Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

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hardtarget
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by hardtarget »

Seems a bit if a knee-jerk reaction by shuttleworth for not staying unless there is no hangerage. Perhaps they were due to forgive and come back in morning unfortunately therw are no clear weather slots. The weather is crap in morning but clears to sunny skies from lunchtime onwards according to the met at 18.00 today. Await further updates but at this rate I'll go.

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JJC
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by JJC »

Mike wrote:
JJC wrote:Was there a surprise flypast today? If so, what was it?

There was. It was that traditional staple of British airshows for decades now, Tiger Moths in the rain. :lol:


So a rather liberal use of the word 'fantastic' then... :grin:

I'm quietly confident that tomorrow will be okay in the end. Forecasts seems to be going in the right direction, showing improvements rather than deterioration. I'm going expecting cancellations and some dodgey weather, but it wouldn't be a true British airshow season without those two things. :biggrin:
''Time to dive into the fireworks!''

memberinessex
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by memberinessex »

I heard that the IWM sold more premium member tickets than there were seats so my wife and I arrived earlier than we might normally for a Duxford event - no need to worry the rain kept people off the seats but out could not move in the members marque.

As for the rest of the display: there were a number of types I had not managed to photograph previously, and of course what was likely to be the last Tornado display - however the sun never came out all day - so not ideal for photographs. The main disappointment was that the A400 + Typhoon flypast was nothing of the sort the A400 flew though and the Typhoons were some way behind. The 617 tribute was much better but the Lightning II display was no a patch on the USAF example seen at Flying Legends. I would say that nothing was below standard (apart from the A400) and a number of display were above standard - the most impressive for me were the transport aircraft. Overall certainly the best Duxford display I have attended in over 25 years as far as flying goes - the worst for getting cold & wet.

As said by many queues for hot food seemed endless.

As to getting in and out - although my shortest route is via Haverhill to the east, experience showed that the best route was down to Stansted and join the M11 northbound - at around 10am there was only abut a 10 minute queue off the M11 and the it was straight into the car park. No queuing to get through the ticket line either. At the show I met a near neighbour who has left home before me and taken the route via Haverhill - they had taken over two hours longer to get in! We decided to forgo the Spitfire ending and watch the Reds from the north side car park - we were on the M11 roundabout around 8 minutes of starting the car - our fastest exit ever.

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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by UKAirshowTour »

I thought today was brilliant. The hour waiting to get in was soon forgotten with that brilliant display

pb643
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by pb643 »

hardtarget wrote:Seems a bit if a knee-jerk reaction by shuttleworth for not staying unless there is no hangerage. Perhaps they were due to forgive and come back in morning unfortunately therw are no clear weather slots. The weather is crap in morning but clears to sunny skies from lunchtime onwards according to the met at 18.00 today. Await further updates but at this rate I'll go.

I also wondered how many visting aircraft they have spare hangerage to accommodate. I am not sure what would be left out in rain and gale force winds? Obviously not the light biplanes, what about 15 or so visiting Spits and Hurricanes?

In fairness today's forecast was rubbish. None of the information I looked at this morning, gave as miserable, wet and gray day, as it turned out to be.

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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by pb643 »

Corky wrote:So the question now is, what do we think will fly tomorrow? If all the Shuttleworth aircraft have gone home and are not expecting to fly tomorrow it makes me wonder what will take on the forecasted winds. If the Sea Hurricane isn't going to fly, will the other Hurricanes, Spitfires, etc attempt it?

The post from Old Warden does actually say that they are not planning on sending any aircraft across based on predicted conditions, if that changes ,they will update.

So definitely not a no show, unless the weather prevents them.

Mike
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by Mike »

memberinessex wrote:I heard that the IWM sold more premium member tickets than there were seats so my wife and I arrived earlier than we might normally for a Duxford event - no need to worry the rain kept people off the seats but out could not move in the members marque.

As for the rest of the display: there were a number of types I had not managed to photograph previously, and of course what was likely to be the last Tornado display - however the sun never came out all day - so not ideal for photographs. The main disappointment was that the A400M + Typhoon flypast was nothing of the sort the A400M flew though and the Typhoons were some way behind. The 617 tribute was much better but the Lightning II display was no a patch on the USAF example seen at Flying Legends. I would say that nothing was below standard (apart from the A400M) and a number of display were above standard - the most impressive for me were the transport aircraft. Overall certainly the best Duxford display I have attended in over 25 years as far as flying goes - the worst for getting cold & wet.

As said by many queues for hot food seemed endless.

As to getting in and out - although my shortest route is via Haverhill to the east, experience showed that the best route was down to Stansted and join the M11 northbound - at around 10am there was only abut a 10 minute queue off the M11 and the it was straight into the car park. No queuing to get through the ticket line either. At the show I met a near neighbour who has left home before me and taken the route via Haverhill - they had taken over two hours longer to get in! We decided to forgo the Spitfire ending and watch the Reds from the north side car park - we were on the M11 roundabout around 8 minutes of starting the car - our fastest exit ever.

Is these such a thing as a 'premium member ticket'? Surely it is just complimentary seating in the enclosure provided for the use of members.

And the flypast was always advertised as a Voyager plus Typhoons, and a solo A400M. Unfortunately the Voyager was a cancellation for Saturday, so the Typhoons flew through alone.

eddywinch82
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by eddywinch82 »

An excellent display today, despite the weather, I really enjoyed it. Virtually everything due to display did, even the BBMF put on a full three ship display, which was fantastic, I was convinced they would scrub given the conditions.

And the fantastic Spitfire Mk1 solo display and massed Spitfire Formation to end 18 Spitfires WOW !!!! All the pilots put on marvelous displays, even though some were more restricted, due to the weather. The Buchons and Yak 3's tailchase was very good. Tomorrows weather conditions, are looking better than originally forecast, I am going again, so fingers crossed :smile:

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Abbo46
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by Abbo46 »

Looking at the latest model for tomorrow, I'm not hopeful. Not helped by the fact that Shuttleworth have returned home.

vulcan558
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by vulcan558 »

Check the Duxford web site, they are going to look at things in the morning regarding the weather.

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Abbo46
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by Abbo46 »

Aside from the weather, was an absolutely fantastic show today! Quality from start to finish. :clap:

sideeffectwhu
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by sideeffectwhu »

vulcan558 wrote:Check the Duxford web site, they are going to look at things in the morning regarding the weather.


Can't see this do you have a link

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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by Blackbird »

It was a great show from the flying perspective, but nothing else. As others have said, it rained - not hard but piss-istently from around midday onwards.

As ever, there were long and unacceptable queues for most of the facilities, cafe, food stalls and even the gents' loo. This can only be put down to the IWM's greed. It was they who advised that the show was sold out some days or even a week or more ago, so why didn't they do something about it like taking on more staff for the cafes, hiring portaloos? Someone in front of me at the Workshop Cafe had a moan at the guy on the door. His response was that they were very busy! No sh1t!! IF it's true that they sold 27,000 tickets then the capacity must have been increased as I understood the limit was around 20,000. Does anyone know for sure.

The flying itself was excellent given the dreadful conditions and credit must go to all those that made it happen :clap: :clap: , not only the pilots. I called it a day just before the Reds finished, not without misgivings as I did want to see the Spits, but feared getting out of the north car park would be a nightmare. Leaving when I did it was fine. I also had only a short queue getting off the M11 (northbound) in the morning, arriving around 9.15.

Well done to all that made it happen. A great show let down by the weather.

Andy

sideeffectwhu
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by sideeffectwhu »

Blackbird wrote:It was a great show from the flying perspective, but nothing else. As others have said, it rained - not hard but piss-istently from around midday onwards.

As ever, there were long and unacceptable queues for most of the facilities, cafe, food stalls and even the gents' loo. This can only be put down to the IWM's greed. It was they who advised that the show was sold out some days or even a week or more ago, so why didn't they do something about it like taking on more staff for the cafes, hiring portaloos? Someone in front of me at the Workshop Cafe had a moan at the guy on the door. His response was that they were very busy! No sh1t!! IF it's true that they sold 27,000 tickets then the capacity must have been increased as I understood the limit was around 20,000. Does anyone know for sure.

The flying itself was excellent given the dreadful conditions and credit must go to all those that made it happen :clap: :clap: , not only the pilots. I called it a day just before the Reds finished, not without misgivings as I did want to see the Spits, but feared getting out of the north car park would be a nightmare. Leaving when I did it was fine. I also had only a short queue getting off the M11 (northbound) in the morning, arriving around 9.15.

Well done to all that made it happen. A great show let down by the weather.

Andy


Ok I know I said me and my son would go regardless but we would have had soaked feet before we made the bus stop to get to Stratford station. I have given my son 20 notes on top of the 30 he had to spend already has he has hid his disappointment but his school is more important and from what you said regarding queues even for the toilet I can't risk it.

As my son was interested in the a400 could anyone tell us where we can see that on ordinary days

Best of luck to those who go today and I hope the weather clears in time.

Thoughtful_Flyer
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by Thoughtful_Flyer »

Blackbird wrote:It was a great show from the flying perspective, but nothing else. As others have said, it rained - not hard but piss-istently from around midday onwards.

As ever, there were long and unacceptable queues for most of the facilities, cafe, food stalls and even the gents' loo. This can only be put down to the IWM's greed. It was they who advised that the show was sold out some days or even a week or more ago, so why didn't they do something about it like taking on more staff for the cafes, hiring portaloos? Someone in front of me at the Workshop Cafe had a moan at the guy on the door. His response was that they were very busy! No sh1t!! IF it's true that they sold 27,000 tickets then the capacity must have been increased as I understood the limit was around 20,000. Does anyone know for sure.



That was my understanding too which is why I asked further questions of the person who gave me that number. He seemed to be in overall charge of the ticket check booths and car parking around the Land Warfare Hall. I have no idea if the number I quoted is correct but he did offer other "evidence" to back it up. I have to say I have never seen it so busy in recent memory and some ticket holders must have been put off coming by the weather. What has been noticeable is the huge number of tweets and local news items about how busy the roads are expected to be. That too suggests a higher number of tickets sold.

As you say, the toilet facilities were totally inadequate. I can't comment about the food queues as I always take my own but when I walked the length of the showground at about 10am I got the impression there were more food outlets than usual? Prices seemed steep as usual, I don't know if IWM regulate them in any way other than by no doubt charging very high rates for a pitch?

Yes, the flying lineup was impressive and what I saw of it before departing was highly commendable considering the conditions. Had the weather been better I would have probably stuck it out and accepted staying there until the bulk of the exit rush had cleared. However I would have been watching from the bank around the tank "play area" as I found my normal favourite spots far too crowded.

If they really have sold 27000 tickets then in my view that is excessive and they need to go back to a more comfortable number and cut their cloth accordingly.

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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by Thoughtful_Flyer »

sideeffectwhu wrote:
Ok I know I said me and my son would go regardless but we would have had soaked feet before we made the bus stop to get to Stratford station. I have given my son 20 notes on top of the 30 he had to spend already has he has hid his disappointment but his school is more important and from what you said regarding queues even for the toilet I can't risk it.

As my son was interested in the A400M could anyone tell us where we can see that on ordinary days

Best of luck to those who go today and I hope the weather clears in time.


Well, 8.30am and it is raining really quite hard in Cambridge at the moment. Now forecast to clear early to mid afternoon, depending on which forecast you look at.

Given the likely chaos of getting in (and actually parked on the airfield rather than in the north fields) unless I leave more or less now I think I am going to give it a miss.

Hopefully there will be decent conditions for at least part of the show this afternoon and I hope those attending enjoy it.

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The Baron
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by The Baron »

sideeffectwhu wrote:As my son was interested in the A400M could anyone tell us where we can see that on ordinary days


The best place would be RAF Brize Norton where they're based. Failing that RIAT next year.
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hardtarget
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by hardtarget »

Does anyone want a adult ticket and parking, if so pm me please and I'll send over via email. £30 for both.

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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by Pen Pusher »

posted on Facebook this morning

Imperial War Museum Duxford Hi Dennis, thanks for your message. Our safety briefing is at 10am and we should have an update by 11am. Given that the weather conditions are highly changeable, we have to do our safety briefing with all pilots flying as close to the start of the display as possible. Thank you for your patience.
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by vulcan558 »

sideeffectwhu wrote:
vulcan558 wrote:Check the Duxford web site, they are going to look at things in the morning regarding the weather.


Can't see this do you have a link

https://mobile.twitter.com/IWMDuxford


Its on there home page, but looks like they are doing stuff on the twitter and facebook pages.
Look on the IWM home page down the right side for there facebook and twitter etc.



IWM Duxford

@IWMDuxford

·

12h

Due to a highly changeable weather forecast we are currently unable to confirm whether tomorrow’s flying display for Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show will be affected. We will be able to provide a clearer update following a final safety briefing tomorrow morning.

sideeffectwhu
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by sideeffectwhu »

vulcan558 wrote:
sideeffectwhu wrote:
vulcan558 wrote:Check the Duxford web site, they are going to look at things in the morning regarding the weather.


Can't see this do you have a link

https://mobile.twitter.com/IWMDuxford


Its on there home page, but looks like they are doing stuff on the twitter and facebook pages.
Look on the IWM home page down the right side for there facebook and twitter etc.



IWM Duxford

@IWMDuxford

·

12h

Due to a highly changeable weather forecast we are currently unable to confirm whether tomorrow’s flying display for Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show will be affected. We will be able to provide a clearer update following a final safety briefing tomorrow morning.


Thanks for that. Will probably have to watch West Ham v Chelsea now.

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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by iainpeden »

[h

Due to a highly changeable weather forecast we are currently unable to confirm whether tomorrow’s flying display for Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show will be affected. We will be able to provide a clearer update following a final safety briefing tomorrow morning.[/quote]

Thanks for that. Will probably have to watch West Ham v Chelsea now.[/quote]

Or you could paint a wall and watch it dry! :smile:
(Mark Twain: There are lies, there are damn lies and then there are statistics)

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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by Thoughtful_Flyer »

iainpeden wrote:[h

Due to a highly changeable weather forecast we are currently unable to confirm whether tomorrow’s flying display for Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show will be affected. We will be able to provide a clearer update following a final safety briefing tomorrow morning.


Thanks for that. Will probably have to watch West Ham v Chelsea now.[/quote]

Or you could paint a wall and watch it dry! :smile:[/quote]

We are a strange species!

Some people spend money to watch 22 overpaid prima donna's kick a ball about a wet field. Other people spend money to stand around on a wet and crowded airfield watching other people fly planes round in circles.

Silly really!

sideeffectwhu
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by sideeffectwhu »

Thoughtful_Flyer wrote:
iainpeden wrote:[h

Due to a highly changeable weather forecast we are currently unable to confirm whether tomorrow’s flying display for Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show will be affected. We will be able to provide a clearer update following a final safety briefing tomorrow morning.


Thanks for that. Will probably have to watch West Ham v Chelsea now.


Or you could paint a wall and watch it dry! :smile:[/quote]

We are a strange species!

Some people spend money to watch 22 overpaid prima donna's kick a ball about a wet field. Other people spend money to stand around on a wet and crowded airfield watching other people fly planes round in circles.

Silly really![/quote]

That's so true which is why pilots are my hero's these day. The difference is pilots rarely disappoint f

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Mr Benn
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Re: Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow 2018

Post by Mr Benn »

sideeffectwhu wrote:
Blackbird wrote:


Ok I know I said me and my son would go regardless but we would have had soaked feet before we made the bus stop to get to Stratford station. I have given my son 20 notes on top of the 30 he had to spend already has he has hid his disappointment but his school is more important and from what you said regarding queues even for the toilet I can't risk it.

As my son was interested in the A400M could anyone tell us where we can see that on ordinary days

Best of luck to those who go today and I hope the weather clears in time.


Thtas a real shame . Just try and look forward to another show next year . I know I was gutted when I went to RIAT this year and the fact they cancelled the mass flyover because of 20 minutes of rain. (yes , Im still bitter ! ) But at least I did get to see the rest of the day interrupted.
I guess having any outdoor even late September is increasing the chances of poor weather.

Will there be a live stream anywhere of what ever happens at todays show ?

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