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Duxford the future - My perspective

Posted by john parker on Mon Feb 23, 2004 02:27:37 AM

Hi there everyone

I have noticed as have we all a bit of a deluge of machines leaving Duxford over the past few years and I thought I would like to give my perspective on this. Some basic assumptions first. I visit Duxford every 5 years or so from Australia and to me it is the ultimate Mecca for my major hobby which is Restoration and warbirds in general. I cannot think of any other place world wide which has the same atmosphere or presence.

If I think back over the years about how the place has grown and prospered it is staggering the growth that has taken place with The IWM developments and the active airshow and general flying activity as well as the future proposed developments.

I guess the downturn in numbers of machines resident is largely cyclical and will come and go as time goes by. The cost of operating machines in the UK is very high at present and restoration in New Zealand for instance is a much cheaper option for a high quality job.

The personalities are also an issue, lets face it some of the operators of Warbirds are not getting any younger and somehow we need to encourage a new generation into the scene- perhaps promoption of warbirds in the corporate world in a positive way.

Better promotion of the positives of airshows - outside air, day out with the kids etc has to help. More customer research of a professional and detailed nature would help here.

Ensure a strong and positive case is made to ensure Duxford and it's strip remain as they are and are not further reduced - this is vital for future potential growth. It is a fantastic place and it needs to stay that way. So a proactive approach to Governments and Councils is needed so that the negative rubbish put over by Dr Greer and Co has a sane counter balance.

Work with the certifying authorities so that the Conditions of Warbird flight remain reasonable and cost effective otherwise the machines will continue to move to easier environments. This may mean some compromise but it may stop the rot.

Work out ways to bring more overseas machines into the UK for "Airshow tours" of a few months at a time so the numbers and variety is constantly changing for the punters as well as the UK operators getting ideas from Overseas operators. We all live in a very global environment and this sort of interchange whilst it is already happening would benefit greatly from a little more emphasis. ( Why not bring to the UK for instance the worlds last flying Hudson and a couple of Boomerangs from Australia for a season and send some of yours over here)

Airshow promotors could pool their resources even more on the administrative side so that overheads and sponsorship was better shared around as well as co ordinating appearances of machines and programs to make each airshow better than the last.

Anyway just some of my ramblings and opinions - I just love coming to Duxford and I always want to I hope and believe it will continue to grow if people show the appropriate leadership and vision.

I would like to hear others opinions on this

Kindest regards
John Parker

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