Farnborough Public Weekend Axed
 

A shame but I don't think the spectacle would ever justify the ticket prices again.

Really?
That's an absolute tragedy.
I'd be interested to know how much of it was due to lack of $$$ because of dwindling numbers.
And as to the bleating - the whinging of anti-war lentil munchers and NIMBY snowflakes with sensitive hearing (or a desire to eliminate any risk from life) wins out again.
Fond memories of the Bona-jet deafeningly bowing to us in the stands are now just memories.

I haven't been to Farnborough for a while now. On the last 2 occasions I had to queue up for some security check - first time I'd ever seen that at an air show. Last time the grass was so wet that everyone advised that the car parks were seas of mud, so to go by train as there was a free bus to the show from the station. So that's what I did - except that when queuing to come out there was no bus shelter of any kind and everyone got soaked - very poor organisation.

As for the show itself, the pavilions were virtually empty (this wasn't on a 'public' day) with people manning the stands hanging around looking bored. A few aircraft flew, but nothing very impressive.

Expensive too. But the fat cats in the chalets were no doubt wooed by the bigger manufacturers as ever....

Farnborough is in the middle of a densely-populated area. The post-shorham display regs make almost impossible to legally do an interesting display in anything much bigger than a Pitts S1*, so I can see the argument for not even trying, frankly.

PDR

* I exaggerate, but only a little

Ahh not like the old days when Roly Falk used to have lunch with customers in the chalets, then pop out, get into a Vulcan fully suited and booted in his finest pinstripe suit, and fly it like a fighter.

Wish I'd been there to see that.....

Farnborough on the TV, Raymond Baxter giving the commentary.
Theres my childhood, right there!

They are opening up the Friday trade day to the public though, so they will now have access to the stands.

And mine too!

TV show
 

And mine, silence in the house, as my dad watched in awe, no video recorders in those days, so any interruption would have been fatal !

So that just really leaves Cosford, or Duxford and bar the 100th anniversary, Cosford has been pitiful over the last few years, the only real advantage is the punters have the museum to fall back on, but once you've done that a couple of times then the content is miminal, Duxford flying legends however is superb.

My first experience was as a young sprog in 1960. I visited both trade and public shows throughout my childhood with my father and then with the Air Training Corps. Those shows gave me my love of aviation in its many guises, so much so that at the age of 20 I moved from ATC to ATC!

The shows in those days were spectacular, in '60 the Black Arrows displayed with sixteen Hunters. But now money and health and safety have turned it into a safe, expensive shadow of those noisy, pioneering shows. Very sad!

My lasting memories of trade days was watching a bunch of well dressed, suited and booted older gentlemen fighting like children to get to the free cheap pens Boeing would put out occasionally.... It always struck me as both childish and pathetic.

Has scampton airshow been binned now as well?

They're confusing cause and effect here. You give folks less and less to watch you will get fewer and fewer showing up to watch it, not the other way around.

Correct, look at Flying Legends, it sells out in a heartbeat.