Airshow prices…

RE: Airshow prices…

i know eaxctly what you mean as we in the world of motcross ahve the smae problem – poor clubss if they want to run a gp have to pay£1/4 miilion to out equivilant of bernie eccleston and then lash out £100k to run the event and only get income from people through the gates. these clubs are oftne staffed by volunter like uncle keith mca and me , and the site of these VIP being treated in comfort while we slog away is to put it midley anoying.

rabie :9

RE: Airshow prices…

PS. When I referred to the 40 who worked bloody hard to bring you the show, I was only referring to the engineering team. There were others who work equally hard, and I did’nt include them amoungst the “Hangers on”.
KeithMac.

RE: Airshow prices…

Hi Nephews, I can perhaps add something to this debate as I was part of the engineering support team for the IAT for 10 years, so I can make some informed comment. Firstly Roger S is a little wrong on 2 points. The parking of the aircraft is determined by 2 main factors which are, whether they were going to be static or flying and secondly by the physical layout of the airfield. It’s also influenced to a degree by when the aircraft arrive, or if they arrive at all! I can assure you that the engineering crews worked for days before trying to get the parking right, we did’nt always succeed. The comment about making promises and not keeping them is a bit unfair. Aircraft go unserviceable and often don’t show, I’ve experienced this both at IAT and also when trying to launch aircraft of my own bound for airshows. However, having said all that, the discussion is about the price of tickets. I and the other 40 or so volunteers who worked bloody hard for a week to bring you the show supplied our services free of charge. We were fed and accommodated in sometimes pretty squalid conditions, but we did it because we were all guys who liked aeroplanes. What began to annoy me however, and David Burke hit on it, was the amount of cash lavished upon the visiting aircrew, and particularly the big party on the sunday night after the show. Also as the years went by, the number of non productive “hangers on” who also seemed to be fed and watered, and the number of VIP guests. In the end I got so annoyed at the squandering of money which should have gone to the RAFBF that I withdrew my services. I think the £30 a ticket would be valid if the bulk of it went to the Benevolent Fund, (I may need it in a few years), but it’s not valid when a substantial portion of the cash is spent entertaining visiting crews in an over generous manner, and as a result, the average aviation enthusiast is being overcharged for entry. Anyone want to come back on this?

KeithMac

RE: Airshow prices…

I understand that waddington is an alterenative for the RIAT. If so, i’ll give it a try this year (although it is on my birthday so I must find a good excuse for the homefront). How are the photo opertunities at Waddington?

RE: Airshow prices…

The money made from a RIAT for the benevolent fund aint that much ISTR. I suppose if you get a KC135 packed to the gunnels with crew that you have to house and feed and multiply it by dozens then profits dwindle. We used to routinely mount a display at RIAT until they started charging us! Bare in mind each stall costs about £800 to £1500 for the weekend. It should return shed loads to the RAFBF!!

Maybe someone from RIAT who may be ‘lurking’ could comment?!

RE: Airshow prices…

…and sadly, I think I’ll be one of those.

RE: Airshow prices…

I think it’s excessive considering the bases used are paid for by the
tax payer – the visiting aircraft from foreign airforces are doing it either for free or for fuel and in reality a large amount of money from the entrance fee is being used to accomodate and entertain these aircrew for the night.
Duxford and Shuttleworth are able to put on entertaining airshows without charging a fortune to get in – maybe it’s time the RIAT people looked at what they provide and the entrance fee’s and decide to be bit more modest.

RE: Airshow prices…

As someone who has not been able to visit airshows since the late eighties due to work commitments and then health concerns, I was surprised to see the price of £30 admission for RIAT. At first I thought that was really expensive but if you consider it’s quite competitively priced compared to concerts or live theatre shows.

At concerts, theatres etc., you are lucky to get two and a half hours entertainment and are still charged exorbitant amounts for merchandise and refreshments. At least with something like RIAT you get a full days entertainment for your money. And you can video it to watch again, try doing that in a concert!!!!

Regards,

kev35

RE: Airshow prices…

Living in Holland and Spain, where most airshows are free, or no expensive than maybe 1.5 to 3 pound sterling, and then the people start complaining and boycotting the event, I think it is criminal to ask such prices. When you look to the recent IAT’s, to me it is just a way of milking the people out. At first you have to pay the high entrance fee, then you pay more for a bustour (they are clever enough to park some of the interesting aircraft at the other side, so you have to take the bus, and following, as most of the runway view is blacked by tents, chalets and other vip or sponsoreed obstacles, you have to pay for a seat on the tribune if you want to take photographs. I also have the feeling that, to boost the cheaper (in advantage) tickets sales , they come with highlights that, after you have bought the tickets, don’t show up. Where were the Greek Albatross, the Beriev flying boat and all the others that never showed up, but were prommissed to get us to buy our tickets? For something that expensive I expect the best show in the world, but it isn’t. I don’t want to pay a lot for seeing 20 KC-135’s standing in a row.