As the nation marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day, we've been speaking to Knaresborough-born Squadron Leader Paul Wise, who led Monday's flypast in the capital.
A former pupil of the long since closed Castle Church of England Junior School, Squadron Leader Wise, or "Ernie" as his colleagues call him, had the privilege of leading more than 20 military aircraft over Buckingham Palace on Monday (5th May).
As the country continues to mark 80 years since the end of World War Two in Europe, Sqn Ldr Wise remembers fondly when his passion for aviation began:
"The school had organised a visit to RAF Linton-on-Ouse, which at the time, was delivering the basic flying training with the RAF Jet Provost. Knaresborough had a lot of aircraft flying over it at the time as well, you'd always see aircraft in the sky, but I was the lucky one out of our class. I actually got to sit on the ejection seat in one of those Jet Provost aircrafts and from there on, I knew exactly what I wanted to do."
Photo: Darren Harbar
Fast forward to the present day and Monday's flight over huge crowds in London, Paul admits that the window to reach Buckingham Palace on time was a tight window and so as the lead plane, there was very little room for error.
The flypast, which featured a mix of 23 current-day and historic planes, culminated with the spectacular Red Arrows. Paul says it is not until they have flown over the Palace, that they have time to take it all in:
"Very few occasions do you get to look down and actually take in the sight of London. You will pick out the London landmarks as you run in to Buckingham Palace, and actually, you're looking for key sights. So Buckingham Palace does not stand out particularly well from the air. So what we're looking for, for example, is the velodrome at the Olympic park, the bend in the Thames where the London Eye is and then you look slightly right and you'll see the Mall."
"The Mall seems to be moving because of the sheer number of people and then you'll see the Palace beyond it. But really where the magic happens, is when we get beyond the Palace; all these aircraft have ultimately come together in a concertina effect, they're all flying at different speeds, so then over the top of the Palace, we are at thirty second spacing. When we break off right and clear the flypast avenue and you look over your shoulder, that's really when you can take it in because you can see all the other aircraft behind you and it's a beautiful sight!"
Listen to Your Harrogate's Pete Egerton in conversation with Squadron Leader Paul Wise below.
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