jingernut wrote:I think it's the right direction and my daughter loves the interactive science exhibits and the techno zone. Really engaged her and was talking about that more than any of the actual aircraft. Everyone is different and it has it's place.
last year my sister took her teenage daughter and her friend to RIAT and they had a fantastic day but they never spent a minute on the flight line watching the Display, we are FRIAT members but spent the day wandering around with family and friends just having a good time at an airshow
all this bitching about Yeovilton has got this that and the other and riat is crap just makes me laugh
jayne_morris wrote:all this bitching about Yeovilton has got this that and the other and RIAT is crap just makes me laugh
Keep in mind that there's a lot of international attendees at RIAT, and many of them (myself included this year, although I went the last two years) can't just up and head to Europe a week earlier to catch Yeovilton as well.
My frustration isn't "yeovilton got that and we didn't" it's "yeovilton got that and RIAT got a damn Ferris Wheel?"
The last flying announcements that weren't flypasts we've had were June 6th with the Romanian Mig 21's (an awesome addition), and Italy with their stellar participation on May 16th...since the 15th of May Yeovilton has added CM175 Zephyr, MS760 Paris, AT-6C Texan, Historic Flight Auster, Beaver, Sioux and Scout, Spanish Harriers, The Black Cats Display Team, Jet Man (ok...but still), and a never seen CC-130J Demo.
I would certainly never say that RIAT is crap...I'm beyond pumped for RIAT. I just still think something is missing from this year that I just can't put my finger on.
I think it's worth remembering the quality of the RIAT flying display this year, despite the fact we've not had a new flying announcement for some time now. Very few, if any other show can boast Romanian MiG-21, Ukrainian Su-27, Spanish AV-8B Pair, BOAC 747/Reds, NATO Flypast and USAF F-16 alongside a whole host of European displays. To have a show of this quality still taking place on these shores in the modern age is rather excellent.
Whilst I completely agree that Yeovilton is looking fantastic this year, I believe RIAT still comes out on top.
FlankerPhoto wrote:I think it's worth remembering the quality of the RIAT flying display this year, despite the fact we've not had a new flying announcement for some time now. Very few, if any other show can boast Romanian MiG-21, Ukrainian Su-27, Spanish AV-8B Pair, BOAC 747/Reds, NATO Flypast and USAF F-16 alongside a whole host of European displays. To have a show of this quality still taking place on these shores in the modern age is rather excellent.
Whilst I completely agree that Yeovilton is looking fantastic this year, I believe RIAT still comes out on top.
FlankerPhoto wrote:I think it's worth remembering the quality of the RIAT flying display this year, despite the fact we've not had a new flying announcement for some time now. Very few, if any other show can boast Romanian MiG-21, Ukrainian Su-27, Spanish AV-8B Pair, BOAC 747/Reds, NATO Flypast and USAF F-16 alongside a whole host of European displays. To have a show of this quality still taking place on these shores in the modern age is rather excellent.
Whilst I completely agree that Yeovilton is looking fantastic this year, I believe RIAT still comes out on top.
harkins wrote:Rubbish. Airshows were always well attended and they didn't need all the sideshow stuff were getting now. A tent full of army surplus was all we got. I've no doubt they'd still get a huge turnout without a hamster wheel. And this anti enthusiast sentiment is also bollocks. If there were no enthusiasts there also be no airshows. People are making out like there's only a minibus full of people there who know the difference between a Spitfire and a turnip. I keep reading the the organisers are huge enthusiasts too. So I'm not having it that enthusiasts are some bloody hinderence to a nice family day out. Families are often enthusiasts too.
I suppose the bottom line is that we're so lucky to still have a good airshow circuit in the UK that we do become blinkered. There's no doubt that RIAT has some quality displays - the Spanish Harriers, Su-27s and MiG 21s are modern day stars, regardless of how regular they were in the late 80s and 90s. To have all three in one location is indeed a privilege. Having said that, it's been noted that the P-3 at Cosford and now the CC-130 at Yeovilton are displays that would be great to see at RIAT, and the somewhat questionable marketing from RIAT hasn't helped. RIATs tagline is the "World's Greatest Airshow", not the world's greatest funfair or greatest country fayre. For my tuppence worth I think people are right to question the marketing, especially when Cosford and Yeovilton can produce stellar line ups for less outlay. And when I started going to shows in the late 80s as a youngster I wasn't interested in the sideshows.
Surely the main positive in all of this is that, despite the loss of Leuchars, Waddington and Culdrose in recent years, the three remaining military air shows can each produce unique participation from overseas air arms: Czechs, German Navy and Danish at Cosford, Italian Navy, US Navy (static) and Canadians (flying) at Yeovilton, Romanians, Ukraines, Italian Air Force, German Air Force, etc. at RIAT and Spanish Harriers at two shows! This at a time when practically all other European countries have one military airshow annually, and some biennially. We should be grateful to have three great air shows this year.
harkins wrote:Rubbish. Airshows were always well attended and they didn't need all the sideshow stuff were getting now. A tent full of army surplus was all we got. I've no doubt they'd still get a huge turnout without a hamster wheel. And this anti enthusiast sentiment is also bollocks. If there were no enthusiasts there also be no airshows. People are making out like there's only a minibus full of people there who know the difference between a Spitfire and a turnip. I keep reading the the organisers are huge enthusiasts too. So I'm not having it that enthusiasts are some bloody hinderence to a nice family day out. Families are often enthusiasts too.
Westhammatt wrote:No f16 tiger demo from your Poland then either according to their schedule released this evening at the Baltic show 20-21st July
I ve seen somewhere that the Polish air force are sending a c 295 for static. The su-22 are back flying again so lets hope for at least one example in the static park or even a demo I am also hoping every week for RIAT to confirm the grumman northrop firebird that was self-confirmed a while back as its something new and rare!
harkins wrote:Rubbish. Airshows were always well attended and they didn't need all the sideshow stuff were getting now. A tent full of army surplus was all we got...….. And this anti enthusiast sentiment is also bollocks. If there were no enthusiasts there also be no airshows. People are making out like there's only a minibus full of people there who know the difference between a Spitfire and a turnip. I keep reading the the organisers are huge enthusiasts too. So I'm not having it that enthusiasts are some bloody hinderence to a nice family day out. Families are often enthusiasts too.
Yes, let's go back to the way it used to be, only one tv channel, no home computers, no internet, no mobile phones, no digital photography let's all go back to driving Ford Zephyrs or Vauxhall Victors... Times have changed. and the majority of the attendees actually like the "Sunday market/country fayre" additions. Don't believe it? Then leave the crowdline during the flying display at RIAT, Biggin or many other shows and take a look at the "pointless" stalls. The stallholders are not idiots, they would not turn up (and pay handsomely for the privilege) if they did not make a decent profit from it or in some cases if their cause or charity did not benefit.
There is no "enthusiast bashing" involved. It is a proven fact that "diehard" aviation enthusiasts are far outnumbered at most "air shows" by what some of us sneeringly regard as "Joe Public" (those are the ones who pack up and leave as soon as the Red Arrows and the Spitfire have flown).
Just because you aren't interested in the stalls or the Techno Zone, don't be so arrogant as to assume that no-one else is. I've been an aviation enthusiast for about 70 years (according to my late mother I developed an interest in aircraft before I was 3 years old) and I enjoy browsing the stalls and the Techno Zone and the re-enactors (who are anathema to some blinkered "enthusiasts").
nothing is confirmed at a show until its u/c hits the tarmac or it is running in for its display.....
He's merely stating that air shows were just as successful with out all the other side shows, which I totally agree with.
I also think that all the enclosures and stands are a joke in my opinion also. Whatever happened to just buying your ticket and watching the show? Gets a bit frustrating especially for someone that can't fork out on FRIAT. Everything is 'upgrade this, pay for this'.
phreakf4 wrote:Yes, let's go back to the way it used to be, only one tv channel, no home computers, no internet, no mobile phones, no digital photography let's all go back to driving Ford Zephyrs or Vauxhall Victors... Times have changed. and the majority of the attendees actually like the "Sunday market/country fayre" additions. Don't believe it? Then leave the crowdline during the flying display at RIAT, Biggin or many other shows and take a look at the "pointless" stalls. The stallholders are not idiots, they would not turn up (and pay handsomely for the privilege) if they did not make a decent profit from it or in some cases if their cause or charity did not benefit.
There is no "enthusiast bashing" involved. It is a proven fact that "diehard" aviation enthusiasts are far outnumbered at most "air shows" by what some of us sneeringly regard as "Joe Public" (those are the ones who pack up and leave as soon as the Red Arrows and the Spitfire have flown).
Just because you aren't interested in the stalls or the Techno Zone, don't be so arrogant as to assume that no-one else is. I've been an aviation enthusiast for about 70 years (according to my late mother I developed an interest in aircraft before I was 3 years old) and I enjoy browsing the stalls and the Techno Zone and the re-enactors (who are anathema to some blinkered "enthusiasts").
He's merely stating that air shows were just as successful with out all the other side shows, which I totally agree with.
I also think that all the enclosures and stands are a joke in my opinion also. Whatever happened to just buying your ticket and watching the show? Gets a bit frustrating especially for someone that can't fork out on FRIAT. Everything is 'upgrade this, pay for this'.
i went to the website to have a look and as far as i can see it is £10.00 return for the shuttle bus at Yeovilton
FROM FANFARES TO FUNFAIRS!
It’s not all about aircraft! Explore the showground and witness the impressive Field Gun competition in the arena or enjoy a bit of retail therapy at one of the many trade stalls. Discover the world of engineering in our educational hangar or go thrill seeking at the fairground. Fancy being a pilot? Then experience the excitement of flying a fast jet in a flight simulator.
they also have that on the front page which made me smile
RIAT is RIAT, and Yeovilton is Yeovilton. I also agree that to have two carbon-copy airshows would be a bit “ehh”, too. And I note that all of the RIATers who aren’t going to Yeovilton seldom say when something is announced for RIAT “great addition. Hope it goes to Yeovilton too so as many people as poss get to see it/them”.
However; I feel that RIAT have got a considerable amount wrong this year. Not any one thing, but it’s death by a thousand plugs.
As I’ve said before, the confirmed list is pretty decent. Not vintage by a long shot, but very decent. It’s not so much that, it’s just the absolutely turgid PR and everything else distracting away from that.
This is the third time in two weeks where those of us signed up to VLAD/RIAT marketing have had two *very* different emails sat side-by-side in the inbox. The Ferris wheel is the perfect example of how wrong the PR is right now. And how dead they are to the situation around them.
And, maddeningly, if it’s this PR strategy they want to push this year, fine, but at least get it right? Time and again there are basic errors in communications. Again, take the ferris wheel email. It says booking from 6.30am, despite gates only opening at 7.30am. When questioned on Facebook, RIAT said “we meant 7.30, sorry!”
That’s unacceptable; it’s misinformation, and basic errors which really should not be made at this level, and members of the public shouldn’t have to go looking through Facebook comment chains on the off-chance that the official email setting out the timings is wrong.
I don’t think much of a hoo-hah needs to be made of it, but these sort of mistakes feel pretty routine this year. Typos in Tweets, wrong pictures of aircraft, complete silence on the “special Sunday flypast”. It’s all just a mess. And if that’s what they want to focus on this year as their main marketing push, then at least get the emails right.
I’ll willingly happy-clap RIAT from the rafters, and I have done for years, and in reviews of the show, but this year feels like a few slates short of a roof.
They may announce the C-130 demo on Thursday. It’s not really the point. It’s that, after Yeovilton announced the C-130 tac demo, they pushed out the ferris wheel email. It’s spectacular tone-deafness.
To me, it feels a bit like it did in 2011. RIAT had some stars that year no doubt, but it was widely acknowledged (by DBH themselves as much as anyone else) that they got things wrong. But Yeovilton absolutely smashed it out of the park as I recall with items like the French Navy role demo, or the Polish MiG-29, both of which were rare as balls then, and precisely the items RIAT should have been gunning for.
I’m lucky to have tickets to both, but I have to be honest, I’m much more hyped for Yeovilton than I am RIAT this year.
As far as I can remember. this is my first RIAT post of the year, no doubt someone will check that for me
Maybe it's a sign of the times but apart from The Daks over Duxford bash, I haven't done a single airshow this year. Mostly through work clashing but somehow I haven't got the motivation for it either. I am sure all negativity will be banished the moment I sit down with an overpriced coffee, in too small a cup, look around to see familiar faces and see the first mass rise of the crowd, to the first aircraft of note. I hope so. Anyway, looking forward to the Su and the Mig but especially the Spanish Harriers.
Agree with Tommy, the PR seems to have missed a beat this year. I like aircraft, I want to read about aircraft coming to the show. I don't want to read about a sodding Ferris Wheel being a star of the show.
jayne_morris wrote:i am not sure of the exact numbers of tickets that RIAT will sell for the Saturday but at a guess we will go for sixty thousand, what percentage of that figure do you think are hardcore aviation enthusiasts that are only interested in static shots with no cones or ropes, and a flying display that only contains the biggest baddest aircraft in the world?
at a guess i would say that the hardcore aviation enthusiasts are far outnumbered at an event like RIAT by the casual airshow visitor, so the organisers are having to cater for the masses that are happy to head for home after the red arrows have displayed and are not in the least bit interested in what aircraft are on the static line and are more interested in what is gong to keep the kids amused until the reds display is on
these casual airshow visitors are keeping airshows alive so dont knock them, in today's world if it was just hardcore aviation enthusiasts that attended events like RIAT then they just wouldn't happen
I struggle with the argument that a huge percentage of the crowd has no interest in aircraft or are just there for a family day out. I know the response I would get from most of my family if I described the sort of day out they would expect for their £50. The 5 am start, the queue, the next queue, the security etc, etc.
If I wanted a nice aviation family day out, I would take them to Old Warden or Duxford, where we could have a much more pleasant day out for less money and a lot less hassle.
The only reason I put up with it every year, is for those aircraft/aviation moments that you can't see anywhere else in the UK. If and when RIAT no longer manage to provide those, then I will be at home in bed rather than standing in a queue of thousands on an airfield in Gloucestershire.
This year has come the closest yet to staying at home, in bed.
I am also hoping every week for RIAT to confirm the grumman northrop firebird that was self-confirmed a while back as its something new and rare!
