FLYING instructors from a North Yorkshire RAF base are celebrating 40 years of going solo.

Flight Lieutenants Dick Shuster and Alan Mawby, instructors at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, celebrated the milestone by joining two other veteran colleagues in a four aircraft flypast.

Alan's career has seen him accumulate over 3,500 hours on transport aircraft while Dick has notched up 9,000 hours as a reconnaissance pilot and instructor.

Linton station commander group captain Dave Harrison said: "This is a unique anniversary. Having two instructors with this amount of experience is fantastic for my student pilots because there can't be much in the flying world that Alan and Dick haven't seen.

Their willingness to share this expertise is very much appreciated."

Air museum honours Free French heroes

BRAVE French airmen who flew missions over their homeland from Britain during the Second World War have been remembered at the Yorkshire Air Museum.

The museum, at Elvington Airfield, last night dedicated a rebuilt Halifax bomber to two Free French squadrons who operated from the base - leading it to be dubbed "la petite France".

The dedication coincided with the 60th anniversary of the formation of the two French squadrons, who made RAF Elvington unique among the airbases of Bomber Command.

The aeroplane, repainted with authentic French markings that would be familiar to the 2,000 exiled countrymen who fled France to Elvington after the German invasion, took pride of place in the museum's Canadian Memorial Hanger for the dedication service, in which all Halifax aircrew were honoured.

Updated: 10:48 Thursday, May 13, 2004