Woodspring Wings 2003

The 3 big W shows occurred last month, Woodspring Wings was the last of them. Held at the fantastic Woodspring Wings model flying club site which boasts a 110 metre tarmac runway, lots of space, an impressive club hut and even a moat. The moat is one of the reasons club members refer to the flying site as HMS Woodspring. Situated in the countryside of Somerset near the town of Yatton, the club has been running since 1989 and now has 135 members with an increasingly long waiting list.

Held annually, it is one of the most spectacular and scenic shows of the season with displays of model aircraft, radio control boats and cars, military vehicles and full size aircraft including aircraft of the BBMF and aerobatic displays from professional pilots. Also there are a large number of trade stands, arts and crafts, food stands both sweet and savoury, helicopter site seeing rides over the nearby countryside and the ever present beer tent which became a gathering point in the evenings.

Surface vehicles, both land and water make up a small percentage of the show but are none the less kept busy with interested questions about the vehicles and the organisations. The Invicta Military Vehicle Preservation Society is a collection of enthusiasts who all share a passion for military vehicles and great care is taken in the restoration of many of the vehicles that get displayed around the country. Military vehicles on display. With a vast register of vehicles ranging from folding paratrooper push bikes from 1939 to a fully restored 1989 MKII Chieftain tank. Membership is over 1200 and over 3000 vehicles attend some meetings. Based in the South East UK, they welcome membership from both owners and enthusiasts alike. www.imps.org.uk for more info. An impressive line up of classic motorcycles. A number of classic motorcycles were parked up in a line to form another attraction for the crowds at the show. RC Car racing track R/C cars were present on the Sunday with a number of races and activities throughout the day. Both electric and I/C versions were racing round the well laid out and surprisingly challenging track. Traders were again present in force spread over a wide area with lots of room to get round them. All Things Carbon in their impressive new show stand. All Things Carbon ~ formerly known as ATS Mayneline had their new and impressive trade stand out. Very obvious in it's bright red and an attractive array of carbon parts as well as a huge range of modelling accessories. Cambria Fun Fighters make a re-appearance on the All Things Carbon Stand. Newly built and painted in superb scale schemes are the classic Cambria Fun Fighter kits, now available again from ATC. Bumpy Green arrive after dark in a 3 car convoy. Having left later than anticipated and facing a slow drive down with cars filled with tents, stand, tables, models and generator Bumpy Green arrived after dark. Using the car headlamps to see by a very kind gentleman from across the way brought a set of camping lamps for us to borrow. We soon found out he was Pete of Pete's Rockets who we chatted with whilst setting up and he even made us coffee to ward off the chill of the night. Our biggest crowd puller ~ The Snelflight Hoverfly. With a generator along for the weekend we had the Woodspring 2002 show video playing intermixed with flying of the Snelflight Hoverfly in the stand. This usually drew a crowd as did the attempts to fly the Lil Mo inside the 3 metre stand. This met with only limited success and was performed behind a safety net which was strung across the open front of the stand to prevent any incidents. Once again we teamed up with Sigma Signwriting to increase or presence at the show and try to push the Woodspring 2002 show video. Our sincere thanks go to Pete for his generous loan and great coffee, with luck we will be able to repay the favour sometime (or at least get you over for coffee) Another of Pete's rockets at the moment of ignition Pete's Rockets are the premier high power and model rocket specialist in the UK with a vast range of rocket kits, motors and accessories. Displays were made with exotic craft breaking to sound barrier and traveling many thousands of feet into the air as well as smaller rockets and rocket launched gliders. More rockets heading for higher ground. Trying to capture the rockets on film is quite a task and requires split second timing. With a camera field of view some 60ft high the last picture was out of sight by the second 1/25th second frame and getting this shot was pure luck. Visit www.petesrockets.co.uk for a look at his complete range.

Always at the Woodspring show there are a selection of full size aircraft displays. The Sopwith Tri-plane is a joy to watch as it eases around the sky at a very sedate pace. Sopwith Tri-plane putting on a graceful fly-by Next up was the Supermarine Spitfire of the BBMF. Caught in a striking silhouette against the white clouded sky it shows perfectly that famous elliptical wing. Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Spitfire during a roll. A regular at the Woodspring show is the Yakovlev display team who performed a marvelous fully synchronised display. The Ankle display team put on another fine show. Another regular is Deny Dobson in his Extra 300 who once again enthralled the crowd with his aerobatic display and spectacular low flying limbo. On the second pass Deny was so low you can see the bottom of the smoke trail is flat against the ground. Under the tape both ways ~ how low was that one. Finally side slipping in to cut the tape which can just be seen touching the wing about to be shredded by the prop. A final low pass and a rolling climb out finished the display. Cutting the tape and a final pass before leaving. We managed to get a ride in the full size Bell 206B Jetranger used for the site seeing rides by Polo Aviation. This gave an opportunity to get some aerial shots of the flightline (see heading pic) and the entire showground. The Bell 206B Jetranger of Polo Aviation. Polo Aviation offer a full range of commercial, private and pleasure flights. Contact them via their web site at www.poloaviation.com Cockpit display in the Jetranger and departing for a quick once round I enjoyed the trip and took full advantage of the ride to get some shots of the surrounding countryside as well as an overall view of the Woodspring site including the car park and vast camping area in the next field. Entire show ground and the busy flight line. Once back on tera-firma it was on with the show.

Another glorious weekend was on the cards with some very light cloud hanging high above the site. The model displays were again excellent with many Woodspring club members flying with models only seen at this show. Sopwith Pup and Bristol M-1C. Boeing B17 Flying Fortress and Boeing B29 Super Fortress. Flying Tigers Curtis P40 Kittyhawk. Supermarine Sea Otter. Supermarine Spitfire sporting invasion stripes. Vickers Wellington with port side undercarriage failure. Watching any plane do a touch and go is nice when done correctly. Seeing a large scale warbird do it is a treat if risky. When a huge model Wellington bomber does it on one wheel it's just breathtaking. It wasn't actually a show off move, the port side undercarriage was jammed half way down and the touch and go was performed (perfectly I might add) to try and release it. Gently down on one leg for a perfect landing. When the release failed the model was landed (again perfectly) balanced on the one good wheel and slowed just enough with a little right aileron to keep the wing clear of the ground until is slowly sank and stopped. The only damage done was a split propeller and a few minor scuffs. Messerschmitt ME110 and De Havilland Mosquito. Record breaking Vickers Vimy and Supermarine Spitfire trainer. Bristol's Best in close formation. BAC Concorde and Bristol Brabazon Steve Holland's giant Zlin A bright and lively Stampe SV4C. 33% Extra 300 and smaller CAP 232 Majestic prop hanging and another CAP 232 Ripmax Rapier and Weston UK Magnum. OS91 Ducted Fan F-15 Eagle revs up to go and Gas Turbine De Havilland Venom touches down. Al's F-15 taxi's out for a flight and a Hotspot starting it's take off run. Ali Mashinchy's new Eurofighter Typhoon Superb detailing both inside and out ~ a future show winner I think. Win for £1, and what's on the table inside ~ Ali's new Eurofighter. I'll have a fiver's worth of tickets please Twinjet on high speed flyby and the highly aerobatic 3-Styla. Lil' Mo being flown after show hours. The Titan designed by Steve Vines makes an excellent glider tug. Gliders of all types from old style to modern. Fully detailed scale model versions and even a brushless all moulded hotliner. A truly scale tug needs a truly scale glider to tow. Superb gas turbine Hughes 500 and what an immaculate paint job. This Hughes 500E gas turbine helicopter is fast becoming a regular at the shows and will no doubt be featured heavily in the magazines in the near future.

So another annual pilgrimage is over and what a weekend it was. Fantastic weather, superb flying and a chance to meet some of the regular show flyer, maybe for the last time this year. Also we had a chance to see some of our regular web visitors who dropped by to say hello and even drummed up some business for the shop. Tony and Graham checking out the days footage. Once again our intrepid film crew were on the scene to capture as much of the show as possible on video. The only disadvantage of bright sunshine is trying to view digital footage on LCD screens can be a task attempting to shade the viewer from the light. A final look around the flightline to finish the great weekend. Bumpy Green would like to thank Woodspring Wings for inviting us along to their show and allowing us virtual freedom of the show to get some of the pictures seen here. Some of the pictures will be uploaded to the gallery and framed high resolution printed images may be available in the Bumpy Green shop later in the year. See you next year.

 

Article by John Kent from Bumpy Green Model Aerodrome
August 2003

 

Comment by Paul Jackson on 00000000000000. Rating none

Would like some more details about the brilliant rocket gliders at the show. Do you know where to buy them?

Comment by Grot on 20040122110139. Rating 5

Just click the link at the bottom of the article.

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