Shuttleworth....

[DeepC]

I drove past Shuttleworth on Saturday night as they were obviously having another of their not very well advertised flying displays. Driving slowly along the road looking to my left I notice the Lysander bearing down at me at full chat to pass just in front of my windscreen banking hard with it's wing slicing between two trees (Well it seemed that low). By the time I had crawled along the road towards the entrance the Lysander returned buzzing my car at around sunroof height. Truly amazing views that evening because the sunset, light rain and towering clouds combined to produce a backdrop of pink clouds behind a bright rainbow.

I didn't have my camera with me but someone at the display must have got some truly awesome shots of the planes and backdrop.

Anyone else there with a camera?

Cheers

DeepC

[Hairyplane]

Hi Deep C,

We always try to put on something. I am told that it has been impossible to fly anything on just one show over the past 17 years due to weather.

Not well advertised?? Hmmm - not sure if I agree....

Its easy to acess their website or read the 'whats on' sections in the various magazines.

Alternatively, why not join the SVAS? FOr just twenty quid a year you get all sorts of incentives, plus of course a nice leaflet with the full diary of events listed.

Shuttleworth is a charitable trust and doesn't have a huge PR budget.

Please come along, bring some friends and a picnic. The sunset displays - when we get the Edwardian machines out WP - is a joy to behold.

The Flying Proms too is just wonderful.

Great free adventure playground for the kids too.

check out www.shuttleworth.org

Shuttleworth is really intimate because it is small. You can therefore get pretty close to the aircraft. The display line is curved too so plenty of photo opportunities.

All the best

HP

[DeepC]

Hairyplane,

You are preaching to the converted a bit. I love the place. I used to spend way too much time at Shuttleworth during my 'study' leave for GCSE's and 'A' levels. I would have been at the display if I wasn't too busy. Who was flying the Lysander? Is he/she totally mad?

I also managed to catch a bit of the Anson flying and some plane doing loops whilst driving to and from Shefford from Tempsford via Biggleswade Sainsburys.

Keep up the good work.

DeepC

[vintage ATCO]

DeepC

Some wonderful pictures (inc the Lizzie) from Saturday's show taken by a chum of mine are here http://tinyurl.com/c4m7

I missed Saturday's show as I was ATCing at North Weald but some pictures from all the previous shows are on my website, inc some taken from Hairyplane's airyplane! :ok:


--------------------
vintage ATCO
www.stevelevien.com

[DamienB]

Shuttleworth does seem to be a well kept secret, though I've been trying my best to blab about it to anyone and everyone, with reports like these:

http://www.f4aviation.co.uk/airshow02/oldwarden/oldwarden.htm

http://www.f4aviation.co.uk/airshow02/shuttle/august.htm

http://www.f4aviation.co.uk/airshow02/shuttleoct/shuttleoct.htm

...still I keep hearing people say events there are not well publicised and the low crowd numbers at some of the shows make a worrying sight (though the lack of queuing is great!).

[John (Gary) Cooper]

Try this one from my photo collection:



http://community.webshots.com/user/hastingsgan then click on to album 'Modern and not so modern' and the last shot is a Lizzie at Old Warden taken 3 years ago in a heavy rain laden sky with a Union Flag flying.

[Hairyplane]

I can't quite remember who was flying the Lysander but rest assured that he will not have busted his 100ft DA minima by a single foot.

We have Andy Sephton watching us display - thats enough to leave you quaking in your boots as you taxi in if you even 'think' you might have just busted the height/ crowd line. It is pretty difficult to manage this in windy/ turbulent conditions, especially if you are flying something light.

The Lysander is a really big machine so appearances may seem deceptive.

You say that it just missed your sun roof?

Please confirm that you weren't one of those freeloaders parked to the East of the field in contravention of all the signs warning them not to? (just joking - its clear that you were on the move)

We are planning fresh initiatives this year to stop freeloaders trespassing on those fields - all Shuttleworth property - and deluding themselves that to stand on the public footpath near the threshold of 21 is OK. It most certainly isn't.

HP

[DeepC]

I have lived within 8 miles of Shuttleworth for the last 22 years but rarely see any advertising for the shows (Flying Proms excepted). I noticed as I drove down the A1 yesterday and today that The Knebworth Air Balloon event is advertised on a trailer parked in a field alongside the A1. Surely Shuttleworth can find a pro-Shuttleworth farmer alongside the A1 who wouldn't mind having a tastefully decorated trailer parked in his field for a couple of weeks before each show.

DeepC

[DamienB]

HP -

We are planning fresh initiatives this year to stop freeloaders trespassing on those fields

Strafing runs?

[DeepC]

Hairyplane,

My height judgement was ever so slightly impaired by driving at the same time! Sunroof and Tree Slicing comments were tongue in cheek, although the tree slicing run did seem extemely low.

Any chance of landing the Lysander on the remains of the runway at Tempsford? I read somewhere that it did a couple of circuits of the Tempsford field a couple of years ago to remember the people involved with them there in WWII. Would be great if it could land there again.

Cheers

DeepC

[Hairyplane]

Tempsford......he whispered.

I landed there once, back in 1980 on a Flying Instructors course out of Bourn with David Hughes (RIP).

Such nostalgia.

THe Lizzie is actually quite a high performance machine, with a better power to weight ratio than the Hurricane at low level.

Whilst it does indeed have Storch-like performance in war conditions, you completely rely on the engine to keep you airborne on the approach at low speeds/ slats out.

An engine failure on short finals under these conditions would most likely result in a catastrophic accident.

This is why, in our peace-time operations of such a rare machine, it is flown well within its envelope.

I doubt whether Tempsford has sufficent runway these days.

However, if somebody wanted to stump up the dosh to get it in, I am sure it will be considered.

HP

[DeepC]

What runway length does the Lysander require then? I would think that there is at least 300m of concrete left at Tempsford. The rest of the airfield is under crop at the moment.

DeepC

[Aerohack]

<<We are planning fresh initiatives this year to stop freeloaders trespassing on those fields>>

Some years ago a RAF Harrier GR.3 pilot chose that corner spot to do a demonstration of the Harrier's hovering and turning-in-the-spot capability. That shifted them, as did the SR-71 crew who treated the wimmin protesters at Greenham Common to a refreshing blast of burnt JP7.

[DamienB]

Quality - having suffered a GR.7s hovrin' embrace-o-love once I can vouch for its crowd clearing abilities.

[treadigraph]

Show I was at last year, a few freeloaders got a face full of Denny Dobson's white smoke as he wound up to full grunt right next to the hedge... :)

[Inverted81]

Good ol' Denny! Nice guy actually, met him a couple of times, once at The mosquito museum at salisbury hall, landed his pitts in the microlight strip in the next field, and last year at shuttleworths prom evening.... he was talking about his fuel costs for a years flying in his extra 300, in excess of £20,000 can you believe it?! Amazing display pilot, never seen him on the "large"display circuit ie duxford fairford etc though...

On the subject of the proms evening at Shuttleworth.... GO! if its one summers evening you want to sit, drink champagne, listening to great music whilst a spit, hurricane, lizzie, tutor to name but a few fly into the sunset..... you can't beat it! went for the first time last year, set up next to the flight line ....amazing! the whole family is going this year.... can't wait!! i'm sure V. ATCO can back me up on this one!!

:D :ok: :ok:
c

[treadigraph]

I went to my first Shuttleworth evening display this time last year (gosh, is it really a whole YEAR?). It was absolutely fabulous: great flying, superb atmosphere... and the weather was good as well! What more can you ask...

If I may also make this personal recommendation (CamelPilot hope it doesn't break the rules!), afterwards we managed to scramble across to The Cock in nearby Broom in time for dinner (they serve till 9pm) which has been in every edition of the Good Beer Guide I believe. Great food and they serve excellent Green King beers straight from the cellar! :ok:

I'll be back (missed last weekend!)

[Scion]

I called in to Shuttleworth on a trip from Australia on a normal working day and found the people there extreemly helpful. I have an interest in a couple of old aeroplanes in Australia and the folk there went out of their way to put me in touch with the enthusiast involved with the Pobjoy engine.

A most remarkable engine by the way.

If I lived near there I wouldn't be away from the place. So you folk don't know how lucky you are!

[vintage ATCO]

Yes the Evening Proms are good but I've only ever seen one as I do the A/G for the dH Moth Club at the Moth Rally at Woburn and it's the same weekend!!

The one proms I've managed to attend was in 2001 when the Moth Rally was moved to Old Warden. But, despite the sodden (sodden I said) weather, it was magical. As the last bars of Walton's Spitfire Prelude sounded Dodge Bailey brought the Spitfire for a low fly through and cut the power at the precise moment so the Merlin's crackle-crackle-crackle ended the piece. Not a dry eye in the house, well, not in the tower anyway.


VA