Digby… in answer to your question…Yes

I have had run in’s with her in the past and NO I don’t particularly like the lady and after working for 7 years at Duxford for many of the companies and seeing how much work they put in she hacks me off. I know the residents of the village she lives on the outskirts of have had enough of her unprovoked and slanderous attcks on there village in the past too.

Steve… I stand corrected.. I was trying to get my head round the whole situation.

I do believe currency is an over riding issue, many pilots at Duxford fly countless hours and are always methodical. I am not saying that any pilots fly without been current, just that maybe more time in the sky above and beyond the legal minimum would be good. Charlie Brown for one is at Duxford nearly every weekend, (a great chap in my opinion) I have lost count of the times I see them pull there V out of the hanagar and go flying at the weekend. Other types on the airfield get flown seldomly and it is a shame the operators can’t afford to put them up more often to train the pilots fully but understand unfortuately it is money that keeps these planes in the sky and lack that puts them on the ground.

“it will obviously come as no surprise to know that the accident and incident rate per flying hour / departure is much higher for vintage aircraft”

Actually it does… When you look on the AAIB website there are 15 to 20 accidents a month. Even in the recent months at Duxford we have not had that many. So I would have thought the historic accidents verses the civil accidents must be quiet a low percentage on the historic side. Maybe I am completely wrong.

Departure v flying hours. Well most historics spend 30 mins running to warm up and do their display ie 1 departure per 30 mins and most flying clubs will do an hours lesson ie 1 departure every hour, obviously there are exceptions in both with circuit training.

What I am trying to say is how can the above statement be true?

As was posted earlier. The Guard Room is manned by fully trained fire fighters. Aircraft returning to base after hours do not need an ATC (or a FISO as at Duxford) providing they are a Duxford based pilot, that is to say they have read and signed the Duxford flying orders and been tested on them. However they do need to sign the after hours flying book with an estimated time of arrival in order that the fire service are aware of there arrival or non arrival.

The fact that Duxford has 24/7/365 cover is because the site always needs security and it happens that the security are fully trained fire fighters as well. They earn there money. Handy hey!!

I am very grateful to them, has been a dicy time or two when we needed them.

THANK YOU.. you can never be over the top with safety those of you that think you can be are usually the ****s setting your tents up in front of emergency gates.

What a good idea I will suggest it, we could have new tanker probes installed for air to air refuelling and fly in hangars.

If this is true it is perhaps the most stupid idea ever heard of. Best we stop those F1 cars going to fast round the track just in case they crash!!

As has been stated the 109 bounced over the motorway on approach to land, the Havard came down on take off, the Spit on take off and the L39 on circuits. It is widely accepted that the time when you are most likely to come into contact with eth ground prematurely is when in the circuit.

Someone needs to have a good long think about this. As for the civil servants,they seem far to preoccupied with people through the gate. They are not helping at all. I have got to the point where I feel like chucking in the work at Duxford and walking away. What a mess it has become.

Rant over. No teddies I assure you!