Legends of the sky still fly high

Peter shows off his beloved planes at air shows across Europe

A 'living museum' of some of the greatest wartime planes is giving the classic machines a new lease of life.

The Hangar 11 Collection maintain and fly four of what owner Peter Teichman describes as the 'greatest Allied fighters in the Second World War.'

Based at North Weald Airfield, the team demonstrate their rare collection at air shows all over Europe.

"We don't put them away in cotton wool, we fly them - we exist to fly these wonderful aeroplanes," said Peter.

The collection comprises a MkXI Spitfire, Curtiss P40M Kittyhawk, MkIIB Hurricane and a P51 Mustang.

The Mk IIB is one of only 12 Hurricanes left in the world

"The key thing about the Hangar 11 Collection is we're a living, flying collection - we're not a museum," added Peter.

"We operate these aircraft all-year-round - even in November, December and January.

"When there is snow on the ground, you will see our aircraft airborne."

Rare examples

Hanger 11 was formed in 1999 and contains some very rare pieces of aviation history.

The Mk XI Spitfire, which saw action over Berlin, Dresden and Cologne is the only one of its kind still in existence and took the team over two years to restore

Meanwhile, the most recent addition to North Weald collection is the Hurricane, which took to the skies for the first time in decades at the beginning of 2009.

It is the only remaining example of a Mk IIB and one of only 12 hurricanes flying in the world.

The Kittyhawk was the fighter of choice at the beginning of the war in the Pacific region - particularly in battles at Pearl Harbour.

Peter is passionate about his planes and keeping them airborne.

The example in the Essex collection is currently painted in the colours of the 332nd Fighter Group, from when it was used last year for filming in a George Lucas film.

"She looks like she's just come off a mission - a wonderful aeroplane," said Peter.

The final model in the collection is what Peter believes was the 'all-round greatest aeroplane' from the wartime period.

The P51 Mustang was built in 1944 and served on bombing raids into Germany escorting B-17s and also low-level missions over Yugoslavia.

Peter has great affection for the collection, which in its pomp could reach speeds of over 500 mph.

"The very special things about this aeroplane is it has never been rebuilt," he said.

"It's in totally original condition, has never had a major rebuild, so the condition you see it in is amazing."

Eyes to the skies

Peter will be taking the Mustang to the Clacton Air Show at the end of August.

The Kittyhawk in its film livery is a 'wonderful aeroplane'

As with any air show, his flight routine will be dictated by the weather conditions, but he is hopeful of being able to show the full capabilities of his steed.

"Subject to what kind of 'ceiling' we have, we'll start with the loop and then we'll do something called a 'half-cuban'.

"[That is] where we pull up into what looks like a loop, but then we roll a level and dive down towards the crowd," he said.

"We'll do a number of graceful barrel-rolls, aileron rolls and reversals, which hopefully will show the aircraft off."

The Clacton Airshow takes place along the seafront on Thursday, 27 and Friday, 28 August. Flying starts at approximately 13:00BST.

BBC Essex will have live coverage on 729AM and online at bbc.co.uk/essex

For more information, visit the Clacton Air Show website.