Battle of Britain Airshow 2020 - Cancelled

[jasonT1981]

Friday display looks a bit better to me than the Saturday and Sunday displays so far, though I assume (And hope) more will be added soon.

Friday

Flying Display - Spitfires

Spitfire Mk.Ia N3200
Spitfire Mk.Ia X4650
Spitfire Mk.Ia AR213
Spitfire T9 PT462
Spitfire T9 PV202
Spitfire Mk.PRXI PL983
Spitfire Mk.Vc JG891

Other Aircraft

RAF Red Arrows 3PM
RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight - Spitfires, Hurricanes and Lancaster (Dowding formation?)
The Blades
Fireflies Aerobatic Display Team
North American Harvard Mk.IV ‘Taz’
P-51D 'Miss Helen'
P-51D Mustang 'Warhorse'
Strikemaster Pair
Great War Display Team
AeroSuperBatics Wingwalkers
De Havilland DH-9 E8894
Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina
Tiger 9

[jasonT1981]

Update to the covid measures

What has changed?

In line with the latest government advice, we have updated our social distancing measures including:

We strongly encourage visitors to wear a face mask at all times in congested areas, but it is mandatory to wear a face mask in indoor spaces or covered areas including marquees, hangars and exhibitions

Staff and markings across the site will reinforce 2m social distancing, enabling visitors to keep safely apart

We will have designated Social Distancing Supervisors with teams of Social Distancing Champions across the site, all easily recognisable in Orange IWM Duxford T-shirts reinforcing social distancing measures and assisting with help and advice

NHS track and trace will be in place, please ensure your booking email is your primary email address and you check it regularly. Your contact details will be stored up to 21 days after the event.

All suppliers and entertainers onsite have their own Covid-19 risk assessment plan in place to support IWM in keeping you safe on site. This includes temperature checks for catering staff.

Other key changes, though there are many

There will be social distancing markers across the site including ticket scanning and entry points
There will be additional entry points to the site, with more staff to support safe entry onto the showground

We have created more space to enable safer social distancing onsite by opening the Tank Bank and moving the fence line at the eastern end of the site

During the air show, staff will be visible across the airfield, using the 2m markers to provide visual representation of a safe 2m distance, to which visitors will be required to adhere to. Our Social Distancing Supervisors and Champions will work closely with Security, and any visitors deemed to be not complying could be removed.

Social distancing is required in hangars, exhibitions and halls to manage the flow of visitors within inside spaces. Where we cannot guarantee a safe route around our museum, or enough space on the showground to ensure social distancing, we will close the offer. For this reason, hangars 2 and 5 will not be open to visitors on the day.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/airshows/faqs/co ... 3gElQlIYl4

[FlankerPhoto]

Return of the Tank Bank is most welcome!

[Firefly67]

Hi.

Does anyone know if there’s additions to the line up coming? I’d kind of expected in the 80th Anniversary Year to see some Hurricanes and ‘109’s on the list at least!!!

Seems a bizzare set list of warbirds.

And does anyone know if it’s just two tacky singing acts or is there a proper orchestra for the proms ?

Thanks
Firefly

[jasonT1981]

Catalina should be all 3 days according to their FB.

The problem this year is a lot of displays got mothballed for the year. No worked up display or PDA. Crews were unable to work on their aircraft for around 3 months or more meaning maintenance is well behind and lack of revenue from airshows also hit hard.

Sally B is a prime example of this.

I am expecting more to be added though. 3 weeks to go. Line up is good, but a little light.

[DaveBr]

Return of the Tank Bank is most welcome!

Is it actually though? If you look at the layout of the site, opening the tank bank presumably means moving the display lines even further away from the rest of the crowd line.
And where are they moving the fence to? There no space to move it anywhere between the LWH/tank bank and the taxy way.

[DaveBr]

Return of the Tank Bank is most welcome!

Is it actually though? If you look at the layout of the site, opening the tank bank presumably means moving the display lines even further away from the rest of the crowd line.
And where are they moving the fence to? There no space to move it anywhere between the LWH/tank bank and the taxy way.

I have as much nostalgia for the tank bank as anyone, so will be interested to see if this is actually a positive move or not.

[Jakub.Zurek]

I've enjoyed a few Duxford shows from the M11 end ever since the tank bank was closed but I assume the display line will have to be pushed further out now. Unless they can get away with it? Doesn't the tank bank remain open during practice displays etc before airshow days?

[SEMAE]

Interesting how it will pan out at the eastern end of the airfield. My take on this is that whilst the tank bank will be open, they only mention that the fence at the eastern end will be pushed out so I assume this will be the area leading up to the tank bank before you reach the land warfare hall but that would mean pushing the fence across the taxi way so aircraft would have to taxi on the grass.

It could mean that the crowd line at that end will be little more straight rather than concave.

I understand, and I could be wrong, that the tank bank was closed due to being too close to the runway especially when you had multiple landings and take offs on the hard and the grass at the same time, leading to a an increased risk of aircraft flying over the crowd though I know that it also happened in the past sometimes when aircraft ran in to start their displays from that end. It does not mean that the display datum itself was too close but that there was still a risk of overflights due to the way in which the tank bank end jutted out compared to the rest of the fence. Straightening the eastern end may make display flying easier.

I wish they will issue a map so everyone can visualise what the set up will be.

Martin Eames

[itfcscott]

Interesting how it will pan out at the eastern end of the airfield. My take on this is that whilst the tank bank will be open, they only mention that the fence at the eastern end will be pushed out so I assume this will be the area leading up to the tank bank before you reach the land warfare hall but that would mean pushing the fence across the taxi way so aircraft would have to taxi on the grass.

I had assumed the eastern end fence line that they have mentioned moving out is the area on the jet pan, as that has been moved forwards for the last few years for Flying Legends.

[SEMAE]

Interesting how it will pan out at the eastern end of the airfield. My take on this is that whilst the tank bank will be open, they only mention that the fence at the eastern end will be pushed out so I assume this will be the area leading up to the tank bank before you reach the land warfare hall but that would mean pushing the fence across the taxi way so aircraft would have to taxi on the grass.

I had assumed the eastern end fence line that they have mentioned moving out is the area on the jet pan, as that has been moved forwards for the last few years for Flying Legends.

Could be.

Martin Eames

[LinkGaz56]

I have wondered why it is that for an air display day the tank bank has been closed, for the experience days that also have flying displays it is open. Not complaining at all, just wondered why as essentially the same thing is happening but on a smaller scale.

Gary

[svas_volunteer]

I have wondered why it is that for an air display day the tank bank has been closed, for the experience days that also have flying displays it is open. Not complaining at all, just wondered why as essentially the same thing is happening but on a smaller scale.

Gary

As I understand it the tank bank was closed because if it was kept open the display line had to have a kink in it to keep the required distance which made for not the best displays, if the display line is straight it's easier and safer to set the aircraft up for the display line.
I think the reason the tank bank is open on the showcase days is because it isn't a 'proper' display as per the CAA rules, I don't think they close the roads to the south of the airfield or all the other extra work that us needed for the weekend shows.

Steve

[gb1903]

Hoping there will be further additions to flying list. Seems to have gone strangely quiet on this with only three weeks to go.

[Mike]

How many other aircraft are active this year for them to book? Many operators are having ground insurance only and not flying their aircraft.

The list basically consists of the ARCo/HFL-operated aircraft, plus BBMF and the Reds.

[rockfordstone]

How many other aircraft are active this year for them to book? Many operators are having ground insurance only and not flying their aircraft.

The list basically consists of the ARCo/HFL-operated aircraft, plus BBMF and the Reds.

I don't think any of the TFC stuff is serviced or has the approval to display this year so I suspect they are out.

[FarnboroJohn]

How many other aircraft are active this year for them to book? Many operators are having ground insurance only and not flying their aircraft.

The list basically consists of the ARCo/HFL-operated aircraft, plus BBMF and the Reds.

I don't think any of the TFC stuff is serviced or has the approval to display this year so I suspect they are out.

And I also suspect they don't feel incentivised to do anything about that!

[jasonT1981]

It is quite quiet this year, but due to Covid not as many displays are flying. I did think we would have gotten an update last week with 1 month to go, and then thought today with 21 days to go. But nope.

There are apparently a few more displays to be added. But it does seem very quiet this year. I assume not every Spitfire listed will be displaying and most will only be part of the mass flypast? Catalina have said they should be displaying all weekend and another war-bird operator have said they should be at Duxford. I expect Wingwalkers will be all 3 days also.

[Spotty_Jag]

I sincerely hope that the IWM management have put a lot of thought and effort into making the airshow "COVID Secure" and introducing measures to make social distancing manageable along the crowdline. It's all well and good creating the extra space and limiting ticket number but that's simply lip service unless proper control measures are put in place along the crowdline to manage visitors. Having photographs showing people crowded together at the first proper airshow of the year would be a killer blow to the airshow industry, giving ammunition to those risk adverse councils who don't want large events in their area in summer 2021. Worse still would be a spike in coronavirus cases in Cambridgeshire in the weeks after the event.

[G-CVIX]

Even with my tickets bought, I'm leaning towards not attending this one now. I'd have hoped for a little more in the display, even in the current times, and it's a long way for me to travel.

[timuss]

Well i already had tickets booked before COVID and for me its to much money to throw away its likely to be my only show this year. Ive yet to book some accomodation just in case but i fully plan on attending.

[Mike]

Blenheim self-confirmed

[jasonT1981]

Where did they self confirm? I saw someone posting about it on FB too.

[Mike]

Posted by one of the Blenheim team on the Blenheim Society FB page

[jasonT1981]

Ah yes, that's where I saw it. Didn't realise the poster was part of the team