Now that is time travel! Tardis sent flying through the San Diego airby Dr Who buff using a remote control

Bystanders in San Diego may have been baffled this week to see a large box seemingly fly through the air.

But fans of Dr Who would have realised it was in actual fact a flying Tardis.

The old-fashioned police call box used as a time machine in the hit television series was sent flying through the air by remote control.

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Time travel: The old-fashioned police call box used as a time machine in the television series was sent flying through the air by remote control in San Diego

The man behind the flight was inventor Otto Dieffenbach who built the Tardis to celebrate the show's 50th season this year.    

Otto Dieffenbach and business partner Ed Hanley create radio-controlled planes designed in the shape of people and popular characters - they have previously built a Superman. 

The 50th anniversary episode of the famous sci-fi series will be aired this Saturday in the UK.

Although some older members of the audience will remember that technically the show isn't 50, owing to the period when it was dropped from the screens.

Doctor Who boss Steven Moffat has criticised BBC bosses for axing the sci-fi show in the 1980s.

Michael Grade, then BBC1 controller, made the decision to 'rest' the series because it had become 'ghastly' and 'pathetic'.

Meanwhile, former Doctor Who star Tennant said that returning to the programme for the one-off appearance in The Day Of The Doctor felt like waking up out of a dream.

'The first day I arrived, the costume's hanging there like it used to every day. It feels like 'where have I been? Have I just woken out of a dream?'', he said.

John Hurt, who has a starring role in the 50th anniversary episode, said that he was not a fan of the original series.

'I don't think I saw the first episode and I think it escaped me for quite a long time. It was a kiddies' programme, or it was assumed to be. It was known basically for the fact that all the scenery used to fall over,' he said.

Yesterday the Daleks invaded Buckingham Palace as stars of Doctor Who past and present attended a reception to mark the 50th anniversary of the show.

Four Time Lords in total - Matt Smith, Tom Baker, Peter Davison and John Hurt - were in attendance at the event hosted by the Countess of Wessex, who herself has been fan of the show since she was a child.

Props from the show, including two versions of the Tardis, a pair of Daleks and K-9 the robot dog, were set up in the Palace’s Bow Room.