I went on Saturday. Aircraft wasn't ready so I drove in. First impression was that I'm glad there wasn't a big crowd trying to get in as even with all 3 or 4 lanes taking entrance money it was sllooowwwww. There must be a better way than that.
There needs to be an 'Entrance'. Only clue to where to head was the general drift of pedestrians.
There weren't any aviation junk stalls. Possibly put off by high charges. I particularly wanted an obsolescent old Dzus fastener for my obsolescent old glider.
Nothing on the tradestands that particularly interested me as I'm not in the market for new instruments or electronics and I certainly can't consider any of the new super sleek super expensive kits.
There didn't seem to be that many aircraft on the ground, maybe half what there were last year and a quick walk around didn't show up anything that needed too much close inspection. I think most of what was of interest to me, vintage or rag and wood homebuilts were put off by the weather. Once you've seen one Europa and one RV you've seen them all unless you are particularly interested in them.
Why are people so shy about putting the identification of their aircraft on the aircraft. There were two Thorpe T 18s there. I know that because the second one had it written on the tail. The first one was, to me, a curious aircraft with a touch of the Wittman Tailwind about it and no clue as to what it actually was.
I didn't go across to the Tower side but I did notice a low wing trike at the end of his landing run on the grass and he was being bounced around all over the place. I guess they haven't done anything to de-bump the grass 'runway' yet. It's just a bit too rough in my opinion.
Catering was the usual rip off. Fish and chips was only about a pound more than the local chippie but the other stuff seemed well overpriced. Someone told me in conversation that the coffee stall was charging £2 for a Latte and that no-one else was allowed to sell them. A bit of competition would sort out the prices methinks. It's probably just me. I'm at the age where everything seems expensive. Even the politicians are beginning to look young now.
Your turn, what did you think?
Mike W