As a Hawker Hurricane superfan, Darren Harbar never thought he’d achieve his ultimate ambition of flying in the famous fighter, let alone in formation with another. That lifetime ambition has now been achieved thanks to a new proposition from Hurricane Heritage

When it comes to favourite aircraft, I’ve always loved the Hawker Hurricane. I built kits of the type while growing up and found myself leaning more towards it than the Spitfire, despite having a love for both. In my early years (which were quite a while back), only two examples of the famous fighter were airworthy in the UK, both with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Thankfully, that has changed, largely due to the dedication and incredible workmanship of Hawker Restorations, which has returned many more to the air since the company was formed in 1987.

Two such examples are Hawker Hurricane Mk I R4118, which has an incredible Battle of Britain history, and the ‘Hurribomber’ BE505. The latter was a former Canadian-built example and was restored as a single-seat fighter in 2009 for Peter Teichman and then bought back by Hawker Restorations for conversion to a two-seat variant almost ten years later. The two-seater was leased to Biggin Hill for a short time before being purchased from Hawker Restorations by a new owner last year. BE505 is now based at Duxford where the Aircraft Restoration Company (ARCo) will maintain BE505 alongside fellow Hurricane Heritage stablemates, Hurricane R4118 and North American Harvard FE511.

Hurricane Heritage was set up by James Brown when he purchased R4118 back in September 2015 and is a living, breathing memorial to the Hurricane and those who flew and worked on the type. James had a passion for his aircraft from day one. Having bought a Harvard to prepare him for going solo in the Hurricane, he now displays his significantly historic example of Sydney Camm’s fighter.

James has been flying his Hurricane since November 2018 and to date has accumulated about 150 hours. He is keen to share her with as many people as he can and in as many ways as possible. Reflecting on his ownership, James joyfully revealed: “In the 150 hours on the Hurricane, the experience has never been anything but exciting. Some of the raw nerves have disappeared over the time I have been flying the aeroplane, but the spine-tingling experience of flying her is always the same, and with every flight there’s something new to experience.”

Having enjoyed his Hurricane a great deal, James has always looked for ways for others to share that excitement. Along with Mike Collett from Ultimate Aerobatics based at White Waltham, Hurricane Heritage has been offering flights in James’ Harvard, including the opportunity to fly alongside Hurricane R4118. For 2022, however, there is a very exciting addition to the packages available from Hurricane Heritage, as they have added the two-seat Hurricane BE505 to the fleet. Talking to James about this latest development, he explained: “Essentially, I have been keen to bring the two-seat Hurricane into the fold for a long time and became aware that BE505 was likely to come on to the market. At the same time, Matt Cook was working to locate a two-seat warbird for a buyer, and we quickly established that BE505 – operating within Hurricane Heritage – would be the perfect solution. We began discussions with Hawker Restorations in late 2021, and the acquisition was completed earlier this year.”

Thrill ride

My own admiration for the Hawker Hurricane has quite understandably meant that I have worked with James, arranging air-to-air photo sorties and other activities with his Hurricane and Harvard. I was keen to help promote this exciting addition to the fleet for him and, with this in mind, we began to discuss a photography plan to help with marketing the two-seat options. As things progressed, the potential for me to fly in the Hurricane became apparent. Doing so would enable me to capture some images showing what it is like to sit in the rear seat. This wasn’t something I’d expected and it’s fair to say that I was more than a little excited about the idea.

As soon as the Hawker Restorations’ two-seat Hawker Hurricane project was moved from concept to ‘it’s going to happen’ in 2018, I had considered the reality of the fact that my dream to fly in a Hawker Hurricane may actually materialise. My life as a classic aviation photographer has provided me with some wonderful moments, and I have flown alongside aircraft I’ve adored from an early age. I’ve also been very lucky to have flown in several classic aircraft including a Spitfire from Duxford with the legendary Carolyn Grace and even a B-17 over East Anglia. These alone are simply unbelievable moments I’ll treasure forever, but I can’t hide my love for the Hurricane, and when James Brown offered me the chance to experience my lifetime ambition it was a surreal moment. In the weeks leading up to early April, the excitement built and the ritual of watching the weather forecast for the chosen weekend began. I’m well used to being disappointed about the changing forecast, but the closer we got to April 2, the more it was coming together.

A call from James on Friday, April 1 was no April Fool, and we were on for meeting at Duxford at 0930hrs. I’ve obviously driven to Duxford more times than I can count, but this was different. Our initial objective was for me to fly in the Harvard from Duxford to White Waltham, with Hurricanes BE505 and R4118 in formation to capture some images of both aircraft together. I still get excited about shooting air-to-air images and having two Hurricanes alongside the Harvard is a sight to behold. Having completed our sortie, which concluded with a shot of both aircraft over White Waltham airfield in Berkshire, we landed and parked up on the grass, which was once graced by the aircraft from the Marshall’s flying club and then the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during World War Two. After a bite to eat, it was my turn to fly in the Hurricane.

In the hot seat

My pilot was Mike Collett, who I have known for a while. He’s been a key man in the Hurricane Heritage passenger flights from White Waltham. The team have a lovely briefing room at the airfield and we assembled there to prepare the flight and work our plan for a return trip to Duxford with James flying R4118 alongside us. We’d also initially be joined by the Harvard flown by Alex Truman with Matt Cook in the back. I’d passed Matt my spare camera so that he could grab a couple of air-to-air shots from the Harvard of me in the Hurricane as it seemed like a silly idea not to try to get a shot for my family album. Once briefed, we headed out to the aircraft, which was parked alongside R4118 on the grass.

Hawker Restorations have thought through the two-seat conversion very well. The canopy is spilt into two, so that the rear part can slide back independently from the front frame. There’s also a neat fold-down access door, which makes getting into the Hurricane a lot easier than it is for the pilot! Having had my safety brief, it was time to get in the Hurricane and settle into the classic tubular frame and fabric-covered cockpit. There’s no instrument panel in the rear seat area, just an Air Speed Indicator (ASI). You do, however, have the classic control column with the spade grip, although the fire button has ‘wisely’ been removed!

The most obvious thing you first notice is just how close you are to the pilot. Your feet pass under his seat, and you are sitting with almost the same viewpoint that he sees. Mike checked I was all set in the back before connecting the rear and front canopy frames together and strapping himself into the aircraft.

The start-up is everything you’d want it to be. You experience the senses of noise, smell and vision with smoke passing past the canopy glass. Those senses are heightened by the fact that another Hurricane has started up alongside you, and further enhanced as you start to taxi out together.

Once lined up to the side of the White Waltham runway, engine checks complete (my, that was noisy!), James lined up R4118 to depart with us following as number two. Mike opened the throttle and the Rolls-Royce Merlin at the front of BE505 roars at full chat and pulled the Hurricane forward with steady acceleration. You could hear the growl of the engine and feel all the bumps on the White Waltham runway, but as soon as the wheels clear the ground it was wonderfully smooth.

The view over the wings as I looked over the airfield delivered a whole host of emotions. I recall saying to Mike “I’m flying in a Hurricane!” – stating the obvious of course, but it felt amazing!

We climbed out of the airfield and were very quickly catching up with James in R4118. I could see the other Hurricane in our two o’clock position and it made me think of the Battle of Britain pilots who would have seen such a view as the squadrons scrambled. Their adrenaline would have been for very different reasons, but mine was pumping too.

We closed on R4118 in echelon left and although I have flown alongside a Hurricane several times before, this was very different. James dropped ‘R4’ down and below us to form up on our left-hand side while Mike then headed to formate on the Harvard so that Matt could grab a few shots for me. With those shots in the bag, we made a break to the left with ‘R4’ peeling away first and we followed.

At this point we separated so that Mike could demonstrate the Hurricane to me. Within a few minutes, Mike invited me to take control. BE505 is dual control with stick, rudders and throttle, so you can do most of the things from the back that you can do from the front. I respectfully held the control column with my right hand and put my left hand on the throttle before stating that “I had control”. I’ve had hands on a few different aircraft, and I specifically recall the Spitfire being light on the controls. The Hurricane is in my opinion similar in roll, but in pitch I found it more rigid. Mike had already said that would be the case, but you can certainly feel it.

The clouds were beautifully spread with blue gaps in the skyscapes, so Mike encouraged me to aim for some of these gaps and enjoy my hands-on control of this wonderful fighter. Pulling the aircraft through some turns, I really couldn’t have wished for a better sky.

Having reluctantly handed control back to Mike, he put the Hurricane through a few barrel rolls for me, which was just epic. The smile on my face was possibly visible to those on the ground as we then headed for an agreed rendezvous point to formate with James in ‘R4’. It was so amazing to see the other Hurricane on our wing, as Mike and James changed positions several times so I could see the other Hurricane in different positions.

As we headed across some very familiar Bedfordshire countryside to the south of where I live, we were aiming for Duxford where a large rain cloud was looming. I was clearly not disappointed that we had to divert north and hold for the weather to clear. I was even less disappointed that a Spitfire Tr.IX flown by Jon Gowdy on one of the Aerial Collective passenger flights was in the same predicament and called to request a join to our formation. I can’t tell you how incredible it was to be in a Hurricane with another Hurricane on one wing, and a Spitfire on the other.

After a few minutes together, Jon broke formation to return to Duxford, and we then headed back for a formation arrival from the west before landing in turn at Duxford.

With the aircraft shut down on the grass outside the Aircraft Restoration Company’s base, I unstrapped and stepped out of the Hurricane with the biggest smile you could ever imagine. My partner Jayne was on hand to capture that moment and my handshakes with Mike and then James were the most grateful ones I have ever delivered. I’ve had some good days, but this was one of the best days. I have dreamt about it for many years and will remember it for the rest of my life.

The full experience

My flight featuring both Duxford and White Waltham was most relevant to the operation of the two-seat Hurricane. James said: “We work under the OCM of one of the world’s leading aircraft restoration and engineering firms in the Aircraft Restoration Company at Duxford. The aircraft will be based at both Duxford and White Waltham, with the latter being home for most of the time during the summer.” Hurricane Heritage will be in partnership with the Aerial Collective who are the ARCo SSA&C Passenger flying team.

James is keen to thank Jack and the Aerial Collective team who have in his words been “fantastically supportive in setting up the passenger flying experiences in BE505”.

When it comes to delivering passenger flights, James informs me that he has already taken lots of bookings and has seen a fantastic response to Hurricane Heritage operating the aircraft. Under the Hurricane Heritage banner, options now include flights in the aircraft itself, but also packages to fly alongside in the Harvard, which is a great way for a family member to fly alongside you.

The ultimate offering as I experienced for myself is to fly in BE505 alongside R4118 as a Hurricane pair. This really is a unique opportunity that puts the passenger into a scenario akin to 1940 and represents a chance to really experience the Hurricane in its natural environment.

Asked about the future James stated: “Plans are to operate the two-seat Hurricane for as long as is possible. Our intention is to create a special environment at White Waltham, which itself is a historic and appropriate venue for us to operate the Hurricanes from.

“The airfield has lovely facilities and a grass area for friends and family to view the aircraft from. We don’t intent to do loads of flight each day, as we want to give a personal experience where customers get plenty of time with the pilots, and with the aircraft.”

He concluded by adding: ”We are excited to have the only two-seat Hurricane in the world. We think it’s a genuinely unique prospect that we are very passionate about allowing our customers to get what is undoubtedly the ultimate Hurricane experience.

“It’s always a real thrill to fly in the Hurricane, so to give passengers the chance to experience that is just brilliant. They get the 100% unadulterated experience by sitting in the back of BE505, right behind the pilot.