Anyone going to Wings & Wheels @ Dunsfold 23/4 Aug?
Discussion
Really loved the show, first one since my youth. We figured it would be busy so took dinner for the kids with us and we chilled out on site till about half eight joining the last cars leaving the airfield, took an hour to get back to Woking. Only criticism is they could do with the military trucks / tents etc being moved further to the rear of the display line so you could see the planes, maybe it was just too busy this time but we had difficulty getting anywhere near the main runway.
We go every year, but won't be going again sadly.
We lefft a bit late, but arrived to a massive queue to get in. It took two hours in the queue near Dunsfold.
Then when we got to the car park there was a massive queue to buy tickets... (I know I should of bought advances tickets) in the end the organisers said because we had waited so long the whole queue got in free which was good.
However when we got in the place was absolutely packed which didn't make the experience enjoyable.
We did like watching the Red Arrows and the Vulcan though.
- Pete
We lefft a bit late, but arrived to a massive queue to get in. It took two hours in the queue near Dunsfold.
Then when we got to the car park there was a massive queue to buy tickets... (I know I should of bought advances tickets) in the end the organisers said because we had waited so long the whole queue got in free which was good.
However when we got in the place was absolutely packed which didn't make the experience enjoyable.
We did like watching the Red Arrows and the Vulcan though.
- Pete
Some fantastic photos there MH and Pidsey.
We went early, no queue at all to get in the car park and about a 10 minute wait before they opened the gates at 8:45. They later said it was sold out and there was a 9 mile queue so glad we went early, although it does mean I've become 'one of those people' who arrive early and set up thier chair right at the front.
Car parades were a bit pants as the runway was a bit far off but the flying displays were fantastic.
Nipped out to the car during the wing walkers and the car park was totally gridlocked, so we hung around for a while after the display ended and left about 7, still took half an hour to get out but the roads were pretty clear getting home.
We went early, no queue at all to get in the car park and about a 10 minute wait before they opened the gates at 8:45. They later said it was sold out and there was a 9 mile queue so glad we went early, although it does mean I've become 'one of those people' who arrive early and set up thier chair right at the front.
Car parades were a bit pants as the runway was a bit far off but the flying displays were fantastic.
Nipped out to the car during the wing walkers and the car park was totally gridlocked, so we hung around for a while after the display ended and left about 7, still took half an hour to get out but the roads were pretty clear getting home.
prg123 said:
We go every year, but won't be going again sadly.
We lefft a bit late, but arrived to a massive queue to get in. It took two hours in the queue near Dunsfold.
Then when we got to the car park there was a massive queue to buy tickets... (I know I should of bought advances tickets) in the end the organisers said because we had waited so long the whole queue got in free which was good.
However when we got in the place was absolutely packed which didn't make the experience enjoyable.
We did like watching the Red Arrows and the Vulcan though.
- Pete
This happened at wheelsday at dunsfold massive gridlock in the local area and eventually had to just let people in for free. Unfortunatley it's the downside to events at airfields. The infrastructure is not equipped for huge crowds and delays soon happen if arriving later than the opening times. We lefft a bit late, but arrived to a massive queue to get in. It took two hours in the queue near Dunsfold.
Then when we got to the car park there was a massive queue to buy tickets... (I know I should of bought advances tickets) in the end the organisers said because we had waited so long the whole queue got in free which was good.
However when we got in the place was absolutely packed which didn't make the experience enjoyable.
We did like watching the Red Arrows and the Vulcan though.
- Pete
ecsrobin said:
prg123 said:
We go every year, but won't be going again sadly.
We lefft a bit late, but arrived to a massive queue to get in. It took two hours in the queue near Dunsfold.
Then when we got to the car park there was a massive queue to buy tickets... (I know I should of bought advances tickets) in the end the organisers said because we had waited so long the whole queue got in free which was good.
However when we got in the place was absolutely packed which didn't make the experience enjoyable.
We did like watching the Red Arrows and the Vulcan though.
- Pete
This happened at wheelsday at dunsfold massive gridlock in the local area and eventually had to just let people in for free. Unfortunatley it's the downside to events at airfields. The infrastructure is not equipped for huge crowds and delays soon happen if arriving later than the opening times. We lefft a bit late, but arrived to a massive queue to get in. It took two hours in the queue near Dunsfold.
Then when we got to the car park there was a massive queue to buy tickets... (I know I should of bought advances tickets) in the end the organisers said because we had waited so long the whole queue got in free which was good.
However when we got in the place was absolutely packed which didn't make the experience enjoyable.
We did like watching the Red Arrows and the Vulcan though.
- Pete
Clearly the roads around that area are not designed for such huge volumes of traffic, but there appeared to be very little, or no traffic management.
At one point we were part of a queue that joined another queue, by this point, everyone had been queuing for ages, and was so p1ssed off, they would not let people in.
I am sure just managing that one junction would have had a positive effect.
Obviously, they are raising money for charity, and there is a cost involved in managing traffic, but just myself, and the mrs and the people we sat having dinner with in the pub just outside after we saw the queue for tickets and said stuff that, amounted to GBP100, and coupled with the people mentioned above who were let in for free would have made a difference to the bottom line.
You not going in wouldn't have made a difference as they were at capacity, although agree about them letting people in for free hitting their profit margin.
I got the impression that it was the first time they've ever reached capacity (the pair of Lancasters being a massive draw) so they were somewhat taken by surprise and weren't set up to deal with it
I got the impression that it was the first time they've ever reached capacity (the pair of Lancasters being a massive draw) so they were somewhat taken by surprise and weren't set up to deal with it
Pidsey, what camera and lens were you using? Great pics.
I was using my old D70 with a 200mm Nikkor auto focus lens that I have never been happy with but with a bit of cropping I thought they were ok. Being 'only' 5 megapixels, there is only so much cropping you can do
You got the Red Arrow heading through the rest of them at the same moment and angle as mine, we must of been standing next to each other
Actually I was behind the modded car and stunt field as my kids were waiting for the hoverbike but there was no way I was staying till late.
Anyone see it?
I was using my old D70 with a 200mm Nikkor auto focus lens that I have never been happy with but with a bit of cropping I thought they were ok. Being 'only' 5 megapixels, there is only so much cropping you can do
You got the Red Arrow heading through the rest of them at the same moment and angle as mine, we must of been standing next to each other
Actually I was behind the modded car and stunt field as my kids were waiting for the hoverbike but there was no way I was staying till late.
Anyone see it?
croyde said:
Pidsey, what camera and lens were you using? Great pics.
I was using my old D70 with a 200mm Nikkor auto focus lens that I have never been happy with but with a bit of cropping I thought they were ok. Being 'only' 5 megapixels, there is only so much cropping you can do
You got the Red Arrow heading through the rest of them at the same moment and angle as mine, we must of been standing next to each other
Actually I was behind the modded car and stunt field as my kids were waiting for the hoverbike but there was no way I was staying till late.
Anyone see it?
i saw a picture of the hoverbike in the programme and meant to go and have a look but owing to the fact MRs P was on crutches, we didnt really venture out of the marquee.I was using my old D70 with a 200mm Nikkor auto focus lens that I have never been happy with but with a bit of cropping I thought they were ok. Being 'only' 5 megapixels, there is only so much cropping you can do
You got the Red Arrow heading through the rest of them at the same moment and angle as mine, we must of been standing next to each other
Actually I was behind the modded car and stunt field as my kids were waiting for the hoverbike but there was no way I was staying till late.
Anyone see it?
i was using my Eos 700d with a Canon 70-300mm lens. its got a really quick AF luckily. ive only had a DSLR for a few weeks - most of my decent shots were luck more than judgement. i found that literally taking shots of everything meant i'd get something decent. out of the 700 odd i took, i think ive binned all but about 80.
Had a look at the Hoverbike on the stand, they had a petrol powered (BMW R1150 or R1200 engine I think) twin rotor one there, and several battery powered 4 rotor models, they were only flying the battery models (effectively quadcopters) in the demos (if at all, we went over for the 10:00 show and nothing happened). Apparently they've stopped work on the petrol one and are concentrating on the electric quad rotor design.
We've been a few times over the years, weren't going this year but decided to go on Sunday late last week, drawn in by another opportunity to see the 2 Lancasters.
Arrived around 9:15, the last couple of miles were slow but not too bad. Queue for tickets was only 5 minutes and no problems with card machine. Surprised with the amount of cars already there at that time and that the crowd line was already about 4 deep.
Have never understood the car parade on the runway, it's too far away to be interesting.
Thought that a 35 minute queue for bogs was unreasonable, can't all be blamed on the unexpected crowds, think it would still have been dodgy with normal attendance levels.
There were lots of announcements encouraging people to hang around after the airshow to avoid the traffic and enjoy food/drink/shopping/music/other attractions. Unfortunately the organisers were also encouraging stalls to shut down as soon as the airshow finished which was a bit of a contradiction.
The flying finished at 6 and we waited until 8pm to leave. It took 30 minutes to get off the airfield then once we got to Dunsfold and turned left the traffic flowed normally.
Not one of our favourite shows (much prefer Shoreham) and the traffic and slightly dodgy organisation means it'll be a while before we go again.
Arrived around 9:15, the last couple of miles were slow but not too bad. Queue for tickets was only 5 minutes and no problems with card machine. Surprised with the amount of cars already there at that time and that the crowd line was already about 4 deep.
Have never understood the car parade on the runway, it's too far away to be interesting.
Thought that a 35 minute queue for bogs was unreasonable, can't all be blamed on the unexpected crowds, think it would still have been dodgy with normal attendance levels.
There were lots of announcements encouraging people to hang around after the airshow to avoid the traffic and enjoy food/drink/shopping/music/other attractions. Unfortunately the organisers were also encouraging stalls to shut down as soon as the airshow finished which was a bit of a contradiction.
The flying finished at 6 and we waited until 8pm to leave. It took 30 minutes to get off the airfield then once we got to Dunsfold and turned left the traffic flowed normally.
Not one of our favourite shows (much prefer Shoreham) and the traffic and slightly dodgy organisation means it'll be a while before we go again.
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