Over the years it has become "traditional" for the Cold War Jets Open Days to be held twice annually, one on the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, the other on the August Bank Holiday weekend. As the years have passed the event has grown in popularity, exemplified by the number of people it attracted on Sunday 28 May 2017.
It is also becoming more and more obvious that the aerodrome is becoming increasingly more crowded with motor vehicles that are being stored, which provides the aerodrome owners with good income, substantially more than the two annual open days. The racing activities contribute a fair share to that income also. Hopefully there will be space for future Open Days to exercise the aircraft and enthusiasts to come and enjoy the spectacle.
That said, the collection of aircraft, both static and (potentially) running is growing, not very fast, but "new" aircraft appear from time to time, the Lightning F3 XR713 was the latest to arrive last year and F-4 "Black Mike" is in the process of being dismantled to join the airframes already at Bruntingthorpe.
Preparations for the Open Day started on the previous day with aircraft being cleaned, tyres pumped up and engines being tested. Some aircraft performed a test run to ensure all systems were operating as they should.
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| The Delphin being brought to the runway for a testrun...saves fuel, but plenty of sticky fingermarks |
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| Graham Smith "pilots" whilst John Ward watches from the backseat of the L29 Delphin. |
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| Canberra WT333 tested and parked up temporarily before being moved into position |
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| TS-11 Iskra making its way through the aircraft and people on the runway for its test run. |
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| Not seen running for a number of years the ex-RAF Comet "Canopus" moved under its own power.... |
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| Geoffrey Poole's immaculate Hunter T7 prepares for a test run |
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| Jake Jarron was on hand to talk to anyone interested in Lightnings. He later performed a fast taxi. |
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