The most precious aircraft still flying today are surely the warbirds, and if you love old metal our classic weekend in the UK is the Valhalla event of the year. Most are genuinely one of a kind — the only example of their type still airworthy — and they fly exclusively for the Aviation PhotoCrew. Picture a car built in 1943, then realise the fighter formating behind the Skyvan photoship is every bit that old and still flying. Each edition we raise the bar, and this year we went a step further with an absolute unicorn: a DH9, over a hundred years old, that saw service in the First World War. Coaxing it into the air and bringing the Skyvan alongside was an immense undertaking — and the result went straight into the once-in-a-lifetime category.

Across the two days we fielded our biggest line-up yet, with more aircraft flying for us in a single weekend than ever before. Alongside the fighters came a wealth of vintage types the photographers loved: a Spartan, a Piston Provost, a pair of Miles Magisters and the iconic Comet Racer. Sunday served up pre-war magic twice over, when a Gloster Gladiator — reason enough on its own to go home happy — teamed up with the Hawker Fury. The WWII fighters were out in force too: four different Spitfires (the 'Russian' Spitfire, the PR XI, the XIV and the Mk IX); three P-51 Mustangs, including the premieres of 'Marinell' and 'Jersey Jerk', one of them formating with a Spitfire; and the Hawker Hurricane in both its Mk I form and the exceptionally rare Sea Hurricane — the only one flying anywhere in the world.

The changeable weather actually worked in our favour, the aircraft sliding in and out of the sun to give some spectacular backdrops; there are few finer sights for an enthusiast than a Spitfire up close above a carpet of cloud in full sunshine. For 2025 we're planning a 'Battle of Britain' edition along the coastline, making the famous White Cliffs our scenery alongside the warbirds that played such a pivotal role in that epic aerial battle — another exclusive for the photographers who fly with us.