Thoughtful_Flyer wrote:Interesting to read the comments here from people who have not been to Old Warden before.
Yes, it is a wonderful place and I am fortunate to live less than thirty miles away so I am able to visit quite often. I have to say I was a little disappointed by Saturday's show. But for the strange combination of the Comet / BBMF combined flypasts I was left feeling it was all a bit thin. With a gate price higher than Duxford's VE day and a show that had probably less than half the content of last year's Shuttleworth Pagent (for example) I wonder if they are getting the balance right? Or is it a case of an upward (downward?) spiral of attendance figures and prices.
Even for SVAS members like me the cost of an evening show has gone up by 33% this year. I was left with the feeling that maybe I will miss out one or two. If many do the same then their net revenue will drop rather than increase.
I'm sure if you are dedicated enough to attend Duxford and OW on the same day and have not experienced Shuttleworth before then it would seem great. However realistically that is a handful of true enthusiasts rather than a significant proportion of the gate money.
Sorry to sound negative but I hope they can find the right balance.
Wonderful as it is to see the Comet fly I do really worry about its suitability for that airfield. We saw two aborted landings on Saturday before it was successfully landed from the "wrong" end and that used the vast majority of the runway. It would be terrible to see it damaged or worse still anybody come to harm as a result of pressure to fly it in less than ideal conditions.
Chris
Shuttleworth is my favourite airshow venue. I've never been left disappointed because of the proximity of the displays in contrast to other shows and also the different formations of aircraft they present, away from the Comet and BBMF, the Wren, Cygnet and ANEC II were a joy to watch together and the Boxkite and the Martlet were an interesting formation to see.
With the cost, hosting what I assume has to the largest flying private collection of aircraft in the UK, by quite some margin I'd expect, is never going to get cheaper. It is only going to get more and more expensive. I think they way to attract people is to have a couple of aircraft that otherwise you wouldn't see so close up, recently the Nimrod and further back, the Cosmic Wind spring to mind.
With the Comet, it does seem to have a pretty big reputation, however I cannot see Shuttleworth ever flying an aircraft they didn't have confidence of relative safety in, no historic aircraft is ever going to be 100% certainty. There is no one who would rather see an aircraft in the air with a pilot who wasn't confident in the safety of the aircraft. If on the back of this they put more restrictions on the aircraft then so be it, I trust their judgment with regards to flying or not flying the aircraft.
I agree that Duxford had a lot more aircraft on display, but after going to the two airshows' I enjoyed Shuttleworth more.