RIAT may relocate

[aviodromefriend]

Shall we leave it to the RIAT to relocate or not?
Greenham was the best place for this, glad I was there in '83.
As I don't like airshows at all, this was a special day, with the 'Scramble' Fellowship to Southampton.

Ok with me, but if a mod asks an explanation about my posts, I feel free to reply.

[Spine24]

Ofcourse, don't take it as an offence.

[VinFlyer]

Relocation wouldn't increase the chances for good weather, but maybe they search for an airfield nearby a city with the possibility of paved parkingplaces.

Parking in industrial zones and long waitings for the shuttle busses........

This year I stayed at a hotel just outside Swindon, next to the huge Honda factory. Now look at what a huge parking place they've got there I know it's full of new Honda cars, but if RIAT would make some arrangements with Honda early on there must be some possibilities there? Use lots of shuttle busses to transport people from the parking to the show and back, it's just a few miles...

[kw.]

The way I read the BBC article, is that the organisers are thinking of re-locating the airshow away from Fairford only in the event of unforeseen events.
I.e. like for this year's event the venue would still have been Fairford, but the organisers would have decided on thursday (for example) to move all planes to Cottesmore (a place which did not have mudbaths) to have the airshow there.

I guess with a decent and well prepared back-up plan, aranging everything in 1 day - when the unforeseen event happens - should be possible.

Well, at least this time around, the organisers are thinking ahead only too bad the unforeseen needed to happen for real (They didn't learn from last year. The show nearly also got cancelled because of heavy rains. 1 day with less than expected or no rain, saved the event !)

I for one am happy, this f..k-up did not result in them going bust which was my fear. Guess they must have had a good insurance against lossed revenue.

[Stefan]

remember the Cottesmore years, which were not as good as (or maybe I should say inferior to) the shows before these years at Fairford.

Don't mention Cottesmore, as that proved in 2000 and 2001 it was not suitable.

Just out of curiosity; what is your definition of 'not as good' and 'not suitable'?

I am having a very hard time understanding what (apparently) was wrong with the shows at Cottesmore...

Greetings,
Stefan

Aircraft numbers way down, for example. Lot of countries that were common at the Fairford shows before not coming (especially in 2001, after experiencing what Cottesmore was in 2000) then (Israel for example, Norway and Denmark cutting down the number of aircraft types, and don't react about types withdrawn from service, as those types were until recently still in service, or are still in service). And be aware, Also RIAT themselves talked at a stakeholderforum about the Cottesmore years as not as succesful. And the reason RIAT gave was a lack of aprons at the base to house all the aircraft that would have come if the shows then would been have held at Fairford. Limited amount of aircraft of the same type (as RIAT just even didn't ask for too much of the same type then, also because of a lack of space at the site). (Enough, or do you want me to mention more). And yes, in 2001 even I had enough on one showday to do everything I wanted to do.

For the record; I can not alter my appearance here but my question was not a 'mod' question, but as a fellow aviation enthusiast!

To Cottesmore; I guess it is just a matter of perception. I have enjoyed each and every (R)IAT I have visited and never took real notice of the amount of a/c present. I would not have called Cottesmore worse than the ones at Fairford of Greenham Common... Each edition has its own specifics and highlights.

(Enough, or do you want me to mention more)

Well... I would be interested in the actual aircraft count. (From a quick scan of my logs I did note the numbers were down at Cottesmore, but they have not gone up since...) I guess you can present the actual number of a/c present at Fairford and Cottesmore?

Greetings,
Stefan

[aviodromefriend]

I.e. like for this year's event the venue would still have been Fairford, but the organisers would have decided on thursday (for example) to move all planes to Cottesmore (a place which did not have mudbaths) to have the airshow there.

Come on, Do you think an airshow is just aircraft being broughed together? There is a book, (actually about RIAT) Airshow, by Graham Hurley, about all aspects of organising an airshow. It's a huge organisation, also looking to accomodation for crew, safety, the direct surroundings of the base, structures on the ground (takes days to build), etc. etc. etc. You can't locate this to a different field with different circumstances around that other base in just one day.

If you are interested: ISBN 0 75281 793 0. And for the people that still have to read some books for their exams, it might be possible your teacher accepts it for that purpose to. It gives you a great insight in what is involved in staging an airshow, but also makes clear, what you say is completely impossible.

[aviodromefriend]

copied and pasted from airtattoo.com:

Is it true that the Air Tattoo is thinking of moving from RAF Fairford?
In almost all respects, RAF Fairford is the ideal location for the Air Tattoo. It suits the USAF and the RAF - given that it is a standby facility. The event also provides great opportunities, both financially and reputationally, for the Cotswolds.

As such, we very much hope that arrangements can be put in place to minimise a re-occurrence of this year. However, we would consider moving if we felt it was the only way that we could protect the Air Tattoo’s excellent international reputation and its status as one of the UK’s most exciting family days out.