Is Formula 1 testing five days a year roughly right?

Monday evening saw about fifty local people making their way through the vintage aircraft at the huge hangar at Duxford musuem to attend a meeting about the formula 1 testing. The meeting was chaired by the museum's director, Richard Ashton, with Mick Martin as supporting cast. Richard ran through the museums finances and customer numbers, and put forward the proposition that F1 testing fitted with the technology/education role of the IWM, as well as bringing in a secure funding stream which they needed.
Mick explained the complaints regarding the testing and how he had handled it. Paul Eccleston, Whittlesford Parish council chairman made some good points, based on the questionnaire that the parish had put out to residents, particularly the need to let people know in adavance, something the IWM admitted they hashed up in the early stages this year.
There was then a lively and grown-up debate, which Richard Ashton chaired well, with residents from all sides putting forward their views, including people working from home who found they simply could not do their job with the noise of the testing going on on a weekday, to a young lady who put across students' interest and support for the testing. There was a good discussion on the nuisance issue, and the south cambs envirinmental team's assessment of the noise.
The key thing that came out was the limit of five days proposed testing next year: with a reasonable interval between dates, plenty of warning, and a pause in the middle of the day. For some it will be too many, for Jeremy Clarkson petrolheads not enough, but for most people it is a reasonable compromise, and the questionnaire reflected that "threshold" of five days.