Midlands Air Festival 18th-20th May 2018, Ragley Hall, Warks

[clearstone]

No sign of the Vampire on the flypro V1 which Bob Grinstead has posted on Facebook.

P-47 & Fury operating from Duxford,
Mustang, Strikemaster, Catalina, Harvard, Blenheim and Spitfire operating from Coventry

Saturday & Sunday

1300 - Turbulent Team
1322 - Autogyro
1334 - Pitts
1346 - Otto
1400 - P-47
1414 - Wasp
1430 - Mustang
1441 - Fournier
1453 - Strikemaster
1505 - Stampe Formation
1530 - Catalina
1542 - Great War Display Team
1602 - Mystery Ship R
1614 - Harvard
1627 - Blenheim & Spitfire
1647 - Beech 18
1700 - Fury
1712 - Paramotor

[CameronSys]

Blenheim and Spit operating from duxford now

[Comet102]

No sign of the Vampire on the flypro V1 which Bob Grinstead has posted on Facebook.

P-47 & Fury operating from Duxford,
Mustang, Strikemaster, Catalina, Harvard, Blenheim and Spitfire operating from Coventry

Saturday & Sunday

1300 - Turbulent Team
1322 - Autogyro
1334 - Pitts
1346 - Otto
1400 - P-47
1414 - Wasp
1430 - Mustang
1441 - Fournier
1453 - Strikemaster
1505 - Stampe Formation
1530 - Catalina
1542 - Great War Display Team
1602 - Mystery Ship R
1614 - Harvard
1627 - Blenheim & Spitfire
1647 - Beech 18
1700 - Fury
1712 - Paramotor

Thank you.

[Comet102]

Nothing showing on my FlightAware or ADS-B Exchange.

[Comet102]

[fb-post]https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10156589867719101&id=351376189100[/fb-post]

The Vampire is no longer appearing this weekend.

[Frogfoot]

[fb-post]https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10156589867719101&id=351376189100[/fb-post]

The Vampire is no longer appearing this weekend.

Would have appreciated an announcement from the organisers.

[Mr Benn]

So , despite being on the main advert on their website, there is no Hurricane or Vampire ( or Meschersmidt? ). Big shame , but they should make it clear on their splash page if their not appearing.
Still hoping its a good show. Living in Redditch, you could still see about a dozen air baloons in the distance about 7.30 tonight.
Best hope is its the start of a show that grows. Worse case it ends up like the shambles that was the Throckmortan air show...

[Mul]

Really good show this evening — far more varied than I thought it would be! The night glow especially being one of the highlights. I think this show will definitely expand quickly. Everybody close by commented on how they would take more family/friends next time.

[Comet102]

Really good show this evening — far more varied than I thought it would be! The night glow especially being one of the highlights. I think this show will definitely expand quickly. Everybody close by commented on how they would take more family/friends next time.

Do you know where in the parkland the landing strip is, or an approximate idea of the display line?

[Mul]

Really good show this evening — far more varied than I thought it would be! The night glow especially being one of the highlights. I think this show will definitely expand quickly. Everybody close by commented on how they would take more family/friends next time.

Do you know where in the parkland the landing strip is, or an approximate idea of the display line?

Hopefully this will give you a better idea of the relevant parts. The blue line is the runway, yellow is the static area and red being the display line/walk around.

[Comet102]

Really good show this evening — far more varied than I thought it would be! The night glow especially being one of the highlights. I think this show will definitely expand quickly. Everybody close by commented on how they would take more family/friends next time.

Do you know where in the parkland the landing strip is, or an approximate idea of the display line?

Hopefully this will give you a better idea of the relevant parts. The blue line is the runway, yellow is the static area and red being the display line/walk around.

Perfect, thank you so much.

[Mr Benn]

Well the weather here in nearby Worcestershire is near perfect . Off to the show myself this afternoon. Will post some photos , but my camera is probably not in the same league as most of you guys. !
How will I spot anybody from this forum ? Do you have a secret badge or handshake ?

[Tom105]

Looks quite empty from the photos online which is a shame as a good lineup and lovely weather thought it would have been busier.

[Comet102]

I got there for 11, no queue, I was northwest of the small group of trees that were in the middle (in front of the wooden model shop) on the front row and their was just 1 person, 10 feet behind with about 20 people in a row with him.

The area near the commentary box and the screen was quite deep though (where the northern tree line curves to the north).

The aircraft parking is quite some distance away unless you are VIP and partly obscured.

The Spitfire was not the Mark 1 version as advertised, it was an two seater (5R-H, G-CCCA, Spitfire IXT)
The Sea Fury went tech but should turn up tomorrow (it was announced when it was due at 5), we had an Auster AOP.6 display (TW536, G-BNGE) and a nice flypast from the Silence Twister (G-TWSS) instead.
The Para motor went up around 6:30 with another and did an impromptu routine around the hot air balloons with smoke.
The P-47 routine was quite poor, turns at each end behind the crowd, then run in to centre, pull up, perform a manoeuvre, dive down, repeat.
The P-51 was absolutely brilliant, that whine when it goes past is lovely.

Left at 8pm, no traffic.

[Mul]

Looks quite empty from the photos online which is a shame as a good lineup and lovely weather thought it would have been busier.

Damn! Friday night was packed — hopefully there will be a good turnout for Sunday’s show.

[jamyt123]

Crowd line is a lot more empty at 11.05am on Sunday morning than it was at the same time yesterday.

The Vampire must have been a late cancellation for the event as it features on the pin badge produced for the event.

Only bug bear from yesterday (other than the South facing crowd line) was the Harvard display seemed to be at twice the altitude to all the other displays.

[Comet102]

Crowd line is a lot more empty at 11.05am on Sunday morning than it was at the same time yesterday.

The Vampire must have been a late cancellation for the event as it features on the pin badge produced for the event.

Only bug bear from yesterday (other than the South facing crowd line) was the Harvard display seemed to be at twice the altitude to all the other displays.

That's a surprise, their is less events on today so I thought it would be busier. I got their for 11 yesterday and was parked eighth row back.

The Vampire group said at 11pm Friday it wasn't going to attending.

Did you manage to get a pin badge? I went as soon as I heard it over the tannoy at about 4ish and their were only hot air balloons left.

Any news about which Spitfire you are getting today or if the Sea Fury is attending?

[jamyt123]

Crowd line is a lot more empty at 11.05am on Sunday morning than it was at the same time yesterday.

The Vampire must have been a late cancellation for the event as it features on the pin badge produced for the event.

Only bug bear from yesterday (other than the South facing crowd line) was the Harvard display seemed to be at twice the altitude to all the other displays.

That's a surprise, their is less events on today so I thought it would be busier. I got their for 11 yesterday and was parked eighth row back.

The Vampire group said at 11pm Friday it wasn't going to attending.

Did you manage to get a pin badge? I went as soon as I heard it over the tannoy at about 4ish and their were only hot air balloons left.

Any news about which Spitfire you are getting today or if the Sea Fury is attending?

We arrived yesterday at 8am and 9.30ish this morning and were parked in the same spot on the second row. It is abit eerily quiet today - lack of the big tethered balloons that went up yesterday morning too.

I got one of the badges. I think they were offering a gold or silver version - quite big for a fiver.

No news yet regarding the flying display - and if its like yesterday, they won't share any information about the running order over the tannoy

[kinglear27]

Strikemaster display as excellent as always - great to see a more dynamic routine again! Catalina display was another highlight for me, as was the Blenheim/Spitfire pair.

[Comet102]

I went to Wellesbourne Airfield spotting and saw the following related to Ragley Hall:

Catalina - flew directly over Airfield heading east
GWDT (white fighter) - flew to the south heading east
2 seat Spitfire and Blenheim - flew to the south heading west then back east later on.
Beech 18 - flew to the south heading northeast.

[IP1960]

As a local 15 minutes from Ragley I thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend. The wonderful weather helped of course. The relaxed atmosphere across the weekend reminded me of the local shows I attended long ago, in the days of air races and crop dusting demonstrations and indeed regular balloon shows (including at Ragley itself). No rush to the front, no ladders and an eclectic mix of attractions in the air. Photography was challenging given the east/west flightline and south-facing crowdline, but those of us with big lenses were very much in the minority overall in the family crowd.

Friday night was probably the busiest, and was superb with the balloon launch followed by the aircraft plus pyros and nightglow. Saturday certainly busier than Sunday. Hopefully it was attended well enough for them to plan another. As far as I am aware, there was no advertising of this event locally, certainly nothing in the local press that I saw or outside the venue, so attendance seems to have been driven by social media and word of mouth.

From an aircraft point of view it was disappointing that the Vampire cancelled, and the Fury going tech, and also the Hurricane and Buchon disappearing from the flying list, but as a lover of anything propeller-driven a nice mix of aircraft, star exhibit for me being the Mustang both days with a nice display and great fast entrance. A shame also that the MkI Spitfire was replaced by a 2-seater but I did enjoy his displays, and lovely passes with the Blenheim. The Thunderbolt was wonderful to see though his display seemed quite restrained on both days, and I agree with others about the height of the Harvard! We even had the fire brigade called to action on the far side of the strip thanks to the GWDT pyros.

I hope they are able to organise another event next year - perhaps not an event to get enthusiasts flocking to, but a lovely place to sit and watch aircraft and balloons, in an area of the country where we don't get to see too much in the air!

[Mr Benn]

I went on the Saturday . Got there just after 1pm and was surprised to drive straight into the car park field. It was a very hot day , with a fair section of the crowd gathering at the back of the field under the tress for shade. Though the planes were good , especially the Catalina. Nice few explosions when the 1st world war planes were flying as well.
Surprised to not see any balloons tethered up , but apparently they cant whilst planes are flying.
I hope they do try and do it again, and get a bit of momentum. With the royal wedding, great weather and the Cup Final on the same day I expected the Saturday to be quieter , so surprised to hear even less people were there on the Sunday. I think its a one night one day only event really. Maybe they can get a slightly more modern jet next time and move from there. (if the Throckmorton farce of a show can get 2 Tornados. and a Vulcan at cheaper ticket price .. )
I dont have the big cameras you guys probably have, but i did take some video , which Im happy to put a link on here if okay or people are interested ?

Bad - planes kept dissapearing out of view. Ticket price (mustve put many off ) . Local advertising . Food prices (no wonder no one was buying any) . Not opening the woodland park for kids. Better communication for the commentator, who didnt know when a display was finishing most of the time. He had come all the way from NZ tho !!

Good - its a local show , and a lovely setting .The staff seemed enthusiastic . Apparently the night show was really good. Able to walk round the Hall if you wish. Display field was no more than 10 mins from car park. Hoping it will come back next year .

[IP1960]

Surprised to not see any balloons tethered up , but apparently they cant whilst planes are flying.

The balloon guys took quite a bit of persuasion on the Friday night to retreat to allow the aircraft to start their show prior to the Nightglow!

I hope they do try and do it again, and get a bit of momentum..... Maybe they can get a slightly more modern jet next time and move from there. (if the Throckmorton farce of a show can get 2 Tornados. and a Vulcan at cheaper ticket price .. )

I gather from FB they will announce next years dates in the next few weeks - they did say at some point that they missed the cut-off for applying for BBMF/RAF involvement (30th September of the year before display I seem to think?) and that next time they would hope for some participation.

Bad - planes kept dissapearing out of view. Ticket price (mustve put many off ) . Local advertising . Food prices (no wonder no one was buying any) . Not opening the woodland park for kids. Better communication for the commentator, who didnt know when a display was finishing most of the time. He had come all the way from NZ though !!

Funny you say about the food - there were complaints after Friday night that the queues were too long! I don't think every outlet was up and running on Friday which wouldn't have helped! Now that Ragley have stopped opening to the public as they used to, and have moved to an events/corporate/weddings site, they don't seem to open the adventure park. I'd agree about local advertising, though I do wonder if it was deliberate in order to have a "soft" first year without being deluged by people, which I guess could easily have happened with the beautiful weather.

[Comet102]

Did the Fury display on Sunday?

[Big_Gareth]

Did the Fury display on Sunday?

No, sadly not