Elvington Show Report 2023
12th August - 13th August 2023
This is now our biggest event, after years of Cosford being top dog. Sadly we have temporarily lost Cosford, due to a new person in charge, he has stopped all outside activities, on the airfield, reason unknown currently. However, we have managed to find an alternative at Sleap Airfield, so all is not lost, if you haven’t read my report on this new event don’t forget to check it out.
Davy's on the road again
Dreading the cross-country journey, I pack the car and headed off to motorway hell, yes, you’ve guest it the M62, what is it with that motorway, there is always hold ups, so, packed and ready to go, I made sure I had a copy of war & peace by my side for the inevitable. Going up the slip road at J23 to join the M6 we where already in a 50-mph zone all the way down to the M62, and low and be hold the same when I joined that. Is it me or is every motorway network got road works on it! Anyway, to my astonishment I had a straight run though, no hold ups or anything, (I must make sure I have that copy of War & Peace with me all the time). When I arrived, I had the usual greetings form the set-up crew, like, here he is last as usual etc. ya, ya, ya, broken record and all that! As I was setting up my humble aboard for the next 6 days, that evening we where treated to a couple of hot air balloons as they appeared to be getting bigger and bigger on the horizon, then, before we knew it, they where landing right in front of us, once on the ground everybody on board scrambled to deflate the balloon and get it all rapped up, not bad, they call it flight experience, I call it cheap labour in fact they paid for the privilege to do all that work. I think I will stick to model flying. Hat off to them though they all seem to enjoy it.
Show day
Saturday started with a beautiful sunrise, “that’s if you were up early enough”, it was peaceful and still but by 9am there was a strong crosswind from the south, this was going to make it tricky for the pilots, as always no one was forced to fly but we were also grateful they did. Highlights of the show for me was Dave Johnson’s Nimrod, Adam Johnson with the Couger, Nathan Rigby, our new up and coming star, superb flying and he is only 10 years of age. Jon Horn’s Yak and zero, WWII bombers and fighters. I could go on (and some say I often do) but I must end it somewhere otherwise we will need another page. Oops! Let’s not forget the Constellation of Keith Mitchell’s, sorry Keith. We tried to introduce music to some flights as some pilots have requested this, as you can imagine this stirs up mixed feeling among the public some love it some hate it, you really can’t win sometimes, on top of this the PA system was playing up once again, open source transmitters seems to be the main problem, however Graham Ailsby came to the rescue in the end and we managed to muddle on. Sunday turn out to be the same with a tad less wind, I do hope we finally have some good weather for Much Marcle, all fingers and toes crossed.
Summing up
Well, this was a 6-day event for me having arrived on the Wednesday and leaving Monday morning soaking wet thanks to the downpour when I was packing up. It is hard work putting this show on, but we all agree its worth it, it is now our biggest show of the year and its still growing, we had a fantastic weekend with equally fantastic people, roll on next year. I will leave you with some of my pictures of the weekend, there are plenty more to be added so please keep checking back. Enjoy.
Information
Booking for 2024 to be confirmed
Adult Day Entry Tickets
Admits one adult on either day – Children under 16 are Free and car parking is free
Weekend Camping Tickets
Ticket for a camping pitch and entry into the show on both days for everyone.
Basic price includes up to 2 adults.
All children under 16 are free
Dogs are allowed provided they are well behaved and kept on a lead.
