2010 Articles

North Weald Community Day 2010 North Weald airfield in Essex was once at the forefront of British airshows, with the annual Fighter Meet airshow always being a highlight on the aviation calendar. With the cessation of airshows some 11 years ago at the venue due to ever mounting running costs, many thought that large scale aviation events at North Weald had become a thing of the past. The determination of a select few individuals, however, has led to a recent surge in superbly run events at this historic airfield, which have yielded some very encouraging feedback. The latest of these events, the North Weald Community Day, was held on Sunday 12 September 2010. Elliott Marsh reports on the goings on at his local.

The latter end of the Noughties has seen the resurgence of aviation-themed events at North Weald, almost a decade after the last air display wound to a close with a storming airfield attack from Stephen Grey and the late, great Ray Hanna in two Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks, one of which is now resident at North Weald with the Hangar 11 Collection and enjoying regular airshow bookings across the United Kingdom. Previous Community Days in recent years have attracted some splendid participation, including all too rare appearances from the Royal Norwegian Air Force, bringing F-16 Fighting Falcons and a Falcon 20 support ship.

The airfield has also played host to two quite superb events in the form of a Gathering of Hurricanes and Veterans and latterly, the Gathering of Warbirds and Veterans, kicking off the 2010 airshow season in fine style. These events boasted some excellent warbird and classic jet participation (including five Spitfires, two Mustangs and four Hurricanes across the last two events) and, perhaps more importantly, a keen eye for what works with regards to the format of the ground displays. The Hurricane gathering in particular saw a simple yet highly effective unobstructed line-up that yielded some blinding photographic results from those in attendance.

On the heels of these highly popular events was the Community Day 2010, an event I attended with high hopes; literature published in the weeks and months prior to the show, both online and in magazines, suggested that we would once again see Spitfires, Hurricanes and Mustangs joining some lesser seen gems on the big Weald Aviation apron, complimented by flypasts from the Sea Hawk and Spitfire, and involvement from Peter Teichman's Hangar 11 Collection, whose immaculate warbirds are based at North Weald. Adding to an already strong showing of warbirds were the planned high power engine runs from the locally based PBY-5A Catalina and Hawker Sea Fury, the latter of which was certainly one of the key factors in solidifying my attendance! Unfortunately, due to numerous factors outside the organisers' control, much of the publicised activity failed to materialise, making for a somewhat low key event in comparison to the previous efforts.

Arriving shortly after 10am, I was greeted by an already impressive line-up of the local warbird and classic jet population on Weald Aviation's apron. I managed to miss the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Spitfire flying over - I can only imagine it's due to the ear bashing I was getting at the time from my brother's Leona Lewis CD at full blast. 'I See You', indeed. Still, the Spitfire returned later in the day, as did one of the Flight's PRXIXs, transiting to the South of the airfield. The tease!

The day got off to a slow start, with little activity save for John Beattie's arrival in the Historic Aircraft Collection's gorgeous Hawker Nimrod, allowing the banter to flow freely as I caught up with people throughout the course of the morning. It was my understanding that the original plan was to erect barriers around the aircraft at midday, following a couple of hours of unobstructed photography for the enthusiasts; no barriers appeared, perhaps due to the smaller than expected turnout from the enthusiast community which meant that the main aircraft apron remained fairly quiet throughout the day - a far cry from the masses at the Warbirds and Veterans event!

Regardless, the line of Nimrod, Seafire, Sea Fury and Skyraider was mightily impressive and a nice bit of logical thinking. The contrast between the 1930s Nimrod and the 1940s Skyraider put into perspective how quickly aviation developed during World War Two and emphasised how the elegance of the Nimrod's graceful biplane design quickly gave way to the burly, intimidating form of the Skyraider through necessity.

Unhelpfully, the commentary team failed to keep the public abreast of the aeronautical developments, mentioning in passing that a Spitfire would be flying through at some point and briefly touching on an aircraft's arrival being postponed until later in the day with seemingly no follow up for those of us basing our 'movements' around the arrivals schedule. It became clear after the event that many aircraft cancelled due to either the weather (Peter Holloway's Storch was grounded at Old Warden due to strong winds), technical issues (Air Atlantique's Dakota) or airshow commitments elsewhere that made it impractical to drop by North Weald. Furthermore, Peter Teichman was out of the country on business and, as such, Hangar 11 remained firmly closed throughout the day. I can only imagine that the barriers were stuck in traffic en route and had to turn back...

Despite the no-shows, it was still an enjoyable day. The aforementioned Naval line-up was the undoubted highlight for me, particularly the Royal Navy Heritage Trust's Sea Fury T.20 G-RNHF making its public debut, resplendent in a wonderful Royal Navy scheme that, I feel, suits the 'twin stick' Fury much better than the silver scheme worn by The Fighter Collection's T.20. With Christophe Jacquard's Wright-powered smoke generator-fitted Fury flying in France only recently, we can look forward to a potential Fury quartet at Flying Legends 2011 (realistically the only show likely to book the European warbirds), if not more in future years! Completing the Naval theme was the based Catalina, with the amicable owners offering free tours of this charismatic aircraft - the well-worn Coastal Command paint scheme only adds to its character.

Looking rather forlorn were the two C-54 Skymasters, brought to the UK from the USA to appear in a long since cancelled Berlin Airlift drama and subsequently left here to deteriorate in the open. They are now both for sale, if any readers are interested in purchasing a private hack! It would be nice to see one, or both, of these lovely aircraft picked up by a European owner - I understand the asking price is surprisingly reasonable - but you have to think that the amount of work required to restore them to airworthy condition would make them an impractical purchase.

At the other end of the spectrum was an impressive gathering of Jet Provosts and Strikemasters, owned by various operators at North Weald and flown regularly throughout the year. Indeed, one of Swords Aviation's Jet Provosts flew a number of local flights during the day, adding some welcome classic jet action to the proceedings. Joining them in the air were the likes of Vampire T11, Gnat pair and a visiting Nanchang CJ-6 duo. These sporadic movements, together with some superb banter, added to a day that could have fallen flat in the absence of the 30+ visiting aircraft that were apparently hoped for.

Speaking from the perspective of both a (amateur) photographer and an enthusiast, I quite liked the unrestricted access allowed by the format of the event. The lack of barriers made a welcome change to the norm and allowed for some excellent close-up detail photograph, and indeed, some adventurous 'alternative' angles. By 4pm, the main apron had cleared, giving the few people left in attendance the pick of the aircraft in the best light without any background obstructions - fortunately, the intrusive funfair attractions and associated airshow 'clutter' had been long packed away by this stage, leaving a much clearer backdrop for photography. Unfortunately, on the other side of the coin, by this point many of the warbirds had been, or were in the process of being, towed back into the hangars, so opportunities had to be seized immediately in order to capitalise on this brief period of photographic perfection.

On reflection, it is almost impossible to appeal to everyone. Being a Community Day not especially geared towards enthusiasts and photographers in the way that previous events have been, it was understandable that there needed to be additional ground attractions for the locals - their popularity evidenced by the sheer volume of families enjoying the entertainment throughout the afternoon. However, with some extra thought, I'm sure there's a way to achieve a 'happy medium' for all in attendance. One suggestion I heard was placing the aircraft on the vacant cross runway, allowing for aircraft to be positioned in an ideal location for photography, with a clear background (comparatively - trees make a fine backdrop, in my opinion) and the sun behind the photographers at all times.

This could feature a conventional photo-shoot with barriers for those wanting to snap more conventional shots, before allowing people the opportunity to get closer to the aircraft during the afternoon. It seems logical to me to stage the event in this format, rather than attempting to erect the barriers while the crowds are already there! This would then open up space for car parking and general amusements without having to position them in an area where they're likely to be a background blemish.

In spite of these criticisms, I was still more than satisfied with the superb levels of access afforded on the main apron; cockpit shots were relatively easy, and all manner of close-ups could be attained; a treat for someone like me, who enjoys looking closer and photographing the smaller engineering feats that are so vital to the aircraft but rarely seem by the naked eye when an aircraft is flying past. In a way, it helps you appreciate the immense levels of technical excellence that are poured into crafting these aircraft. In that respect, you couldn't really ask for any more from an event.

Being a Community Day for the local populace, perhaps I shouldn't have expected participation of the levels of earlier events. Whilst a tad disappointing in that many of the prospective highlights failed to materialise, and the layout, in places, left much to be desired, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day with some excellent company, good weather and the opportunity to have unrivalled access to some wonderful aircraft. I look forward to future events at North Weald and hope that the organisers reap the benefits of their hard work and dedication for years to come. GAR wants to interact with its readers so if you have a question for the author or a comment to make on this feature, please click on the button below. The best comments will appear right here on GAR.