Concert at Chartwell with BBMF flypast

BBMF Back at Chartwell

The BBMF will again be appearing for the Chartwell Concert 3-4 Sep 11. This year the concert is called “A Musical Salute to the Royal Air Force” and has a then and now feeling about it. Many more aircraft will be appearing – check the website for updates.

Can anyone tell me which planes took part from BBMF and who the pilots were? They did land at Biggin and were driven to Chartwell for the end of the show but I didn’t film that bit and I have a bad memory. :confused:

Will check back for BBMF airframes. The pilots were:

Sqn Ldr Ian Smith
FLt Lt Tony Parkinson

..and for the dogfight:

John Romain
Jonathan Whaley

Great videos Tony…sorry meant to comment before…nice to see a different slant on aviation sometimes…

rgds baz

Can anyone tell me which planes took part from BBMF and who the pilots were? They did land at Biggin and were driven to Chartwell for the end of the show but I didn’t film that bit and I have a bad memory. :confused:

As promised. A few extra bits from the concert. Even the un-scheduled fly-past. They came from the right in tight formation, close to the trees, silently. When the crowd saw them they applauded. We were expecting the BBMF and a dog fight senario. We started off with a flock of geese. 40 of them!! They caught me by suprise so I filmed them when they did a return pass. 🙂

The gentleman signing copies of his book is Air Commodore John Mitchell who was Churchill’s navigator.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci-G2tvfAhk

Tony

– and I am looking forward to seeing the air raid sequence.

Kind regards

I shouldn’t get too excited. From where I was sitting there was a huge screen in the way of the main pyros.

Tony

but, again, not something allowed on the stage – health and safety again.;)

Why doesn’t that come as a surprise?

🙂

Moggy

Hi Tony

The sound on the PA system was a recording of a genuine Air Raid siren – it was digitially enhanced to filter out the background noise but that was it. 😀

The sound from our group was via an original hand cranked air raid siren -the version where you open and close the vents at the side, via a handle, to create the ‘wabbling’ effect which denotes an incoming air raid – when the vents are left open and the siren is cranked, this produces the ‘all clear’ sound…:D

I must admit that the two going on together was rather loud…my girlfriends phone struggled to cope with the sound levels when she was recording it whilst sitting with some friends watching….;)

I thought that your recording was really good – you certainly got the best of the show down – and I am looking forward to seeing the air raid sequence.

Kind regards

In addition, we were also tasked with re-acting to the ‘Air Raid’ sequence later on – adding our hand cranked siren to the noise produced by the special effects team of their siren and then pyro’s going off…:D

Hi Nigel,

Thanks for your comments. I have the ‘Air Raid’ on video which I’ll add to YouTube shortly. With regards to the siren, I thought it was a nice touch that it interupted the group half way through the song. Nice touch. But was the sound of the siren genuine or was it electrically produced? My dad, who lived through it thought it wasn’t the genuine sound.

Regards

Tony.

Re-enactors

Hi

I am the team leader of the re-enactors that did this event and I, first of all, say thank you for your comments about the event – it was indeed a great show and we really enjoyed participating.:D

However, far from being an ‘after thought’ we have actually been involved since the inception of the project, hence the vehicles and Dispersal display at the left of the stage – the reason for not placing us in front (tent etc) was due to the fact that the Medway band were placed in this area to play earlier and we would distract from the main event – the concert.

We were also tasked with providing the chaps for the stage – the original rehersal required them to be in the centre with the narrator and actor working around them but, due to safety considerations (wires etc on the stage), they were placed on the left hand side of the stage instead.

With regards to the ‘smoking’ – again some of my team do indeed enjoy the odd pipe or ciggerette 😀 (which were being used in our dispersal area), but, again, not something allowed on the stage – health and safety again.;)

We also dressed the actor, who did a fantastic job, in the correct Airmens and Officers kit for the occasion.

In addition, we were also tasked with re-acting to the ‘Air Raid’ sequence later on – adding our hand cranked siren to the noise produced by the special effects team of their siren and then pyro’s going off…:D

All in all, a very good show with some stunning effects and music…we are all very proud and honoured to have been involved.

Nigel Carver
O/C RAF at War Living History Group

Tony, you’ve been a bit of a voice in the wilderness on this one. But thanks nevertheless for posting it and for the videos. It looks like it was an event well worth attending.

I felt a bit sorry for the poor re-enactors perched on the stage, it was a little bit makeshift / afterthought. But I’d guess they enjoyed themselves and got in free. Funny how none of them these days seem to have the inevitable cigarette in hand – a feature of all period shots of dispersal. I suppose putting your life in danger is carrying authenticity a little far – and it would be a lot more expensive these days too.

Moggy

Videos available

The concert was a truly wonderful experience. Lovely setting on the grassy slope that runs down from Chartwell House to the lake, brilliant music by the Central Band of the RAF and fantastic flying by a Spitfire and Hurricane of the BBMF followed by a dogfight by a Spitfire and a Messerschmitt.

Unfortunately the videoing is a little jumpy. This is because:
a) it was cold
b) it was a highly emotionally charged event and
c) I am use to having a display line of a mile or so, so there’s plenty of time to line the shot up. Here it was a very short display line, only a few hundred feet surrounded by high trees, so by the time the planes were lined up, they were shooting overhead and gone.

Having said that I hope I have caught the atmosphere of the evening. It’s one I’ll remember for a long time. Even now, watching the arrival of the BBMF over the trees, it brings a tear to my eyes.

And for all you Battle of Britain film fans you’ll enjoy the second video.

Part one – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfBaSqoFPlM

Part two – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPcCsEJQeEA

Tony

I’m suprised how quiet things are on this thread. Am I the only one going? I thought it would have been more popular. Here are details of what’s going on there:

http://www.synergyeventsuk.com/

Tony
:confused: