Lancaster Bomber to fly over Central London on Thursday

This coming Thursday (28th June 2012) lunchtime, the memorial to Bomber Command will be formally commissioned and as part of the ceremonies, a flypast by a Lancaster Bomber over Hyde Park Corner will take place.

The memorial itself is a large stone gate in Green Park by Hyde Park Corner (map), and the area will be sealed off for a large dedication ceremony for most of the day until 3:30pm.

The Dedication and Unveiling Ceremony will take place at 12 noon to 12:40 and will include a one minute silence.

After that, the Lancaster Bomber from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is due to fly over the location, and — weather permitting — drop several thousand poppies over the area in memory of the 55,573 people who died while serving in Bomber Command.

I understand that the flypast is scheduled for the end of the dedication at 12:30-12:45 12:30

Not just a sombre memorial, but it should also be a spectacular sight to see the poppies falling from the sky with the distinctive and awesome roar of the bomber flying overhead.

It is unlikely that people will be able to get that close to see the poppy drop as the area will be sealed off, but I would expect views from Hyde Park corner or further up Picadilly would be possible.

Updated 27th June:

The flypast route has been confirmed by the RAF as follows:

Thames Barrier; Millenium Dome; Canary Wharf; Waterloo Station; Millenium Eye; Houses of Parliament; Buckingham Palace; Hyde Park; Green Park.

The RAF Museum in Hendon also expects the plane to fly overheard after Green Park, so it will probably sweep around and head northward after Green Park.