysanders can land on just about anything in absurdly short distances. They've also got a nine cylinder radial engine, by Bristol, which produces just shy of 900hp. So they can take off in absurdly short distances too.
Landing at night on a postage stamp is tricky and rather occupies a pilot's mind. The Lysander was cleverly designed so that the all important flaps (which give the aircraft more lift when going slowly; allowing for landing at a sensible speed) were automatic. So the pilot couldn't forget to put them down.
So, at the Airshow which reunited Pussy Galore with her Goldfinger helicopter and airfield which hosted Little Nellie, here's another link to Ian Flemings' most successful character. Bond was conceived with WWII's greatest agents as inspiration. They, in turn, got about the place in the middle of the night thanks to this extraordinarily rare icon.
