Temporarily devoid of wings, I drove into the event on the Saturday and I have to say I'm very pleased that I went, as was Sheila. The change of policy on the airside issues worked well and I thought that MKAS, who I criticised on previous postings, did absolutely sterling work. A big "Thank you" and well done to them all! Whilst the weather didn't help greatly, it could have been worse and frankly, I noticed most people (who weren't hungry) were enjoying themselves. Great to see and speak to so many old friends and encouraged to note that ALL of them were in favour of a return to a full rally!
I note Stuart's comment regarding "no major growth", but I feel that this will be decided by the pilots electing to fly in rather than any decisions made on the ground and it could grow quickly, if the enthusiasm in those we spoke to is anything to go by.
I was surprised by the quality and quantity of the modern kit built aircraft, and the staggeringly superb finish on the Sport Cruisers. On a slightly negative note though, I felt that the average age of people at the event had got older since the days of the PFA rallies which maybe suggests that we are not doing enough to encourage the younger fraternity?
So let's start planning for next year and a properly organised event that we can really call our own. A complete deternination with no cold feet or silly overblown safety restrictions and whilst Sywell may be kind enough to host it for next year and possibly the year after, I think that the inevitable popularity of the event will balloon, as it did in the past, and we may ultimately have to look for a larger venue sooner rather than later.
Sywell Revival fly-in
Moderators: John Dean, Moderator