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Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

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airtyphoon
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Location: Trowbridge, Wiltshire

Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by airtyphoon » Sun Jul 03, 2016 9:53 am

Traffic - I See there was a new team this year and they worked great, Getting in and out on Arrivals and Air day was Very Easy, so Credit where its due, Feedback was listened to after Last Year.

Static - Great Selection of Aircraft, Particular Mention to the Belgians who Brought a Two Seat F-16, only Gripe is why were the Barriers so Close?.

Flying Display, Well where do i begin, Great from Start to finish, Opening the Show with they Lynx/Wildcat Formation was a nice touch. Particularly Enjoyed the Sea Vixen, Reds, Rafale M Duo and Typhoon.
Maritime Assault - Great to see the Wildcat using the Countermeasure Flares but seemed very short for the Lynx's Last Appearance at its home show.
Commando Assault - Seemed shorter this year but very much didn't disappoint, Where else can you see 6 Merlin, 2 Wildcats and an Apache and Hawk all Flying in the Same space and the Merlin certainly Enjoyed there Flare Salvos


Feedback for Next Year.
Static - Barriers do need to be Further Away from the Aircraft and the aircraft not Bunched so close together
Flying - Would be Nice to see a Bigger Presence of Army Air Corps Aircraft in the Display - Maybe a Multiple Wildcat and Apache Formation? more International Fast Jets and Helicopters would be Nice to see.

All in all a Great Air Day this Year and im looking forward to Attending Next year - my 11th Air day
Nathan From Trowbridge.
My Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/97920039@N05/

Paul R
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by Paul R » Sun Jul 03, 2016 10:22 am

Most surprising thing for me was the ease of getting in and out of the airfield, no queue, straight in. I realise that this day in age it must be a struggle to get foreign aircraft to participate, especially with riat and Farnborough within the same week, but the lack of fast jets if possible needs to be amended for the next show. I've not been to airday for a few years, so the static display seemed very limited, but again times are changing.

timb
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by timb » Sun Jul 03, 2016 10:51 am

I,ve been going to this show since the late 60,s and I thought this was a really good show, I think the french stole it with their Rafaels. I would say that the crowd numbers appeared to be down on the last couple of years. Just to add the USAF C17 has departed in the last hour or so.

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peasus911
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by peasus911 » Sun Jul 03, 2016 1:39 pm

This years show would go down as another success in my book. French Rafaels were brill and the 6 Merlins in the commando assault were just fantastic. I did like the Gazelle pair as it brought back some "Navy Shark" memories. (they are planning a four ship next year). I would agree that numbers were down but I put that down to a hectic weekend of Football, tennis and other airshows. Well done Yeovilton. :clap:

Seaking93
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by Seaking93 » Sun Jul 03, 2016 2:59 pm

peasus911 wrote:This years show would go down as another success in my book. French Rafaels were brill and the 6 Merlins in the commando assault were just fantastic. I did like the Gazelle pair as it brought back some "Navy Shark" memories. (they are planning a four ship next year). I would agree that numbers were down but I put that down to a hectic weekend of Football, tennis and other airshows. Well done Yeovilton. :clap:
Also last year the attendance was boosted by the last appearance at VL of the Vulcan

Malcolm
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by Malcolm » Sun Jul 03, 2016 8:35 pm

It doesn't matter much to me - I don't need any Wildcats :whistle: but...

The main comment from the majority of the number cruncher spotters I know was the disappointment that the museum ramp wasn't full of Wildcats - in recent years (perhaps the past 5?) most of the Lynxs from H13 and H14 have been towed out onto that ramp in the morning, providing decent photo opportunities with no barriers, and an increase of 10+ to the number count. This year, both hangars remained closed, and their contents not visible for most of the day. Ok they opened one of the hangars up late in the day to put a couple of Lynx inside, but you had to be in the right place at the right time for that.

These people probably won't complain - they know the score and know that nothing is certain. However, it's also true that they probably won't return next year. It would be a shame if another recent 'tradition' were lost.

Malcolm
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by Malcolm » Sun Jul 03, 2016 9:06 pm

Oh - and another thing. Can anyone explain why Air day tickets can't be bought from the Museum shop? Seems daft to me - I had to go to the Tourist information office in Cartgate which seems to have random opening hours depending on staff sickness.

In fact - why not have a multi-day Museum-Airday Ticket for a little less than the normal Airday+Museum price? That way you could do the show Saturday, and then the Museum Sunday. Perhaps open Cobham Hall too on Sunday. There are spotters from all over Europe that trek to Yeovilton for the Show, so might as well try to ring as much money from them - err I mean offer an attractive package to enhance their visit and make it worthwhile them coming. :P

Alfie
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by Alfie » Mon Jul 04, 2016 9:27 am

Had a really enjoyable day, first time I parked in the disabled car park and had passes for the disabled area as my wife who suffers with MS came with me. Must say a real big thank you to the people who staffed the disabled area, made my wife's first visit to Yeovilton very pleasant for her as I'm the aircraft fan not my wife.

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chinook
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by chinook » Mon Jul 04, 2016 3:32 pm

I have been going to Yeovilton for many years and find they always manage something special. Yeovilton show is always fantastic as was this years show, however its a pity they could not have got a flyby by one of the F35s that were at Fairford but still that was not the end of the world.

My only complaint is the same as last year. Why do they have to put the barriers so close to the aircraft. It was impossible to get a good photo of several of the aircraft. There was a lot of empty space and ever many spare barriers around. They just never seem to learn.

Seaking93
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by Seaking93 » Mon Jul 04, 2016 6:42 pm

Malcolm wrote:Oh - and another thing. Can anyone explain why Air day tickets can't be bought from the Museum shop? Seems daft to me - I had to go to the Tourist information office in Cartgate which seems to have random opening hours depending on staff sickness.

In fact - why not have a multi-day Museum-Airday Ticket for a little less than the normal Airday+Museum price? That way you could do the show Saturday, and then the Museum Sunday. Perhaps open Cobham Hall too on Sunday. There are spotters from all over Europe that trek to Yeovilton for the Show, so might as well try to ring as much money from them - err I mean offer an attractive package to enhance their visit and make it worthwhile them coming. :P
Malcolm, I made some enquires this morning to answer your questions,
Air Day tickets were on sale in the shop until 1600 on Friday 1st July
Air Day ticket holders get 50% reduction on museum tickets valid until 31st December 2016, this includes any guests of the ticket holders even if they did not attend the show, cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.
Cobham Hall open on Sunday, for many years it was open on Friday afternoon before the gates for the photo call opened, very popular to start with then the numbers dropped off and it was not work opening, as for opening on Sunday, staffing would be an issue as the museum is run by a small team who were working a 12 hour plus day on Saturday, the next Cobham Hall open day tours are on 15th September, tickets can be bought from the museum website.
Hope that goes some way to answering your questions, if you want it from the horses mouth so to speak just contact the museum.

BobT

hughgibson
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by hughgibson » Wed Jul 06, 2016 9:24 pm

This was my first Air Day and was amazed at how quickly we entered/exited the car parking area. Can only echo what others have said re-barriers in the static park but otherwise thoroughly enjoyed the show. Hope to visit again next year.

AndyB
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by AndyB » Fri Sep 09, 2016 12:18 pm

Sorry for the lateness of this message.
It was a great show however, I feel that the organisers are missing a trick. Based on the checklist, many wildcats were locked away for the duration of the event. Would it be possible to arrange, presumably guided, access to these locked hangars for a donation to charity? I can remember, back in the good old days, being taken around a hangar at Coningsby for a donation. I'm sure that most spotters would be happy to make use of such an arrangement. Happy spotters and happy charities.
Also, I attempted to take a walk to Phantom car park ( the nearest one to the Merlin flight line at the western end). This was in order to read the serials prior to an early departure home. Previous years have been successful however this year I was removed by security. The reason being that since "Shoreham" new rules have made the carpark a "no go" area. I can accept this but many people were coming from / going to their cars. Being inside a car would not save you if the worst did happen. In fact, being on foot would at least give you a chance to run. We really are going OTT in response to the dreadful accident. However, that's a different issue.

Alfie
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by Alfie » Sun Sep 11, 2016 4:08 pm

Only guess work in answer to AndyB comments. The Airday is run by an outside events company not the air station it's self and there may be a problem with insurance opening all the hangars to public view either if free or payiny an extra admission fee.

AndyB
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by AndyB » Sun Sep 11, 2016 6:56 pm

Thanks for the response Alfie. Sounds probable. Perhaps they (Navy) could have the hangar doors slightly open with serial lists attached. They could rope off the doorways to prevent access ( I believe that they used to do this).Obviously this would not raise any money for the charities but it may persuade spotters to attend in future. They currently run the risk that spotters will stop attending as the reduced numbers logged could fail to tempt them to attend. Alternatively, they could bring out more aircraft and place them in static?

AndyB
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by AndyB » Sat Jul 08, 2017 10:09 pm

Time to moan again. Even less Wildcats on show at the 2017 show. Several spotters commented, in person, that it's getting to the stage where it's just not worth the effort attending.Foreign visitors were great but a poor showing by the home team.

sgtangel
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by sgtangel » Mon Jul 10, 2017 7:44 pm

For the non-photographer having the barriers closer is only but a good thing?

Malcolm
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by Malcolm » Mon Jul 10, 2017 9:08 pm

AndyB wrote:Time to moan again. Even less Wildcats on show at the 2017 show. Several spotters commented, in person, that it's getting to the stage where it's just not worth the effort attending.Foreign visitors were great but a poor showing by the home team.
I doubt the 'threat' of losing a percentage (however large) of the spotting community is a major consideration. How many spotters do you think there are? Perhaps 500 some of whom will attend the opening of a bag of crisps if it gives them base access? In a total crowd of what 20,000-30,000? The majority of the public will be happy with something big, something loud, some aerobatics, the BBMF & the Red Arrows. If you want to see Wildcats, the safest way is to visit on an active day instead - you should see a dozen or more.

I'm much more bothered about the loss of the Junglie Assault, and hope this is rectified next year. It is (err was) Yeovilton's unique selling point, and visually a really entertaining finale for public and spotters alike. However, unless funding and crews can be found to commit at least 8 Junglies and a few Wildcats/Apaches/Chinooks and a bit of close air support (a Hawk or two), I fear it'll be a thing we have to look back and remember fondly.

Hangar access at RN shows in the 80-90's was always a bit hit and miss. Portland used to be a PITA, and Culdrose not much better. Yeovilton was good for the final years of the Lynx when most were pulled out onto the ramp, and most of the Junglies took part in the assault, but sadly it seems those days are over. And now the Junglies are going Grey, will they even be Junglies?

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bizfreeq
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Re: Yeovilton Air Day 2016 - What did you Think?.

Post by bizfreeq » Tue Jul 11, 2017 5:25 am

This is a 2016 thread!
Cheers
Mark



If our airforces are never used, they have achieved their finest goal.
— General Nathan F. Twining

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