View Full Version : RIAT, Fairford this Sunday?
Hi folks
Anybody going to Fairford this Sunday? Looks like I am driving, though I wouldn't mind flying there ( is it possible even, unless u r in an F16). Perhaps arrange a meet and put some faces to names.
REX
AerBabe
15th Jul 2002, 20:16
Oops, didn't realise it was this weekend. Would like to go... I'll let you know! :(
Wycombe
15th Jul 2002, 21:37
I'll be there on Sunday....public enclosures only for me this Year
:( :( (after a few in the real fun on the "other side").
bogcleaner
15th Jul 2002, 22:22
will be there on the nice side thank god I couldn`t take the crowds
I'll be there - hopefully flying in. Flying in there is perfectly possible but I suspect that if you have not organised it already it is too late. They need copies of insurance documents and you need to fill in a load of forms - one of which is 14 or 15 pages long and asks for things like diagrams of your display routine :-)
They charge a large handling fee if you fly in - but what the heck? It's a bit of a one-off!!
Quite looking forward to the day and I hope it all works out for me to fly in. Mind you if the weather is no good for flying in then it may not be worth going! I plan to be lurking in the area 20 minutes before my slot time so I don't mess up too much!
If you look at the aircraft participation list on the web site (www.airtattoo.com I think it is) you will see the list of visitors. It was seeing some of the aircraft on the list that prompted me to call them up and find out whether I could be on the list!
BEagle
16th Jul 2002, 06:21
Anyone else blagged a free ticket and 'day's entertainment in our enclosure' from the nice folk at Breitling UK? Just don't forget to wear your watch as that's a condition of entry.....
The Nr Fairy
16th Jul 2002, 10:31
BEagle :
No, but I'll be looking out for your big watch and small lunchbox . . .
Myself, Mrs Fairy and Fairy Junior will be attending on the Saturday. I'm going to get him to say either "collective" or "fixed wing pilots are nancy boys" before the end of the day.
Danza
16th Jul 2002, 11:35
Remember people (even though it says it in the title) it's back at Fairford !!, just making sure nobody turns up at Cottesmore:D
(Apparent this actually happend when it changed from Fairford, a coach load turned up at Fairford not realising it had been moved)
Wycombe
16th Jul 2002, 12:50
GRP....
Based upon my previous involvement (ex RIAT "volunteer"), I'd say you've been lucky to get a slot....unless you have connections with RIAT/Rafbf that is!!
Sounds like great fun....
Always found it amusing working in the area I did, when bold(normally FJ) young Officers would breeze into the Office issuing demands (parking/fuel for jet, where's my key for hire car/ticket to the hanger bash etc!!) and then find the person they're addressing is a Gp Capt or Air Commodore in shorts & t-shirt :) :)
Nope. No connections with RIAT or the RAFBE!
When I looked on the web site only about a month ago there were only a couple of visitors listed and when I called up I was immediately assigned a PPR number in the low teens. I see now there are quite a few more aircraft listed. To be honest I was surprised that all the available slots hadn't been booked out already - most of the tickets for grandstands, enclosures etc were sold out already! I suspect not a lot of people would think you could fly in so don't bother to try.
I now have my slot time and weather permitting will be heading up there early on saturday. I've taken the precaution of calling Brize ATC for a briefing - they were completely helpful, fantastic.
I'll report back!
Wycombe
17th Jul 2002, 07:45
I'm sure you've got in by doing a lot of upfront planning and getting your bid in well in advance, good on you for that!
You'd be amazed (maybe not!) at the no. of calls we used to take in the days immediately before the show (and on the show days themselves) from people who would just phone up and ask if they could fly-in (who should really realise that RIAT is not a grass strip fly-in - not that I have anything against those!).
As you have said, the paperwork itself makes this unworkable in most cases.
RIAT is a HUGE undertaking, with months of pre-planning, and considering that the actual flying display runs for the best part of 9 hours each day, slots in and out in the morning and evening are bound to be limited.
Well.... after all that I never made it anyway thanks to low cloud over Goodwood when I arrived there this morning at 6.45. It cleared, but by then I was too late. Drove up in the end - never again!!! The traffic was appalling. We got stuck for 2 hours getting in and a mind-blowing 5 hours just getting out of the car park on the way back.
We missed the 'prang' that took place around midday and by the time we arrived they had pretty much restarted the displays. Particularly awesome sights were the B1B which has to be the noisiest thing I've heard to date, the F117 Stealth Fighter and the B2A Spirit which unbelievably had flown all the way from Missouri for a single flypast at Faiford before heading back home! The crew spent more time in that aircraft than I did in the car, which is saying something!
Ho hum.... maybe try to fly in there next year! It was particularly irksome sitting in that car park watching a C182 depart!
LowNSlow
21st Jul 2002, 04:11
GRP I never realised that you could fly into something like RIAT. Just how much is the "large handling fee"? Probably more than my Auster is worth :eek:
Ahh, I remember the B1B setting off car alarms and making kiddies cry at Mildenhall 5 years ago. Marvellous. They also had the manic Turkish national formation team in F-5's. Brilliant, especially the completely over-the-top commentator :D
BEagle
21st Jul 2002, 07:26
Right. That's settled it. I've got a free ticket for a day's entertainment thanks to Breitling - but I am bŁoody NOT going to get stuck in traffic for 2 hours or be imprisoned in any damn car park for 5 hours for anyone. So I shall be staying at home - no doubt the 4 F-16s going round and round over Witney for 30 minutes infuriating my neighbours will be back this afternoon - and there'll be RIAT highlights on TV at some stage in any case.
Noggin
21st Jul 2002, 10:08
Go by bicycle. its easy! Unless its stolen by motorist!
canberra
21st Jul 2002, 15:41
i realise that whilst im writing this that riat is almost over for this year! but on the subject of landing fees, as fairford is a royal air force station landing fees should be the same as any other british military establishment. when i was stationed at leuchars we used to have some people arrive by air, one guy actually rang me up the day before,unfortunately i had to tell him hed left it too late. if anyone tries to attend next years, always assuming that there is one next year, and gets given a high figure i suggest getting on to the raf commander to get the figure checked. the rates for landing at mod airfields are in the air pilot.
Daifly
21st Jul 2002, 16:32
I'd be interested to know what the Landing Fees are there.
We tried to take a Learjet into there recently but got referred by the SATCO to the "Department of Defense, Pentagon" (spelling is correct on this one :p) so we ended up going to Lyneham instead.
Although it's an RAF Station all the admin is undertaken by USAFE, so I'm guessing you'd be paying their scale of charges, not HM Brenda's...?
I had occasion to be flying into the Fairford TRA this afternoon to go to Kemble. On the return we had the 4 said F-16's do a little fly by for us just south of Bath. The kind gentleman gave us plenty of warning and told us where to look, then as they were coming into our 12 o'clock told us so - 1/2 mile ahead, 400 feet below. And there they were - quite an awsome moment! The two of us sat there, gripping the yokes and screaming 'takatakatak' as they went past. Sad I know, but it had to be done!!
There was no landing fee, but a handling fee of Ł265 for a light single. A little steep but at 9pm last night I would have paid twice that to get out of that infernal field!!!
They also require you to have the AVN52 war risk cover on your insurance. This is the one that was revoked last september but certainly was put back on my insurance this year. The insurance went up considerably this year, but I don't think simply asking for this cover to be removed would have made a difference to that.
Apart from that they require the standard Crown Indemnity cover (Ł7.5m) that most insurance policies seem to include as standard.
There were not that many private aircraft leaving when we were there yesterday - most of those that were were exec jets. I'd probably have a bash at booking in again next year and see if it can work two years running! Maybe next time I will actually get there by air!
DOC.400
22nd Jul 2002, 10:28
Great, great day at RIAT. Was watching the 222 do a very spirited display from the queue -not surpirsed he stuffed it!
But -the RAC signs were non-reflective and difficult to read in the dark -apparently motorists were overshooting them in daylight!!Nobody knew where the Early Brid CP was Friday night
Took 2 hours to walk in from the car park, only two X-ray scanners in operation -crazy.
Vulcan FM should be shot, never heard such an amateurish station for ages -it was Jenny Catt's first time on air, and it showed!! Even Sean Moffat's 'commentary' in the morning was very poor -lots of gaps and drivel -he desperately needed a script.
We arrived back at our motor home at 19.15, watched a Beemer take two hours to move 5 car lengths. Eventually left at 23.00 after the CP emptied for a flying run home.
Somebody -organisers, Glos Constabulary need to be shot !!!!
Understand it was BETTER at Cottesmore because of the direct access to the A1?
Rgds
DOC.400
c.c. RIAT(e-mailed today)
Wycombe
23rd Jul 2002, 12:27
....I shall consider myself quite lucky then. Attended on Sunday - took about 2hrs to get in from joining the queue on the A419, we were still in by 10am (security seemed to be doing bag scans on a small sample, which may have speeded things up, with consequent oppositive effect on security effectiveness!)
....on leaving, we were out of the Car Park (blue) and on our way within 10 mins!
As we were leaving, there was a statement to the effect of "we know we've got it wrong, and will do something about it for next time" on Vulcan FM.
I guess a lot of the locals (who didn't travel to Cottesmore) who were waiting for the return of RIAT after 3 years will have been sorely disappointed.
Hope you're reading Paul & Tim!!
Danza
23rd Jul 2002, 12:41
Got into the car park at about 6.30am, no messing about and straight in, getting out at about 7.30pm was a bit of a pain.
There is no point moaning about the traffic, the rest of the day more than made up for it !!!. Where else can you see a B-52, F-117 and a B1-B take of in the space of a few mins.
I've got to say this year the Reds, kicked-Ass, all the other display teams through the day were amazing and set a high standard for them to follow. But the Reds, blew them all away, the syncro pair seemed busier than usual and the Jubilee break was something else, (climbing down from soap box) I've got to say as the tribute to the bomber crews was very well done.
Roll on next year :) :)
It was the blue car park that had all the problems on saturday. Wycombe... did you get routed back into the airfield and to another gate or did you go back the way you had come in to the A419? On saturday the car parks simply didn't move for three hours or more until somebody obviously decided to open up the route through the airfield - at which point the whole thing cleared in a fairly short time.
As for the security thing... I was talking to somebody this afternoon who got all the way into the blue car park on saturday and then turned around and came straight back after being told that the queue to get through security would take 3 hours.
It sounds as though they reduced it all to spot checks on the sunday to avoid the chaos, and quite possibly somebody pointed out to them what they were doing wrong in the blue car park!!
For anybody who was there on sunday.... did the B2A Spirit make a return trip?
Wycombe
23rd Jul 2002, 22:10
GRP,
Great pity you didn't get to fly in after all that planning & paperwork!
No, didn't get routed onto the airfield on leaving, just drove out (the bottom of) the field into Kempsford, then along the lanes back to the A419. Only queue we hit was running up to the M4 J15 (about 15 mins slow-moving before getting to the M-way).
Yes, the Spirit did return on Sunday, with 4 F15's from Lakenheath. Interesting that as it departed to the NE after the fly-through, it seemed to leave them behind a bit :D :D
(anorak on)
Apparently, it was supposed to be the same airframe both days (with a 3hr turn-around at Whiteman between the trips), but the word from the spotting world is that it was a different one on Sunday
(anorak off) ;)
Romeo Romeo
23rd Jul 2002, 22:40
It sounds dreadful! I went to RIAT at Cottesmore the last two years and I only queued for about 15 minutes each time - and I got there at about 9ish both times, not some stupid time in the morning. I have to say I'm really put off going to Fairford after what people have said.