I had the great good fortune to be operating the Lincs/Notts Air Ambulance over the airshow weekend, allowing me a close view of proceedings. While in the met office to pick up the day's forecast I saw a senior officer receive his brief on the weather, including mention of the effects of the particularly heavy downpour that we'd all waded through (it ran from around 0600 to 0800). Having made my way over to the other side of the airfield past the hard-working, relentlessly-cheerful service personnel who were there trying to make everything work for the good of Joe P, I briefed the crew about the likely probs. We were actually in the standby aircraft, turning-and-burning prior to deploying to Gamston for the day's shift, when ATC told us that the show was cancelled. We shut down and headed back into the office, mulling over the possible reasons for the stop.
All became clear when we went over t'other side around midday to move the normal aircraft back (so's we could transfer the medical kit onto the Explorer and provide better coverage for the 2 counties) - the ground where the cars and members of the public would've been thronging was in no state to take such a pounding. The exceptionally heavy shower mentioned earlier had saturated the ground so that the water table was - in places - temporarily on the surface. The ability of Waddo's ground to cope with normal amounts of rain would justify the website's promise of a wet-weather programme. However, there was nothing normal about the amount of rain that fell in those 2 hours; I've not seen anything like it since I left Borneo. So, tough call by the Grown-Ups, but the right decision.
For those who're unhappy with the way the decision was made or propagated, perhaps a few moments could be spent pondering the likely outcome if the public had been allowed in then exposed to bogged-in transport, overflowing honey-bins and all the other delights of Glastonbury minus the music. The volume of protesting voices would've been a damn sight louder than now, with much better reason.
Oh, and let me join the others here who've mentioned how much they appreciate the work put in by the grafters at Waddington - both at the airshow and at other times. I've not done many shifts on the air ambulance there, but each time I visit I'm treated with courtesy and professionalism that you can be proud of. Very many thanks!