Manston 2013 - memories and moans!

Two days on and the fall out from the utter shambles of the 2013 "South East Airshow" organisation continues. The local media have gotten into a right frenzy - disgruntled from Sittingbourne/Maidstone/Tonbridge/Dungeness; have all had their moan ups! "We want our money back!" Not the solution to the chaotic scenario, but it will help calm the ripples of discontent.
It would appear (to me) that the gig was a victim of its' own publicity - the Kent Online website reporting that 120,000 people attempted to attend the show; 40,000 vehicles being their guesstimated minimum. There would be no way that the organisers could have foreseen this - it's been 20years since the last airshow at Manston. Where the bloody hell are the parking facilities for this number of motors - they couldn't cope with that number at Heathrow on a single day!

Emily - my reason for being a Grand-dad

There are many legitimate and constructive criticisms of the failures of the organisers, yet it was still a fantastic airshow. The displays, that were able to fly in the ridiculous conditions, were superb. If only the sun had shone and the wind been less boisterous? Hang on - if it had been blistering hot the situation would have been compounded by sun-seekers headed for the beaches of Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate, plus additional numbers of semi-interested plane spotters who might just bother if the weather is right. It was a no win situation - stuck between a rock and a hard place!

Well not really! Anyone, with half a brain cell, could have foreseen this if the requirement to purchase tickets had been made obvious. No ticket - don't come; simple. Use the same advertising channels - with the proviso that a ticket needed to be acquired. Numbers can be regulated and the logistics put in place to cater for a known number of visitors - two entrances might be a good start and equipping the hapless security/crowd control stewards with walkie-talkies might be something to consider?  I have no desire to stage an airshow; yet with my very basic understanding of business systems realise that there are some very simple processes which ensure that much of the shambolic organisation could have been avoided. (I owe Unilever - Sarah Frost - more than I realise)

The guy that flew this helicopter was "The Nuts" - An Apache - WOW!

Bev, Gary, Ron, Denise, Debbie, Emily and I had a great time - the effort to get to the venue at 10.00hrs being well rewarded.

Whoever the pilot? He needs serious medical help!
On a day when the "War Birds" needed gentle treatment - this guy demonstrated total disregard to the wind!
It was a magnificent advert for this agile little plane.

I took nearly 500 shots of the event  - I hope that I've managed to capture a flavour of what it was like?

Mitchell B-25

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Mustang - "Jumpin' Jaques"

No excuses - quite simply the most important aircraft on display?
The Hawker Sea Fury of The Royal Navy Historical Flight.
The fastest piston-engined plane of its' era. A Bristol Centaurus "Sleeve-valved" radial enginne - it is a beast of a plane!