No more Flying Legends Airshows at Duxford

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Flightline Uk
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No more Flying Legends Airshows at Duxford

Post by Flightline Uk » Tue Aug 25, 2020 7:33 am

After a long and successful partnership of some 30 years, IWM Duxford and The Fighter Collection (TFC) are announcing today that the Flying Legends air show will no longer be taking place at Duxford.

Given the financial pressures which have resulted from the coronavirus pandemic over the past few months, IWM Duxford has been required to examine all future events and consult with key partners to ensure that, as a charity, the organisation is able to maximise income and remain financially stable. It was therefore mutually agreed that TFC would seek an alternative location to host Flying Legends, which will be confirmed at a later date.

John Brown, IWM Executive Director Commerce and Operations, commented: “The Fighter Collection will continue to be a highly valued partner at IWM Duxford and we are delighted that its collection of amazing aircraft will remain on site and continue to be displayed throughout the year. We are confident that Flying Legends will continue with its success and would like to thank them for entertaining audiences at IWM Duxford over the years. We will be making some exciting changes to our own Air Show programme for next year and look forward to sharing more details in the coming months.”
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Last edited by Flightline Uk on Tue Aug 25, 2020 8:38 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Adam
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Post by Adam » Tue Aug 25, 2020 8:52 am

A statement from IWM reads:
IWM Duxford and The Fighter Collection announce relocation of Flying Legends Air Show
After a long and successful partnership of some 30 years, IWM Duxford and The Fighter Collection (TFC) are announcing today that the Flying Legends air show will no longer be taking place at Duxford.
Given the financial pressures which have resulted from the coronavirus pandemic over the past few months, IWM Duxford has been required to examine all future events and consult with key partners to ensure that, as a charity, the organisation is able to maximise income and remain financially stable. It was therefore mutually agreed that TFC would seek an alternative location to host Flying Legends, which will be confirmed at a later date.
John Brown, IWM Executive Director Commerce and Operations, commented: “The Fighter Collection will continue to be a highly valued partner at IWM Duxford and we are delighted that its collection of amazing aircraft will remain on site and continue to be displayed throughout the year. We are confident that Flying Legends will continue with its success and would like to thank them for entertaining audiences at IWM Duxford over the years. We will be making some exciting changes to our own Air Show programme for next year and look forward to sharing more details in the coming months.”
It'll be a major blow to UK airshows if they can't find a new venue. Equally, Duxford's such an important part of Flying Legends that I wonder if the event will lose some of its status if it moves elsewhere.

On the other hand, this is an opportunity for both parties. Could IWM have determined that they'd make more money from hosting a third airshow themself, rather than letting TFC do it? My guess is that the "exciting changes to our own Air Show programme" will be the addition of a third two-day show in 2021 filling the old Legends slot, effectively bringing all three annual airshows at Duxford in-house. Could TFC find a new venue some of the benefits of Duxford (historical significance, room for parallel runway ops, hangarage, big airfield, uncongested display area, within striking distance of London etc), but where the geography allows the displays to feel a little more intimate than they have done at Duxford in recent years? Or is this simply the end of the road for Flying Legends? It's anyone's guess I suppose.
Last edited by Adam on Tue Aug 25, 2020 2:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by kalamazookid » Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:27 pm

Shocking news. I always imagined that if I ever went to England, I would plan the trip around going to Legends and visiting Duxford. It has been a world famous airshow at an iconic venue. I know there are other airshows at Duxford, but from across the pond, this seems like a major blow.
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Post by n33d4sp33d_85 » Tue Aug 25, 2020 2:48 pm

Bummer!!! :(
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Post by RyanS » Tue Aug 25, 2020 2:55 pm

kalamazookid wrote: Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:27 pm Shocking news. I always imagined that if I ever went to England, I would plan the trip around going to Legends and visiting Duxford. It has been a world famous airshow at an iconic venue. I know there are other airshows at Duxford, but from across the pond, this seems like a major blow.
Same here, I've pretty much always heard them mentioned together so it's quite strange to hear of them splitting up. I'm disappointed that I missed out
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Post by Adam » Wed Aug 26, 2020 9:20 pm

Interesting interview with Nick Grey of The Fighter Collection on BBC Radio Cambs today, in which he said:
  • They have every intention of finding a new home for the airshow, but are "good friends" of IWM and are not moving their base from there. He sounded quite sincere when he said that, but of course it's hard to know. There's still "gas in the tank" and lots of energy in the TFC team.
  • The decision was made by the IWM board, "probably against their will", and certainly against TFC's will, but it was necessary for IWM to take "to survive".
  • He confirmed that the majority of Flying Legends revenue went to TFC, not to IWM, and Duxford needs the opportunity to host an airshow and profit from it in that important slot. He said it was "the right decision" for them. Presumably the fact that Flying Legends contributes so much to TFC's coffers drives home the importance of finding a new venue if they are to survive.
  • They haven't got a venue yet, but they'd like to keep it "nearby, not too far from Cambridge." On a personal note, I can't think of anywhere in that area that really fits the bill apart from maybe Sywell or Old Warden, but the show would need to adapt significantly to work at the latter, if not both.
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Post by Adam » Wed Sep 23, 2020 7:01 am

Flying Legends 2021 tentatively scheduled for the 10th-11th July, if they get a location sorted in time. Presumably they wouldn't have posted that if they weren't reasonably confident that a 2021 show is still possible - so that's great news! I'd expected it would take a year or two out, at least.

https://www.facebook.com/FlyingLegendsO ... 6548459070
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Post by Acey » Wed Sep 23, 2020 9:31 am

Would be nice if Biggin Hill was chosen ,historically it's ideal ,also the Heritage Hangar based there is a big asset ,unfortunately The Airport Management are not that keen on events like this any more ,although having said that they have been a more pro active in recent years,the fact that I live a couple miles from there have nothing to do with my wishes ,not !
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