Fly-Ins - What do you want?
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Burgess Hill, UK
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I dont like having to pay landing fees at fly-ins if its just a small fly-in at a regular airfield, particularly where the airfield is benefitting a lot by extra custom, fuel sales restaurant sales, and particularly where the airfield puts little effort into the fly-in.
Most airfields dont charge when there is a fly-in. Some do.
I dont mind paying though when other organisations have put on a fly-in and have to hire the airfield and a lot of equipment to make the fly-in happen. Most of these events are the larger more interesting ones anyway. Similarly if its an airfield or a strip that has been opened up specially for the event.
A lot of the best small events at strips dont charge, but have good catering made by the locals offered at a reasonable price, but to make a profit and thus cover their expenses and perhaps make a donation to charity. You dont mind paying a bit extra if you know its good stuff and the profit going to a good cause, rather than buying grease burgers from the local rip-off mobile catering unit!
Most airfields dont charge when there is a fly-in. Some do.
I dont mind paying though when other organisations have put on a fly-in and have to hire the airfield and a lot of equipment to make the fly-in happen. Most of these events are the larger more interesting ones anyway. Similarly if its an airfield or a strip that has been opened up specially for the event.
A lot of the best small events at strips dont charge, but have good catering made by the locals offered at a reasonable price, but to make a profit and thus cover their expenses and perhaps make a donation to charity. You dont mind paying a bit extra if you know its good stuff and the profit going to a good cause, rather than buying grease burgers from the local rip-off mobile catering unit!
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: He's on the limb to nowhere
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Provide a BBQ for people who want to bring their own food and free burgers for those that don't. I'd put more money in the tip jar than the burger cost, and buy fuel. If 100 people eat a free burger and don't pay for it you are only out £50, and you remember not to put money in their jar when they lay on the same welcome. You'd have far more people turn up, which is the whole point, flyins are not to make money just like you don't expect to make money when you hold a party at your home.
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Essex
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Firstly thanks for the responses to date. I have noted all your comments and I am assessing our own event against them to see how we measure up. An initial assessment looks promising, but I try not to rest on my laurels.
I do not intend to comment on every suggestion raised as some we have little or no control over e.g. weather, geography and local airfield operating requirements. However I would like to comment on the following:
Slot Times – As Windy Militant noted there are advantages to slot allocations. We use slots for the reasons given by Windy but try to be as flexible as possible with generous margins (+30 minutes). We try not to turn anyone away either who turns up outside their slot, but responsibility on the day is at the discretion of the ATC team (Aerbabe & co) and the local circumstances at the time.
Yellow tabards – Safety is a paramount consideration for us, for both visitors and our ground crews. In many cases local Health & Safety rules (and best practice) make tabards a requirement. Our ground crews always try to be polite and helpful, which is more than can be said about some pilots (non PPruners presumably!)
Interesting Aircraft/type gatherings – Our event always has type gathering (usually around a significant “birthday” or milestone) as a theme. Over the last few years we have hosted gatherings of Aeronca, Vans, Stampe, Mooney, Jungmann, Stearman, and Bonanzas, to name but a few. Last year the Egelsbach Club also joined us for the weekend.
We are always keen to host type or club gatherings and in 2006 the Piper Comanche and Chipmunk will feature at our event. If anyone wants to hold a group gathering at our event, please drop me a PM.
Finally we all have dreams, with generous donations in lieu of landing fees (ours are free), bikini clad hostesses, free food, perfect weather, no moaners etc on my list also, but we live in a real world.
I look forward to meeting some of you at our event at EGSX on 17-18 June 2006 (I hope that’s ok in the PPrune advertising rules), when you can see how we measure up against your own Fly-In requirements.
Phil
G-APDK
I do not intend to comment on every suggestion raised as some we have little or no control over e.g. weather, geography and local airfield operating requirements. However I would like to comment on the following:
Slot Times – As Windy Militant noted there are advantages to slot allocations. We use slots for the reasons given by Windy but try to be as flexible as possible with generous margins (+30 minutes). We try not to turn anyone away either who turns up outside their slot, but responsibility on the day is at the discretion of the ATC team (Aerbabe & co) and the local circumstances at the time.
Yellow tabards – Safety is a paramount consideration for us, for both visitors and our ground crews. In many cases local Health & Safety rules (and best practice) make tabards a requirement. Our ground crews always try to be polite and helpful, which is more than can be said about some pilots (non PPruners presumably!)
Interesting Aircraft/type gatherings – Our event always has type gathering (usually around a significant “birthday” or milestone) as a theme. Over the last few years we have hosted gatherings of Aeronca, Vans, Stampe, Mooney, Jungmann, Stearman, and Bonanzas, to name but a few. Last year the Egelsbach Club also joined us for the weekend.
We are always keen to host type or club gatherings and in 2006 the Piper Comanche and Chipmunk will feature at our event. If anyone wants to hold a group gathering at our event, please drop me a PM.
Finally we all have dreams, with generous donations in lieu of landing fees (ours are free), bikini clad hostesses, free food, perfect weather, no moaners etc on my list also, but we live in a real world.
I look forward to meeting some of you at our event at EGSX on 17-18 June 2006 (I hope that’s ok in the PPrune advertising rules), when you can see how we measure up against your own Fly-In requirements.
Phil
G-APDK
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Not a million miles from EGTF
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Looks interesting
I do hope you think again about slot times - a +/-30 minute flexibility is nowhere near enough for me in the far SW. We are more like the gas man - we give an arrival time on the same day....perhaps!
I do hope you think again about slot times - a +/-30 minute flexibility is nowhere near enough for me in the far SW. We are more like the gas man - we give an arrival time on the same day....perhaps!
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Sunny Dorset
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fancy dress and free food!
Our most popular and fun fly in this year was without doubt our Fancy dress fly in, we had half price landing fees - which caused a few little gripes until they were told it entitled them to Free Bacon Butties and Sticky Buns....
There weren't a huge amount of people flying in in fancy dress which was a bit of a shame, but all the staff were looking suitably rediculous and there was a fantastic atmosphere and lots of laughs
you mean u missed the bikini plane wash?? where were you!
egha
There weren't a huge amount of people flying in in fancy dress which was a bit of a shame, but all the staff were looking suitably rediculous and there was a fantastic atmosphere and lots of laughs
you mean u missed the bikini plane wash?? where were you!
egha
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: East Midlands
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Slot times (again!).
Over the year(s) we have tried to support as many fly-ins as possible, certainly the one G-APDK is involved with if I'm thinking correctly. I understand the desirability from an organiser's point of view, and the flexibility G-APDK's flyin at least seems to be prepared to provide.
However, as far as I'm concerned using a club a/c it just doesn't work. Take the example where the previous user of the a/c unexpectedly returns fifteen minutes late. As it happens, the a/c also needs fuel, so by the time that's done too and we're ready to go, we're already the best part of thirty minutes on the back side of the drag curve. All it then takes is ten minutes at the hold waiting for inbound jets, or a stronger headwind than we anticipated when we booked the slot (sometimes well in advance) and we've well and truely blown the slot. If on the other hand we book a later slot in anticipation of sods law being invoked on the day, we get glares from the club for having the a/c sat idle on a busy Saturday/Sunday for 45 minutes before we leave. Now I acknowledge that G-APDK says that they'd still try to be flexible but that its at ATC's discretion - well sorry, but I'm not flying half way across the country chasing a slot I might or might not make, and then find that ATC can't accommodate us if we miss it.
Like I say, we've tried to support many flyins over the years, but slot times are the biggest turn off - to be honest, as far as I'm concerned if there's two events the same day and one needs slots, the one without slots wins, and if there's only one event a $100 burger somewhere else probably wins too.
Andy
Over the year(s) we have tried to support as many fly-ins as possible, certainly the one G-APDK is involved with if I'm thinking correctly. I understand the desirability from an organiser's point of view, and the flexibility G-APDK's flyin at least seems to be prepared to provide.
However, as far as I'm concerned using a club a/c it just doesn't work. Take the example where the previous user of the a/c unexpectedly returns fifteen minutes late. As it happens, the a/c also needs fuel, so by the time that's done too and we're ready to go, we're already the best part of thirty minutes on the back side of the drag curve. All it then takes is ten minutes at the hold waiting for inbound jets, or a stronger headwind than we anticipated when we booked the slot (sometimes well in advance) and we've well and truely blown the slot. If on the other hand we book a later slot in anticipation of sods law being invoked on the day, we get glares from the club for having the a/c sat idle on a busy Saturday/Sunday for 45 minutes before we leave. Now I acknowledge that G-APDK says that they'd still try to be flexible but that its at ATC's discretion - well sorry, but I'm not flying half way across the country chasing a slot I might or might not make, and then find that ATC can't accommodate us if we miss it.
Like I say, we've tried to support many flyins over the years, but slot times are the biggest turn off - to be honest, as far as I'm concerned if there's two events the same day and one needs slots, the one without slots wins, and if there's only one event a $100 burger somewhere else probably wins too.
Andy
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Dublin
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Do they really turn you away if your miss your slot time? Or is it more of a case of "do your best to be here around that time"?
I've only ever been to one event that I needed a slot time for, and was there on time. Having said that, many arrived well after the last official slot time, and were happilly accepted.
So, has anyone ever actually been turned away for missing a slot time? Exclude for this events where you are told there is a display comencing at 12:30pm, and you must be on the ground befor 12:00pm, and you actually turn up at 1pm.
I've only ever been to one event that I needed a slot time for, and was there on time. Having said that, many arrived well after the last official slot time, and were happilly accepted.
So, has anyone ever actually been turned away for missing a slot time? Exclude for this events where you are told there is a display comencing at 12:30pm, and you must be on the ground befor 12:00pm, and you actually turn up at 1pm.
