Report on Daks over DX Event.

Behind the scenes of DON I suspect that there were not enough people to handle the organising that needed to be done. It only needs a few parts of Plan A to unravel and then quick solutions with back up plans are put in place. Yes ,no one was shooting but it does need to be approached like a military operation…

Events such as DON and airshows with vintage aircraft are very costly and involve a lot of work from many people to put on. And things don’t always go as they should! A multitude of reasons can ruin the best laid plans for any event/show like DON. Yes it’s costs money to get in and the price is rising all the time. This applies for most things in life and there is very little anyone can do about it. As time goes on, these sort of events and airshows as we know them will slowly disappear altogether as cost will become to great and the global warming/pollution arguement will rear it’s head. People should be grateful for the fact that they can still go to events/shows like this and see and hear these wonderful aircraft. Remember, before 1970, there very few older aircraft flying and there was no “industry” to carry out the finding of and restoration of said aircraft. And without some very wealthy people who decided to actually put their money into this, it would not be what it is today. Cherish any event that you can attend now, they are all unique in their own way, good or bad.

There was no souvenir programme except some embarassed Duxford employees trying to sell Duxford Guides.

As well as selling souvenir ‘programmes/bookzines’ I bought a rather nice ‘challenge coin’ and a couple of other items from the DON stand….

I visited on Tuesday mainly because the pre event notices led me to believe that there would be more flying on Tuesday partly because there would be more time for flying as departure for France was expected to be after lunch on Wednesday.
The sight of 23 Dakotas in one place was fantastic and when I left an almost deserted airfield at 6pm I looked back and felt very moved. Huge thanks to all the crews and aircraft owners for getting all the aircraft to Daks over Duxford and particulary to those who made the Atlantic crossing to be there.
I enjoyed the event BUT there was very little flying and what I saw of the Dakotas in flight didn’t match what I had expected from the pre-event publicity, which was disappointing. I appreciate that both the incident with the Norwegian Dakota (which thankfully got back safely) and the weather played a part but the event did appear shambolic in many ways and having read the thread about the events at Caen it appears that things are no better over there.
We are unlikely to ever see so many Daks together in the future and for that reason I am glad that I went but it is a pity that a once in a lifetime event was marred by the failure of the organisers to deliver an event which lived up to the pre event publicity.

Not at all, please re-read my first paragraph. I was referring to participation by the American aircraft owners and operators, not the DoD, MoD, IWM, or any event organizers.
They brought their aircraft to be part of the overall commemoration, not a event/display at Duxford. I say that following conversations with an owner of an aircraft that made the trip and as someone who very nearly paid several thousand dollars for the privileged of crossing the Atlantic in a 75 year old Douglas.

In short, there was more to the trip than just giving aeroplane enthusiasts something to look at in Cambridgeshire.

Missed the point AGAIN: the issue isn’t about who attended or why.

C-130 & Osprey flypast, 20+ Dakotas take-off.

Was that the 5th only or Early Morning? Didn’t see that on the 4th.

Yes there was, £10 sold from the Dak over Norm stand on the grass just to the east of the control tower. Also selling t-shirts, hats, badges etc.

Brian

Fair enougth. Shame I didn’t see the stall as I would have liked one. Guess I’m just used to having sellers thrusting them at me at the gate.

Tragic to loose a day’s pay ! Doubt a gathering of its size will ever happen again at Duxford so maybe it was money well spent just to see them.

For your £25 did you not see the C-130 & Osprey flypast, the two P-51’s display, the two spitfires, the P-47, the wildcat and 20+ Dakotas take-off….
Go and spend your £25 in the pub or something if you found it such a waste of money.

That may have been the case on the 5th, but the 4th was a pretty lack lustre affair.The Hangars were packed as not a lot else was going on especially when the weather closed in. Add to the fact I lost a days pay at £180 as well as the entrance fee for three people.. yes, I probably will spend my money in a pub the next time!

Like many other enthusiasts from Ireland, I travelled to Duxford to this event and spent both Tuesday and Wednesday there. This cost substantially more than the basic admission fee, when air fares, car hire and accommodation are factored in, but it was worth every penny (or Euro in my case). I have been to several shows at Duxford and this was as good as any event I have been to there, in terms of the quality of the aircraft and an ability to watch the action from lots of different vantage points. The weather was not perfect but from what I can see it seems have been a good deal better than in Caen. I don’t expect ever to see DC-3 activity on this scale again, other than perhaps at an Oshkosh show. Those who can hop in their car and get to somewhere like Duxford – even on a non-airshow day, in a hour or two and for modest cost – should appreciate it. I would add that having tracked the 15 aircraft that travelled from the USA, over multiple sectors and taking a week to ten days each, I have the height of respect for all of the crews, sponsors and organisers involved. The youngest of the aircraft was 74 years old and the oldest almost 82 years old. Also, the weather on the North Atlantic is notorious for its changeability, even in summer time, so this was not a risk-free endeavour when the possibility of mechanical failure is factored in. I hope that the aircraft and their crews continue to have a successful visit to Europe and that they all make it safely back to the USA in July.

This misses the point:

Not at all, please re-read my first paragraph. I was referring to participation by the American aircraft owners and operators, not the DoD, MoD, IWM, or any event organizers.
They brought their aircraft to be part of the overall commemoration, not a event/display at Duxford. I say that following conversations with an owner of an aircraft that made the trip and as someone who very nearly paid several thousand dollars for the privileged of crossing the Atlantic in a 75 year old Douglas.

In short, there was more to the trip than just giving aeroplane enthusiasts something to look at in Cambridgeshire.

I have to say that all the whinging and whining is making me cringe and people asking for a refund should be embarrassed.
For your £25 did you not see the C-130 & Osprey flypast, the two P-51’s display, the two spitfires, the P-47, the wildcat and 20+ Dakotas take-off….Did you not have access to the hangars and exhibits?
Go and spend your £25 in the pub or something if you found it such a waste of money.

There was no souvenir programme

Yes there was, £10 sold from the Dak over Norm stand on the grass just to the east of the control tower. Also selling t-shirts, hats, badges etc.

Brian

My two pennies worth on my day at Duxford on the 4th and my day at Eastborne on the 5th.

Duxford 4th.

My perception of this event as sold to me by the `blurb` was that it was a gathering of Dakota’s with a `Mass Flypast` and a `Reinactors Drop`. So what did I get for my £20?
Arrival was slightly delayed by about 15 – 20 minutes while I queued off the M11 (arrival time 10am). Not a big deal for me as I was delayed due to traffic. This happens sometimes but I always get in.

There were as promised 22 (I didn’t count them all) Dakota’s which is less than £1 per aircraft. Considering some of their journeys that was quite an acheivement and worth the £20 on it’s own.
I was dissapointed that the aircraft, or at least some of the aircraft, were not positioned in favourable photographic positions and there was no flight line walk. A definite money spinner considering the weather and something easy to have done for enthusiasts.

There was no souvenir programme except some embarassed Duxford employees trying to sell Duxford Guides. Another money spinner missed. Again not a biggie for me as my photo’s are my memories but I would have expected something.

There was a nice exhibition of British Para equipment in the Super Super hanger which was good considering the American flavour of the day. It was sad the BBMF Dak couldn’t make the event and fly the Brit flag.

Flying was spirited and very good considering the weather. How the Spitfires kept such tight formation is a mystery and to see some Dakotas actually fly was again appreciated. With the wind, low cloud and rain I wasn’t expecting any flying. There was no para drop due to weather and safety conciderations which while sad is accepted as being outside anyone’s control. There was no small, or mass flypast which again was dissapointing but to be truthful I wasn’t expecting one. It was fantasy they were going to get all those aircraft with differing pilot skills and without much practice in the sky at once. The three ship CAF display was very nice as was the Aces High singleton. Shame more wasn’t made of the Beech 18’s and Harvards as they had some very nice colour schemes.

I left the event around 15:30 as it was obvious nothing was going to be flying later on as the weather had deteriorated. No delays getting out.

Eastborne 5th.
Everyone turned out at Eastborne at 2:30 and then again at 4:30 for the flypast. It was impressive how many people were actually there. We waited till the bitter end. The flypast was `okay` but distant, spread out and not very impressive. By the time it happened weather had deteriorated to slightly better than poor. I enjoyed it for what it was, a tribute to those that failed to return. But for the casual spectator it was `meh`. We watched from the Pier but I couldn’t have lasted without being able to visit the town. How those people stood at Beachy Head all day I have no idea.

So overall I enjoyed my two days. It was worth my £20 and I appreciated the effort of the operators to bring their aircraft. I also appreciatred what the day represented in terms of D-Day and those that paid the ultimate price.
I agree though that it did appear more a `flyin` than a true `event`.

We are so privileged to see something of this scale – the moaning is unbelievable.

Totally agree Andy, would have liked a flight line walk and formation flypast but it was more about remembering those who never came back. My brother likes aircraft but unlike me has not had much interest in the history of WW2, he was very moved on Wednesday by the replaying of the wartime radio announcements, the sight of the two veterans walking over to the planes to be dropped over Normandy again and of the Daks taxing out to head over to France. Many thanks to all involved in getting the events together this week and especially to the owners and crews of the aircraft taking part……….Martin

Having read all posts with interest I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed Wednesdays DoD, ok, there weren’t as many Daks as ‘advertised’ and the delays caused by a VVIP were a bit of a PITA.I feel for the people that missed out on so much on the Tuesday-but the weather does what it wants when it wants.Twenty Dakotas was a wonderful sight and sound.
Bearing in mind it costs twenty quid to get into Duxford anyway, we got all those Daks, a superb two ship Spitfire display, a very good Mustang display and all the Mildenhall stuff too for a fiver, that can’t be bad, and forgett all that, we were there to remember all those people that paid dearly 75 years ago.Thanks to everyone involved in the organisation of the event.
Andy

Those who are disappointed certainly have a right to be so, but some of them may be missing a point…that is the aircraft participation wasn’t about doing an event at Duxford.
It was more about the experience of crossing the Atlantic, meeting up as part of a group, heading to France for the Douglas owners/ooerators/passengers.

Yes, they were happy to support the Duxford (and the Caen or Berlin “airshows”) events but that was not the raison d’etre for their long and costly flights.

This misses the point: read the DoD website (if it’s still up) and then you can see why folks feel a bit let down. This has nothing to do with weather either – an event was expected irrespective of that – access to the 23 being one I imagine. Not an airshow – an event. It matters not why the Daks were there: DoD touted the event – which was called “Daks Over Duxford” after all!!! Not, “Turn Up and We’ll See What Happens”.

So please don’t miss the point and focus on things that people aren’t even talking about (like it supposedly being expected as an ‘airshow’).

Those who are disappointed certainly have a right to be so, but some of them may be missing a point…that is the aircraft participation wasn’t about doing an event at Duxford.
It was more about the experience of crossing the Atlantic, meeting up as part of a group, heading to France for the Douglas owners/ooerators/passengers.

Yes, they were happy to support the Duxford (and the Caen or Berlin “airshows”) events but that was not the raison d’etre for their long and costly flights.

I enjoyed the sight of 20+ C-47s in one place a true once in a lifetime event. Two points though
1/ i know it was not an airshow but couldn’t the aircraft have made at least one mass flyby?
2/ A flight line walk of all or most of the aircraft would have been a treat.
As an aside DoD really should have updated their confirmed list .38 down to 23 was a joke [ still happy to pay £25 to see 23 though.]