A replacement for the evening airshows - more in the style of the Uncovered events. Don't expect to see anything in particular flying by the sound of it! I'll keep all the links together unless participants begin to be announced for shows.
One of the most exciting aspects of Shuttleworth is being able to get up close to the aircraft and vehicles so this year ‘At Home’ is replacing our traditional evening airshows.
Find our doors open in an ‘Uncovered’ style event with a range of aircraft and vehicles on paddock 1 available to see up close and in detail, with staff and volunteers on hand to talk about what makes them interesting.
There will be flying throughout the day, weather permitting, in a relaxed programme that has no dedicated ‘display time’, meaning aircraft can fly any time after the gates open until close to dusk. If the weather is kind it means almost certainly that the pilots skilled with the Edwardians will take the chance to get airborne!
It might well be linked to that, actually - although surely it might not be as bad for Old Warden because isn't discount available for shows held within x amount of days of each other or something to that extent?
The evening garden party atmosphere was once the trademark facet of Old Warden, a shame to see that is being wiped out this year. This now sounds like a smaller evening show lineup, spread out from 10am until dusk... Might explain the apparently bigger budgets being thrown at the other shows throughout the season.
Call me old fashioned, but I generally like to know when flying is, so I can get my hangar/shop visits and food sorted before I'm going to miss anything.
By my quick count, that reduces Shuttleworth to just six 'proper' airshows this season? It was already reduced last year to nine IIRC, and was somewhere in the region of twelve the previous season? Halved in two years.
If the prices are correct and include entry to the Swiss Garden as is usually the case on air show days, then it's cheaper to go to an At Home show than to visit the collection and garden on a non event day. £16 for At Home on the day, or £20 for collection and garden via the website.
LN Strike Eagle wrote:Call me old fashioned, but I generally like to know when flying is, so I can get my hangar/shop visits and food sorted before I'm going to miss anything.
By my quick count, that reduces Shuttleworth to just six 'proper' airshows this season? It was already reduced last year to nine IIRC, and was somewhere in the region of twelve the previous season? Halved in two years.
It was a staple of the season to always know that there was a Shuttleworth show virtually every fortnight! Such a shame to see this go downhill - can't imagine this format will work too well for families in particular who've walked the hangars - what else is there to do for the day?
It'll be Sod's law, the star items will fly when we're away from the crowdline!
when the weather was good, there was something very special about the evening shows. The light was different and so was the atmosphere. And on some evenings, the weather was just so calm, just perfect for the flying. I feel sorry for any airshow fans who never made it to an evening show and I really do hope they return some day.
“The best computer is a man, and it’s the only one that can be mass-produced by unskilled labour.”
Perhaps they have gone the way that other shows may be going, in that may be they had a heads up on the charges being proposed by the CAA.
I don't know how well attended the evening shows were, or how profitable they have been in the past, but the things are going by not labelling these as "shows" and not having a flying programme might mean that the charges for these would be lower / not applicable?
Its a great shame IMHO, that a crash involving a 1950s era jet performing a full display has effected (if thats the case) the ability of airshow fans to stand in the evening sun and enjoy the unique sight of classic biplanes performing the most gentle of circuits,
there could be other factors of course, perhaps they did not make money?
“The best computer is a man, and it’s the only one that can be mass-produced by unskilled labour.”
I too enjoyed the evening shows and when the weather played ball the light on the flying aircraft was close to magical. However the weather and subsequent light was a gamble and I have often wished they had started flying earlier as the evening sun was blocked by a bank of low cloud. If I read the information correctly there is the chance that, weather permitting, flying will happen close to dusk and earlier flights will also be possible. It all depends on how this is managed - we will just have to wait and see. I may have to invest in a scanner if I don't want to miss a particular plane in the air.
No need to buy a scanner, the use of the Mki.I eyeball should do it! Surely as aviation enthusiasts we are tuned into looking for the signs of something going flying? Ground crew activity around a certain aircraft, a pilot going through pre-flight checks and then strapping in is a sure-fire sign that it's going aloft. Has that ability been lost to and extent that we need it all fed to us on a plate? I'm sure Shuttleworth will make use of their tannoy system as well.
It was stated on a discuccion thread on the SVAS Facebook page that the evening shows ran at a loss. If there are any SVAS members out there they may recall the Summer 2015 Propswing edition laying out the Collection's 5 year plan, two aims of which are to increase engagement with the Collection, hence the Uncovered style up-close 'At Home' events, and to ensure the longevity of the Collection. That can't be done running events at a loss cant it? Besides, it states on the websute that aircraft will fly in the evening conditions pending.
It's a shame to see people turning on aviation events when they need out support most. I'm very much looking forward to seeing how these At Home events turn out, should be some really informative and relaxing days spent on one of my favourite airfields.
Absolutely, Huw - certainly willing to try this new format if it ensures the Collection can keep going (hadn't known about their financial issues previously). If it also sustains the interest also past that of just the enthusiast then that can't be a bad thing also, provided the enthusiast is not forgotten about in the process.
Whilst its definitely a shock to see all the Evening shows go at once, a day at Old Warden is certainly never a bad thing - suppose this means more time to explore and socialise!
Shuttleworth deserves support. There aren't many other places like it are there ? Keeping a collection that size going must be a economical and logistical nightmare. They've pulled off some great shows this last year. The air show future is possibly bleak enough, give them a break.
Been to both types of shows at Shuttleworth and liked both types; the evening shows do have a certain atmosphere. But I'm not against this new approach, far from it.
The nice thing about a day out at Shuttleworth is the sedate manner in which things happen; display, pause, display, pause and so on. There is just no rush in the program, they way it should be for these 'older' airframes.
Keefy041 wrote:Shuttleworth deserves support. There aren't many other places like it are there ? The air show future is possibly bleak enough, give them a break.
I'm certainly not knocking Shuttleworth at all - I think it's a great place. the shows that I have been to there have all been very good, and hopfully they continue for a very long time. I will be there for at least 3 shows this year if can get them past SWMBO.
That being said, I can see why they have changed the format of their show in terms of these events, and the lack of Evening Shows if they were operating them at a loss.
Me too, some of the line up for the day shows look fab this year and are in the diary, if the evening shows made a loss, then fair enough, thats a real shame,
plus free parking for the moment anyway
“The best computer is a man, and it’s the only one that can be mass-produced by unskilled labour.”
I mean, if they make a loss doing those evening shows, then of course it's a no-brainer.
That said, I'll still lament the fact that it's yet another thing on my "things to do" list that I wont be able to do this year. Always wanted to do an evening show at OW...
This format does not work, 2 hour drive, 112 miles there. What time do you get there for. Do you leave at 3pm as used to (approx) only to find out when you get there that it has finished
rob68 wrote:This format does not work, 2 hour drive, 112 miles there. What time do you get there for. Do you leave at 3pm as used to (approx) only to find out when you get there that it has finished
Someone didn't check the information on the website before the event!
rob68 wrote:This format does not work, 2 hour drive, 112 miles there. What time do you get there for. Do you leave at 3pm as used to (approx) only to find out when you get there that it has finished
Always do your homework before attending an event......otherwise you'll only have yourself to blame.
I removed this years Evening Shows from my calendar because they don't offer any guarantee that anything will fly at all. The website for last Saturday's event has bee removed but this is the one for June, http://www.shuttleworth.org/events/athome-june/ .
Not a lot on offer and I can't help but feel that the Collection has shot itself in the foot here. I can understand the need to make these events profitable, but surely the way to do that is to add interesting flying displays from visitors, not to remove the interest altogether?