FighterControl

It’s a cold and damp winter’s night here in Nottingham and prompted by the thread in “The Fighter Control Mess” I’ll sally forth with a bit of market research; but purely on the understanding that at the present time it is just to test the level of interest and not a firm commitment to hold an event.

If you might be interested in another Night Shoot event at NAM in 2015 then please leave a post and I’ll then take the feedback forward to the trustees.

The possibility of an autumn event was discussed before the Dominie went into Hangar 2, but due to height and positioning restrictions we could not fully reassemble the aircraft outside and then move it into the hangar.

In answer to one of the questions raised in the other thread at NAM events in the past we have moved into the hangars when the weather got really poor, but generally speaking the participants are hardy souls and they stick with it outside.

This would just be organised by NAM and would involve our ‘home-grown’ re-enactors – 'Captain Tango' rides again!!!

The nightshoot you arranged when the viggen was outside was superb! and id love to attend another one at NAM. Its wa s a great night

'Starting Egine 1' Sepecat Jaguar T2A by dan214sqn, on Flickr

The Mighty Swede by dan214sqn, on Flickr

Also in agreement that the last Newark shoot with the Viggen was excellent (thought the drive home across the Pennines through what became sleet was interesting!)

Obviously I understand the difficulties of moving aircraft in and out of hangars and dragging them around outside, but the ability to light some of the other external aircraft would be welcomed by me and others I'm sure! Saves another five minute exposure...


G-ANXB | DeHavilland DH-114 Heron 1B | BEA Scottish Airways by ChrisGlobe.co.uk, on Flickr

Furthermore, it again depends on the price for me, I seem to recall it being £20 last time - a perfectly acceptable figure in my mind!

Thank you for the initial feedback and the comments are noted.

Oh and how rude of me - nice pictures gents!

Personally, i'd love to see another nightshoot at Newark. The last one was well organised and people were clearly informed of the was the night would be ran which helped alot.

My only concern would be getting variation into the aircraft to shoot. If there was any way of towing one of the Mig's into the space where the Viggen was then that would be an excellent starting point. Even better would be the other switching places with the Meteor as that would give two very good reasons to attend. No idea how feasible it would be to do however. Lighting the Shack from the front might work well also.

The problem with the remainder of outside exhibits (in my opinion) would be that they are all too tightly packed for a nightshoot with a large number of people all trying to get clean and clear angles. The position of the Lightning worked well to an extent however, on reflection, i'm not a 100% fan of having the hangar backdrop.

If you can get 4 good airframes well lit and allow people to wander the remaining outside displays then i think you would get good attendance. Speaking of which, i would also add that the number that did attend last time was about right so would certainly put a limit on numbers.

Given that we were allowed all day access to the museum as well at the last event, i would say that £25 would not be an unreasonable asking price which from memory is similar to last time.

For anyone wanting to look at a full write up of the event, check out the AeroResource article - http://www.aeroresource.co.uk/articles/ ... ightshoot/

Hello again, I thought I’d pick up on a few of the comments.

One of the things that we struggle with is a lack of usable hard-standing, which can complicate things when trying to move airframes around. As part the planning application for this project, we have applied for an extension to the hard-standing that the Viggen occupied in 2013. This application is due for submission before Christmas, so hopefully we might be able to get this moving sometime after Easter.

Another factor we have to work with is the location of the power points around the site, which can also limit us a bit. That said the Southfield developments are equipped with adequate points to help with this situation.

We are aware of the limitations that we have and also the condition of some of the external airframes; in the past we have tried to tie in photo shoots to aircraft that have been repainted. At the moment we are trying to identify better paint systems to try and help with these issues.

Restricted numbers are always likely to be part of our event policy and this has been carefully assessed to reflect the site conditions etc. We also try to price things fairly and to try to offer value for money.

To give a bit of an idea of some of our earlier events here is a piece that I did few years ago http://www.airsceneuk.org.uk/airshow08/ ... newark.htm

Best of luck

Forgot to mention, if another event is ran, the hot food before hand similar to last time would be great!

you know me Howard Im there.

Thank you for the further feedback, points continue to be noted!!

Got to say the last one was one of the best organized photo shoots ive been to! Id say if the price and amount of people stay about the same youll be on for another winner. Yes of course Id like to see some bits brought out the hangars but understand this is not always possible Domine would be smart. But I think if different frames where used from last time maybe the newest Hunter or Gannet or something along those lines? Id be up for it again for shore loved the last one!!

Again your comments are noted.

Unfortunately it is unlikely that the Dominie would be part of any event; its location in Hangar 2 means that it cannot be moved outside without being partially dismantled or by moving out other airframes. I suspect that such a major task is not really a viable option just for a photo shoot – but enquiries will be made.

Last year while the Viggen was outside we did a see a noticeable deterioration in its condition and in the foreseeable future it is unlikely that it would be moved outside again for any extended period of time. Perhaps we need to be cute in organising such events with any future reorganisation of airframes etc.

Thank you for the further comment - nothing more to report I'm afraid; still under consideration.

We already have a bumper year coming up for events as detailed in here - I guess it's a case of watch that space!