DH Moth Rally, Woburn

I am a member, though not an owner. If I can go, I usually pick the Sunday to attend, so that what I did this year. For the first time in ten years plus of visits I came away disappointed.
I like to wander around the aircraft photographing either close-up shots or full. There are (were) so few places that allowed such close-up access.

Surely the membership card could act as a waiver? With the airside visitor being given a document to read and sign-off stating the dos and don’t. With the threat of removal.

The airshow was alittle short with no big deH aircraft such as Doves or Herons
displaying.

Let’s hope everyone can come to a satisafactory agreement to allow more open access next year. There being so many anniversaries to celebrate.

A big thank you to all the owners, and every involved.

JDK:
Sorry I didn’t reply to your post but I managed a quick peek at the boards and posted that note on Friday and was otherwise engaged for the Saturday and at Woburn on the Sunday.

Skybolt / Trapper 69:
Told you it looked good!!! Was a pleasure to help you put the various items of baggage back in ‘GEG.

OAW – Tiger Marshaller & Prop swinger Woburn 2004.

Skybolt – As what you would term ‘one of the wingers’ I feel well qualified to reply! I have on various occasions been a member and indeed used the privledges that it bestows. However this year I was not a member but having spent the last twelve years of my life both saving and assisting in the restoration of a Tiger Moth to flying condition I feel perfectly entitled to comment. The owner in question wished for me to photograph the machine
in question and indeed to inspect it post her second flight.
He is a current member and the whole experience has left him just a little annoyed. I feel if a set of similar circumstances is allowed to happen next year they might well find that the attendance figures for Tiger’s are somewhat lower.
As for the event being primarily for Moth Club members – well that’s certainly true . However the general public are the new members for the future – if the club leaves people disaffected as it clearly did with Mark 12 it
will be in trouble.
Glad to hear to you had a good time – others didn’t and I don’t think
that the views expressed to me by Moth Club members can be construed as
‘whingers’ but that’s your opinion not mine.

A fabulous Woburn despite the best efforts of the Met Office. Both days were superb weather and Saturday saw a very large collection of de Havilland types however Sundays total was rather less due to threats of Hurricane Charlie’s tail – now due on Monday.

No untoward incidents although the crosswind on Saturday made a few sphincters pucker on arrival. The airshow went off well with some nice presentations though somewhat laid back as is appropriate for vintage biplanes. The Tiger Moth slow flying race was won by Dave Evans of the CAA…………….!!

There was but one contestant in the Chipmunk freestyle aerobatic competition so the undisputed winner was Dennis Neville. Four entrants for the Tiger Moth freestyle made it a real competition and some geriatric grey bearded old OFFA (Old Flying Farts Association) member demonstrated, yet again, that old age and treachery will often triumph over youth and skill. He won the Len Jefferies Trophy and the Christopher Clarkson Trophy plus a bottle of 12 yrar old Famous Grouse and an engraved crystal glass. Torquil Norman had kindly offered him the loan of his grand Tiger G-AGEG, an offer gratefully accepted. I think the winner was in grave danger of a hernia as he gleefully bore his loot in the direction of his car plus his camera, shooting stick and collapsible camp chair. Just five years ago the 2004 winner had won the same trophies at Cambridge when Marshall’s sponsored the contest, this after apparantly suffering what turned out to be a mild heart attack some three hours or so before his flight. After a three year period without any medical certification and flying only with his son as P1 he received one of the first NPPL’s in 2002. This was his first contest since then.

As usual the prizes were graciously presented by the DHMC president, the ever beautiful Dowager Duchess of Bedford.

A fine 24th DHMC Rally at Woburn; though there was one held at Old Warden in that dreadful year of foot and mouth disease when Woburn really feared for their irreplaceable deer herds and were unable to offer the venue that year. 2005 will se the Silver Jubilee of Woburn rallies and should be a really memorable occasion.

Thanks to that indefatigable McKay family, Stuart, Miranda and Melissa without whom the De Havilland Moth Club would not exist. I really think their other daughter, Fiona, who died some years ago with a heart problem looks down on the rest of the families efforts with approval – she would have loved Woburn 2004.

Cheers,

Trapper 69

PS – All the whingers on this thread must realise the event is arranged by and for the DHMC plus the DHTS. If the public would like to attend, and they demonstrably do in great numbers, then they are more than welcome. It does not cost a fortune to join the DHMC and you get a really excellent magazine around 6 issues each year plus 6 newsletters. Contact Stuart McKay for details.

Well it was a fantastic day on Saturday with a superb turnout of Moths and Chipmunks though some from Europe were prevented on meeting the UK Friday weather over the French and Belgian coasts this morning.
We had blue skies and scattered fair weather cumulus all day with great vivibility and a high cloud base. Winds were fairly light and northwesterly giving a 90 degree crosswind and the runway in use changed ends a few times.
Sunday will depend on how quickly the forecast poor weather in the west moves east. I reckon it will be OK to noon but after that who knows???????????????
There was a good crowd and all the photographers I came across seemed to be happy with the arrangements now in place. There was a period of around 90 minutes over lunch when virtually unrestricted access to the parking area was possible.
Cheers,
Trapper 69
PS – There was no airshow on the Saturday – there never is. Only a practice session for the Flying Circus element and air experience flights plus LOADS of gorgeous de Havilland aeroplanes. What more do you want………….???????????

Mark – You are spot on with your comments. I have been a member of the club at various times but I have never been to an event like yesterday.
There was a small display with some limbo flying on the Saturday afternoon – the rest of the afternoon being devoted to Air Experience flights.
The whole event had the atmosphere of the public being invited but only just tolerated! They should just make the Saturday a fly in day so that the public can have access to the flightline in return for a set sum to cover the costs. This would allow a more garden party atmosphere – then the serious flying could be carried out on the Sunday. A large scale D.H 2 was on display at the event and a number of people wished to see it fly however by close of play Saturday permission hadn’t been granted !
A really strange event – hopefully not to be repeated.

I think this works both ways, I was horrified when at Branscombe at the end of the display, some pilots wanting to make a quick getaway fired up and prepared to move off. No attempt seemed to have been made to ensure that the public had been sent out of the park. There was no warning either. We had been kept out during arrivals because of the potential hazards, but no such restriction was in place once the display had ended.

Good pics

Good pics I’ll have to try and get there next year 🙂

You still have time to get there for this afternoon’s full flying display – I see the weather is gorgeous and nothing like the forecast!

Damien,

Thanks but no thanks.

I’m still trying to get the deer sh*t off the bottom of my desert boots! 🙂

At heart I guess the heavier metal has more appeal.

Mark

I was going to go for the first time this year. Having read the comments on this thread I decided not to go – just as well from whats been said.

Typical.
Sounds like Britain.
Keep the oiks out at all costs.
I’m glad I didn’t waste time and money there.
Andy

Not much of a show for ‘Joe Public’

Although I have lived but 20 minutes away from Woburn for two decades, I had never been to the Moth Rally.

True the forum had forewarned there were changes afoot. Arriving at about 13.00 there was no access to the aircraft line up to get those ‘clubby’, ‘rally’, ‘concours d’elegance’ type feelings – OK new safety rules. ‘Joe Public’ had the choice of either end of the flight line with a rather large and long marquee blocking the view centre stage adjacent an arena the size of a small football pitch set aside for accredited photographers various – and empty.

I left at about 16.00, there had been a fair cross wind, I had seen a view aircraft take off and land, presumably pleasure flights. There may or may not not have been a flying programme of events but it was neither posted or announced. Whilst riffling through some old photographs on a stand, somebody tried to fly under a bit of string , and that was that.

My guess would be that every first time visitor arriving from the Woburn entrance, and with parked aircraft in view, did not not turn right at the unsigned cross roads and did the extra miles before frustratingly turning back.

This show used to coincide with a car rally and frankly ‘Joe public’ could have done with that yesterday.

If that is as good as it gets, that will be my last visit.

Grump over.

Mark

Skybolt – The security operation was amazing and having been to a few restricted places that is saying something. I think the particular complaints
are that photographers and people just taking ‘snaps’ were perceived to be at
risk which is understandable. However to continue to allow access for press/ photographers airside during the display doesn’t make sense. Surely the event is run for the members and their guests?
For one example a friend said that he could get his wife an Air Experience Flight but he couldn’t actually get his wife over to his machine
so she could have her picture taken in front of it!
Whilst I could quite easily have got a press pass for the day I prefered to spend it as a day enjoying the Tiger that I have been intimately
involved with for eleven years. There simply arn’t enough pages printed
each month to justify the number of photographers who were airside.
They need to decide whether it’s an event for people to appreciate
the species or an event for the press.

Albert,
Your mate is obviously visually impaired – IMHO. I had a fabulous day though the gate security to the aircraft park was very tight. Most folk seemed to be getting all the photographs they wanted. Perhaps some snappers think they are, as in Orwell’s materpiece 1984, more equal than others……………..!!!!!!!!!!! At least the dratted stepladders were not in evidence. Frankly the safety situation within the aircraft park at Woburn in the past has been less than satisfactory and if the CAA has indeed applied pressure for an improvement it is long overdue – same goes for the PFA Rally. If you only knew what the forward visibility is like taxying a taildragger you would be somewhat more cautious when props are turning.
Cheers,
Trapper 69

Yes, I’m sure you’re right! Not everyone is as safety concious as I am and I wasn’t there today, so could only go by what I was told. You will get idiots everywhere!

Albert,
Your mate is obviously visually impaired – IMHO. I had a fabulous day though the gate security to the aircraft park was very tight. Most folk seemed to be getting all the photographs they wanted. Perhaps some snappers think they are, as in Orwell’s materpiece 1984, more equal than others……………..!!!!!!!!!!! At least the dratted stepladders were not in evidence. Frankly the safety situation within the aircraft park at Woburn in the past has been less than satisfactory and if the CAA has indeed applied pressure for an improvement it is long overdue – same goes for the PFA Rally. If you only knew what the forward visibility is like taxying a taildragger you would be somewhat more cautious when props are turning.
Cheers,
Trapper 69

It’s good to see that old Fleet Air Arm Chippie being well looked after in retirement 🙂

A friend of mind went there today and said there was nothing new to be seen and that he was refused admission to the park, so spent the day dodging men in dayglo jackets to get his photos! Decided not to go this year and would prefer to look at my memories from Woburns past. Here’s one I took during a flypast over Woburn in 1987…..
…and one of Charles Masefield flying the DH 60 Cirrus Moth, G-EBLV, over Woburn House on the same day.

This was the first time that I have been to a Moth Rally and not enjoyed it.
I was a little late and despite both the owner of a Moth wanting to let me view his aircraft and a Chipmunk owner wishing the same they were unable
to get me in . The concept of having a narrow timeslot for people to view
the machines and then devoting the rest of the day to people with press/photographer passes completely missed the point.
The danger is clearly through aircraft taxying into photographers . The arrangements today made a lot of people unhappy and didn’t improve safety.
If there is an issue with people being airside during the display well remove the display totally on the Saturday and allow a far larger time for viewing.

I was told that ‘the CAA’ didn’t like the fact that there were ‘non-essential’ persons (owners, photographers, riff-raff) in the aircraft park (Live side) whilst the flying display was taking place, not that they were around during the fly-in element. In this respect, the DHMC event at Woburn is no different to the PFA Rally which quite happily exists with all kinds of riff-raff wandering around the static park, all day long. :confused:

As a participant at Woburn last year, I admit there were a few instances of photographers being idiots and being grumpy when told to move on as they were about to be chewed by a propeller, but no more than the average fly-in in the UK. A simple solution would have been to have a resident ‘heavy’ to read the riot act to, and eject, said idiots into the public area. Banning all owners, members and the like is (IMHO) a bit of a sledgehammer to crack a nut(ter).

The first Woburn was in 1980 and apart from a couple of years they have been back every year since then. It is, quite simply, the most prestigeous social event on the UK flying calender with a fantastic atmosphere. The de Havilland Technical School hold their annual reunion there with some of the finest designers and engineers that this country has ever produced attending to see their old products in the air.
The weekends forecast is pretty abysmal so I for one am keeping my fingers crossed though my geriatric rhumatism gives me gip. I plan to fly in both the Tiger and Chipmunk aerobatic contests scheduled for Sunday afternoon so look out for the grey bearded old fart leaving his zimmer frame on the deck and ascending like Elijah’s flaming chariot into the heavens……………..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheers,
Trapper 69
“Better a short life in the saddle, Lord: than a long one by the fire………….!!!!!!!!!!!”