RIAT 2016 your views

[Bloodpressure999]

Overall another well organised, aviation feast for all ages and tastes, well done RIAT! Minimal waiting times, and a packed timetable, my only gripe was that the group of "aviation enthusiasts" right on crowd line, chairs next to the rope, stood up facing inwards, muttering rubbish for 7.5 hrs of an 8 hr display, the final indignation was that one of the cretins had a small step ladder and at key points of the displays, took to the top step blocking the view, after a few "Victor Meldrew" style rants he got the message and left! Apart from that a great day!

[Molitor5901]

I went on Saturday, loved the F22, (never seen it before!) was underwhelmed by the F35, except the hovering bit...yes lots of F16 and Typhoon displays, but then its the noise and speed that I go for!
Special mentions for the Gripen, Rafale, and F18, all good routines, the Frecce and the Reds were as good as ever, the V22 made an interesting change...

but my award goes to......the Mirage 2000N pair......Tres Bon!!!

[Zac Hinchcliffe]

Apologies if off topic, but where and when can we find out the results of the awards?

Zac

[Rory]

Negatives:
- Very unfortunate that the cloud on Saturday was really low which limited the displays for a lot of aircraft. Waited years to see the F22 and as much as I could appreciate the power and hard turns, I was disappointed in the display. Nobody's fault. Sunday the weather cleared about 1130 so it was looking good for the Raptor again! It performed a few higher altitude maneuvers that were great however the display was very short as it was stopped by a coolant issue apparently. Again a little disappointed. Still awesome to see though.
- The F35 did some awesome passes but again didn't seem to do many climbing/looping maneuvers. I think this is down to the fact the haven't put together a proper F-35 display yet?
- I think there was a period around midday sunday where they had about an hours worth of displays with no fast jets. It was Wing Walkers, Team Orlik and another prop aircraft display team. I nearly fell asleep. I guess some people would use his time to go around static.

Positives:
- No issues all day apart from the morning traffic trying to get in. Pleased with the organisation.
- The F35 looks a lot better in the air than on the ground that's for sure! Also made a strange noise as it hovered, like an on and off high pitch noise over the top of the engine.
- Greek F4's were awesome.
- The static Gripen was awesome with all the weaponry. I had a good chat with the pilot for 15 minutes.
- Plenty places for food/drink. Only waited 1 minute to get a pint!

[Yunglee]

It was the first time for me and we decided to do it properly going to the Wednesday and Thursday arrivals and then the show on Saturday.

First off I have to say that I was completely amazed by the superb organisation of the show. The traffic management was first class and all the staff and helpers were very helpful and friendly.
The two arrivals days very fantastic, it was great to see all (well most) of the static line up arriving. The park and view area (we used east both days) was very comfortable for the number of people attending, especially on the Wednesday when the numbers were lower than the Thursday. On the Wednesday we got in the que to go in at 6:30am and got a nice fence line spot which worked well for the statics taxing across runway 27 to go on to the south of the airfield. On the Thursday we decided to arrive a bit later and got there at 8am and tried a different spot off the fence line again this worked fine for shots of aircraft arriving.

There were lots of highlights but the ones that really stick out were; The Greek Phantoms, awesome, the Canadian CP-140 Aurora and all the paint schemes on the visiting F-16’s and Eurofighters. Also the Pakistan Herc’s tail art was superb.

The show it’s self on Saturday was great; we got in the que to go in by 7:10am and again got a nice fence line spot in the red zone. The weather (sky) was a bit disappointing for photos but that obviously had nothing to do with the awesome flying displays or the organisers. Some of the displays were flat due to the cloud level.
In terms of the best displays; the F-22 was an awesome display of power and so was the MiG-29. The Rafale, F-16’s, Typhoon’s and Gripen showed great agility and those with smoking looked great darting around. The F/A-18 from Boeing was a superb display combing power and agility. I really enjoyed the display from Ramex Delta and what a colour scheme on the painted Mirage. It was a shame the P-51 didn’t join the heritage flight but I did enjoy the F-22 and F-35 fly by.
BUT, and I’m not sure why, the rehearsal displays for the F-22, Ramex Delta and in particular the F-35A on Wednesday (F-22s was on Thursday) were much better than the Saturday show. Not sure why I’ve got that impression but I do.

On the F-35’s I have to say it looks a dog with the gear down on landing, but looks much better in the air and on the ground. I think it growing on me…

The display teams were also very good, the red’s as always put on a great show as did the Frecce Tricolori with some nice green, white and red smoke. The prop display teams were nice as well.
But my favourite display team by some way was the F-5E of the Patrouille Suisse, great to see such a long airframe gracefully (but quickly) fly in close formation, superb.

If I had to pick the very best bits from three days I’d have to pick four:

1) F-22 on Thursday morning with some nice light and blue sky

2) The F-35A on Wednesday the pilot was really giving it some stick and thrashing it around

3) Probably one of the real high points was seeing and photographing the Greek F-4 Phantom II landing

4) The Patrouille Suisse arriving on Thursday and displaying on Saturday.

My only negative comment is that with so much to see and do I didn’t get to see much of the static line up. I fact I don’t think I walked outside of the red section all day!

I’m still working through all the 3500 photo’s but have started to put some in a Flickr album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/leeadc/al ... 8031765974

Once I’ve got a nice selection I post them in the photography section.

[welshandy]

We went Saturday. As OH is disabled we had wrist bands for the disabled enclosure. Couldn't fault the displays(dam low cloud,but at least it didn't rain). A nice gesture was the Dutch Apache Pilots came to the enclosure, signed their display pamphlets & took time to chat. One of the Pilots "HAAS" had a chat with our 9 year old,gave him a Sticker & had his pic taken with my Son. That made his day. We are going next year as RIAT is celebrating 70th anniversary of USAF(so hopefully some US heavy's.). No prob's getting in or out. Staying at the local Hoseasons site. So got to see some a/c come over on the Sunday & Monday inc BBMF,wingwakers,Reds,P8. Friday evening while siting by the outside pool had a Spitfire come over & do a "Victory Roll"

[page_verify]

A very good show, thank you to the organisers for making it an enjoyable long weekend.

The aircraft highlights for me were the F-35, F-22 and Osprey flying displays, and the P-8 and Voyager static displays.
But perhaps often overlooked, but more interesting to me were:

The RAF Village - getting to meet and speak with the people who "make the RAF happen" and who kindly took the time to share their world with us.
The Techno Zone - seeing such high levels of interaction between industry and children of both sexes shows that the next generation of male and female engineers and innovators are finally being inspired, unlike a few years ago.
The vintage village - a nice break from being at an airshow, within an airshow.
The lack of armed troops - it was nice not to feel as though I was in an American war zone with armed USAF personnel everywhere you look.
The lack of showground vehicles - a few years ago I remember every few minutes having to make way for a vehicle driving through the public show ground, those days seem to be over.
Reasonably priced food - no cheap and nasty burgers but a good range of reasonably priced food.
Proper coffee - likewise the days of instance coffee are over and being able to buy proper coffee makes a big difference.

[XA310]

For me the highlight was the vintage gliders displayed in the static park by 621 VGS Historic Flight.

[B58]

Well i must say it seems RIAT have done really good this year judging by the responses on here so far, going on previous years when all you had was negative feedback from people. As i initially stated my only moan points was the steps on both sides of the Japanese and Australian aircraft plus it must be possible with all the ramp space to have all the flying displays southside as they did a few years back. Evan with the few issues I've mentioned above and in my 1st post it was for me an excellent RIAT. Does anyone from the RIAT team look on here? If you do you should be very proud of what you have achieved.

[MRTT]

Static may have lacked quantity but certainly didn't lack quality- an awesome selection of aircraft on show! B-52s were here for the exercise, there was no reason for them to stay for the show- once the exercise was finished, they wanted to return to America! As far as I'm aware, the USAF have now stopped their C-17 display and no one else displays them so it's very unlikely we'll see one at RIAT anytime soon! Yes, the Jordanians are great supporters of RIAT and the organisers have good links with the Kingdom of Jordan- they're welcome to attend! Don't forget, without the Falcons flying- I very much doubt we would get the Jordanian C-130 in static!

[page_verify]

i got a burger a tray of chips and 2 bottles of coke which cost me £15.00 which is extortionate.

I'm going to have to give in and ask what you bought and from where as no amount of maths can help me compare what you paid to what I paid for a similar meal.
While the food vendors aren't the cheapest, those at Fairford were competitively priced compared to museums, art galleries, rugby matches etc.

[jaydean]

Did 4 days. Ingress and egress were excellent for a show so large. The static line gets smaller year by year. The sprawling enclosures always pee me off. The Belgian and Greek F-16 demo teams need to watch videos of the Polish demo. The Chinook display doesn't seem as good as last (or previous) year(s). For me RIAT is a military based show, so why the Breitling Wingwalkers (nothing to do with them being big sponsors of the show of course?). Way too long a time slot for the Royal Jordanian Falcons, and the Orlik team. Where did the RN get the commentator for the Black Cats?? jeez. The best display was the F-22 by far for me, followed by the Rafale, Polish F-16, Mig 29, Typhoon FGR4, and Ramex Delta. Still, I enjoyed it, and i'll be there again next year...hopefully

[Two66]

Well Sunday was my first RIAT, we left Dorset at 6.30am and it took us a total of 4 hours to get into the green car park using the Brown route and merging with Green. That involved about 30 minutes of stops and the rest sat in traffic on our final approach to Fairford, then all of a sudden we were along the end of the runway and into the car park parking directly on the hard standing which was very impressive. Added to the experience, being actually parked within the base where the aircraft normally operate. Toilets in the car park were a nice touch

We then walked into the show, fairly short wait in the line to get in and friendly staff to search and let you in. Pick up the programme and was on my way. Luckily the display was delayed and the Polish F16 was just taxing to take off as we parked. As we did the static from the free entrance down towards the viewing village we only missed the Spanish Typhoon and Osprey display, could still see them but would've been nice to be in our seats by then. We easily got into our seats in the viewing village for the Belgian F16. Was really impressed with the viewing village grandstand, having that elevated view of the run way really was good.

I stayed in the grandstand until end of the US Heritage flight and then went to look around the static with the aim to be back for the BBMF and following displays. Managed to walk the whole way down to the F35 and Reds and back up in time for a quick bite to eat before the best parts of the display. I only looked at the static aircraft, walked through the Belgian Herc and back up. Didn't look at any stalls or shops, there simply wasn't enough gap in the flying display for that!

We left after the Gripen display, enjoyed the less crowded statics on the way back to our car and then had un-RIAT-related traffic on the way out.

Onto the aircraft, was delighted to see the F16 first time, but then got a bit bored of 'oh, its another f16'

F35 was cool, but outdone by the F22, that thing is just amazing, I'm not sure if its the finish on that thing but the way the light reflects of it made my photos look very good! A400 was amazing, Typhoons were good but again, a lot of them. Disappointed not to see a Tornado fly!

All in all, a great day, would've liked more time to do the static and other activities before the display but that was made impossible by traffic delays. Looking back I'd like to have spent less time looking down the lens, took 4500 photos, cut to 750, there are some crackers though!

[Approach23]

First time I have been to RIAT for a number of years. The increasing cost to get into the show been one of the reasons for not going. This year a group of us went to Totterdown Farm on the Sunday. Very well organised and the homemade cakes were great. Cost to get in was discounted so that was a bonus.

I cannot comment on the static but the flying display leaves a lot to be desired. Whilst those aircraft displaying were, on the whole, good, the time gap between displays was poor, sometimes up to 30/40 mins. Got a bit bored frankly.

RIAT should take a tip from Duxford on timings as on the previous Saturday at Flying Legends it was a joy to see those elderly aircraft give fantastic displays all in a timely fashion. No great time gaps between displays keeps your attention going.

We went to the P&V on Monday and I found it better than the display days. If I ever go again, the Monday departures gets my vote.

RCC/approach23

[bizfreeq]

Quite frankly I don't think you have a right to criticise a show, or indeed the organisers of that show, you didn't actually pay to see. The delays on the Sunday were due to, in the main, weather. No amount of ''taking a tip from Duxford'' can change that. Had you been inside the fence you'd know that and would therefore be able to make a more balanced and justifiable comment on this year's RIAT.

[Alfie]

I attended Saturday, arrived in the car park at about 8 to 8-15, not to bad driving in, but than took another hour to get through security (it seemed every other queue apart from the one I chose was moving twice as quick) Then only to find the information point at the entrance had ran out of programmes. I enjoyed the flying, but from a photography point of view too many grey planes against a grey sky. I know the weather can't be help but a little variation in the programme may have helped. All in all a good day, might give next years a miss but journey to Cornwall to take in Culdrose.

[Approach23]

A bit harsh, in a way I did pay but not to RIAT, it just gets too busy with bodies inside the fence. Judging by other comments on the food vendors, I'm glad I wasn't inside the fence. The Totterdown Farm food was not over priced and extremely good with no threat of being short changed. RIAT did get money from me on the Monday and that was good.

Frankly, RIAT is over hyped and because of its size will never satisfy everyone that goes.

RCC/approach23

[Droptank]

All.

Interesting to read the comments relating to good and bad about RIAT 2016.

Firstly, if you didn't attend the show itself, I feel you have no right to comment on what you did or didn't like based on what was visible from a camp site or distant field, also it shouldn't be overlooked that RIAT is held to uphold very worthwhile charitable enterprises and at least deserves our support as enthusiasts.

My first International Air Tattoo was 1973-the first at Greenham Common and my experience was similar to that of many of the newer attendees of recent Fairford shows in that there was an astonishing array of unusual and rare military aircraft on show such as a Sikorsky Skycrane, Lockheed Neptune and Ohio Air Guard KC97, things you had only read about in magazines (there was no internet).

Over the years, global changes such as wars, recession, national unification and terrorism have had varied effects on the scale and content of Tattoos but one thing has remained, it is still the world's premier international military airshow, featuring collections of aircraft you won't see anywhere else.

I read with frustration the debate about why there are no longer 450 aircraft on show or what can't some active front line aircraft visit in greater numbers, the reason can be found in the small print at the bottom of every RIAT ticket under "operational commitments"- surely it can't escape the notice of even the most blinkered enthusiast that many countries resources are stretched as they are at war?

Add to that the fact that most air arms operate fewer multi-role types rather than a number of specific operational types and it is obvious that there will be fewer aircraft globally to invite.

One thing that does need to be considered is to compare RIAT not with previous RIAT or IAT events gone by but with other current air shows around the world.

Unless I am mistaken there were 23 different air arms present this year and most latest generation combat aircraft from Western manufacturers not only attended, but also flew- which other airshow can make such a claim?

OK, links with Farnborough contribute to this, but who cares?...the organisers made sure the aircraft were there and it was good to see.

Testament to the global appeal of RIAT is the number of foreign visitors from far and wide that are attracted to the show, for them to make a journey from all over Europe and beyond is only due to the status and continued spectacle of what is on show at RIAT- we are very fortunate to have a show of such magnitude on our doorstep in the UK.

There has also been some criticism of costs for food provided by the vendors in the show and unfair comparison with Flying Legends at Duxford.

The thread on Duxford also mentions extortionate food prices so that argument is redundant, food at any event is naturally going to be more expensive than Macdonalds or your local chippy.

One of the key things that improved for 2016 is the arrivals days, at the Western P&V it was fantastic to be so close to the arriving aircraft, well done air traffic for sending most of the arrivals around the loop/taxiway Alpha, a controller actually came to ensure the group of people at the Western end were happy.

Also of note, although I walked into the show each day, traffic seemed to be handled very efficiently, car parks emptying very quickly.

Aircraft on static was also quality and slightly more were present than previous years, most crews were by their aircraft and happy to discuss anything and everything enthusiastically- just what air shows are all about- again, where will you see such an array of air arms on show?

Entertainment zones were excellent for those with broader age groups and children, again there was tons to do for all ages and interests, encouraging the future aviators to find out how everything about flight actually works.

I may be mistaken but was there a fairground this year????.....I don't recall seeing one which is also a step forward, although I may have been distracted by all the other good stuff on show.

So, in summary, I felt RIAT 2016, when viewed as a stand alone show, was a terrific success once more and the RIAT team should be applauded, what has gone before, since 1973, has been fantastic, but unachievable in these modern and challenging times, RIAT is still the act to beat...and I doubt anybody will.

Droptank.

[footes]

I first started going over 10 years ago with my wife and our friends, it was brilliant. The women would go into Swindon on the Saturday to some retail therapy and then join us at RIAT on the Sunday and would they not get bored (as they weren't interested in aircraft) as there was plenty of things for the women to do. Plenty of various stalls of all types as well as the stage show and other things for them to do. Over the last four years the women have stopped coming with us as the showground itself has got smaller and there is less stall the stage has gone and I believe it has become less of a show for everybody which is a shame. Also it is our belief that it is not as big as used to be as the men used to spend the Saturday looking at the stalls and exhibitions and Sunday watching the air display but unfortunately now we only go on the Saturday. That said as it is an Air Tattoo the aviation side of things is awesome especially with the differing international attendees. As with all shows there will be things that should and could be done differently and I could sit here and go through a big list of them, but as I said previous the aviation side is awesome so its a case of taking the rough with smooth.

Footes

[Bushpilot]

We went on Sunday and P&V on Monday.

Sunday
Good points
Flying display
Time to get in and leave
No traffic through the crowd
Good pasties (red zone)
Not so good
Static layout - especially the Chipmunks which were largely ignored by the crowd
Signs banning steps/shelters from the crowd line need to be in Dutch/German and French or at least enforced (east end of the crowd line.)
Halal rabbit c/o the Royal Jordanian Falcons
Red route exit didn't tell you when the one way part had ended, if you were in the left exit lane and took the back route to Lechlade after crossing the A419 it wasn't clear that this was no longer one way down the narrow lanes.

Monday P&V East

Good
Easy to get in and park.
Catering quality.
Not so good
The ginger haired man mountain in a brown coat who blocked off the view of half the airfield when he stood up.
Camps at the fence.
Toilets - surely some of you can aim better (wife's complaint)
Unused tannoy still up.

Overall the best show I've been to for years.

Julian