Avro Vulcan

If we have to fork out for concrete, I suggest it is for boots and not for a plinth.

Well there were record ticket sales for the show it seems, and I can attest to this having been stuck in a record traffic jam there yesterday.
A spokesman on Lincs FM said that it was because people were more cost conscious at the moment, and the show represented "excellent value for money" as a day out.
Just how well this "excellent value for money" will be judged by those who turned up specifically to see the Vulcan remains to be seen...

Lovely weather for it though!

I think Waddington is a good day out for the family and fairly resonable value for money. Theres plenty of 'family' attractions there fun fairs, craft stores and other non aviation related things to see and look at and obviously the Red Arrows will always keep the family audience happy regardless of whether the vulcan flies or not.

From an enthusiasts point of view though i think recent years have become pretty un-inspiraring at Waddo considering it's supposed to be the RAF's main event. Possibly no fault of the organisers as i'm sure they would love to have Stealth bombers, russian migs and the Blue Angels blasting round Waddos skies but i never thought i'd be wishing for a flypast by a Tornado, C-130 or harrier at the RAF's show case event of the year. Oh well i suppose our armed forces have more important things to be carrying on with at the moment rather than taking part at air shows.

Steve

whilst having a quite pint in a pub near Metheringham last night i noticed the crew of the vulcan having a drink at the bar,listening to the conversation those guys where seriously pissed off not being able to display the Vulcan!! felt slightly better after that!!

Yegh! I feel sorry for the Vulcan crew to be honest! Imagine how stressfull and dissapointing the last few days have been for them. A situation that was out of there hands.
I persume it was them that had to explain things to the crowds at the show as well once '558 was parked up in the static park.

You should've had a go at them, just for a giggle to see their reaction!

I had a good talk with Martin Withers on Sunday, he was very disappointed about not being able to display at Waddington. From what Martin said the Vulcan management team were well aware of the permit running out but had received numerous assurances from the maintenance contractor that all would be OK and CAA would be satisfied, which they weren't.

I asked him if he thought he'd be able to display at Fairford, he was quite certain it would be be ready for that show, as regards this current problem anyway.

Got to say what a great bloke he is, talked freely and at length about his Falklands raids, displaying the Vulcan etc. He just loves that aircraft and as said was as disappointed as us all.

NJR

Just been chatting to my Bro, who reports that Radio Lincs has been saying that the appropriate paperwork was signed today! Someone seems to be extracting the straw-coloured water. Lots of flak being hurled in all directions on the various aviation and air show forums.

Got back today from what was my first Waddo airshow, i'd been to a couple at Mildenhall but had no concept of what i was seeing, and i was very impressed by what i experienced. The planes were impressive and the crowds huge.
I also noticed the Vulcan outfits were open, getting people to buy into the Vulcan experience, they had the Vulcan Village area which amused me.
Chatting to Noel it seems Waddo is a shadow of its former self with less military stuff attending, this is talked about in the show guide with the fact that they are seeing the various units doing more active service therefore having no time for shows.
I was still impressed to see the Typhoon for the first time, bloody awesome !! And watching the beautiful Lanc brought a tear to the eye, respect to our past.

Jason: Pleased to hear that you enjoyed the show. I've not been to Waddo myself for a number of years, but my Brother always goes. For me, the highlights we the take-off of the B-1B and the ensuing Warp 9 flypast. Of course, there were the Lightnings, Phantoms, Buccaneers ...........

I think my first airshow at Waddo was 1965. No fences, no crowds and wall-to-wall sunshine. Those were the days!