A Real Spitfire at the Street Fair

Fri 29 Aug 2014, 16:58

At the last moment we have had to postpone the Big Spitfire Tug
The problem was in finding the money required for the Traffic Management at this short notice.
HOWEVER It WILL happen.
In the next few months The First Spitfire of the Squadron will be completed and flying so that is now when we will do the Tug.
There will be information about the project at the Street Fair and as soon as we have another date I will post this up

Thu 28 Aug 2014, 20:26

Tony, how are you going to get this plane back to Enstone??

Thu 28 Aug 2014, 10:34

Update - we now have permission for the road closure so one step closure but what we need urgently now are teams to tug it for charity as we are getting close
We will start a media blitz but it would be good to have several teams from Charlbury
Reply to this post if you have any questions
Please contact me for entry forms towspitfire@gmail.com

Fri 8 Aug 2014, 20:29

I have now put details of the traffic plan at the following link https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gd7yjho1tfrjfsl/AABO9ri6mA9oxt2ItJdHDsdWa
In this folder is also general information and an entry form. I have also an email address towspitfire@gmail.com specifically for this project.

Please rest assured that we have applied through all the proper channels for this event on the road and that my request about traffic management was simply due to the AA wanting to quote a very high price
Also at the moment we are still talking to all the authorities about the event so it is provisional for now

Fri 8 Aug 2014, 19:14

Christine Yes-you are right I should put up all the details. Obviously we have spoken to the County and District Councils for permissions and they alerted us to the Bus routes, and will discuss this with Police. In fact we plan to be down the Slade and onto Sturt Road well clear of bus times however if we are on the section when the bus is coming there are several places at road junctions where we can safely pull over. There are no plans for Bus diversions other than that already in place for closing Church Street. This is the usual situation and I think they divert along Market Street with the usual stop outside the Co-op but someone will probably correct me if I am wrong.
There are also buses through Enstone but again we plan to be going through there when the buses are not. I will put a link to the whole plan up so people can see.
In general each section will not take long so there would be a short wait without the need for diversion.

Fri 8 Aug 2014, 17:52

Tony, I'm sure you've thought about the problem of bus diversions and hold-ups on Street Fair Day, but perhaps you could post on the website when the alternative routes have been sorted, and (even before that) the approximate times of the proposed pull so that we can inform any Street Fair visitors coming by car and by bus of the times of the likely disruption.

Can S3 buses (Stagecoach) & X9 buses (Pulhams) get past a Spitfire (with wings) coming in the opposite direction? And where do buses stop over when they can't get down to The Bell on Street Fair Day?

Fri 8 Aug 2014, 12:00

It is all coming together now but we need to get good traffic management (as we all realise after the snarl up yesterday) This could be expensive but does anyone have experience or any contacts who could help with this?

Wed 6 Aug 2014, 17:37

John in fact the wings will not be folded. The wingspan of the Mk26 variant being 80% scale in nearer to 24ft and we find it will pass the route we plan. You are right however in that we have to go round Charlbury and still cannot get it onto Church Street

Wed 6 Aug 2014, 11:31

Tony. I assume the Spitfire will have its wings folded,with a wing span of 37feet you may encounter problems in parts of the Town.

John H

Tue 5 Aug 2014, 17:19

UPDATE Before the start of the Street Fair this year a sponsored tug of a Spitfire from Enstone Airfield to the old Grammar School is planned subject to police consent.
A series of sponsored teams will tug the plane to Charlbury.
The route in Charlbury will be will be from Enstone cross roads down the Slade and Sturt Road down to Fiveways then along Park Street to the green outside the Old Grammar School where it will be on display throughout the Street Fair
We hope that several organisations in Charlbury will be able to raise teams and we will contact them. However if you can suggest a team please let us know and we will send an entry form.

For further information or entry forms please contact Tony Merry either through this web site or tel 01608 811022

Wed 23 Jul 2014, 17:17

As the theme for this years is Street Fair is Flying Heroes and surely the most iconic of these must be the Spitfire
So we have an ambitious plan to get one here from Enstone Flying Club where they are building a new squadron. It will be towed here on the morning of Saturday 20th September There will be a sponsored tow along the Enstone road
I will post more information soon but if you want to get involved please reply via this web site or call me on 811022