Did anyone go on the wheel?

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MiG_Eater
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Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by MiG_Eater »

For all the discord it seems to have raised, i'm curious - did anyone go on the infamous wheel? Were any good photos to be had? It would be good to see them!

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captainfurious
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Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by captainfurious »

Ever the opposite of general opinion I was quite interested in the wheel. I will always remember opening my RIAT programme and seeing the full page image above all the static going on for miles and thought I'dove to see it. However the wheel was quite away from the main line so I didn't go up. Would also be interested to see what the view was like!

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speedbird2639
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Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by speedbird2639 »

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a43UspOtL5k[/youtube]

Not my video and the camera work leaves a bit to be desired but it gives you an idea. It does however confirm just how much of the flight line is now blighted with chalets etc.

Airshowhammer

Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by Airshowhammer »

Really highlights the amount of c*** on the showground.

Sad to see.

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The Baron
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Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by The Baron »

So effectively a naff position that serves purely to highlight how much dross there is on the airfield. Hardly a view to pay for.
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MiG_Eater
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Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by MiG_Eater »

Airshowhammer wrote:Really highlights the amount of c*** on the showground.

Sad to see.


Indeed. That ice cream van by the Flanker was placed pretty stupidly if the wheel was supposed to be a viewing platform rather than a fairground ride...

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harkins
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Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by harkins »

Wow, so a badly positioned wheel whether you wanted to photograph static aircraft or actually have a go on it. And yes, an ice cream van behind the Flanker and some people actually believe that the organisers give even the smallest hint of a damn. From that video it feels as if RIAT were doing a 'where's Wally' except with aircraft. What a mess.

MiG_Eater
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Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by MiG_Eater »

harkins wrote: ...some people actually believe that the organisers give even the smallest hint of a damn.


I am most definitely one of them.

I loved RIAT this year and I thought it was excellent. There was so much that proved to me how much the RIAT organisers care about the show and us enthusiasts. Of course, there's bound to be some mistakes here and there, but overall I absolutely loved the show.

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harkins
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Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by harkins »

Fair enough, I accept that there is some consideration given here and there and I like you did enjoy the week and it is still a great event (partly by virtue of there only being one other event of a similar nature and that one is on a much smaller scale).

But the list of issues this year was pretty long. Ok, the social media stuff was rubbish but it didn't really have any impact on the event in the end. But surrounding Mig-21s with a dozen Range Rovers, positioning wheels, ice cream vans and all sort of other stuff around some of the most interesting and photogenic aircraft, not running a lot of stuff down to the western end on arrivals when it was far from busy (and this I believe may have been partly to facilitate Tim Peake having a go with the Red Arrows) are just a couple of the things that happened that suggest that the paying public and the enthusiast community in particular are not always their prime concern. Full price for Friday? That was bonkers and that isn't an enthusiast/photographer gripe.

Another thing that was discussed a couple of times over the week was that although we're getting used to the mundane departures on Monday, we are perhaps not enjoying it quite so much and the arrivals themselves now have lost an awful lot of their appeal. Ok, so we get to see pretty much everything land but, we are no longer getting any run and breaks or lowish flypasts of any description. And given how few arrivals there are now compared to years gone by, this is a bit surprising. The Hunter was able to go round a few times to test their radar contraption but nothing else did. I did also hear a suggestion that this may in some cases owe to any spare fuel having been used for the benefit if half a dozen affluent photographers in a Skyvan and to the detriment of the hundreds of paying people stood in the airfield (perhaps nothing to do with RIAT?)

So anyway, yes it is a great event as a whole but, if nobody voices any discord over the multitude of 'small' issues that aren't good, then I can only see things getting worse to the point where even those who don't now see cause for complaint will themselves start to see things they don't like.

It's great but, it could be even greater with relatively little extra effort and thought.

MiG_Eater
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Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by MiG_Eater »

I have always treated the arrivals days as a total 'turn up and see what happens' event. It's not an airshow, and it isn't advertised as such. The P&V exists as an opportunity to watch the airshow setup, and the organisers are doing just that. It is not a day where they have a responsibility to entertain - those days are Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

I don't understand the MiG-21 comment either - despite being in the flying display, effort was made so that they were easily photographable as though they were on static display and it was also possible to walk around and climb up onto them as well.

If a Land Rover got in the way after arrivals - that is kind of annoying, but it's hardly the case that there wasn't an opportunity to photograph the MiGs over the weekend if that is your priority. I mean, I photographed the MiGs on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

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Wissam24
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Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by Wissam24 »

That video is pretty damning
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speedbird2639
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Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by speedbird2639 »

Seeing as the first video I found sparked a fairly lively debate here is a 2nd I've found (again not mine) with better camera work.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSOI7dwF1DQ[/youtube]

It does seem to be a bit of a liberty to call your product ' the World's Greatest Airshow' when if filmed from an elevated position you struggle to see more than a few aircraft.

Let's wait and see what changes in 2020 the arrival of the new boss delivers - I must admit I don't have high hopes.

Spotty_Jag
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Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by Spotty_Jag »

speedbird2639 wrote:Let's wait and see what changes in 2020 the arrival of the new boss delivers - I must admit I don't have high hopes.

Not sure the CEO of a multi-million pound company, with 50 staff, will personally decide the location of an attraction on the showground. That would be micromanagement at its finest...

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tankbuster
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Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by tankbuster »

speedbird2639 wrote:[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a43UspOtL5k[/youtube]

Not my video and the camera work leaves a bit to be desired but it gives you an idea. It does however confirm just how much of the flight line is now blighted with chalets etc.


What it does make me aware of is that nearly all the European shows I have been to treat static aircraft as an entity separate from chalets and the commercial areas.
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MC hammer
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Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by MC hammer »

[quote="harkins"]
But the list of issues this year was pretty long. Ok, the social media stuff was rubbish but it didn't really have any impact on the event in the end. But surrounding Mig-21s with a dozen Range Rovers, positioning wheels, ice cream vans and all sort of other stuff around some of the most interesting and photogenic aircraft, not running a lot of stuff down to the western end on arrivals when it was far from busy (and this I believe may have been partly to facilitate Tim Peake having a go with the Red Arrows) are just a couple of the things that happened that suggest that the paying public and the enthusiast community in particular are not always their prime concern. Full price for Friday? That was bonkers and that isn't an enthusiast/photographer gripe.
quote]




Whilst many aircraft went full length down to P+V west, which the tower did oblige us with, there were, as you say, periods where the norm became turning off half way down. The special Norwegian F-16 did this and if I remember correctly, a Finnish F-18 landed five minutes after and then nothing for half an hour or so. Of course there may be reasons for this that we are not aware of. Also we got lucky with a few items that were told to vacate early but either missed the instruction, or the turn off itself. The special Danish F-16 was certainly one of those.

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keithjs
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Re: Did anyone go on the wheel?

Post by keithjs »

Wissam24 wrote:That video is pretty damning
Airshowhammer wrote:Really highlights the amount of c*** on the showground.

Sad to see.


Yes indeed! So much wasted space! And I can now see where those green cones come from.....they've put the blue ones too close to to the yellow ones :heyhey:
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