Post by PB on May 20, 2017 9:00:21 GMT
June 20th.
From now until we reach July "News updates" will carry, well news updates on our 75th Anniversary "Festival of Flight"...
The past months have been a veritable roller coaster as some aircraft have been booked, cancelled, and in some case come back again. The flying display has been under constant review as the CAA Air Display rules and regulations have been modified, the most recent modification being two weeks ago. Bottom line as a result is that vintage jets will not be flying, the Norwegian Vampires being a casualty there, but at least we've got a Jet Provost in the static park all weekend. All our flying is under the strict control of the Flying Display Director (FDD), what he says goes, no arguments...Losing the British Airways A318 was a shock only equaled by the shock of being advised it was coming. Sadly operational changes at BA caused this, but we hope that another BA aircraft might still come??... BA will be providing a very large contribution to the static park, simulators, an RB211, etc etc and a recruitment team.
Flying display content will last around 3 hours, but latest rules will reduce the dynamics of some participants. I've often thought that seeing warbirds doing aerobatic routines was not what nature intended, the sight and sound in the air being quite sufficient. Spitfires, including a 16 Squadron MkXI, Mustangs and I still hope a Hurricane will be with us. 16Squadron were based at RAF Hartford Bridge (Blackbushe) during WW2 flying MkXI's, they did a massive amount of photo recce work used in the D-Day operations. Our Spitfire joined 16Sqn later in the war as we moved back into Europe, it went straight to Belgium, missing the chance to fly from here. Nonetheless, it is genuine 16 Sqn aircraft and looks just like those that flew from here on PR duties.
I was desperate to acquire a B-25 for July, but the cost £8,000+, was just too high for our budgets. The B-25 being another type that operated from here for a while, and I'm not talking about the five that came to make "Hanover Street" in the 70's. If only we had them here now!!
OK, so the very latest recruits for the show.. all in static, but at least they'll be here..
Aeronca K all weekend
Avro Anson BAe, Shuttleworth. Arriving Friday, leaving Sunday morning.
Percival Pembroke. Confirmed at 06.00 this morning, details TBC
Percival Vega Gull. Saturday only at the moment.
B-17. Now here all weekend, maybe flying too. TBC.
..the Catalina and C-47 will both be in static all weekend, along with a goodly collection of 'others'!
No doubt changes will occur in the next few weeks, I'll try and keep you posted, hopefully positive changes! Working on other aircraft, I won't give up until 1st July!!
A focus of BB75, The Festival of Flight, will be the History Hub. We're marking 75 years of Blackbushe and a lot has happened during those years. I'm delighted that two highly knowledgeable "staff" will be spending some time manning the History Hub, Blackbushe book writer Rob Belcher who will hopefully be signing his new BB book while answering your questions, and Stuart Marshall, ex-Blackbushe Airport Manager and expert on all things Blackbushe. Representatives from Silver City and Eagle Airways will be visiting, including hopefully Harold Bamberg - Founder and Chairman of Eagle!! Arriving as young children in 1956, our friends who were Hungarian refugees due to the Hungarian Uprising and Soviet slaughter will be back with us at Blackbushe. The History Hub will have a very smooth bar on the first floor, and should indeed be something of a hub...
The next few weeks will be pretty full, the nerves will be biting to the max no doubt although they've been biting since September, our volunteers will be getting their briefings before long and they are in for a great time on the evening of July 1st!!!!
Enough, there is a full day ahead 'recruiting' ...Have to say this is a very different event to my 1977 Air Festival. Flying is much more restricted and controlled by men in smart offices, but we have a fantastic team who have truly taken away the burden that stopped me sleeping back in the autumn. An incredibly busy few weeks ahead, let us hope for fair winds, blue skies and good crowds. Good crowds so as our three charities can reap the benefits of so much nervous energy being used up!!
Stay tuned
PB
From now until we reach July "News updates" will carry, well news updates on our 75th Anniversary "Festival of Flight"...
The past months have been a veritable roller coaster as some aircraft have been booked, cancelled, and in some case come back again. The flying display has been under constant review as the CAA Air Display rules and regulations have been modified, the most recent modification being two weeks ago. Bottom line as a result is that vintage jets will not be flying, the Norwegian Vampires being a casualty there, but at least we've got a Jet Provost in the static park all weekend. All our flying is under the strict control of the Flying Display Director (FDD), what he says goes, no arguments...Losing the British Airways A318 was a shock only equaled by the shock of being advised it was coming. Sadly operational changes at BA caused this, but we hope that another BA aircraft might still come??... BA will be providing a very large contribution to the static park, simulators, an RB211, etc etc and a recruitment team.
Flying display content will last around 3 hours, but latest rules will reduce the dynamics of some participants. I've often thought that seeing warbirds doing aerobatic routines was not what nature intended, the sight and sound in the air being quite sufficient. Spitfires, including a 16 Squadron MkXI, Mustangs and I still hope a Hurricane will be with us. 16Squadron were based at RAF Hartford Bridge (Blackbushe) during WW2 flying MkXI's, they did a massive amount of photo recce work used in the D-Day operations. Our Spitfire joined 16Sqn later in the war as we moved back into Europe, it went straight to Belgium, missing the chance to fly from here. Nonetheless, it is genuine 16 Sqn aircraft and looks just like those that flew from here on PR duties.
I was desperate to acquire a B-25 for July, but the cost £8,000+, was just too high for our budgets. The B-25 being another type that operated from here for a while, and I'm not talking about the five that came to make "Hanover Street" in the 70's. If only we had them here now!!
OK, so the very latest recruits for the show.. all in static, but at least they'll be here..
Aeronca K all weekend
Avro Anson BAe, Shuttleworth. Arriving Friday, leaving Sunday morning.
Percival Pembroke. Confirmed at 06.00 this morning, details TBC
Percival Vega Gull. Saturday only at the moment.
B-17. Now here all weekend, maybe flying too. TBC.
..the Catalina and C-47 will both be in static all weekend, along with a goodly collection of 'others'!
No doubt changes will occur in the next few weeks, I'll try and keep you posted, hopefully positive changes! Working on other aircraft, I won't give up until 1st July!!
A focus of BB75, The Festival of Flight, will be the History Hub. We're marking 75 years of Blackbushe and a lot has happened during those years. I'm delighted that two highly knowledgeable "staff" will be spending some time manning the History Hub, Blackbushe book writer Rob Belcher who will hopefully be signing his new BB book while answering your questions, and Stuart Marshall, ex-Blackbushe Airport Manager and expert on all things Blackbushe. Representatives from Silver City and Eagle Airways will be visiting, including hopefully Harold Bamberg - Founder and Chairman of Eagle!! Arriving as young children in 1956, our friends who were Hungarian refugees due to the Hungarian Uprising and Soviet slaughter will be back with us at Blackbushe. The History Hub will have a very smooth bar on the first floor, and should indeed be something of a hub...
The next few weeks will be pretty full, the nerves will be biting to the max no doubt although they've been biting since September, our volunteers will be getting their briefings before long and they are in for a great time on the evening of July 1st!!!!
Enough, there is a full day ahead 'recruiting' ...Have to say this is a very different event to my 1977 Air Festival. Flying is much more restricted and controlled by men in smart offices, but we have a fantastic team who have truly taken away the burden that stopped me sleeping back in the autumn. An incredibly busy few weeks ahead, let us hope for fair winds, blue skies and good crowds. Good crowds so as our three charities can reap the benefits of so much nervous energy being used up!!
Stay tuned
PB
