Duxfords BoB Anniversary Air Show

Hmmm… I wonder if that was my fault??? At FL I offered a £5 donation to sit in the Spit (which was accepted) and as I left I noticed a queue had built up behind me :diablo:

Well I for one am glad you started it. I’m sure it made a lot of people happy getting the chance to sit in a Spit!

No I didn’t know and I wish I hadn’t found out.Damn,Blast,B***@*!

It didn’t seem to be being promoted at all. I was walking through hangar 3 and saw someone showing a few people around the Spitfire, and a little further on there was a small queue. I tacked on to the end of it and waited my turn. Best surprise all day!

[QUOTE=Ross Smith] I haven’t seen anyone else mention yet, but the OFMC were offering people the chance to sit in Spitfire TE184 for a donation of £5!

No I didn’t know and I wish I hadn’t found out.Damn,Blast,B***@*!

I loved every second of the weekend, including all the bits the rest of you scowled at.

Robert Taylor’s new Beaufighter painting was on display and is beautiful too.

And as for the Chipmunk – bless you dear pilot, you kept me entertained for ages.

Were you there on Sunday? If you were I didn’t see you. I would have introduced you to the delights of AF Junior! I purchased the latest volume of Robert Taylor’s book with the “Top Cover” print, which will shortly be gracing my lounge. As with Mike, I have then run out of wall space.

I don’t think you’ve really thought that through.

Moggy

I’ve spent all day calculating the exact amount of fuel not used by all of the non-participating aircarft and worked out at current avgas and avtur prices the ….No, I havent it was just a suggestion, you know one of those things some people have if they can see further than their own nose and not poo-poo everyones ideas because they are for ever negative…. :rolleyes:

I don’t think you’ve really thought that through.

Moggy

Where would the money come from?

Moggy

From all the savings in fuel they didnt use on the Sunday?….

I doubt they could afford it.

Inevitably there will be lower gate receipts. October, one day only, lots of discounted tickets.

Where would the money come from?

Moggy

Just a thought that with the October show discount offer, could the organisers/participants see fit to repeat the mass Spit & Hurri formations as surley that is the reason why many vistors turned up on the Sunday??

An amazing sight & experience and a shame to loose it to the weather!….

Not much new I can add to this thread. I attended both days luckily enough and the sight of all those Spitfires and Hurricanes in the air on the Saturday was amazing. I haven’t seen anyone else mention yet, but the OFMC were offering people the chance to sit in Spitfire TE184 for a donation of £5! I jumped at the chance and after waiting for nearly an hour my turn came and I found myself climbing into the cockpit! I was told not to touch any thing, though I was able to use the control column. It was a dream come true and definitley made up for the lack of flying on Sunday.

I loved every second of the weekend, including all the bits the rest of you scowled at.

Robert Taylor’s new Beaufighter painting was on display and is beautiful too.

And as for the Chipmunk – bless you dear pilot, you kept me entertained for ages.

Sorry to hear that Daz. Weather here’s been great today too.

I suppose I must consider myself a little churlish for complaining. Duxford is a 4 hour round trip for me and on balance I decided not to go on Saturday. Right decision? Possibly.
Daz crossed the Atlantic, admittedly combined with another reason for coming, I note Steiglitz was there and I’m sure there were others that travelled far further than I didn’t.

I suspect our North American and probably Antipodean friends consider a 4 hour round trip to be just down the road. I still think they’re pushing it with prices but Duxford is unique and the envy of many around the world.

Familiarity breeds contempt? Wrong saying but the nearest I can think of at present.

So there I was at 8am having arrived in Gatwick wondering whether to go straight on to Leicester or detour to DX.I finally chose the latter figuring I’d not be able to forgive myself having come all the way from Toronto and not see these wonderful aircraft.
The train ride filled me with anxiety as at each stop the cloudbase got lower and then even some drizzle.But finally at DX it looked far better by comparison and after entering at 1:30-ish I heard things were looking up.
A little walk round to orientate myself and pick up the vibe,then a peek at the fence to see the flight line and I was ready……
With the final announced outcome I trundled back to the shuttle and got the next train,not bothering with the Red Lion which I’d also wanted to visit.
Needless to say I’m thoroughly dissapointed and doubt DXs’ much appreciated discount offer for October will be of any use to me in Toronto,hehe.
Thx all for the advice/comments on the show.Too bad I didn’t get to see much of note ( no disrespect to the Chippy etc) to take home with me.Hopefully next time.
And of course the weather today in Leicester is marvellous.
Thx
Daz

We went to the Red Lion after the show and spent £11 on a round for four.

Now. eleven quid for four glasses of alcohol or twenty three pounds for three hours of unique aviation entertainment?

I filled up the car today. Forty something quid for a tankful that won’t last the week. I wonder how much Avgas at £1.25 a litre those 11 Spitfires used

I know where I think the value lies.

It’s no use looking back to the days of £5 entrance to Fighter Meet. Everything has gone up since then.

Moggy

It’s easy to take an enthusiast’s view – In my experience, the general public aren’t interested beyond a couple of hours of flying (it gets boring repetative and you have to stand there) as long as there’s lots of other entertainment (generally OK at DX).

I’ve usually been quite happy with a post-lunch flying display – only the modern military shows I think (happy to be corrected) or big trade type shows where act-costs aren’t a factor offer more than afternoon flying, Dan.

Three hours superb entertainment

As opposed to four, five and six hours at other venues which cost less! Don’t get me wrong, I love Duxford – it’s a unique place, but I do think their pricing structure is way out of line.

Four Hurricanes in formation, Eleven Spitfires in a massed display, the Breitlings, Anna Walker, three varied Hawks.

That’s ‘average’?

I’d really like to see an above average show.

Three hours superb entertainment for half the price that people pay to watch 90 minutes football each week?

Get real.

Moggy

I agree, especially after looking at Saturday’s piccies and yesterday we would have had the treat of a soon to be lost Jaguar display, and, as I’ve said before, you have the museum to look round.
When I arrived on the airfield and looked at the a/c on the flightline, both ancient and modern, it did make me wonder what everyone was moaning about, having looked at the Forum comments for the previous day.
One comment, given the problems of yesterday, it would have been a good idea for some enterprising person down at the LWH to have given us a bit of
a tank driving display, I would have been happy to have put a couple of quid in a bucket for the fuel costs, we did get the spectacle of the 8 wheeled recovery vehicle being chucked round the course at the end of the show, which made me wonder.
Incidentally, during nearly 50 years of airshows, this was my first almost total washout, I remember going to Cottesmore in the early 60’s and things were grim, however the 111 Hunters put on a scintillating display during a thunderstorm, then there was the Last, Last, Lightning Show at Binbrook, but at least the stars of the show managed to do their stuff in dramatic circumstances.
I suspect that the powers that be may have taken note of these comments and circumstances and may give us a good show in October, or is that wishfull thinking, at least the weather is usually OK for that event.

Four Hurricanes in formation, Eleven Spitfires in a massed display

Thats why I went, not the average run of the mill airshow. But I can see your point Dan. However warbirds shows arent like Military shows, there are a lot less airframes to go around.

Now the line up for the October show will be interesting.

I intended to go Saturday. Gambled on the weather and went Sunday and lost. As with others, only the second time I’ve had a show lost to weather (the first was the TVS show at Hurn in the mid 80’s). As I said to Robbo and Nick when I bumped into them, my location makes me think twice about going anywhere, although Duxford is the nearest (if you exclude the small show at Old Buckenham). I can just about live with the admission cost as there is only myself and AF Junior to think about, but I do therefore have to be careful about how many shows I go to a) because of admission costs and b) fuel. Duxford is a three hour round trip for me and Old Warden five (on a good day). Had the weather been kinder, I would have enjoyed it, I have no doubt. Still you pays your money and takes your choice.

Lastly and I may have made this point before, even though the costs are rising, I suspect that it probably didn’t even cover the cost of the insurance and fuel for the weekend, although I may be told I am wrong (that is almost cerytainly true for Leg Ends, I believe).

£23 for what – even in good weather – was a pretty average line-up

Four Hurricanes in formation, Eleven Spitfires in a massed display, the Breitlings, Anna Walker, three varied Hawks.

That’s ‘average’?

I’d really like to see an above average show.

Three hours superb entertainment for half the price that people pay to watch 90 minutes football each week?

Get real.

Moggy