The Avro aircraft museum at Woodford, in Cheshire, is hosting it's 'Wings and Wheels' show next weekend 9th/10th September. It's on the site that built the Lancaster, Shackleton and Vulcan bomber (all 3 are there). There will be classic planes, cars and bikes plus an artisan market, food, drink and live music. A Lancaster flyover is booked for both days. Currently the weather looks promising so I'll be taking the Bonneville. I know it's short notice but it would be good if a few more forum members could make it.
Love airshows! If I can get up a good head of steam and a long enough ramp I'll be there. My youngest, Abby, and I went to the Atlantic City Airshow the week before last. Nice day on the beach. Not too hot and a bit of a breeze. Enjoyable. Love the vintage warbirds, the Army Golden Knights parachute team and the acrobatic stunt flyers. Watching the Harrier do its thing was cool (Thank you for that bit of hardware, Britain). All good but, the USAF Thunderbirds were what we were waiting for. They were scheduled for 2:45 p.m. They hadn't started by 3:15. Abby had her phone tuned to the local station broadcasting the event. It was too hazy. They kept putting off the start time. We finally gave up and left at 4:00. Later we heard they finally flew at 4:30, but it was an abbreviated performance.
Sounds interesting. I used to take my sons to the Woodford air shows when they were little. Sadly the air shows are long gone. Wouldn't mind getting to this show though, depends how I'm feeling, my health isn't too good at the moment.
That sounds like an amazing event a the Avro Aircraft Museum. The combination of classic planes, cars, and bikes along with the artisan market, food, drink, and live music, sounds like a perfect weekend plan. And a Lancaster flyover on both days? That’s definitely something not to be missed. I wish I could join you.
I've managed to clear the work decks a little, so I'll be there for the Saturday morning hopefully I won't miss the fly past.
I could only get the morning off so a lovely ride this morning to the "Wings and Wheels" show at the Avro museum in Woodford. Fog came in about 2 miles into the ride and of course I hadn't got my V wipe because its going to be the hottest day this year so far, so slow down and ride with the visor up (trying not to remember a forum post a year or so ago about what a stray stone would do to an unprotected eye!). Got there at opening time and there were already a fair view visitors, a volunteer in a Hi-Viz vest comes up to me and he asks "are you wanting to park with the exhibition bikes?" (I'm flattered) I reply "No I'm just visiting". And the following conversation goes like this. "Well the car park is all the way down there (he points along way down the service road and its already hot) and it'll be a lot cheaper in the exhibitor area." "I've already paid on line but I was planning on leaving the helmet on the bike so how do we get in to the exhibitor area." "Just go down to the next gate and the guy in the Hi-Viz vest will let you in and tell you where to park" Followed the instructions and found myself parking next to a mint T-Reg Yamaha RD400 just by where they would later run up a WW2 era radial engine. Just after taking this photo @beerkat arrived, so we had a quick introductory chat, his bike looks at least as good in the flesh as the photos he's shared in this forum and sounds as good as well. Colin and I started to mooch around the museum and parked cars and bikes, watched the engine run and then availed ourselves of a ham and cheese crepe and a coffee from one of the onsite vendors. We found much needed shade on a couple of chairs under the enormous wings of a Vulcan bomber standing outside museum just in time to watch a fly over by an American WW2 2 seater trainer which just happened to be the same one we saw take off at Sleape Airfield on or ride out to Shropshire a week or so ago. (That post is a couple of pages back) More mooching around other halls and bits of aircraft, serenaded by 40's music, chatted with a few car and bike owners and by 1:00pm its getting scorchio and definitely time to ride home and get out of bike gear that is simply too hot for 30+Centigrade weather and get back to work. Great day and I hope you've all had equally good days doing whatever you've had to and hopefully that's involved two wheels.
And it was good to meet you as well RevPaul and put a face to a name. I had a similar experience on the way in. Mr Hi-Viz asked if I was exhibiting the bike, I hesitated and he said "tell me you are and I'll only charge the exhibitors fee". So I did and he did. £2 well spent. The American WW2 plane was a Trojan and it sounded lovely. We wandered up to the hangars which are normally closed to the public but open today (and tomorrow). There's a Typhoon (Eurofighter) cockpit flight simulator. It was £10 a go but there was a bit of a queue so I left it. Also a full scale replica of an early wooden triplane, amazing how those things ever got off the ground. By 1.30 we'd had enough of the heat and although we knew the Lancaster was due around 2.30 we decided to leave (noticed you'd already departed RevPaul). Didn't take long to cover the 3 miles home. Put the bike in the garage, got changed and stepped into the garden just as the Lancaster flew over my house. An amazing sight and sound!
Now I'm just jealous. I was vainly hoping it might make it over to my side of Cheshire but evidently not. They are a beautiful aircraft and those Merlin engines just sound perfect.
I asked one of the organisers why the Red Arrows weren't appearing. I knew they were doing their thing at the Southport airshow this weekend, which isn't far as the Hawk T1 flies. He told me that in order for them to put on a demonstration at Woodford then Manchester airport would have to suspend flights and the local bypass would need to be closed. I wasn't sure why the bypass had to be shut. Was it so that car drivers didn't crash while being distracted by loop-the-loops, victory rolls and trails of red, white and blue smoke? No, it was in case an emergency landing was required. Oh, there was also the £10,000 fee.
The way car drivers rubber neck it wouldn't be safe, especially with all the "Cheshire Tractors" in the area. Also the Hawker Hunter crash onto an A -road in Hampshire a few years ago has made show organisers very cautious. But surely there could have been a gap in the Manchester air traffic for the Red Arrows to fly through with Red, White and Blue smoke, and hopefully for less than £10,000; after all they were in the area.
The Red Arrows flew past my house yesterday at 16:25. They were due to fly by again today round about the same time but I'd gone to watch Oldham Atletic v Dorking Wanderers, a huge mistake as it was as boring as it gets.
I asked that question but apparently their flight times to and from Southport didn't coincide with the Woodford show and it would also have required a diversion from their route. The Lancaster did 4 circuits of Woodford before disappearing. I think it's due there again today, so I shall be scanning the skies this afternoon from my garden, unless the forecasted rain holds off, in which case one of the bikes will be heading for the hills (with me on it).
