Paul,
I brought an FJ aircraft in to Waddo this year and apologise that the display we put on FOR YOU was not up to your expectations. The show couldn't have been too bad as we managed to attract another 79999 punters who mostly seemed to be quite happy.
Yes, I agree, the traffic situation was not good however, did you use the park & ride that was laid on? (most buses I saw were max half full) - and, if you only live 3 miles from the base could you not walk? Or do you need to run your car engine for 2 hours to add the the pollution problem?
You have answered your own question regarding the static park. Correct, the RAF do not have enough aircraft AVAILABLE to put on a big static display. From what I saw, the ONLY fixed wing aircraft missing were the VC10 and Tristar. These guys are probably the most overworked of all of the fleets in the force and probably did not have an aircraft or a crew available due to the ever increasing commitments we are asked to fill.
Please remember, most of the static crews are volunteers. I expect (myself included) that they returned home to a normal week's work with no time off for the 20+ hours worked for the public's benefit over the weekend.
Comments such as 'the static park was a shambles' and 'I was frankly V disappointed' will not be well received by me or anyone else who gave up a lot of time in organizing and taking part in the show.
Now, I may be proved wrong by the flood of posts that will appear on this thread but comments like yours will only discourage the RAF from organizing any more public events for YOUR benefit and should be kept to yourself rather than having a dig at the service because the show wasn't really good enough for you.
By the way...what would you have done differently?
Edited as my typing in an enraged state of mind is not good.
[This message has been edited by Tilt&Gain (edited 02 July 2001).]