Is RIAT a good day out? Yes (but really hard on the old pins)
2 Is it expensive? The entrance fee is not in my view but the sundry other items are. (Completely agree, the food and drinks stalls are an absolute rip off) Mildenhall (sadly missed) should be used as an example, they insisted on astandard relatively cheap price across the board
3 Value for money? Yes, its got to be, 10 hours of flying, no where beats that, I dont know what it costs to get into Siverstone but I bet its close to 3 figures if you want to get near the action. (not the case at RIAT)
4 Was this year the best? No way (BUT NOT FAR OFF), but that's testament to the great shows in the past and everything looks good in hindsight anyways, again I agree, but RIAT does suffer from late cancellations quite badly.
5 Do the volunteers do a good job? Yep, (AGREED, I,m one)
6 Do they give a surprisingly small contribution to the RAFBE? Yep ( BUT DO WE EVER SEE THE TRUE FIGURES)
7 Will I miss it if it's gone? Absolutely, (AGREED)
8 Can it be improved? Yes, (IT NEEDS TO REFLECT ON THE EARLY YEARS, AND REDUCE THE HANGERS ON AT THE VERY TOP, there,s far to many but RIAT probably need them to smooth out the problems).
9 Will I go next year? Yep, (20TH NEXT YEAR ALREADY BOOKED THE TIME OFF)
10 What one thing would I change? (REDUCE THE SO CALLED MANAGERS LIST..HAVE A LOOK IN THE PROGRAMME AT THE STAFF LIST, THEN LOOK IN THE RIAT HANDBOOK, THE LIST IS DOUBLED) DO THEY REALLY NEED A "VIP BBQ MANAGER"
REMEMBER IT IS AN AIRSHOW...SO THE AIRCRAFT SHOULD BE THE STARS....SOMETIMES I THINK AIRCRAFT ARE THE "EVIL NECESSITY"
AS FOR THE WADDINGTON SHOW, I DONT AGREE, I,ve been as both punter and crew, they get pretty good aircraft but its not as profesionally produced as RIAT everything is son cramped, VFM is probably better but back room support is crap, so much so my skipper once sent a really nasty bitch to the Staysh.
And if you want a rip-off go to ALTON TOWERS, no way is RIAT a rip off
BLUE TAIL...WHO IS ALSO KNOWN (AND HAS UPSET MANY )