Well I’m disappointed it has been cancelled, we had already booked accommodation and were staying down for the Beds Steam Show and then Duxford.

What constitutes a good display, both on the ground and in the air, I suppose relates to what you are interested in and, as has been discussed many, many times before what one calls “expensive” is highly subjective. The tickets were £39 each day and £20 extra for the grandstand enclosure. If you compare this with the cost of other entertainment then this is not expensive, factor in that the show consists of flying aeroplanes of many ages then it becomes extremely good value especially following Shoreham. Farnborough’s tickets this year are £42 for advanced adult, tickets for the Royal Air Force Centenary Gala at the Albert Hall are £70 a head and tickets at the Edinburgh Tattoo mid range seats range from £45 to £58. Champions League Manchester United tickets for non-members range from £36 to £58. A pack of cigarettes is around £7-65 and a pint average is £3-60. From the North West the fuel will cost one ticket and as always the accommodation will make more out of me than the airshow. So, IMHO, airshows are not expensive when compared with other forms of paid entertainment.
As for the content of the show this again is all in the eye of the beholder. What was there not to like this year. Old favourites like Sally B and Miss Pickup, several historic jets, the Pembroke, A400 which you can never tire of watching, Sentry, Sentinel and Red Arrows fly past, KC135, BBMF, B727 demo, Bronco, pair of Vampires, Red Arrows, Anson, a handful of fast jets and more. For me this was a well balanced air show with something for every interest. The static side of the show was also good with what amounted to an Auster and Chipmonk fly in, the RAF Fire Brigade collection and four of HHA’s aircraft including the Buccaneer. Not to mention the opportunity to see the grave of “that” black dog!!!

If you cannot afford the actual airshow days, which is a completely different matter, then I can highly recommend pre-show fly-in days these consist of many aircraft arriving for the static display which you will not see in the air on show days. Also there will be aircraft up for practice. Scampton on Friday was £10 a head and it was a full day of flying and in many ways as good as an airshow. This was certainly true for RIAT fly in Thursday at £15 a head, a very full day of flying with the heavies arriving and much practicing and without the crowds, all enthusiasts. And yes I know you have to work. I am lucky, I have done my bit!

Apart from anything else surely, what ever your views almost any airshow is better than no airshow and this year’s show was far better than just “any”.

Read all about it

http://www.stonehillpark.co.uk/

The tail wheel on other Koolhoven planes looks very similar but again sadly not this manufacturer. Let us hope this plane actually exists.:D

Guys I have know idea who or what you are. I read and respect any reasoned and evidence supported post. However, that does not mean, at the end of the day, that one agrees with the post. As long as criticism is polite, constructive and evidence supported then I personally welcome it. Having convinced yourself you are right doesn’t necessarily make you right.

This plane is proving very difficult to identify and all input is both needed and very welcome.

There are many details that can be focused on many of which it is reasonably practical to change/rebuild which is why I feel we should concentrate on the wing/fuselage junction construction as, rightly or wrongly, I feel this is the least practical structure to be changed. Having found a machine that fits this point then to proceed to explain away the more “minor” discrepancies.

Two observations regarding the apparent “miss-alignment” of the bottom of the fuselage.

In the following picture is the area between the two red lines a centre flap which obscures the bottom of the fuselage?

MYSTERY MARK UP #2

Or is it a bomb aimer’s position such as the lowerable one on a Gamma shown below.

gamma bombaimer flipped

GAMMA BOMBAIMER FLIPPED #2

I am not saying that the mystery plane is a Gamma.

Do we agree that the mystery plane appears to be civil?

Sorry I do not agree it is a Gamma, NII, Using an Beta as an example of the “higher” wing.

GAMMA BETA MYSTERY

And studying the area at the wing root

GAMMA BETA MYSTERY MARK UP#1

It is not a Gamma. The mystery plane’s wing joins the fuselage higher up than a Gamma.

The Beta is only used for comparison I am not suggesting it is a Beta.

I have been wading through the many thousands of pictures in the SDASM Archives files on Flickr. The image came from this collection https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/albums/72157633156059833/with/12002762453/
Which is in China and just guess what they were making, or possibly just assembling.

George B. Arnold (1893 – 1956) served as vice president and general manager of Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company in China, then as an associate with Curtiss-Wright in Buffalo and in China. Photograph dates range from 1934-1939. In 1937, George Arnold was in Shien Chaio, China to build the aircraft factory.

Maybe the previously posted picture was the first attempt off of the production line that didn’t go too well.:D

The SDASM Archives is well worth a look.

I wonder if this the starting point of our mystery plane?