CockpitWest 2012

I have only just found out, but The Stig was also there, driving an Ariel Atom, he didn;t come through the gate, so how he arrived is anybody’s guess. Apparently he was a huge hit with the kids and I never saw him !

CW pics

As promised, a few pics of a great event:

There was more besides this little lot but I stayed near to my exhibit most of the day. Plenty of homebuilt stuff in evidence.

Anon.

Cockpits HG!!!!

Alec,
cheers for a wonderful warm hearted weekend. I should have overnighted onsite but family dictated otherwise. This was a return to my roots (1st solo 17/10/74) I will be here next time round, and for the night out!!

Happy landings Phil C.

CockpitsWest(?)

Just to reiterate the above comments that it was a nice event and a very nice site – a real vibrant country airfield run by a decent bunch of people.

Sorry not posted anything yet, Wulfie. Need to empty the pics folder and get sorted so will post a fuller reply later with a few pictures.

Anon.

Looks like a fun day was had… put me down for bringing a cockpit or two next year.

We would like to thank everyone who attended last Sunday, exhibiting or aerojumbling, or both. We think it was a reasonable first attempt, and it will be the first, because the warm reaction means we have already decided on CockpitsWest 2013, around the same time of the year. Notice it does now have an ‘s’ in the name but I don’t know how to amend the title of the thread.

We would also like to thank the Airport for hosting the event. I think everyone who goes there believes it to be a delightful general aviation airfield, with some very interesting aircraft based there. Alistair, the Manager, and Tony in ATC, have always been very supportive, so I’m certain we can make this an annual fixture in the calendar.

One thing we did not do was to put on publicity for the godfather of all such events, Cockpitfest, sorry about that, Howard. That will be one of the things we improve on next year.

By the way. Black Adder was sitting on its towing trailer on the entrance island. It’s a brilliant mobile exhibit, which can be handled easily by one person, but is a pain to take off the trailer and put on again, so we don’t.
The Overstrand cockpit is largely fitted out, we should have thought of steps, so people could get up to see it, but the turret was the main reason for it’s construction.

That Overstrand is a brute! Does anyone know what the cockpit
looks like? I dont think I have ever seen it.
Sounds like a top value day out.
Thanks for the posts and photos.
Cheers Mike

Lovely photos of what looked like a good day out. That Overstrand cockpit is impressive and a very imposing sight.

Rob

Halfpenny Green, Wolverhampton, Rotors, Wings & Wheels Event 16.9.12

Totally agree with the above coments. As also stated, along with a log of aircraft noted, on the www.nwan.co.uk forum section, from where I am re-posting just some of my pictures from the day.

1.Visitors by road were met by Tiger Cub G-MMFS in WWI style German markings, named “Black Adder”, with an unconventional ‘heavy weight’ undercarriage in the centre of a small roundabout.

2.Outside the ‘cockpits and aero jumble’ hangar, was this formidible section of F-4F Phantom 37+86.

3. Inside the display hangar, this amazing recreation of the nose of the Bolton Paul Overstrand bomber

4. Stand extolling the TAC and SAHG organisations. The instrument panel is out of a British Phantom, while the P&W Dakota engine is just out of picture top right!

5. & 6. A “sheep in wolf’s clothing” – Titan T-51 Mustang, G-TSIM posing as a (scale) P-51D Mustang, with some pretty convincing paint work as 44-74008.

7. More like a “sheep in war-paint” than in “wolf’s clothing” – Auster 5A G-AKWS posing as itself as RT610.

8. & 9. The Sleap based Yakovlev C.11, G-BTUB, a great sound on take-off and fast departure pass.

10. Don’t always believe what you think you see. Not the RNHF, or another scale replica matching the Mustang, but a RC Sea Fury, looking (though not sounding) quite convincing. Painted as WJ232/114:O – you just cannot kill my ‘reggie spotter’ roots!

Rarely post images on this aviation forum, however for once have some interesting pictures more or less ‘on topic’!

Having examined Mike Davy’s P&W radial that afternoon at Halfpenny Green, on the M6 northbound around Stafford, passed a large RV towing a gleaming RR Merlin engine with cut-off highly polished silver props.

Have to agree.

Have to agree,

When was the last time we paid £5.00 each to get in (kids free). Cup of Tea / Coffee 50p, Hot Dogs, Bacon & Sausage baps for a £1.00 (and they were hot!).

Great atmosphere, friendly, things for the kids and the older ones, good clean toilets, interesting aircraft, cars and amazing R/C model aircraft displays.

This has to be one of the cheapest and best days out I have had in a very long while, and we would seriously consider bringing the Chippy cockpit and / or panels next year if it’s on again.

And we even managed to pick up some bits we needed, thanks guys.

A lovely day out and a very promising event. Looking forward to next year already!

wow…sounds really good. If anyone has phots that would be good. Would hope to support in future

Last of the Summer Wine.

The weather was very kind in the end. There was a nice YAK and a large scale model of a Sea Fury that flew and sounded excellent. Bacon butty’s for a quid too, you can’t go wrong….:)

What a really nice day!! Shame there were so few cockpits, but we had a great day with the bits we took to sell, met some old friends and lots of friendly people looking at mine and Ian’s panels and buying stuff. Lots of GA stuff flying in and out, the models were very good, and the American re–enactors were all pretty smart too.

Absolutely loads of people about, and I regret not having made the extra effort to take the Hunter as there were loads of interested youngsters and their parents, and it would have been good to have had something for them to sit in.

Be good if this continues next year, and possibly with a bit more notice and exposure, perhaps a few more cockpiteers would attend with exhibits in tow.

Overall, a very good effort by the various groups that attended, and I have a very soft spot in my heart for Halfpenny Green, being one of my elected airfields I visited when I did my Qualifying Cross Country for my license back in the early 90’s 😀

The first cockpits are already there, including the Overstrand. Shock horror, we have to share our hangar with a Jetstream, G-PLAJ (I think – I have the same trouble remembering registrations as I do people’s names as the year’s pass by). The owner allowed entry to the cockpit last year, and we are working on the same facility this year, the main problem being the engines have been removed, so it needs a tail stand.

Just off to the Green now.

This evening the big bird was read to roll. AM i will entertain Crewe Alex for breakfast, as they go south to play Stevenage. Later, i will then be on my way to the place of my first solo in 1974.
See you later boys.

Happy landings Phil C.

Hello All,

Best of luck with the event would be very interested in finding out more on the Martinet panel / project.

Regards,

Tim

Hi Wulfie,

The Boulton-Paul Type C Turret is ready to load onto a hire trailer tomorrow morning and the aerojumble is packed and ready to go. 🙂

I can’t see the point in arriving much before late afternoon, so that’s what I’m aiming for.

Really looking forward to this event, and to see a few cockpits and turrets that I’ve not seen before. Thanks for extending the invite for us to attend!

The fly-in will include Glen James’ Yak-11 from Sleap, which will be on the ground the whole weekend, and a Jackeroo and a Hatz biplane are also promised, as well as the SE.5A replica from Otherton.

Important considerations first. There will be a free supply of beer for overnighting cockpiteers on Saturday night. I will not be cavorting on the Molineux pitch on Sunday, so cannot give you a wave, Phil, that will be Wolfie, though I wouldn’t mind the gig.

Exhibitors and aerojumblers have free entry and stalls, just turn up at the gate, where you will probably find me to direct you. The following cockpits have been pencilled in already

Overstrand
Balliol
Phantom
Spitfire
L Spatz glider
Flexiform Striker
Hunter

and the following panels/projects

Spitfire x 2
Lynx
Meteor
Martinet
Beech 18

Plus a Twin Wasp engine

There also 10 aerojumble stalls booked. The weather is set fair, if you can believe the Met Office, with good visibility so there should be plenty of aircraft flying in, so hitch up your cockpit and come along.