Shuttleworth's Wildcat

One of the things that has deterred my attending Old Warden over the last few years is having the military display coincide with other shows I may attend.
I know the aim is the sharing of exhibits between displays but if I see the Military display coincides with Duxford or Shoreham I tend to miss it.
How about spacing the displays a little?

The Military pageant at Old Warden is probably the best airshow in the country if not Europe. The old style Aerodrome feel about the place gives The Shutttleworth Collection a venue that is unique. Also as Robbo demonstrates it’s great for photography and videography

A two day show was tried back in the early 1990’s. I remember it mainly because on the Saturday, a Slingsby Firefly fell out of a loop with fatal consequences for the pilot–Not Good..!!
That’s a big ask for all staff and volunteers I would say–as show days are very long for all those concerned.
I think there were eleven shows last year and that stretches volunteering very thin too–considering I own a few motorbikes myself, and my partner and I like to do other things, plus run a home–etc etc etc, and most of the rest of the volunteer body also have wide ranging interests/commitments, and the paid staff have to give up their weekends.
Speaking very personally, I’ve seen far too much Chipmunk in some afternoons in recent times. Lessening the number of shows would give engineering a chance to keep serviceability a bit higher too. Not their fault when stuff is getting used every fortnight for five months.

Interesting point Andy, and I totally agree. Less is more. Select the dates carefully thus allowing the enthustist to choice and the general public to be aware there is an airshow. have Shuttleworth ever held a two day show ? Thus allowing more types to be flown. ie Saturday evening followed by a Sunday show. Evening shows are hard to attend if there is a long drive home after.

I suspect the people who decide on airshow dates have no clue to as any other events or venues that may or may not exist. And they certainly never refer to this site so suggestions like that are like firing into the dark without a night sight. Although I agree with you–actually there should be less shows, but of a higher quality.

One of the things that has deterred my attending Old Warden over the last few years is having the military display coincide with other shows I may attend.
I know the aim is the sharing of exhibits between displays but if I see the Military display coincides with Duxford or Shoreham I tend to miss it.
How about spacing the displays a little?

If I’d driven out of the gate while this was happening, I’d have to question my sanity.

Shuttleworth Collection 22/09/2013_1398 [Explored] by Rob Leigh, on Flickr

Shuttleworth Collection 22/09/2013_1415 [Explored] by Rob Leigh, on Flickr

I have had the pleasure of visiting Old Warden displays for about 30 years. Over that time the place has changed quite dramatically but still has a special charm.
When I first visited the audience was almost entirely aircraft enthusiasts but they simply didn’t attend in big enough numbers to keep the place going and, as a result, we lost Jean Batten’s Gull and some of the other collection aircraft just to pay the bills. The financial situation appears much better now and there are definitely far more of the general public attending nowadays along with the enthusiasts but I am still amazed at the number of non-enthusiasts I meet who have been to airshows but don’t know of Old Warden.
The cafe and shop have improved massively although I still think the shop needs a more imaginative manager who has a good knowledge of aviation so that the stock is displayed in a way which makes it more attractive. For instance there is more to selling a Corgi aeroplane than shoving an unopened box in a showcase. If you want to have any chance of selling to non-enthusiasts you need to show them exactly what they are buying so get it out of the box and either label the display or put the box behind the model in the cabinet so that anyone can make the link between the model in the showcase and the box they need to take from the shelf and make the sure the display model is clearly marked with the selling price. Even so the shop is far better than the old days when I can remember a rather hostile shop manager who threw everybody out of the place as the display was finishing and who I witnessed being rude and unhelpful to visitors who had paid for rooms in the manor house and were trying to find out how to check in.
I don’t doubt that many leave as soon as the Spitfire display finishes because there seems to be a modern preoccupation with being first so they all want to be first out of the gate because this makes them feel they are superior to the next man. Some may also have young children that they want to get home in time for bed. Andy – just console yourself with the knowledge that those who leave have parted with their money to help keep the collection going. Remember also that those who stay to see the Edwardians get to appreciate their beauty and those who have left before their display will be all the poorer for not staying to share in their magic.
The collection, along with many other museums has undoubtedly suffered from poor decisions over the years but much good has been done as well. Without the income from the ordinary public it is unlikely that enthusiasts would still have the pleasure of displays at Old Warden and the improved cafe and shop have undoubtedly done a lot to produce more income.
I admire the work done by all the volunteers and engineering staff at Old Warden and although I must have seen most of the collection aircraft in flight dozens of times by now I still love Old Warden and attend as often as I can although the price hikes in recent years mean I can usually only manage one or two visits a year now rather than attending almost every show as I have done in the past. In case you were wondering – my favourite Old Warden aeroplanes are the Edwardians and the WW1 aircraft followed by the 1920s/30s light aircraft.
I can understand the frustration when managers seem to make illogical or ill considered decisions. I have to suffer these things every day where I work to earn my living but I am not fortunate enough to have the surroundings of Old Warden to help mitigate the frustration. Please keep your chin up and remember that you are contributing to the activities of an organisation that, whatever its faults, brings a lot of pleasure to a lot of people.

And speaking as his solicitor, the case of him touching said machinery ahem ‘inappropriately’ was never proved, though it was unfortunate that someone kicked over the starter whilst he was ‘at it’.

TT. Thanks for your sound legal advice. As you say nothing was ever proved….
Although polishing the Aurora whilst sitting under the wing of the Bleriot isn’t a bad way to spend an afternoon.

Ss–yes please do. Although I won’t be at the first show of the season. You can usually find me with the motorbikes. And I’m glad people do take an interest. Actually, it never ceases to amaze me just what love, devotion and passion regarding the place exists out there.

And speaking as his solicitor, the case of him touching said machinery ahem ‘inappropriately’ was never proved, though it was unfortunate that someone kicked over the starter whilst he was ‘at it’.

Everyone ‘outside’ always knows better than those ‘inside’ thats why DFS has those regular sales, there are a lot of armchairs needed for those experts out there….

Albatros = £400k, you could buy a good Auster, BA Swallow, Miles Speed Six or whatever – ALL of them, for less than that…. I personally think the ‘pot’ is best kept for Shuttleworth related items if at all possible.

for what its worth a PO-2 sits beautifully in the collection , maybe not THAT PO-2 with hindsight…but still…..

New era at OW it seems, give em a chance boys…give em a chance….

Ss–yes please do. Although I won’t be at the first show of the season. You can usually find me with the motorbikes. And I’m glad people do take an interest. Actually, it never ceases to amaze me just what love, devotion and passion regarding the place exists out there.

David Burke – Don’t get me wrong, I would welcome more civil aeroplanes at OW. I for one was absolutely thrilled that they bought the Mew Gull and would particularly love to see the return of the Swallow, Hawk Speed 6, & Arrow Active. However, replica or not, I think another German WW1 aeroplane to replace the LVG would be good and a complete set of the major Sopwith fighters would be wonderful to see.

Andy in Beds – I’m sure most of the people who care about what goes on at OW appreciate all the work put in by the staff and volunteers, in whatever capacity, and if someone asks a ‘why don’t they’ question, please don’t feel too p****d off about it, at least it shows they are taking an interest in whats going on.

I would like to make myself known to you and have a chat next time I am at OW.

Tim.S and CADman.
Thank you for your support. I don’t do very much–not as much as some of them who’ve been out there all week for training week, or the ones who labour away in the workshops or some who run themselves ragged doing that bane of all of us–admin stuff, and the car restorers and those keeping the collection of vehicles going, and the agricultural stuff restorers. And most of all the full time engineers who work for not much material reward but the love of it very often. They all deserve your thanks.
Many of them are my closest friends and therefore I tend to defend them.

Yes Agree with Tim.S. All the crews work hard to keep the place ticking over. Go support them on atleast one airshow, better still join SVAS, even if we can not support them in person the money is what really makes things happen.

Well the good news is that a very lovely Sopwith Camel is taking shape in Hangar 1.

Quite honestly AA my comments in #62 are addressed to whoever wants to wear them.
You if you want them.

This thread started with a ‘why don’t they’ moment, has moved on through a load more ‘why don’t they’ comments and although I’ve tried to explain some of the why’s and local wherefores we’re still in the ‘If I ran the place’ mode.
So that’s me done.

I don’t contribute much here anymore because all you get is people who are willing to do nothing, telling the few who are, how they should spend what is essentially their leisure time.

If it was easy Andy, everyone would be doing it. They don’t and more to the point most can’t to save their lives. I take my hat off to you guys at OW who do put the hours in in whatever capacity that may be. It sure brightens up my airshow season!

There must be a finite limit to the number of aircraft The Shuttleworth Collection can operate. So what types should they be including in the collection?

There must be a solid reason why a Camel has never joined the collection full time.

A rather odd comment. A Camel has been under construction for The Collection for over a decade now. The only other suitable candidate in the past 30 or so years was sold abroad, at a time when The Collection was in such dire financial straits that it was selling off an aeroplane a year just to survive.

Shuttleworth doesn’t need to fill itself with replicas ! There are plenty of interesting aircraft around the country that are often maintained on tight budgets which would be a good fit in the collection.

Well the good news is that a very lovely Sopwith Camel is taking shape in Hangar 1.

Quite honestly AA my comments in #62 are addressed to whoever wants to wear them.
You if you want them.

This thread started with a ‘why don’t they’ moment, has moved on through a load more ‘why don’t they’ comments and although I’ve tried to explain some of the why’s and local wherefores we’re still in the ‘If I ran the place’ mode.
So that’s me done.

I don’t contribute much here anymore because all you get is people who are willing to do nothing, telling the few who are, how they should spend what is essentially their leisure time.

Ah ha ha ha ha… I think I just choked.

Quite right Bruce.

But sadly I can point at the results of ‘personal whims’ (and not good ones either) in most major global collections without even taking a pause, as you can too. Very sad indictment of the usual failure of museum and collection oversight.

Regards,

Yes indeed, and to be fair, I was guilty of it when I worked at the de Havilland museum – although on a slightly different scale. Not that anything I acquired was outside that policy per se, but one or two could have stretched a point.

Bruce

re;

Somebody suggested only collecting civil types???

I would hate to see the Bristol F2b, Avro Tutor, Hind, Tomtit, Spitfire, Sea Hurricane, Gladiator and Lysander go. There must be a solid reason why a Camel has never joined the collection full time.

As I work at a Museum I museum I know that directors make controversial decisions behind closed doors with two things in mind – what is best for the collction and what will ensure their jobs in the long term.