FighterControl

Hi all

How much was park and view on Monday departures?

Thanks

£20 per adult

That was park and view east.

Thanks

Did you have to pay just to park or just when you cross the fence?

Paid when you went to the enclosure. In 2015 they were checking people in the carpark to see if they had a ticket, not sure this year as we just paid up and went in.

In 2014 we didn't have to pay for the car park maybe we were lucky lol , didn't want to pay 20 quid each as we didn't get there till 1130, if we arrived at 8am fair enough.

Which Park & View would one recommend? East or West?

Thanks,
MArio

Depends on what you want! East is all taxiing and line up shots, West is a mix of taxiing and airborne. Some of the aircraft stay pretty low so can be very nice shots especially if they tip a wing.
If you're not into photography I guess it's still the same, what would interest you more?
Without knowing what your interest is no one can tell you which is best as everyone on here will have a different idea of what they want.

Thanks..i am into photography and most probably will be using a 70-300mm lens. West sounds interesting..my only concern is if the aircraft have already gained some altitude. But as long as they stay low it would not be a problem.

I understand you cannot go from east to west..is that correct?

I said some stay low, there are many that won't. You can't go from one to the other across the base but there is nothing stopping you from going from east to west outside using the public roads.

Obviously it also depends on the wind direction as to which end they take off from.

Queued for opening of East last year for first time. People were actually running to get prime spots. Got some good taxi shots but was not in the prime spot directly looking down the runway. After queuing for an hour prior to gates opening I feel I will give the West a go this year as possibly more chance of getting a few more peachy shots. As has been previously said, possibly many times. Each to their own and you definitely need to try different locations to see what works for you. Fingers crossed.

AndyB wrote:Obviously it also depends on the wind direction as to which end they take off from.

In the years I've been doing departure days they have always taken off east to west no matter which direction the wind is blowing. That said, it's never been overly windy.

What kind of attendance are on site on the arrivals and departures? Going on Wednesday and Monday and being a relatively shorty at 5'6" I'd like an idea of what kind of tactic I need to apply in order to get a clear photo

It does get quite busy but there is room as most people respect that you are there for the same reason as they are and let you squeeze in.


A couple of years ago I was at the 'wrong' end as they changed to 27 when we were already at the western end , but it was good because most aircraft taxied out to the west end to cross the runway to taxi back on the north side to the 27 holding point. The photos were better in my opinion than at the 27 holding point as heat haze can be an issue there.

I'm hoping to actually find P&V West this year. Signs suddenly disappeared last year and no one I asked seemed to know where it was. Ended up at the East, got an OK spot but it does feel at that end that if you aren't there early to get a spot on the fence line, you may not take photos!

Park & View West is normally well signposted but sometimes you are convinced you've missed it but remember its a LONG runway at Fairford!

If you drive past the end of the runway at the Eastern end towards Kempsford village, head towards the A419 and after roughly a mile and a half you will see a turn to the right, signposted Marston Meysey.

Turn right there (drive respectfully as it's a very quiet village) and keep going until you reach a fork in the road, take the right hand fork and it ends at the Park and View entrance/parking area.

...presuming you are driving of course!

Hopefully the fighters will park down that end again, meaning they will taxi by when going in or out of their dispersal.

The Thunderbirds and other teams are more likely to use the larger parking area at the Eastern end, but who knows?

Hope that helps.

Enjoy.

Droptank.

Believe USAF acts are as you said, operating from the eastern end.

Longest week of the year begins on Tuesday!

I believe that the West end (green zone) is being extended to be used for static this year, no display fighters parking unfortunately, as it'll all be based at the 27 end. Shame as might mean no close up of the Rafale etc...

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Mind telling us where you heard that? Not saying I don't believe you, just asking for a source.