Wow,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and it is only 10 miles from home. Bet his boss would have thrown a wobbler IF he had seen it.
Cheers,
Trapper 69

A software problem, minor or otherwise, is absolutely no excuse acceptable to me. In the civil display world in the UK we grant display authorisations to pilots, not software engineers.

I suppose I am a bit of a luddite in that my whole 51 years as a pilot have relied on rods and cables to connect my brain to the control surfaces through hands and feet. However the F16 has been a factor in UK airshows for probably a couple of decades and they have not had problems.

Is it a couple of years too soon to be displaying the Typhoon in public if such a situation can arise..?? Have they got all the glitches out..?? Comments appreciated.

Cheers,

Trapper 69

I have rarely enjoyed an airshow more having been flying in them since 1955 – 50 years ago. A golden day indeed.
Glorious photography – thanks a million for sharing your talents.
Cheers,
Trapper 69

I really cannot weigh up some of those who post here. It is my 50th year as an airshow pilot with over 2,300 public display performances. I have but rarely enjoyed a weekend such as all of us have just had at Duxford despite only piloting my Citroen ZX to and from home.

Sheer utter hedonism, wallowing in nostalgic, historic, almost all military and mainly WW2 aeroplanes. No Harvards or other trainers, no helicopters and no jets. Bliss – for me and so many others who share my taste in aviation. I envied the undoubted skills of all the pilots who flew and have the utmost admiration for the organising team who really laid on an absolute feast for our eyes..

I even got a slot to plug Sally B’s liability insurance problems with Sean Maffett whose commentary along with that of Bernard Chabbert was superb. Not only that but on Sunday afternoon I was highjacked by the BBC Radio Cambridgeshire to assist the reporter in giving a live broadcast on two 15 minutes sessions before and after the London flypast as the aircraft took off and recovered to Duxford. A memorable occasion indeed.

Perhaps for me as one who acts as the Flying Display Director at quite a few shows the most memorable point of both days was at the Sunday briefing. At the end of the main brief the Duxford airfield manager spoke. I will paraphrase his words as I recall them – “Ladies and gentlemen, out there is an enormous stage with a superb blue, white and multi hued sky and land scape. You are the actors on that stage but it is a performance with no stars, only a 100% supporting cast. The aircraft are indeed the stars.” It reinforced the vital need on such occasions for those pilots present to set aside a natural desire to personally shine above others.

There is always the occasional exception. The incomparable Ray Hanna there for Saturday only and that illustrious pair of American Mustang drivers who put shivers down my spine on both days for their sheer unadulterated brilliance. These closely followed by an Anglo French pair of pilots in the Corsairs. Utter magic. Gentlemen all, and Anna, my admiration and thanks for a memorable weekend.

Lastly to my thanks to Stephen Grey whose dreams came true with the Fighter Collection and the concept of Flying Legends as it has matured and grown over the years. Also to Peter Kynsey whose masterful choreography of the aerial ballet was worthy of Nureyev at his very best. On Sunday both of them were indeed “Jokers” wild.

My grateful thanks to all and especially to the vast throng of good natured folk who came in their droves to watch the spectacle. Without you there would be no airshows.

Cheers,

Trapper 69

Janie,

At the risk of banishment into outer darkness by the presently email deprived PFA, here is the information you have requested.

AEROEXPO 2006 will be at Booker on 23/25 June 2006. Organised by Paddy Casey who is a longtime GA exhibition organiser of huge repute from his North Weald days and before that at Biggin and West Malling. Admission 5 GBP with voucher and, presumably, 15 GBP without. Online registration at http://www.expo.aero.

I must protest at them nicking the EXPO name from the Barnstormers Flying Circus whose combined model/full size exhibitions and airshows at Sywell/Leicester and Cranfield are of fond memory.

The choice of date will terminate virtually any chance of the PFA having any worthwhile aviation exhibitors other than those specifically aimed at the homebuilder market. This does assume the PFA stick to their traditional date of the first weekend in July. To have a major new show a week ahead of the PFA event would stop the latter in its tracks in terms of exhibitor revenues.

I really wonder what will happen? No doubt there will be innumerable posts on the subject. What do you think – dispassionately please.

Cheers,

Trapper 69
:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

Well there are certainly entrenched views here on both sides. The PFA is my chosen organisation since I operated an aircraft on a PtoF administered by the PFA and I learned to fly, at 1.25 GBP per hour, in a PFA co-ownership group Tiger Moth in 1957.
As I have said before the PFA is run by a small full time staff on both the engineering and admin sides with a democratically elected Executive Committee. The elections for that committee are very shortly to take place so if anyone fancies their chances why not get yourself proposed and seconded and let the process take its course according to the votes you get. Change, and indeed any improvement, that you feel needed can only result from within, not without. No matter what the thread posts may say.
An alternative organisation holding the CAA approvals the PFA has does not exist, though the BMAA does have similar approvals in the case of production microlights and some homebuilt varieties.
My own wish is that aviation folk would realise just what a gem of an organisation the PFA actually is in terms of promoting low cost flying for its members. As things stand, I for one could not do without it.
A great day at Duxford though the weather took a while to clear up. Another tomorrow. Sorry, later today. Back to finishing my cocoa. Good noght folks !
Cheers,
Trapper 69
🙂 🙂 🙂 😉 😉 😉 😎 😎 😎

Trinny,

It is late and having had my cocoa I am off to my bed ready for an early start for Duxford and Flying Legends.

My insider involvement with the PFA only stems from being asked by them to write papers advocating change in the NPPL requirements in terms of PPL instructor ratings, training from unlicensed aerodromes and training in permit to fly aeroplanes. All designed to reduce the cost and complexity of obtaining an NPPL. Another aspect is being their representative on the CAA Light Aviation Airport working group. This is aimed at a complete reappraisal of the need for licensed aerodromes for General Aviation whether for training or for public transport. Watch this space.

I have over the last 12 months or so also been actively involved in opposing a large number of proposals by the CAA, EASA, the EU and Eurocontrol not to mention our own DfT. My efforts in these areas, by using all the GA oriented website forums, have exhorted all of us as “stakeholders” to respond to those who would oppress us and our chosen recreational and sporting aviation activity by again increasing both complexity and cost. I have been able to express the dire intentions of those agencies in terms most folk might understand while avoiding as far as possible exaggeration of the situation.

I am passionate about GA as, I do believe, you are. We must see how the GA Alliance gets on and I was so pleased at its formation since internicene sniping, if not strife, had been the case for decades. Yes, as an ex-CAA Flight Standards Officer in GAD I can confirm that often it was a case of “divide and rule…..!!!”, but that was not the fault of the CAA. The blame lies at the door of the multitudinous GA representative bodies who did, for years, see each other as a threat, not as fellow enthusiasts with but slightly different emphasis. Hopefully the lesson has now been learned in the face of such oppression never seen before to my own knowledge in over 50 years.

My website is by no means a CV. Is is designed to give interested persons, especially those who book airshow acts, a taste of what they might expect from myself and the Skybolt. Pure advertising…………….but surely that is the same for any personal CV. It is designed to get you a job or at least an invitation to interview. So is my website, and it works.

Cheers,

Trapper 69