Looks like Flying Legends is back —-Leeds

It’s the £10m dollar question isn’t it? The roads used to handle in excess of 30,000 for the single day shows that ended mid ’90’s but, even since then, road traffic has increased. Can’t remember the exact figures but I believe the anticipated crowd is around 16-18k per day for Legends which is really just footy match size so I don’t see why they shouldn’t cope. It will depend on the traffic management I guess. I’m no expert on these matters but bringing everyone in via Ulleskelf and into one entrance seemed to mess things up in 2015, I can’t see why cars couldn’t be directed in from the Church Fenton end too, entering through the main gate, that way you perhaps half the traffic trying to get in through the one entrance. The additional route in could act as a pressure release valve. What happened last time was largely the result of the Vulcan + decent weather + a total redesign of the whole show at the 11th hour on account of recommendations made by the CAA post Shoreham which happened just 4 week prior – and a last minute rumour that limited tx were available on the gate. Something also messed-up at the end, I left quite late and people were trying to leave the site with no one stopping/directing traffic at the exits – eventually one of the airport employees rocked-up and directed the traffic himself which really did speed things up. I believe TFC are handling all aspects of the show this time, including the traffic, so fingers crossed – I see no real reason why a robust plan shouldn’t work for the anticipated crowd this size.

I, as someone further North about an hours drive away, look at this development as a good thing. As always, the devil will be in the detail. Last year, Teesside Airport ran an airshow, and lots of folk couldn’t get in or out (airliners ran in between bits of the show) as the local roads were gridlocked. Davski- do you think that the local roads (not the A1/A64 network obviously) and on site organisation could handle the cars and 40K+ people? I really don’t know but if it can, great!

I live in Church Fenton so this is something of a fantasy come true for me. I have visited Duxford on many occasions but the airshow of choice (save for the Spitfire anniversaries) was always Flying Legends – which I considered to be the ‘main Duxford event’ – and I have wondered, if that is what many others thought too, it might be one reason why it was asked to relocate. It is a shame for those who have already booked their RIAT weekends, particularly those enthusiasts traveling down to Fairford from up here who might otherwise have gravitated towards the local show but Leeds East has numerous events taking place throughout the summer including the Private Flyer show the weekend prior to Legends (and regular Young Drivers, Wing-walking Experiences, trial flying sessions, archery, track days, filming – and even Spitfire rides – all of which can operate alongside the regular airfield operations but, alas, not an airshow), so I have little doubt that if it had to be a July date then 15/16th was highly likely to have been the only available window. Whilst we’ve had a few shows in the region this millennia, namely Elvington in the mid noughties and the Church Fenton show in 2015, we’ve not had a show of this profile/significance in the region since the Finningley At Home Days of the early ’90’s so I, for one, am pretty chuffed.

It appears Goverments and museum professionals (I have a degree FFS) are incompetent and have no real grasp on anything but to cause destruction wherever they tread.

I think Legends will flourish up there, it brings a whole new audience.

I didn’t renew my membership after they abolished Friends of Duxford and rolled it into Friends of IWM.

My FoD membership was still valid for FL’18 but when we went we were charged £10 for my wife to enter the FoD enclosure and the previously free tea, coffee and biccies were the special reduced member’s price of £1.95 for a teabag in a polystyrene cup.

I would have carried on paying the FoD membership indefinitely even though for several years I didn’t visit at all.

No doubt the fool that abolished FoD can prove that a one-off £17.80 is better than £40-odd a year indefinitely.

This diatribe is relevant! A few years ago I found online somewhere that somebody had made an FOI enquiry regarding how many FoD members had enrolled as FoIWM.

There were around 5,000 FoD members – about 800 continued with FoIWM.

Another roaring success…

I’ll wait to see when the details come out but Leeds is certainly more convenient for me being under an hour away rather than 2 1/2 hours or so to Duxford.

Certainly very good news although the date does also cause conflicts for me. Most FRIAT members will have bought their tickets long ago, although I have not, yet, as couldn’t take the heat last year and had to come home. A draw for RIAT this year is all the extra movements and planes relating to the Ukraine war. Slava Ukraini!

I would really like to support FL it is really important this first one with the hope it will be a success which will be repeated. And it is much closer, for me anyway.

I suppose northern aviation enthusiast will be keen to go if they were not able to make the journey down south.

It is really sad that that IWM did this. I haven’t renewed our membership since FL stopped at DX. They totally destroyed Lambeth and Manchester is just a joke.

Presumably, we can get info on air show attendance at DX by making an FOI enquiry ?

It will be interesting to see how it develops.

First participants listed here-

https://www.flyinglegends.com/2021-aircraft?fbclid=IwAR20gSBMdGQ_M8EJ44…

I didnt think there would ever be another legends so hats off to all organising this event.

The clashes of dates may be because its easier to get aircraft attending as like the old days when there were two, three or even four airshows on one day and they had slots at various events .

Airshow crowds have changed its more about a day out. looking at the fence line at Duxfords BoB days last year, lots of people reading books when the aircraft displaying.

The date has raised some eyebrows, clashing with RIAT, Old Warden and Goodwood, which in a era of diminishing number of events, may impact attendance. 

By curious coincidence, DX and CF both have main runways orientated 06-24, so the issue of looking a bit into sun at first will be exactly replicated!

However, the main thing is probably not to dwell too long on the difficulties, but encourage the organisors that the event is well-recieved, and worth the huge effort needed to make it work. 

Subject to permission so lets hope so.

Interesting!

Thanks for the heads up Trumper.

Cheers

Paul