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[tankbuster81]

well,due to the weather forecasts,i was a tad worried about how today may pan out.How misguided i was.Parked on the base,then proceeded around the static,which i have to say were top drawer.Quality over quantity.As usual expertly parked,in various themed area's.The B2 looked awesome,and some nice looking Heli's lined up in a row.Bronco,Huey and Loach, Japanese 767,etc etc. And so to the flying. Another legendary Kev Rumens display take off in the Vulcan,The Black Eagles blew me away,simply brilliant. The Rafale put on a really agile and brutish performance,which i think should have won the best solo trophy,although it has to be said the Typhoon this season is greatly improved,and thrown about a lot more,it was great today.The Osprey is fascinating to watch,and put on a sprightly display.Add to that the E11R flypast,and streamed flypast from the heavies,with most of the other acts ,and in my opinion you have one of the best R.I.A.T'S in the past decade. I like many others in the crowd was visibly moved by the missing man formation by The tornado role demo pair.A fitting tribute to aviators sadly taken from us. A great day,thanks to all at DBH.

[mikeg]

After the recent disasters with D list celebrity singers, extremely loud car displays just behind the crowd line and Del Boy perfume sellers, this year seemed to be a back to basics -- the world's biggest and best military airshow.

Well done DBH.

[Sam Dodd]

Brilliant show, really enjoyed it. The display acts were top notch and the static was brilliant. Was great watching all the Crews climb on top of their Aircraft to watch the Vulcan. One thing, the FOD at the end of the show was the worst I've ever seen anywhere, there were plenty of bins provided - The Public must have missed them ...

Well done RIAT, looking forward to departures tomorrow!

[Danny]

For me, RIAT 2012 had a real classic show atmosphere. Driving back to the campsite on the sunny Thursday evening and looking back at the airfield from a distance, the sight of the Japanese 767, Columbian C-130 and the prospect of a B-2 arriving in the near future was fantastic.

[lambo17841]

Great show,had not been for a couple of years but this was more like the shows of old.A couple of gripes which I will put on the riat feedback.
If C130s can be parked at a angle why can't a German F4 of Tornado be just turned a little sideways to enable a decent graph.
It was not as though there was a lack of space in the area,I the aircraft handling people could realise this,after all not everybody can be there for arrivals to get a decent graph.
Was not happy about paying 3.50 for a cheque list and another tenner for a programme,why not have a display list and a cheque list sold together for a fiver and if people want a full programme pay the tenner
A few toilets nearer the crowd line would have helped and when you got to the ones by the fair did not anybody from the management notice the muddy conditions people had to tramp across,couldn't some matting been laid down?
Gripes over,a great show!

John in Sussex

[jingernut]

Best RIAT I have been to for a number of years now.

Aircraft participation was fantastic with highlights like the B2 and Osprey.

Weather, even with the rain leading up to the show, the Sundays was superb.

Parking and traffic in general was trouble free. Drove straight in and parked. Then walked straight onto airfield with no fuss and no queuing. Getting out was also trouble free.

My only really minor gripes are
A. Why was the Huey and Loach hidden away behind the Vulcan village?
B. Price of onsite catering (personally I don't use it)
C. Price of checklist and aircraft lists on P&V days

[Domvickery]

The best airshow i've been to.

Bad point (There's always some) the crowd line was quite bad, to the left of the FRIAT enclosure my feet were submerged as I was walking to the front it was more of a swamp, i'm sure some people had a giggle at my expense when I took my shoes & socks off & wrung them out!

Err thats about it, traffic was fine I was parked on base for 07.50, left at 20.00 with no issues.

Food wise, I've learnt my lesson & spend £10 in tesco's a few days before which sorts me out for the day including when I'm home!

Well done to all involved, your hard work paid off a treat, here's t0 next year

[SCOUSEFOWLER]

excellent RIAT as usual.

what a great value for money event. F1 and silverstone take note. carparking excellent. went up to silverstone on the friday, what a rip off, very little entertainment because the drivers dont like driving in the rain, it cost me and the boy £95 to get in, car parks and car parking a complete joke.

RIAT the complete opposite. excellent flying display, from 1000 - 1800. excellent showground. well done and thankyou.

[Kieran]

Static layout I thought was very good! Quantity as well was very good too, surely the best RIAT static park since 2007? Lines of Hercs, helicopters, '135s were well thought out! Shame the USAF Hercs couldn't go with the other C-130s to create one big line. JASDF KC-767, USAF B-2, Colombian C-130, Slovak MiG 29 all in the same static display, nuff said!

Super Hornet (on the Saturday), MiG 29, ROFL, Tornado, Chinook and of course the Black Eagles were the stars of the flying display for me! Shout out to the Vulcan who performed two excellent displays at the weekend! Certainly one of the closest, noisest Vulcan displays I've seen from Kev Rumens on the Sunday! Another shout out to the Sea Fury display as well! Excellently flown, kept it low and close to the crowd!

Met so many people in the past week and also saw some familiar faces! As much as RIAT is about the quality of the aircraft, the company is also what makes RIAT a week not to miss for me!

No problems getting in on the Sunday. Absolutely no traffic and all of the staff were very friendly and helpful.

Congrats RIAT, you've finally proved when you want to be the best, you can prove it too! Volkel, Zeltweg, Radom and possibly Kecskemet are returning next year, let's see if RIAT can stay at the top of the food chain!

[LN Strike Eagle]

Really can't grumble at this show - last year we gave them a slating on here. RIAT read it, took it on board, reacted and the changes were there for all to see.

Arrived 90 minutes later than we usually do, but got on base and through security with no delays on the Red route. Both excellent this year.

Airfield layout - I didn't get the chance to fully explore it as there's a lot to do in one day and I was rushing around the statics before a big bank of cloud came in on Sunday evening, but from what I saw, the funfairs etc had been moved to the back of the showground and the aircraft were the attraction. Nice to see lines of F-16s, Hercs etc too - like an old skool RIAT.

Participation, as has been said many times, was tremendous. The B-2 on static was a real coup and it's arrival on Friday was creating a real buzz around the forums and Twitter etc - it felt like some of the old RIAT magic was back. Lots of new countries attending, some old favourites too - a good balance to the show.

Stand out displays for me were:

The best Vulcan display I have seen post restoration - the familiar routine, but flown in a fashion that recalled the Vulcan displays of old, with loads of noise.
The Rafale, which for the overshoot alone deserves a mention.
The Chinook. Easy to forget how good it is now we don't often see it at airshows.
The Black Eagles. Not sure I've ever seen a more impressive airshow debut, they were utterly superb. Not heard a bad word said about them.
The MiG-29. As Dan said in commentary, if you're bored of a MiG-29 display, then you're bored of airshows. Great to see, superbly flown.

Speaking of the commentary, I thought the team were great. The interaction with the Twitter account was a good idea, and I think the three of them are excellent for the RIAT show, they get the balance just right. If I were being critical, I'd say that I'd like to hear more from Spiv, and I think the moments where Dan and Ben take turns to throw facts at you can be a little bit intense. I think a few less stats and some pauses between them would be easier to listen to and digest. On a side note, I've enjoyed Ben's recent contributions to the Display Frequency podcasts too - knows his stuff and talks well about the subject.

All in all, I really can't complain. RIAT should be applauded for the way they responded to last year's reaction - more of the same please.

[UKTopgun]

Great year for RIAT - perhaps will become described as a vintage one in the future. As of 5.45 pm has everything now departed? Bon voyage to all participants, and welcome back to next year!

[MarkL]

Loved it !!!

Read the traffic and parking issues on UKAR, made a plan listening to those in the know and other advice, getting there at 745 Sunday morning and drove straight on to the base !! awesome.

Left 4pm and drove straight off

8am arrived at farnborough to be buss'd straight in and similar ease leaving this afternoon.


Many accused people of moaning about the weather and other things. Reality is that it allows many to make plans around what is reported and fine tune their own plans.

I encourage UKAR to continue this great service ) (ps, got a bit panicy on Sat night when the server dropped out a few times )

What a weekend !!

MarkL

[Luke28]

My favourite RIAT since 1997, how they follow this next year will be interesting.

[kif1983]

This is my first RIAT, I live sort of in between Yeovil, Culdrose and Bournemouth so tend to go in those directions.

I'm really glad my first one was so great and that the lure of aircraft I may never get to see again managed to convince me to go.

[Sambuca1]

My 11th Riat now and thi ones was definitely up there in my top two! Great job by all those involved

[Mooshie1956]

A first Riat for me, I must say I was more than impressed with the static line up, more on static than you see at most other airshows in total. The flying display was brilliant, having seen some of them at Waddington last week, it enabled me to get round the statics.
My biggest gripe was the displays seem to be really focused on the centre of the crowd line, but I suppose that's my own fault for not getting a late grandstand ticket.
Stand out displays for me were the Black Eagles, even after seeing them at Waddington they still amazed me. Polish Mig although I was disapointed that they didn't use the one with the red decal on it's back (Saturday). and the Columbian Herc on static, hmm I liked the tigers as well and the Polish chopper, ok so the statics were really hard to pick a best.
I was also looking forward to the E II R flypast but understand that due to weather it couldn't form up on Saturday.
Will I be back next year, I'll be doing everything possible to be there and I'll most probably make it a few days rather than just the one.

[farnboroughrob]

Best line up since the heady days of the mid 1990's. Good to see 3 (IIRC) new countries , all with great aircraft. Lets hope these countries continue to support the show? Not too many dissapointments for me, just lack of Italian fighters, and no USAFE except the F-15's. With the state of the world as it is I think that the RIAT team did a great job .

[Meep]

Positives
Seemingly blue carpark aside, a heavily waterlogged site was managed effectively, with some common sense use of ropes, and calmness
A varied flying display, which was back to basics
The amount of planes open to the public, not much to aviation enthusiasts, but you could hear the excitement in family voices, even from something as simply as walking through a C-5
Time management in the flying display
A varied and large static park


Negatives
Osprey display - Was an utter disappointment, after a big build up
Rafale display - Really tame compared to previous years, and was outshone by the Gripen and Typhoon
Some people's inability to realise BBC weather forecasts are a load of rubbish and kept banging on about how it was the end of the world and it would be cancelled

[DanH]

It was definitely the best RIAT I've been to since I started going in 2008. The displays both in the air and on the ground were fantastic, with great variety and lots of star items. I thought that the flying programme was very cleverly planned out so as not to have too many similar items displaying close together. The commentary was very good, informative and entertaining and having suggested using Twitter in the RIAT Commentary thread I must admit I was quite chuffed to hear my suggestion being adopted so successfully (by the way Dan, when do I get my fee? ). There was some good attention to detail in other areas of the organisation such as handing out free complimentary rain ponchos which came in very handy when it rained.

Only minor gripes were the price of food but that's been the same for a while. I thought the grassed areas where there was likely to be the most footfall could have done with a bit more matting as in places like the Jubilee Garden entrance which even by mid morning on Saturday it was churned up quite a lot, but perhaps this is just a lesson that will be learnt for future years. The programme is still a little expensive for what it is and people in the Jubilee Garden were still standing up at the front from time to time (although not as much as last year) despite having a dedicated standing area, and of course there was nobody to enforce the no standing rule. Other than that I thought it was very well organised and I was very impressed, Tim Prince sounded so pleased in the interview he gave for RIAT radio and so he should be.

[kif1983]

Positives
Compared to music festivals weather and mud conditions were fantastic considering the recent weather and also well handled by friendly and helpful staff.
Fantastic displays which have re-ignited what was a dimming interest in aviation.
Plenty of varied aircraft including some rare ones which bought some nostalgia for the displays my parents used to take me to.
The tributes and crowd response to both the Red Arrows and the Tornado team for their lost friends and colleagues.
I finally got to ask someone in the know a very important question about the B2.
Civilised crowds who understand how to queue and not to stand in front of people when they're taking a photo.

Negatives
Camera battery was dead by 14:00 and had to use phone camera.
Point and click digital camera with small zoom felt inadequate compared to the cameras everyone else has (time for an upgrade).
Similarly thought the Osprey was a bit disappointing.
The commentary on one of the displays (I think the Saudi display) meant that the main commentator had to keep prompting him to speak and without the enthusiasm of someone narating it seemed to let their display down a bit to me.
People tittering behind me at the names of Korean pilots.

[stu_h]

It's hard to see how next year can possibly be as good as the past weekend (with the exception of some good weather for Saturday). Even using the quagmire that was the blue car park on both days was manageable.
The arrangement of the US heavies was a nice surprise coming through the blue gate, although I too wish the C130's had been with their type. I think it would have been nice to give the VC10 a more prime position too, but other than that the static, to me, was like it used to be in the 90's .

The flying display was superb even with the challenging weather of the Saturday, although I always think Riat should be opened with a fast jet or a heavy. There were far too many great displays to choose even 5 favourites, although being opposite the Vulcan for the Sunday takeoff was

The fairground being the other side of the showground was a welcome sight, no annoying music spoiling the displays - long may it continue!

My suggestions for next year would be:
-Having spent one day west of the public grandstand, and the other towards the 27 threshold, there was a noticeable difference in the number of catering and toilet facilities in quick reach. More towards the 27 end please.
-More track laid in the grass carparks down the main aisles.
-A different announcer for the traffic reports. Personal opinion - if you are telling people about the queue they are sitting in, try and sound more ... upbeat (if that makes sense?).
-Probably not the place to post this but another grandstand for photographers who aren't FRIAT, or havent got into the public grandstand. Saturday morning we arrived and placed ourselves (seated) behind the front row towards the western end crowdline. There was about two foot of space in front of us to the people seated on the crowdline. There was no-one within 20feet behind us, as we had chosen somewhere with people using a collection of tents/windbreaks. Just before the yak display began, three guys came and stood between us and the front row of seats, blocking both right and left of our view, leaving a window of about two seconds flying time for us to see anything. What was paticulaly annoying was that two of the three were using telescopic mounts which were taller than us seated (ie they could have stood directly behind us and got the same shots without obstructing our view, or anyone else). A similar story on Sunday.

All the above said, if next year is anywhere near as good as this year has been, then it'll be great

[DanH]

People tittering behind me at the names of Korean pilots.

Sad to say that I heard a little bit of this as well. Very disrespectful and completely out of order, especially given the effort the Koreans had gone to in order to display in this country for us. I would even go as far as to call it racist and those people who were childish enough to do it ought to be ashamed of themselves.

[kif1983]

People tittering behind me at the names of Korean pilots.

Sad to say that I heard a little bit of this as well. Very disrespectful and completely out of order, especially given the effort the Koreans had gone to in order to display in this country for us. I would even go as far as to call it racist and those people who were childish enough to do it ought to be ashamed of themselves.

In my mind the Koreans had the last laugh, their display was astonishingly well co-ordinated and performed.

-Probably not the place to post this but another grandstand for photographers who aren't FRIAT, or havent got into the public grandstand. Saturday morning we arrived and placed ourselves (seated) behind the front row towards the western end crowdline. There was about two foot of space in front of us to the people seated on the crowdline. There was no-one within 20feet behind us, as we had chosen somewhere with people using a collection of tents/windbreaks. Just before the yak display began, three guys came and stood between us and the front row of seats, blocking both right and left of our view, leaving a window of about two seconds flying time for us to see anything. What was paticulaly annoying was that two of the three were using telescopic mounts which were taller than us seated (ie they could have stood directly behind us and got the same shots without obstructing our view, or anyone else). A similar story on Sunday.

I had a positive experience with someone who I guess is a seasoned veteran, at least he had the biggest lens I've ever seen and was napping for a fair number of displays. However, when he was awake he took care not to block people's views, I was pleasantly surprised.

[BossMann]

Firstly MASSIVE thank you to everyone that posted on UKAR regarding the car parks! I would have normally ended up in the Blue car park which was a mud bath but thanks to this site I ended up on the Red car park inside the airfield on hard standing!!!

One of the Best RIATs in recent years, nice to see it returning to its former glory! Having been at Waddington the week before these have been the best two weeks ever!!

Static was excellent and varied, nice to see so many heavies on the ground as well as the B2 and the Slovak Mig 29 ( hope it will be flying next year ).

Flying was excellent. My Personal Highlights from Sunday included the Black Eagles who were brilliant again but maybe I thought their display was a bit closer to the crowd at waddo??? No matter still amazing display deserving of silverware. I hope that we will be fortunate enough to see them again in the future.

After the Black eagles the Patrouille Suisse were good, followed by the Brietling Jet Team - who I thought gave a really graceful display well timed to the music, Reds and then Royal Jordanians ( thought that their display last year was better). The only team that left me feeling a little underwhelmed were the Al Fursan guys. Why did they display with 5 jets on sunday? no mention was made as to why they had brought over 9 jets but only displaying with 5. Still the fact they made the effort to come all the distance specially for RIAT was worth seeing them but the Saudi Hawks 5 ship display at Waddo was much better (maybe because the Saudis have ex-Red Arrows pilots training them??).

Other highlights were the EIIR formation, Rafale, MiG 29, Gripen (which I thought was displayed really well for the first time), the Super Hornet and the Typhoon.

The Tornado Role demo was brilliant as ever, and the missing man formation at the end of the display was most appropriate.

All in all a good comeback for Riat and thank goodness the weather was nice on sunday! I was afraid that they may cancel the show on saturday night but thankfully it went ahead.

Both RIAT and Waddington have been fantastic this year both shows attracting different items and allowing us to see a massive amount of foreign flying participants. I hope that this trend may continue...........Best of luck for 2013 and beyond

[stu_h]

I don't know how to do the quote thing, but re the Al Fusan Sunday show, I head on the scanner a call in the morning requesting a statup of one of their jets "for maintenance", so I guess one went tech and they balanced the team by using 5 not 6.