Flypast celebrates Lancaster bomber sculpture

An aircraft from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) has taken to the skies over Lincolnshire to celebrate the inauguration of a full-sized sculpture of a Lancaster Bomber.

The flypast by Hurricane PZ865 on Friday was part of a series of events to mark the completion of the steel structure, known as On Freedom's Wings, which took eight years to create from scratch.

A thousand people have been invited to the celebrations, but the site is yet to open to the public.

Speaking ahead of the flypast, Charlie White, from the Bomber County Gateway Trust, said: "I think it will give people a bit of a shock when they come up now and see [the sculpture] and realise exactly what we've achieved."

The steel sculpture, which is nearly 100ft (29m) wide and perched in a field next to the A46 in Norton Disney, near the Nottinghamshire border, is tilted to appear as though the Lancaster is in flight.

It is intended to honour the RAF crews of World War Two.

White said the site was not fully open to the public because of planning permission issues with the car park.

A dedication service was held at the site on Friday by the Bishop of Lincoln. It marked the start of the weekend celebrations, which include a charity ball on Friday night, afternoon tea on Saturday and a bar on Sunday.

White said another BBMF flypast was expected over the weekend.

The site had been open to visitors at times during the installation process because of the huge amount of public interest it had attracted, he added.

"Since we opened it up, we've realised everybody wants to come and walk underneath and see it," he said.

"I'm sort of struck every day by just seeing it and walking out and being able to share it sort of with the county of Lincolnshire.

"I feel ecstatic about the whole project."

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