Airshows as entertainment

I think shows on the whole are too repetative. Even though I love WWII fighters, that is all that people seem to fly nowadays. I would rather see something I haven’t seen before instead of another Spitfire or Mustang ressurected!

The most exciting display I remember seeing was the Vickers Vimy a few years back, it was so different from everything else. Now I see this team is also doing an HP42 civil airliner! If only more people took a page out of their book!!!!!!!!!

Let me, lifelong airplane nut and FlyPast subscriber confess something to an international audience.
Airshows bore me.
I like seeing the planes in action…the BBMF, CAF, or even solo planes.
But overall the airshow experience I find a bit shallow…designed a bit too much for the “mass market”.

Is it just me or does anyone agree?

In a word, yes.

Maybe it’s just the way my attitude has become over the years, but I’m actually quite anti- mass marketted solutions, regardless of what they are. As a youngster, I used to love going to RIAT, Farnborough, Mildenhall et al. The noise, the variety, the sheer exhilaration of being there to see it with all those other people. It really used to give me a buzz.

But now, barring last year’s RIAT (which for me was just one big posy easy day! 😉 ), Duxford is the largest show I will now attend. Much as I love Duxford, I tend to go more throughout the year on non-show days, as this is the best way to soak up the ambience of the place. Weather permitting, there are almost always vintage aeroplanes flying. And living where I do, occasionally during the summer, I get a Mustang or Spitfire gently cavorting around the sky just to the north of my back garden. How lucky I am!

Airshows per se are still a fabulous draw for me. I love seeing aeroplanes flying; it’s what they do, and it’s what I do. I feel at home near aeroplanes. But sometimes, actually no, EVERY time, when I see an aeroplane outside of an official airshow, it means just that little bit more.

I’ll give you an example; I took my son to Coningsby yesterday for his birthday. On the way there we saw a pair of Harriers run in and break at Wittering, we saw Fireflies on the pan at Barkston, Dominies and King Airs at Cranwell, a Chipmunk (ahhh) landing at Coningsby, a pair of Hawks whizzing about all day, and of course, we saw the Flight take off and depart for Lowestoft. We didn’t necessarily see any more aircraft than we’d have seen at an average air display, but these sometimes fleeting glances were ours, and that made them special.

Sorry, that was only really intended to be my 2p’s worth, but I’ve rambled on and given about £0.75. 😉

I had noticed (prior to last year, when I didn’t go) that East Fortune’s displays were very ‘samey’ – of course, it’s always a treat to see the BBMF, but I wasn’t so keen about going last year.

Like Flying Legends, they did seem to pull a few surprises out of the hat – the Buchon/Spitfire dogfight in 1999, the Buchon/P-40 dogfight in 1999, the Black and Blue (or Pink) pair, Plane Sailing’s Cat one year and the Sea Vixen a couple of years ago (when she was still in her authentic colours).

Had I not been going to Legends this year, I probably wouldn’t have gone this year, knowing what was going to be on the display sheet.

I don’t like taking a camera along – find myself trying to capture too much and make an arse of it than actually enjoying the show!

Let me, lifelong airplane nut and FlyPast subscriber confess something to an international audience.
Airshows bore me.
I like seeing the planes in action…the BBMF, CAF, or even solo planes.
But overall the airshow experience I find a bit shallow…designed a bit too much for the “mass market”.

Is it just me or does anyone agree?

Partially agree. Without a camera I find the displays a little dull. However having just switched to a Digital SLR there are lots of new challenges. Airshows are fun again.

I have taken my four year old son to a few shows this year. There is complete excitement and enthusiasm from him that is infectious. It is possible that our human traits cause disinterest rather than airshows being boring. We are easily bored of things we have done or seen before.

Try visiting a few airshows with people that have never been to one before. They will ask you so many questions you realise just how much you know and understand and therefore take for granted

Yet when the organisers can pull something as ‘simple’ yet stunning as the six-ship Rapide formation out of the hat.

A magic idea, I’d certainly never have thought of.

Moggy

Could not agree more its special things like that which make Airshows worthwhile.

Is it just me…?

Let me, lifelong airplane nut and FlyPast subscriber confess something to an international audience.
Airshows bore me.
I like seeing the planes in action…the BBMF, CAF, or even solo planes.
But overall the airshow experience I find a bit shallow…designed a bit too much for the “mass market”.

Is it just me or does anyone agree?

Maybe the heyday of shows has gone maybe we are just waiting the next big thing?who knows?.

Yet when the organisers can pull something as ‘simple’ yet stunning as the six-ship Rapide formation out of the hat.

A magic idea, I’d certainly never have thought of.

Moggy

It can not be easy for organisers these days with insurance costs etc,Shows do have a general sameness about them and i tend to think its not really the orgsanisers fault,You have only got to see how the crowd are for the Red Arrows and the gasps they make for the syncro pair or the wows Will Curtis gets for his routine while chatting to a commentator the Utt Butts also wow the crowd and Airshows need these things with the exeption of Legends,RIAT and Farnborough who can normally give the crowd something special and different and are generally more shows for the ‘Fans’.
I think Biggin Hill always makes a good effort to please both the normal public and us too,There line up this year including two Connie’s a DC6 and plenty of Warbirds should be commended especially as we came close to having no Airshow at Biggin Hill recently and they have had a hard time coming back from what occured dueing the 2001 display and with September the 11th as well its not easy times for organisers really.
For me Airshows still entertain and we are lucky we have so many Warbirds on the curcuit to choose from as well as Vintage Jets its just getting the happy mix to please us and joe public really.
Maybe the heyday of shows has gone maybe we are just waiting the next big thing?who knows?.

I can’t speak for the airshows in the UK, as I don’t get to visit them that often. But our annual airshow here in Jersey is becoming very repetitive.

I must come and get bored in Jersey sometime. 😀

Personally I got bored with the show scene in the late 90’s. Now prefer the fly-in scene and the more informal shows like Abingdon Fayre and Little Gransden. For instance I gave up with Biggin in the early-mid 90’s after the static became non existent.Being a spotter Im certinally not joe public but there are a few things I would like to see return. Top of my list was the old Unipart RF-4 team who were excellent, and great music 🙂 . Also the Tiger club tied tougher aerobatics are seen rarely, although they dont tend to work on large sites. After the first three fast jet displays I feel I have seen them all.
As for joe public, haven taken a few to shows in the past. Whats on the ground matters just as much as whats in the air. There has to be the ‘something for all the family’ on the ground too. The important ‘non aircraft’ things are 1)not having to walk miles for anything,2) admission price, once you get over £20pp(say £60 for a family+other bits) you will put joe public off. 3) Ease of access, sitting in a jam with hot kids is no fun I can tell you.
Went to RIAT last year(very good) but gave it a miss this year and was glad when I saw what was there. Its too expensive to run , carparks are too far away and it no longer has its pull. I think a return to a biannual event is a good idea. Looks like the public days at Farnborough will also die by 2006.
Oh and please can we return the good old BoB displays? Even if its north one year and south the next? Not having a RAF display in the south for over 10 years in a disgrace.

Having lived in the south and now an honorary northerner, i’ve gone from having an annual tally of about 12-15 shows a year to about 3 or 4. During my time down south i’ve had the chance to view everything from OW to B-2’s at the hall and most stuff in between. Since moving ‘up north’ the Air Displays have become a lot less but i’ve found that i enjoy them more even though they contain mainly the same thing. Just look at this year and last’s Sunderland show 90% identical at least (though Buff was nice to see this year). A look at elvington reveals 80%- 90 % the same suspects again as the year before. The same with Southport (this is my fave show up north though, mainly due to 4 harriers). So yes down south you do get the varity but personally the organisers need to try harder up north.
Just a bit about OW while i’m ranting :rolleyes: it has been my favourite place until they started to cut back on the budget. There was a spell when they had very very few visiting display acts (i know it had to be done btw to cut costs at a hard time), but this year looking at the visiters and the piccies from their, there has been a bit of imagination put into the shows and a decent smattering of visiting acts so i feel they have got a good balance back and i will deliberatly time my next jaunt down south to co-incide with a show there. 🙂

I think the days of the RIAT in the present format are or will be soon over. When they get back to ON-FIELD parking and downsize ie: hold it somewhere else than Fairford,plus re-price then a lot more families will return to see a show with some entertainment for everyone. The out of the way airshows do it and give a LOT of pleasure to people.

I think RIATs immediate future is pretty safe, as for what happens a few years down the line, then the smart money is on a move to a smaller scale show, most likely away from Fairford. The days of massive RIATs, like the mid-90s, are probably over. Having said that, I fully believe the RIAT name to be around for a good few years yet.

I can’t speak for the airshows in the UK, as I don’t get to visit them that often. But our annual airshow here in Jersey is becoming very repetitive.

I noted from their website that we will have the standard RAF format aircraft , Tornado, Jaguar (not for much longer), Tucano, Seaking, Harrier, Nimrod, BBMF, red Sparrows as well as the Scandanavian historic flight, Dukes of Brab’ and the Utterly flippin boring. I don’t know who they are catering for because it is exactly the same as last year. Even the general punter would expect something different each year.

It’s very sad that we have lost the Mildenhall Air Fetes and it looks as if we will lose RIAT too (T’was the rumour I’ve heard)

Fighter Meet, Great Warbirds, all the RAF BoB shows seem to have gone.

But there is still some variety in the shows. Plus the organisers seem to be injecting variety within their programmes – hence the Harrier (ugh) at Shuttleworth.

I suppose we in East Anglia are spolit. I rarely travel outside the area for a show unless there is a fly-in element. Then I rarely need to. Old Warden and Duxford cater for my needs admirably.

All we should add is more ‘Aerobat’ displays like the last one at OW :p :p

Moggy

Yes, the majority of airshows need to appeal to the general punter as much, if not more than the hardcore enthusiast. “Purists” might not like the Utterly Butterlys (personally, I don’t mind them. The Stearmans are lovely aircraft and the birds on the wing are easy on the eye too) and the like, but its acts like these which attract Kev, Sharon to bring little Tyson and Chanise from the council estate. Its the public pound which keeps airshows going more than the enthusiast’s dollar.

The good modern airshow (specialist shows like Legends and RIAT apart) will have a mix of participants. The Utterly Butterlys, Will Curtis, Red Arrows to appeal to the public, and modern fast jets, warbirds and one-off items to satisfy the enthusiast. Duxford’s September shows are good examples of what a strong modern airshow is all about.