The USAF SIG have been displaying at events since (at least) 1990 but we have never been to an outdoors event, mainly due to the logistics involved - where indoor shows provide tables, the outdoor events expect you to bring your own, and the weather can also be counted upon to be difficult!

We had been invited to the Bentwaters show last year, but declined; this year SIG Leader Haydn was determined we would make the effort, so acquired 6 portable tables, together with a TAB-VEE gazebo to put them in.  We drove down on the Saturday, and it made for a sociable evening as Haydn's (long-suffering!) wife Belinda and Jacqui (my other half) were also present.

Unfortunately, driving down saw torrential rain and the car part at the hotel near Ipswich was more of a lake, but Sunday morning turned out to be warm, bright and sunny and most of the standing water soon dried up.

Bentwaters is rare in being privately owned and also mostly complete - whilst there has been some redevelopment, very few of the buildings have been changed and as it is also used for light aircraft, the runway is still serviceable.

We arrived and set up the gazebo, tables and display and through the course of the day saw a constant stream of interested people (the fact that we were the first display by the entrance might have helped!) We were lucky enough to meet a number of people who had served at Bentwaters over the years, and the highlight of the day was a bus tour of the base.

The BCWM is a fantastic place to visit - unfortunately photographs do not do it justice, but it is highly recommended and well worth a visit.

All in all, a great day out, and I suspect we will be attending next year!

I will be posting more pics of some of the vehicles seen at the show over the next few weeks, together with photographs from the bus tour.

Article and photographs by Chris St Clair