Aero Expo 2011

[cashquest]

Hi all

Not got round to getting onlione since but I went to Aero Expo(On the Friday) weather was a little bad and indeed was the press day but found myself a little non plussed !

This is the first time I have been to AE and maybe I expected too much, as it was my first time I made every effort to look at everything but had it been a common occurance I guess I could have whipped round it in maybe 2 hours instead of the most of the day I spread it over.

Due to low cloud I guess not s many people flew in and all Air Displays were cancelled but I expected more displays, more choice and generally and better atmosphere I guess.

Maybe it is just me being awkward I dont know.

Can anyone post if u went and if you have been to others how did this years compare?

Safe Flying all
Stuart

[IO540]

These exhibitions are more or less the same every year.

IMHO the main point in going is to meet up with people.

[Genghis the Engineer]

I agree with IO540; I went (by car) on Sunday when the weather was reasonably bearable; an enjoyable show and the display was quite good. A few interesting new items such as the Flightdesign MC and Swift, but it really is about seeing people, the aeroplanes are the reason to see the people.

G

[silverknapper]

Sadly I agree, it was a poor effort with very few exhibitors in the hangars, limited choice in food and drink and not much atmosphere. It may just be me but 3 or 4 years ago at Booker it seemed a much better show. Poor weather that year too.

Think from now on it will be Friedrichshafen only.

[cashquest]

Well if it is about meeting people, as a new inexperienced pilot, I dont know many so that went straight out of the window and if these exhibitions are 'mostly' the same, the 6.5 hr round trip from Mancheser will not be happening again I dont think.

Have to say a little saddened by this news but I guess it reflects how little money we all have right now.

Thanks for your interest in my post Guys.

Stuart

[Flyingmac]

Try the LAA rally. Different ball game altogether.

[IO540]

But that is just how general aviation is.

Most of the pilot shop merchandise is clothing, watches, ATPL study material, GPSs, and odds and ends like maps and rulers. This has hardly changed in years.

There is little innovation in the aircraft too, from one year to the next. There is more on the "homebuilt" scene but still not a lot when you look only at proven products you can actually buy today.

For me, the fun stuff might be fancy new avionics but there is very little changing there from one year to another, and you never see anything at a show which you have not been reading about in all the mags for the previous X months.

So it's really about meeting old friends. Some of them are exhibitors, too.

Friedrichshafen is about 10x bigger than any UK show and is worth a visit. I've flown to 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and actually very little has changed in the exhibits. It's great for meeting up people from far away. But 2011 was visibly less attended than 2010.

2007 was busy as hell and they were selling PPR slots off their website, payable by Paypal :) Took us 45 mins to taxi to the holding point. 2011 was off in 5-10 mins.

[paulc]

As a enthusiast / spotter / photographer it was disappointing. Static exhibits were very tightly packed and limited making photography tricky. As for the location, well it is twice as far away from me as Booker making it an expensive weekend even to get there (it was cheaper to stay in a hotel than drive up each day) No access to hangars either which was a pity. Sloanes missed a trick by not offering a guided tour for a donation.

Please please please bring it back to Booker.

[SpreadEagle]

I have been to the UK Expo every year for 3 years (displaying). I also went to friedrichschafen.

I'm just not sure how the Expo family can make it better. This year they moved the show to the middle of the country + they added air displays so as whilst daddy was off getting excited about a new set of strobes for his aircraft the rest of the family could look forward to a display and barbeque in the evening.

The weather this year didn't help much. :(

Friedrichschafen was as mentioned much bigger. But what I did notice this year was very few people from the UK there. Less than ever before, and being on a stand and not speaking German, its the sort of thing you notice. The cancellation of the flight to Friedrichschafen this year didn't help much, but there seems to be less interest in general from the UK. The Expo after all is a trade show. It costs a lot of money for the smaller manufacturers to ship a prototype aircraft over to the UK for a show if there is no prospect of making a sale or two.

I think under the circumstances the Expo gang did their best in a depressed economy. Trying to make it more than just a trade show, but also a day out I think is a step in the right direction to entice people to come. But if the people won't go ... well I fear we will lose it altogether. I noticed a steep decline in what are affectionately known as 'bag rats' this year too. These are the people who come to the expo each year to look around and fill their entrance carrier bag with every free pen, sticker, foam aircraft and freebie they can get their hands on with no intention of buying anything. Whilst they don't help the traders, they create a hustle about the place and make it feel vibrant. Maybe the exhibitors need more freebies to get the bag rats back. You never know. One of those bag rats might fancy a new headset.

PS - I hate the LAA ralley. Too many beards and sandals. :p

[Jan Olieslagers]

The Expo after all is a trade show. It costs a lot of money for the smaller manufacturers to ship a prototype aircraft over to the UK for a show if there is no prospect of making a sale or two.

Yes, but the Expo make up for that with their continental edition, don't they? This year's at Bitburg looked like overcrowded to me, but I was quite happy visiting last year's in Czechia. I much enjoyed the air-show, and the commercial part was quiet enough for some interesting casual talk even if I didn't know anyone at the place.

[SpreadEagle]

Its not really up to the Expo. The individual dealers/manufacturers decide which events to attend. The Expo organisers do all they can to get as many exhibitors to go as they can, but it is the manufacturers who have decided not to attend. I think most of the GA 'big guns' were there.
Piper, ST2 Aero, Diamond, Tecnam, Czech sport, Pioneer, Breezer, Cirrus, Flight design etc.

I don't think I saw Fascination or Polaris or the makers of theComplete shark for example - nor Remos come to think of it. Maybe wrong on that one. This is going to sound awful but if Cessna were there I didn't notice them. Also not one semi-naked bored-looking Eastern European woman draped over an aircraft either. Maybe if we drill down the reasons for low attendance are more obvious than first observed. :p

[horatio_b]

The list of rules and regulations which exhibitors must comply with are enough to detract all but the most serious companies from attending. For example, all exhibitors must carry out a risk assessment and are only allowed to consume food purchased from official caterers. I think if there was an “aerojumble” kept separate from the main exhibition, but on a much more informal and less regulated basis for individuals and smaller businesses, it would greatly increase interest in the event (although the organisers may feel that this lowers the tone of their prestigious show)

[FlyingEagle21]

Much better at Booker..

[flybymike]

Not if you live up North.

[FlyingEagle21]

Not if you live up North.

OK, excluding location because for some it will always be a problem, where ever it's held. But in terms of atmosphere etc and overall, I believe it was better at Booker last year and the years previous.. Just my opinion.

[SpeedbirdXK8]

I think Expo is at a cross road - stay GA/LAA/Gyro etc or mature with larger aircraft for example entry level jets, bigger heli types, a bit more corporate? Talking to the organisers I get the impression they want to up the game and attract a wider audience but as someone said, because of the economics of having a stand, hotel costs, food costs, fuel to position aircraft the "bigger" boys want more bang for their buck!! And other targeted shows provide this such as EBACE, Helitech etc. Having been to every Expo since inception I prefered the location and lay out. I am certain the Expo Team will look back and learn so we should see be a better show with hopefully a wider range/mix of types without going corporate. It is about the aviation community and am rushed off my feet the whole talking to friends and meeting new people. :ok:

[IO540]

One problem with Northampton is that it is a helluva long drive from most of the prosperous south east of England.

And the train connections to it are rubbish. Especially with Thameslink being shut all weekend nowadays due to their virtually permanent "track works".

[SpeedbirdXK8]

IO540 - I can understand the choice of location for many & varied reasons and sadly the weather and current train works didn't help attendance. A few highly experienced pilots I was talking with opted not to fly in because they felt the joining instructions unsafe given the number of expected aircraft - Booker was a pain but safe! No doubt someone else will have a different view but something Team Expo should think about. Given the cross wind on Sunday (and change in direction at either end of the runway!) I am slightly surprised we didn't see more nose wheel accidents - I only counted one!

[IO540]

I too thought the joining instructions would severely increase the chances of a mid-air but one doesn't like to say it because one gets branded a wimp :)

The other thing is that IMHO the vast majority of visitors do not fly in; they drive or get a train. Flying is actually really expensive :)

Another thing is that if no hard parking is available, most of the higher end of GA won't fly in anyway because they are likely to get stuck.

I assume the location was chosen because the organisers got a lower price deal?

[silverknapper]

Jan. We must have been at different Bitburgs. It was dead, more so than Sywell.
I remember Garmin being at Booker some time ago. Cracking big stand, ask questions about your current gear, or play with the stuff you wish you could buy. That to me is what these exhibitions are about. The guys on Jepp stand couldn't even do nav updates as the wifi was so painfully slow.

Joining instructions ridiculous. trying to replicate Oshkosh without the organisation or approach control.

Speedbird I doubt anything bigger would be interested. Pilatus used to bring the PC12 but stopped. Ultimately manufacturers bring expensive aircraft to sell them. Not have spotters clamber all over them. With Friedrichshafen for the serious GA consumer, and Ebace for the serious Business Aviation consumer both within 6 weeks or so I'm not sure just how many serious customers are attending these shows.

Personally no complaints about the venue. And if anything bigger is ever going to attend the runway at Sywell is much better.

But it's still a GA exhibition so that's good.

[Jan Olieslagers]

Silverknapper, sorry I wasn't clear enough. Please to read:
"This year's Bitburg looked like going to be so overcrowded that..."
Apparently I misjudged, but didn't miss much by deciding I didn't even want to try and be there.

[Tim Dawson]

We exhibited at Aero Expo at Sywell and found it great. Much better than last year. There was huge interest in our existing and forthcoming products, and lots of people bought them.

[RVFlyer]

I thought it was small and filled with the same dull map/books/gps sales stuff as ever. The Garmin staff didn't know their product, the only stands worth a visit were Dynon and the Sennheiser guys. Engaging, interested and knowledgable. Unbelievably, the security staff prevented you visiting a tent after 17:30, if i'd paid for a stand and then some business preventions experts stepped in I'd be pretty irritated.

It was amusing to hear that the organisers offered a beer bribe to get people to watch the displays on Friday.

I'm off to Oshkosh!