Pageant - 7 September

[st24]

Comet an obvious highlight and I wonder if TFC's Glad will fare better than the Nimrod in hauling itself all the way from Duxford..
Too much to ask for the Lancs to drop by again?!..

Gloster Gladiator X 2
Fauvel AV36
Avro 504K and Tutor
BBMF - Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane
Fiesler Storch, DH51 and RAF SE5a
DH88 Comet, Percival Mew Gull and Comper Swift
Desoutter, DH60, DH 60X (30's)
Miles Magister, DH Chipmunk, Hawker Tomtit and Percival Provost
Avro 504K and Sopwith Pup
Blackburn B2, DH Tiger Moth and Polikarpov Po2
Bristol M1C, RAF SE5a and Bristol F2b Fighter
Hawker Hind, Hawker Hurricane, Westland Lysander, Avro 19 Anson
Edwardians (weather permitting)

[Pat Murphy]

I'm going. To my eternal shame This will be my first trip to Old Warden. Any tips, places to go for good shots (had to be careful typing that one ) would be appreciated.
Looking forward to the DH88 and the Mew Gull , especially

Pat

[Hatstand]

I'm going. To my eternal shame :oops: This will be my first trip to Old Warden. Any tips, places to go for good shots (had to be careful typing that one :grin: ) would be appreciated.
Looking forward to the DH88 and the Mew Gull , especially

Pat

The "crowd line" is along the bottom of a slight slope, so you can stand pretty much anywhere and still get clear shots of the flying.

People tend to stand along the fence though, to get a clear view of take-offs and landings. But this may prove futile when they park a high-winged plane right in front of your chosen spot, just before the flying starts. Haha. The earlier you set up camp, the more likely this is to happen! :-D And sometimes the wind is blowing "the wrong way" so they take off and land someplace over the horizon from the main part of the site anyway :-D

If there is a favourite spot among photographers, I guess it's at the fence, at the corner of the "dog-leg" in the display line, near the control tower. The planes often bank around the bend there, topside-tastic. But they're also likely to be whizzing by that spot very close and very fast... could be tricky... and you'll see the topsides from other spots anyway.

It's been said before, but it's worth repeating: the atmosphere at Old Warden is very "family picnic". You won't see people jostling 3-deep at the fence. There is no mad early morning rush, to grab a spot at the front. It's all very relaxed.

eg. At last weekend's evening show, gates opened at about 11:00am... I arrived after 3:00pm, for the flying display at 5:00pm... and there was still loads of room at the front, along the fence.

There might be some extra interest this weekend due to the Comet (oh you beauty, how long have I waited to see you fly?!) but I still very much doubt you'll need to get there early.

It may be your first visit, but I bet it won't be your last :-D Most people love the friendly relaxed Old Warden atmosphere, and the close proximity to the planes/displays...

[phreakf4]

What he said.

Plus, if you want to see the Edwardians fly, be prepared to stay long beyond the usual departure time. Shuttleworth will wait till the very last possible minute for the wind to drop so that these lovely old aircraft can be flown. Could be 1900 or later before they fly if the forecast indicates that the wind will drop enough (needs to be less than 5 or 6 knots).

[Orion]

I find that it's best to stand well back and use a long lens, but then I do video and want to get long panning shots that you can't get if you're at the front because there's always somebody to the side of you. I do notice that many stills photographers use the same technique.

It's a good idea to look at the weather forecast first and make particular note of the wind direction. If a northerly wind go to the southern end all others you will need to be at the northern end. I find a small step ladder can be useful but don't use it at the front of the crowd-line and take care not to be in front of somebody who's watching the show from their car. The etiquette at Old Warden can be complex!

Regards

[tommo999]

Weather and line-up tell me that this will be the busiest Old Warden in a long time!

[hmeasures]

According to their faceache page there is a T7 to add to the list... A post on the 2nd:

Aircraft listing for this weekend's airshow is as follows:
Hawker Hunter T7
Gloster Gladiator x 2
Fauvel AV36
Avro 504K and Tutor
BBMF – Supermarine Spitfire 9 and Hawker Hurricane MK2
Fieseler Storch, DH51 and RAF SE5a
DH88 Comet, Percival Mew Gull and Comper Swift
Desoutter, DH60 and DH60X (30's)
Miles Magister, DH Chipmunk, Hawker Tomtit and Percival Provost
Avro 504K and Sopwith Pup
Blackburn B2, DH Tiger Moth and Polikarpov Po2
Bristol M1C, RAF SE5a and Bristol F2b Fighter
Hawker Hind, Hawker Hurricane, Westland Lysander and Avro 19 Anson
*Edwardians: Deperdussin, Bleriot, Boxkite, Avro Triplane, Blackburn

[Nivvy]

I am excited for this one I haven't been in 2 years so will be great to see the new gardens and the comet flying also the line up is amazing and weather wise low wind maybe on the horizon and this may bring the eddies out fingers crossed as it will be the first time I have seen them.

[tommo999]

Slightly revised listing, with a couple of additions (most notably the Be2 pair):

Aircraft Listings:

Hunter T7

BBMF Spitfire and Hurricane

Gloster Gladiator X2

DH88 Comet

Eon Primary

Comper Swift

Avro 19 Anson and Avro Tutor

Hawker Cygnet and ANEC II

BE2c X2

Miles Magister, DHC 1 Chipmunk and Percival Provost T1

Hawker Hind and Hawker Demon

DH51 ‘Miss Kenya’, DH60 Moth, DH 60X Moth and Desoutter I

Avro 504K, RAF SE5a and Sopwith Pup

Fieseler Storch, Hawker Sea Hurricane and Westland Lysander

Blackburn B2, DH82a Tiger Moth, Hawker Tomtit and Polikarpov Po2

Bristol M1.C and Bristol F.2B Fighter

Fauvel AV36

Edwardians (weather permitting)

[Pen Pusher]

Forecast for the afternoon is wall to wall sunshine so I've probably put a hex on that.

Brian

[Orion]

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2655689

Regards

[Hasboman]

Overcast here at the moment. I'm sat next to the Gladiator if anyone wants to say hello!

[Pen Pusher]

TFC Gladiator in the circuit.

Brian

[Hasboman]

Don't shoot the messenger, but I've just overheard one of Shuttleworth's pilots saying the Comet is "unlikely" to fly if the wind stays in the direction it currently is.

[Pen Pusher]

There is also talk that if the Comet does take off and the wind picks up/changes direction it will divert to Duxford.

Brian

[Hasboman]

Edwardians coming out to play.

[Hatstand]

THEY FLEW THE COMET! :-D

There was still some wind, and it was blowing in the wrong direction... but she flew!

Landing was a bit hairy - commentator said the Comet has to take off and land heading west, so it has an overrun (instead of a hedge and a road?). Which meant landing with a tailwind. I couldn't really see, but it shot down the runway and disappeared over the horizon a bit quick. Looked like it needed that overrun...! O_o

Hats off to the pilot! What a magnificent and historic sight! Cracking end to a superb day of flying.

[hmeasures]

COMET!!!!! by Harry Measures, on Flickr

[County1884]

What a fantastic day, Old Warden at it's very best, On days like today it really is the most special venue in the country. So pleased for everyone involved after the terrible luck with the weather this year.

Comet flying in the evening sunshine was just magical, You could have heard a pin drop only the sounds of clicking cameras, Just brilliant

[st24]

What a fantastic day, Old Warden at it's very best, On days like today it really is the most special venue in the country. So pleased for everyone involved after the terrible luck with the weather this year.

Comet flying in the evening sunshine was just magical, You could have heard a pin drop only the sounds of clicking cameras, Just brilliant

What he said! In the decades of going to Old Warden I can't recall a more rewarding day at this special place - and certainly the first time I've queued to get in and out! Proof that the UK airshow is still very much alive with very few of the crowd departing until after the Comet landed at gone 7pm.
A great day.

[Kipperooni]

AWESOME

Thank you Shuttleworth. Best air display this year by miles (and I've been to a few).
LOVE THIS PLACE.

[Pat Murphy]

What a fantastic day, Old Warden at it's very best, On days like today it really is the most special venue in the country. So pleased for everyone involved after the terrible luck with the weather this year.

Comet flying in the evening sunshine was just magical, You could have heard a pin drop only the sounds of clicking cameras, Just brilliant

What he said! In the decades of going to Old Warden I can't recall a more rewarding day at this special place - and certainly the first time I've queued to get in and out! Proof that the UK airshow is still very much alive with very few of the crowd departing until after the Comet landed at gone 7pm.
A great day.

Overused these days is the word awesome, but 27 years after I saw the DH88 at Mildenhall, the truly awesome Grosvenor House Comet, started, lined up and launched into the blue and gold of a late summer sky in deepest England. Hairs stood on end, grown men got misty eyed and cameras strained under the pressure of index fingers , breaking the awestruck silence of those gathered to witness this occasion.

So today I broke my Old Warden duck and what a day I chose, a fantastic day from start to finish. Old Warden is truly a magical location. Truly Awesome.


One extra, the surreal experience of an airshow with the newly opened Swiss Garden behind the sheds went down well with the better half. A beautiful place with a corkin backing track

[DanO1978]

It was so good, I've reactivated my membership on here just to say so.

Comfortably the finest airshow I've been to in years, even by Shuttleworth standards. So many highlights - the Comet in THAT light was airshow moment of the decade, but everything else that flew was of an exceptional standard too. An airshow with no "filler" acts whatsoever, everything was prime steak from the get-go.

How tight were the BBMF fighters on that first formation pass? Loved the Bristol M1C - not seen that before personally, and to get two of the Edwardians up (admittedly the reproductions) was most appreciated too.

If you've never been to Old Warden, then frankly you don't know what you're missing.

[Tomahawk]

+1 from me on all the compliments, that was pretty close to air show perfection! It had everything, unique aircraft and formations, a fabulous setting, excellent weather, spontaneous crowd responses (the applause for Peter Holloway after an amazing display in the Storch, for example), moments of high drama (Keith Dennison's final run and interesting landing in the Wren), and of course that Comet display.

Got to agree with DanO (welcome back btw, even if its only temporary) the BBMF fighters first pass was also mightily impressive.

[Corky]

Just what an airshow! It couldn't have been any better really. To start with a brilliant Hunter display and to end with the amazing Comet, with top act after top act in between was just pure bliss.

So many excellent displays but some of the best for me included the two Gladiators which between them showcased what the Gladiator can do. Really liked how once they split you got to see what it was like up close but also how aerobatic and manoeuvrable the aircraft is. The Hawker biplanes as always were lovely, the World War Ones particular for me the Bristol pair were just top quality, oh and lets not forget about.... oh and that....

Always have loved Shuttleworth since I was little and today just showed how special it really is, no where else is quite like it. Two final things, me and my partner visited the Swiss Gardens as well, was very impressed and well worth a visit to see them, and the Comet? Well I don't think I can use enough superlatives to describe it.