Lanc Arrival Day

[redhead]

why o why couldn't raf coningsby can't do something here it would of been such a good pr exercise for the base, they could of taken a fee for opening up but I feel raf coningsby have stuck two fingers up at jo public and told them to clear off

[Thor]

why o why couldn't raf coningsby can't do something here it would of been such a good pr exercise for the base, they could of taken a fee for opening up but I feel raf coningsby have stuck two fingers up at jo public and told them to clear off

It's probably more to do with the impact of reduced manning on stations - how many extra personnel would be needed to organise and run such an event? Does the station have sufficient manning capacity to support this kind of event, alongside exercises, normal ops, etc? Remember, it's not just a case of Joe public rocking up, wandering around & leaving - the public access areas would need fencing off, certain areas would need securing, ticketing & parking would need to be organised, traffic marshals would need to be provided, the whole lot would need to be taken down after the last member of the public has finally been persuaded to leave and a FOD sweep needs to be done afterwards to ensure that the airfield is fit for use again. And who would bear the brunt of criticism for traffic taking an age to get off base and away because several thousand folks all decided to leave at exactly the same time onto a road infrastructure that just isn't sufficient to handle that bulk of traffic in such a compressed timeframe?

Given that around 100 BC veterans have been invited for the arrival, how would BBMF keep their day special and appropriate and yet balance that against the needs of thousands of visitors? I'd assume that the main sponsor of this visit (Thwaites) will probably also want something laid on for their staff & invited guests as they'll have paid out a fair wedge towards this too. I think BBMF have played this pretty much the best they could for the arrival. There are plenty of options to see both Lancs together on the ground or in the air during the visit, so it's hardly the RAF having the CWH aircraft land, wheeling it into a hangar and keeping it out of sight for the whole 46 days of its visit, is it?

The tone of comments such as the one quoted above hardly fit into the "making friends and influencing people by way of rational, clearly thought-out argument" category and do absolutely nothing to ease the way for any kind of future opportunities to be offered by Coningsby or any other station. Remember that access to an operational station is a privilege, not a right, and is extended as & when it can be accommodated by the station.

[Apollo]

why o why couldn't raf coningsby can't do something here it would of been such a good pr exercise for the base, they could of taken a fee for opening up but I feel raf coningsby have stuck two fingers up at jo public and told them to clear off

It's probably more to do with the impact of reduced manning on stations - how many extra personnel would be needed to organise and run such an event? Does the station have sufficient manning capacity to support this kind of event, alongside exercises, normal ops, etc? Remember, it's not just a case of Joe public rocking up, wandering around & leaving - the public access areas would need fencing off, certain areas would need securing, ticketing & parking would need to be organised, traffic marshals would need to be provided, the whole lot would need to be taken down after the last member of the public has finally been persuaded to leave and a FOD sweep needs to be done afterwards to ensure that the airfield is fit for use again. And who would bear the brunt of criticism for traffic taking an age to get off base and away because several thousand folks all decided to leave at exactly the same time onto a road infrastructure that just isn't sufficient to handle that bulk of traffic in such a compressed timeframe?

Given that around 100 BC veterans have been invited for the arrival, how would BBMF keep their day special and appropriate and yet balance that against the needs of thousands of visitors? I'd assume that the main sponsor of this visit (Thwaites) will probably also want something laid on for their staff & invited guests as they'll have paid out a fair wedge towards this too. I think BBMF have played this pretty much the best they could for the arrival. There are plenty of options to see both Lancs together on the ground or in the air during the visit, so it's hardly the RAF having the CWH aircraft land, wheeling it into a hangar and keeping it out of sight for the whole 46 days of its visit, is it?

The tone of comments such as the one quoted above hardly fit into the "making friends and influencing people by way of rational, clearly thought-out argument" category and do absolutely nothing to ease the way for any kind of future opportunities to be offered by Coningsby or any other station. Remember that access to an operational station is a privilege, not a right, and is extended as & when it can be accommodated by the station.

What a load of old bullocks.Treat the event as an airshow,charge joe public an entrance fee,cash is raised for raf charitys and everyone is happy.

[britaylor]

Who's paying for the VIPS etc food and drink of high proportion us tax payers why not treat these to a burger off the van ?? Why bring it across in the first place as some nutter in the first did't think what impact it would on this side of the fence surly the base could do a little to help things out as we tax payers for them on the other side of the fence the locals traders would love a few pounds in the takeings and let the farmers charge to park to recoup what people over the years have done to damage the crops WILL SOMEONE WAKE UP AT CONINGSBY ???

[fireman12]

It is obvious that the RAF have insufficient parking facilities organized other wise they would have been notified and on display now. I do know that certainly one farmer opposite the mound has offered space,why not knock on his door and ask and see what is possible.There was someone offering a field earlier in this thread,why not make contact if you have not already.It is quite clear the 3 carparks in Dogdyke Road will fill very early and probably first,as long as they let the burger man in with space to park,a few more of you will be happy.

[C24]

RIAT uses volunteers, a similar arrangement could have been made for this event but not on the airfield. Local fields and people allowed to walk up to the various viewing points.

Not the best example of organisation for an important remembrance event. For those of you who visit, the Co-op sell a wide range of sandwiches, Adrian will obviously not be allowed to park in his usual place.

Mods. Will there be a thread for posting all the transit info?

Departure due in about 7hours. Best wishes to you.

[Gary]

Mods. Will there be a thread for posting all the transit info?

I'll ask the question in the staff section, i would imagine there will be and it will be in the UK Heads Up & OTT section

[C24]

Thanks Gary.
Charlie

[fireman12]

Have just spoken to Adrian,he says he will be there early and according to the base he is assured entry,so make sure you dont take his space.He says he wants to park at the right of the entrance and so limit space taken.

[Thor]

What a load of old bullocks.Treat the event as an airshow,charge joe public an entrance fee,cash is raised for raf charitys and everyone is happy.

What a half-@rsed, over-simplistic response. Next you'd probably want every day that it flies from Coningsby treated as an airshow day - what's the difference between seeing it land on the 8th or on any other day it lands there? Treating it as an airshow brings a whole other raft of problems that Coningsby more than likely don't want - if you invite paying public in to an event, it becomes a public airshow, and thus falls under the myriad reams of bumf that the MAA foist on military airshows, the local council will want a piece of the H&S action (viz Cotswold Council's 'helpful' H&S requirements that put a massive strain on operations at RIAT), you have to have extra insurance arranged, you have to have food & drink vendors and toilet facilities arranged on site, first aid cover, the list goes on. All of those items require paying for - either the items themselves, service personnels' time spent arranging them or both, and then the next logical step in the chain of events will be people moaning on here that things cost too much...
Coningsby's an operational station with just about enough manning to cover the work they're there to do without having to arrange public days. Get a grip, quit acting like a bunch of schoolkids denied a lolly and if you want to see it, take a chance like everyone else is doing.

C24, what's to say that local farmers won't be making those provisions? pedestrian access isn't restricted, it's just vehicular access that is.

As for the pile of drivel posted by britaylor, I'd guess that the tour's sponsors, Thwaites, will probably have their hand in their pocket to foot a good chunk of it. I'm struggling to understand the rest of your semi-literate foaming-at-the-mouth rant, but I can't see anywhere that local traders are going to be stopped from making money. that local farmers aren't going to be allowed to open their fields up for parking. Perhaps you're the one that needs to wake up, or maybe just think about what you want to convey before you press 'submit'?

That's probably enough to get me banned from here for a while, so I'll stop typing now...

[stevep22]

I'm just staying away, full stop. It's not like there aren't going to be myriad chances of seeing it/photographing it during the weeks it's over here without adding to the throng.

Steve

[Mariner]

Anybody would think the Martians are coming to town. Muffins for the Tuesday lads at CG1 tomorrow.

[Zymurgy661]

I'm locking this thread as all that seems to be happening now is people complaining that Coningsby aren't doing enough for us. Quite frankly, the Lanc is over here for long enough and visiting plenty of locations that everybody should be able to get to see it at some point.

The information already given out by the base is clear - roads will be closed, stay away.

Further info on road closures - http://www.lincolnshireecho.co.uk/Road- ... story.html

For those that want to know where its appearing, read here - http://www.warplane.com/lancaster-2014-uk-tour.aspx