Duxford - End of Flying Legends airshows
(Google Earth, but seen at ground level with my own eyes recently...)
The trouble with everywhere suggested so far is infrastructure to support Joe Public.
I feel I'm beating a lone drum here - and I may be completely wrong anyway - but I personally don't believe that Legends as we know it, or even watered down a bit, could work anywhere except at Duxford.
Bear in mind TFC's location and after that all the support infrastructure for the visitors, starting with the M11, and then continue with everything else at Duxford that built up over the years, including local-ish train, buses from Cambridge, the number of available parking spaces, what to do if anybody gets a bit bored...
Back to bashing my head against a brick wall. Whatever suggestion anybody comes up with - it ain't going to work. It's Duxford or nowhere.
I feel I'm beating a lone drum here - and I may be completely wrong anyway - but I personally don't believe that Legends as we know it, or even watered down a bit, could work anywhere except at Duxford.
Bear in mind TFC's location and after that all the support infrastructure for the visitors, starting with the M11, and then continue with everything else at Duxford that built up over the years, including local-ish train, buses from Cambridge, the number of available parking spaces, what to do if anybody gets a bit bored...
Back to bashing my head against a brick wall. Whatever suggestion anybody comes up with - it ain't going to work. It's Duxford or nowhere.
Last edited by DHfan; 29th Aug 2020 at 20:27. Reason: Remove random semi-colon...
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The development is for a company called Faradair, who are trying to make an electric aircraft. It is on the eastern side of the M11,by the A505, not the south side of the airfield. And there are 800 houses included in the planning application also. This is not he first time an application has gone in for that land, but if successful, it would restrict flying at Duxford a great deal.
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IWM at Duxford have been trying to increase footfall and income for many years. They talk of 400,000 per annum through the gates, but that figure was nearly reached many years ago. It has declined steadily since due to people having far more choice on where to go and choosing where to spend their hard earned money.Like many other museums and venues in the UK, IWM Duxford have swallowed the corporate entertainment pill and are attempting to move up market. Removing Flying Legends will not help their business plan at all.
It is most likely that Marshall Aerospace at Cambridge will move to Wyton. They have talked of leaving Cambridge and cited Duxford(!), Cranfield and Wyton as likely places to go to. Duxford is now ruled out, Cranfield is too far away for a lot of their employees, leaving only Wyton. Time will tell.
It is most likely that Marshall Aerospace at Cambridge will move to Wyton. They have talked of leaving Cambridge and cited Duxford(!), Cranfield and Wyton as likely places to go to. Duxford is now ruled out, Cranfield is too far away for a lot of their employees, leaving only Wyton. Time will tell.
The trouble with everywhere suggested so far is infrastructure to support Joe Public.
I feel I'm beating a lone drum here - and I may be completely wrong anyway - but I personally don't believe that Legends as we know it, or even watered down a bit, could work anywhere except at Duxford.
Bear in mind TFC's location and after that all the support infrastructure for the visitors, starting with the M11, and then continue with everything else at Duxford that built up over the years, including local-ish train, buses from Cambridge, the number of available parking spaces, what to do if anybody gets a bit bored...
Back to bashing my head against a brick wall. Whatever suggestion anybody comes up with - it ain't going to work. It's Duxford or nowhere.
I feel I'm beating a lone drum here - and I may be completely wrong anyway - but I personally don't believe that Legends as we know it, or even watered down a bit, could work anywhere except at Duxford.
Bear in mind TFC's location and after that all the support infrastructure for the visitors, starting with the M11, and then continue with everything else at Duxford that built up over the years, including local-ish train, buses from Cambridge, the number of available parking spaces, what to do if anybody gets a bit bored...
Back to bashing my head against a brick wall. Whatever suggestion anybody comes up with - it ain't going to work. It's Duxford or nowhere.
I'm sure TFC will try, but I'm reminded of what happened to the Great Warbirds show at West Malling when that venue was lost to development, and moved to Wroughton, which on the face of it could have been a good location, but it just didn't work, all the atmosphere was lost in the expanse of Wroughton, and anyway, the Science Musuem were clearly not interested either.
As it happens, Legends was effectively born out of the demise of Great Warbirds and Fighter Meet at North Weald.
Duxford did it for me when they insisted that you had to buy tickets for Flying Legends in advance only, apparently a knee-jerk reaction to the Shoreham accident. You couldn't even buy on line on the morning. Well, when I paid at the gate I went most years, just not when raining. Pay in advance ? I never did it. I wonder how much their attendance and income fell when they introduced this, and whether this has anything to do with the end of the show.
Idiots. I see that Diane Lees, IWM Director, (and CBE, inevitably) comes from a background of museum administrations of various sorts, and presumably does not know one end of an aircraft from the other. It must be terrifying to one whose career has involved mainly putting dolls in glass boxes to have The Balbo coming for you. They've even had the gall to write about the demise (above) in a gung-ho, positive tone.
Idiots. I see that Diane Lees, IWM Director, (and CBE, inevitably) comes from a background of museum administrations of various sorts, and presumably does not know one end of an aircraft from the other. It must be terrifying to one whose career has involved mainly putting dolls in glass boxes to have The Balbo coming for you. They've even had the gall to write about the demise (above) in a gung-ho, positive tone.
I was the same with advance tickets, until then we'd been every year for about 15 years and chosen the day at the time, based on the weather.
The positive tone doesn't surprise me either.
It was the same with replacing Friends of Duxford with Friends of the Imperial War Museum. Even with a special discounted deal for existing members they got about 15% take-up. I imagine that was considered successful and the "genius" that thought of the idea was probably promoted.
The positive tone doesn't surprise me either.
It was the same with replacing Friends of Duxford with Friends of the Imperial War Museum. Even with a special discounted deal for existing members they got about 15% take-up. I imagine that was considered successful and the "genius" that thought of the idea was probably promoted.
. I see that Diane Lees, IWM Director, (and CBE, inevitably) comes from a background of museum administrations of various sorts, and presumably does not know one end of an aircraft from the other. It must be terrifying to one whose career has involved mainly putting dolls in glass boxes to have The Balbo coming for you. They've even had the gall to write about the demise (above) in a gung-ho, positive tone.
The Tweet was made by IWM Duxford Curator Emily Charles (and from her personal Twitter account, not official IWM one) but your summation is equally applicable, even though she has pretty much worked at Duxford for nearly 10 years in various roles, as well as nearly a year at the National Army Museum, and a short spell at Bletchley Park, so you would think she'd know better......
It wasn't her that made the Tweet mentioned in earlier posts.
The Tweet was made by IWM Duxford Curator Emily Charles (and from her personal Twitter account, not official IWM one) but your summation is equally applicable, even though she has pretty much worked at Duxford for nearly 10 years in various roles, as well as nearly a year at the National Army Museum, and a short spell at Bletchley Park, so you would think she'd know better......
The Tweet was made by IWM Duxford Curator Emily Charles (and from her personal Twitter account, not official IWM one) but your summation is equally applicable, even though she has pretty much worked at Duxford for nearly 10 years in various roles, as well as nearly a year at the National Army Museum, and a short spell at Bletchley Park, so you would think she'd know better......
https://bletchleypark.org.uk/visit-u...SAAEgJl6_D_BwE
"TNMOC operates independently of the Bletchley Park Trust and has its own separate entrance located at the top of the Park, just beyond the main car parks."
Bu66ered that one up as well then?
Yes, I remember going to Bletchley Park and associated exhibits, and thinking the customers were on the receiving end of a turf war between administrators.
I'm not sure, but I think the IWM had to go to prepaid tickets because the traffic authorities/police needed to know in advance, post Shoreham, what the numbers would be so measures could be pit in place in the event of an accident. Payment in advance helped in that respect. I don't know what the impact was on sales.
I may be being cynical, but I assumed the change to advance pre-paid tickets was so any financial risk was transferred from the organisers/promotors to the public.
Thanks GeeRam,
I suppose access in and out at Thorney is a real Achilles heel,
Is it certain that FL won't be carrying on at Duxford and it isn't an opening negotiating position? seems I remember a lot of this sort of thing with Bernie Ecclestone and F1 moving from Silverstone etc
I suppose access in and out at Thorney is a real Achilles heel,
Is it certain that FL won't be carrying on at Duxford and it isn't an opening negotiating position? seems I remember a lot of this sort of thing with Bernie Ecclestone and F1 moving from Silverstone etc
I don't know why people keep even mentioning sites so far from Duxford as potential venues. With operating costs stated to be £10-12,000 per hour and I guess a good hour and a half round trip per aircraft there's no chance that TFC would even consider it.
Same mentality that closed the Science Museum at Wroughton to the public.
Such a shame that the bloody Army dug up most of the runways at Bassingbourn down the road, and planted trees and dug a pond on such a historic airfield.....especially when you consider the RIAT team held a big airshow there as recently as 1978 on the alternate years of RIAT at Greenham Common.
Travelling from London to Aberdeen I dropped in at Cosford to have a look around. I paid the entrance fee and went in
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Flying Legends and Shoreham were the only airshows I attended in the last decade, plans to visit Shuttleworth kept being made but as the shows are regular it was harder to focus on one weekend and the group never quite gelled. This year we might have done... maybe next year.
Unless Legends can regroup somewhere within a reasonable travelling distance, very sadly that will be it for me.
Since Shoreham, and as I understood that the good people of the town were not in principal against an airshow in future, I had thought a Hove/Shoreham/Worthing seafront event would be worth considering - say a mile long display line at some point between two of those towns and perhaps the opportunity to see the aircraft on the ground at Shoreham and perhaps provide parking. Wonder if Brendan could work up a boat top landing act or crazy flying in a float plane Cub.
Unless Legends can regroup somewhere within a reasonable travelling distance, very sadly that will be it for me.
Since Shoreham, and as I understood that the good people of the town were not in principal against an airshow in future, I had thought a Hove/Shoreham/Worthing seafront event would be worth considering - say a mile long display line at some point between two of those towns and perhaps the opportunity to see the aircraft on the ground at Shoreham and perhaps provide parking. Wonder if Brendan could work up a boat top landing act or crazy flying in a float plane Cub.
Agree that Brighton/Hove/Shoreham seafront could be a good location with a huge local 'catchment area'. The Red Arrows used to regularly perform at Brighton (ergo the Hawk clipping the mast of a yacht between the piers). As an ATC cadet we used to be detailed-off to help the RAF ground display counterpoint set up their 'kit' Hawk on Hove lawns; in fact I got a quick ride in the RAF Gazelle that also landed there during the event (1983 or so?). The RAF rescue tender also used to attend and I remember they hosted Anne Nightingale on board one afternoon.
Flug
Flug
