Originally Posted by
roger4
I think Sywell is worth another look, despite GeeRam's well made earlier comments. It has many advantages including parallel hard and grass runways, although each are only about 80% of the length of Duxford's, and it is only around 40 miles/15 minutes flying time from Duxford to allow pilots to shuttle backwards and forwards and swop aircraft. Sywell also has an active war-bird community including restoration workshops, and the airfield has very much the right "ethos" in regard to vintage aviation with for example its art-deco era clubhouse. Sywell is also located in reasonably clear airspace away from both Luton and Stansted movements.
The logistics and costs of car-parking for say 20,000 visitors, together with all the catering and toilet etc amenities required to be brought in will be more-or-less common where-ever it relocates to and hence will probably not be a critical factor in the decision. It will of curse be a critical factor in the budget.
I was Chairman of the organising committee of a large sporting event for ten years. We relocated the event at short notice (5 weeks) due to foot-and-mouth disease closing off our usual outdoor venue, to a completely new venue. Not only did we have a very short time to make the move, the move unexpectedly resulted in a three-fold increase from around 2000 to 6000 attendees. Therefore I don't underestimate how big and daunting the task is. Small beer compared to FL perhaps, but what I would say is that where there's a will, there's a way.
Sywell and Old Warden are probably the only viable 'local' options.
Sywell also does have the benefit of much more local accommodation as well, and cheaper rates than Cambridge. There's two Premier Inn's and a Travelodge in cab distance from the airfield, as well as numerous other B&B's around the north-east of Northampton and nearby Wellingborough.