Jump to content

No more Barkston Heath.


Recommended Posts

Gaming is a valid pastime and I enjoy it myself from time to time. The issue, in relation to the Nats and the hobby in general, is that it is too often the ONLY pastime and that doesn't bode well for hobby. 

 

IMHO model "shows" are too much dominated by a type of modelling that 90% of us will never, could never, engage in. The joy of the Nats was always the variety of disciplines that can be accessible. Flying only scale and Fun-Fly being two which are as accessible with an RTF as they are with a Kit, Plan or Scratch build. 

 

Held individually, I fear the appeal of small, single class competitions is limited to an existing, but diminishing audience. 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 04/03/2022 at 18:42, Matt Carlton said:

That's rather sad news and effectively spells the end of the NATS permanently. Not many non-MOD venues around and looks like we won't be able to use any MOD property now. 

 

Big thanks to the Station Commander for what feels like a rather arbitrary decision. 

I think you are extrapolating far too much from this decision, it certainly doesn't spell the end of the NATS permanently, the various National Championships will still all take place one way or another. the decision doesn't rule either Barkston out in future years or indeed other MOD sites for this year or future years. OC Cranwell will always put operational requirements of the RAF above our wishes so describing the decision as arbitrary I would suggest is very wrong. I am not going to get in to a discussion on any specific venues but I will say we have a few lines of enquiry open at the moment and we still hope to be able to arrange a Power Nats for the August Bank Holiday weekend. It will be different to what we can do at Barkston Heath simply because there is nowhere else in the country that offers what Barkston Heath offers but if we can arrange a venue we will be doing everything we possibly can to make it a very special event, especially in this our centenary year. I can say this with hand on heart, if we cannot arrange a combined power nats somewhere this year it will most definitely not be for lack of trying.

  • Like 6
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Perhaps I should have said:

 

"an end to the Nats in its current form" 

 

Also, to be fair Andy, I did say, and perhaps it bears repeating, that my comment was rather tongue in cheek or at least, a bit sarcastic, so please don't take the bit about the decision too seriously! It wasn't a dig at the MOD or at the BMFA, rather, the "out of the frying pan" nature of coming out of a global pandemic, only to enter a global security crisis. Perhaps that didn't translate, for which I apologise. 

 

In terms of the future, I suspect that sadly, the global situation is likely to remain very fluid for some years, so whilst that doesn't necessarily rule out MOD sites for the future, it does perhaps make their use a little more uncertain and behoves us to find alternatives which are not subject to the same pressures. 

 

With that said, I absolutely appreciate everything that the BMFA is trying to do in terms of the power Nats, and I fully appreciate that it must be a herculean task to try to find venues and organise events. 

 

 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can only endorse what both Matt and Andy wrote.  I've known Andy since he used to organise the excellent fly-ins at Castle Howard so I'm sure he and the BMFA generally will do all they can to find a way to arrange a Power Nats even though they will probably be at a smaller scale than those we enjoyed at Barkston.  If it's possible I'm sure My wife and I will attend as we have at Barkston in the past  even though I'm not personally interested (or able!) to compete.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just bite the bullet, postpone the nats until next year, then use the NFC when there are clear weekends. The military will be on tender hooks for a few years to come yet, and unwilling to give up an Airfield. What’s happened in Ukraine will have ramifications for several years to come 

Edited by cymaz
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 08/03/2022 at 19:20, David perry 1 said:

Not sure itsvreally operational but probably more the now ubiquitous risk aversion.  The dear RAF dont even fly their own planes for fear of accident!

 

Just noticed your comment.  I suspect you are referring to the increased use of simulation in not just the RAF but other military forces as well.  The issue is not risk aversion but the ability to train with a number of different and geographically dispersed organisations.  Such opportunities in the real world are both time consuming to organise and expensive to execute.  I was involved in some early work on such simulation and that involved operating with the USAF, RAAF and RAF.  The Aussies drew the short straw and had to join in at 2 am as the whole mission was flown in real time with different aircraft types, roles and so forth.  You don't need all singing all dancing simulators for this type of operation as what you are doing is practising procedures and working together.  This was such a successful trial that it evolved into pre-deployment training for personnel going to Aghanistan and Iraq.  Typically, the first time a multi-national force worked together would be in-country.  This allowed those players to get used to each other's lingo and modus operandi where making a mistake was not accompanied by awful consequences.

 

So, it is very far from risk aversion and more about mission rehearsal.  Yes there is also a role for learning how to fly your new aircraft since a lot of the work on navigation, weapons selection and release is something that you would want pilots to be up to speed on and not just practised when they get airborne.  It's a lot cheaper to run a simulator than operate a modern combat aircraft.  

 

Just didn't want what was a throw away comment to go unanswered! ?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have been watching the airborne apps these last few weeks, and even RAF Woodvale has students in the air. Four B52 bombers arrived in the South and 8 separate nations were flying the Ukraine border all week. It is possible to detect F14 jets too, as they don't advertise but use Yankee call signs.

Be assured that currently RAF tarmac is very active.

 

IMG_20220316_133632.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, john davidson 1 said:

mention of flight radar reminds me that Hawks trainers are doing a farewell flypast tomorrow, don't know the route

 

Yes John, but is weather dependant for 4 Navy Hawks.

A farewell flight around Britain by Royal Navy jets will include a flypast over RAF Valley. Four Hawk T.1 training aircraft will take part in the exercise on Friday, March 18.

The Navy are retiring their small fleet of Hawk aircraft this year. A spokesman for Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose said the four jets from 736 Naval Air Squadron will fly from Cornwall to Prestwick, Scotland on Thursday and back again the following day.

The aircraft are due to take off from Prestwick at 11am on Friday and carry out a flypast at RAF Valley at about 11.25am. The formation will continue to the firing range at Pembrey near Llanelli before overflying Newquay and arriving back at Culdrose shortly after midday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 04/03/2022 at 21:04, Matt Carlton said:

Bruntingthorpe is an excellent idea, but is it not used as a storage facility for car sales places? Looks that way on Google, but could be way out of date. It is absolutely massive though... 

 

In terms of RAF, I think Syerston would be a good option. Used mostly by glider training units, it has a decent amount of space and is pretty centrally located. 

 

CL might be difficult to arrange but not impossible, and FF would be amply catered for with all that grass. 

 

Screenshot_20220304_211859.thumb.jpg.eccfe3f83ed86561b26b583e9d369989.jpg

 

 I learned to fly on RAF Syerston back in the 80's - and no, not the full size!  Dad approached the base commander about us two flying off the main runway after 5pm as we lived in the nearby village of the same name, and permission was granted! 

 

It's quite surreal thinking back on it, that this huge airfield had only a dad and his young lad stood in the middle of it, going round and round in circles with our high wing trainer.  We didn't bother with flying from the peri track, just straight off the main runway.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...