Newark Spring 2018 Aeroboot Options

A chinook is so much more. NAM are to be commended on their acquisition of Gods helicopter and a Puma!

Can I echo TT’s comment above re. the chap in the Chinook? His knowledge and enthusiasm really brought a lot to an exhibit that for now is essentially a bare battered alloy box…

Thank you TT – that’s made my day!!! 😀 :applause:

Ah but Howard, your trader is never happy! I used to organise the traders at the Sywell show and we ran trader bingo ticking off… ‘Gates open too early/late’ ‘access too limited’ ‘public in too late/too early’ ‘weather’ ‘parking’ ‘pitch size’ ‘rubbish bins’ ‘view of flightline’ ‘so and so has a bigger/better/sunnier/more fragrant pitch than me’ ‘catering’ ‘loos’ ‘global warming’ etc etc – a trader is NEVER happy! 🙂

Again thank you for the comments and feedback, which I will be passing on to the museum trustees tomorrow. My recommendation will be a move to the April date as previously discussed; but this is likely to have to be based around fluctuations to the dates for Easter and with an eye towards not conflicting with any major events on the Showground.

I would just like to add a little clarity to the site opening-up time situation.

The official opening time agreed by the trustees is 8am; the main reason that the site is open earlier is because I (and a fellow volunteer) choose to get there earlier in an attempt to get everything arranged before the first sellers arrive i.e. open all the gates; open the hangar; get the barrows out; check the site conditions for car parking (a particularly important job last weekend) etc.

This habit has been noted by some of the regulars, who seem to be ‘dutifully’ waiting at the Drove Lane gate, when I get to site. Last Saturday I arrived at 6.45am and there were 3 sellers queued up! The in joke at NAM concerns a small wager as to how many sellers will be in that queue – the most we’ve had is 9!!

I personally feel that it would be churlish if I made the sellers wait to access the building until the allotted time; but that said it does disrupt me from doing the jobs that I had planned to do by making the effort to arrive early. This is perhaps why I sometime have the often commented on ‘perplexed’ frown, first thing on Aeroboot mornings.

It is difficult to set up everything the night before; especially when it’s the school holidays and the museum is very busy on the day before. I would have to make an extra 50 mile round trip and work late to do that set-up after the museum has closed.

Ros is quite correct when she says that people don’t read the paperwork. I can also confirm that unfortunately some people don’t, or won’t listen to what you ask them to do whilst they’re on site. This can be quite frustrating and often inconvenient to other sellers and visitors alike; but as so often is the case the few seem to untroubled by what other people think.

Sorry if that comes across as a mini-rant; that was not my intention but I hope that it provides a little additional context to what often happens early on a Saturday morning at a NAM Aeroboot.

Aeroboots are a ‘bonus’ event at NAM and hopefully they will continue.

I’d echo much of the positive comment, above. Certainly the more springlike weather was a big factor – I have several recollections of previous “Spring” boots standing behind a stall shivering!

I was glad that I could get in at seven am. I had broached the early-entry subject with Roz in the shop the previous evening when I had popped in just before closing time. The reply was a very stern look and a comment to the effect that “No, entry is eight o’clock. The trouble is, people don’t read their paperwork”. Hmm. I slunk away suitably chastened but turned up at seven the next morning anyway to find the gate open!

As ever, NAM staff were on hand around the jumble, helpful and cheerful and it is good to start the new season in such a positive way. Like A.M. I too found the extended lingering of punters helpful to the pocket. It also helps when I post stuff up front via the NAM web site – a facility which, I hope, continues.

Looking forward the The Fest now.

Anon.

I definitely preferred this later date! I’d love it if all forthcoming Newark “spring” aerojumbles were held on the the same/similar weekend (whilst avoiding clashes with Gatwick and Heathrow etc.).

Speaking as someone who had to travel a looooong way from the south coast it was a huge benefit to be able to do the journey after the clocks had changed!

Andy

I wholly agree with the comments above – cant speak for numbers but it ‘seemed’ more popular and there seemed to be more, and different, traders – shame I missed the bomb rack though! Well done to the NAM team and to the Loadie who took the time to explain what was planned for the Chinook. If you can swing the later date for the aeroboot it seems like it would be a definite bonus!

TT

Thank you for the various bits of feedback, which I will ensure are passed back to NAM and its Aeroboot planning process – April looks likely to be the new spring Aeroboot norm in Nottinghamshire.

My only comment would be to say that I don’t believe the Trip Advisor rating for Air Ministry’s stall popularity!! 😉

I agree with the general gist of the thread. The later date, coupled with the pleasant spring weather, seemed to work well. I certainly stayed longer (and spent more!) than I intended to.
Thanks Howard for the brew!

I thought this was a good date for the aerojumble. Numbers of people seemed high, and the warmer weather kept people hanging around longer too. I’d vote to make this date change permanent.

That would be good AM. I did send you a pm and an email.

I was just logging in to post my comments Howard.

The switch to mid-April certainly worked for me. I can’t recall feeling cold at any point in the hangar, despite being pinned down on my stall for most of the morning. I thought the numbers held up too and my till confirms this.

I always appreciate the effort the staff put in at NAM and look forward to CF in June.

Meanwhile, fear not Rocketeer, you may have missed out on Saturday but I’m currently considering my aerojumble options and may well be “down your way” fairly soon.

A relatively quiet post-event set of forum traffic hopefully indicates that everyone was relatively satisfied with proceedings on Saturday.

Despite some last minute enforced alterations due to the damp ground conditions, from NAM’s perspective it seemed to pass off OK; as ever a few minor issues keep cropping up and will be addressed for future events.

Visitor numbers were on par with the Spring Sale in 2017, which in view of the late cancellation this year was pleasing to note. There was a general positive feeling to moving the 2019 Spring Aeroboot to the second Saturday in April (subject to not conflicting with anything else running in the local area).

A quick thank you message was posted on the NAM website and that also explains the current delay in issuing booking forms for the summer sale alongside Cockpit-Fest.

At the present time the plan for the Summer is to divide the Aeroboot area into two areas; one for sellers who are participating on both days of the event and the other area for sellers just trading on one day. In each area the space will be divided into 7m x 7m sections, and sellers can book these spaces, or multiples of these spaces.

This idea was discussed with a number of traders at the weekend and the general feeling was that this was fair and should work. NAM now has to evaluate if it can fit the likely participants into the space that is available and leave suitable access routes etc.!

Cheers. Pity I missed it.

Air Ministry as promised had a table of interesting grips. Sadly I didn’t have enough cash on me so I didn’t come away with one. Though I did have a very interesting chat with him about their origins. I did find on another stall a grip, well part of, that was in my price bracket. The left hand horn from a Canberra yoke, just need to find the rest of it now! Was a good day out though and am looking forward to the next one.

Ok, wot did I miss?!

One last bump for the Spring Sale tomorrow & I hope to see a few of you at NAM!

http://www.newarkairmuseum.org/Museum-Events

The gates open at 9am for buyers and there’s a standard admission fee of £4.50 per person for the museum & Aeroboot – there’s a cash only entry point via the gate just past the Memorial Garden. Lots of additional information can be found in this part of the NAM website http://www.newarkairmuseum.org/Museum-Events

I’ll pop down, looking through the lists sounds like some good stuff for sale. What time do the gates open and what’s the entry fee?