The problem is that as enthusiasts we can’t switch the publicity on and off as we might wish, so the series of incidents at Duxford are bound to create interest to the public at large. Comparing the news value of a Mondeo crash on the M11 with that of a warbird is a pointless exercise and if I was a newspaper editor or Look East/Anglia reporter then I could guess which item has the greater news value. Sad but true and I still think the Cambridge Evening News report was a fair assessment of the Duxford record with the possible exception of the Firefly incident.

I think Nosedive is getting somewhere near a workable solution but who would the “authority” be that gives the information. The American NTSB do something similar and there was a bulletin on the recent Hunter crash that was out within 24 hours. It would be good if our AAIB could publish something along the lines of:-
” The aircraft had commenced it’s take-off run when the starboard tyre burst. The aircraft departed the runway to the right, crossed a drainage ditch which removed the rest of the u/c and came to rest against a wall. The crew were able to vacate the aircraft unaided”.
No opinions expressed and enough to subdue speculation. Just out of interest I was considering purchasing one of the “plastic fantastic” microlights about this time last year when one crashed in strange circumstances so I waited for the AAIB report. And waited. And waited until eventually the report was published 10 months later when of course the aircraft I was interested in had long been sold. Nor did the report come up with any firm conclusions for the reasons for the crash.

G-ASML, did you make it? The reason I ask is that one of the original Minors was there, G-AMAW I think. Not looking bad for it’s age, I wonder if it flew in?

The chap who sold his Luton Minor at our strip has now turned up with a Rand KR-2. I remember a Brittania captain commenting on a previous Rand at the strip and saying “the trim tab on my 767 is bigger than the wing on this thing”. It distinguished itself by wrapping itself up in a ball at the feet of the new purchaser at the end of the delivery flight. No harm done to the occupant but a disgruntled new owner.

Cosmic Wind, your comments are harsh but true. You can add the Kingcobra at Biggin to the list of possible high viz pilot errors. And Damien I’m not sure how you think I was proposing some sort of legislation. All I was suggesting was that if the AAIB gathered the KNOWN facts and published them within 2-3 days it might stop the uninformed speculation. The thought being that they are the ultimate provider of the accident report and therefore have some gravitas. By the way I think I was just behind you in the crowd at Marham, Damien. Excellent shots and the CO was enjoying himself wasn’t he?

Dave, thanks for the update on the Moth story..fascinating stuff. I should have said that the last Brisfits in service in the UK were the ones in UAS service. You’re right, that’s University Air Squadron.

It’s very difficult to have any negative thoughts about any airshow which has 3 Brisfits in the air at once and a quarter of the world’s Spitfires doing a tailchase. The flying as ever was superb and hats off to everybody who made it happen. However I wonder if some adjustment might be made to the running order so that perhaps it was done in chronological order, oldest first to give the general public an idea of how aviation developed. Some acts can be overshadowed by a heavy warbird performing before it. I thought the Seafire over the Catalinas was a nice touch as personally I find the Catalina the most boring act on the circuit but I realise I’m in a minority there.
It might be nice to have the Spitfires fly past in the sequence of their Mark numbers before hooning off into their tailchase, just to show how they changed shape and noise. Finally don’t be too hard on Monsieur Chabbert. From experience it’s VERY difficult getting the balance right in a commentary and must be even more so in a foreign language. I’d like to see you lot do a commentary in French at La Ferte Alais.