Farnborough Air Show 2016
Discussion
dr_gn said:
Todays was by far the worst flying display I've ever seen live. Absolutely pathetic in terms of participants and content, even by Farnborough standards.
I wouldn't know, the last proper air show I attended would've been the Fighter Meet at North Weald c.1988/9.I was just pleased to have a distraction from work for a few minutes, it got me thinking that I really should get along to Duxford one day.....
It appears airbus are putting out a live stream with interior cameras on their aircraft
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blPliT1UYlg
as well as the official Farnborough one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZfT6Di07jo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blPliT1UYlg
as well as the official Farnborough one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZfT6Di07jo
I went today and had a ticket through a friend who works for BAE which also meant parking 200 yards from the entrance which was a bonus.
What a great day, the A380, A350 being thrown about were simply brilliant and the A400 was simply amazing
Highlights were of course the F35 which is in a different league and hovered right in front of us giving a brilliant opportunity to get some great photos (to follow). The Typhoon was noisy and unfortunately hit by the rain that had threatened us most of the day.
We also went into the BAE exhibition and had a private play with the full large Hawk simulator flying Mach Loop which was bloody brilliant and then into the Typhoon VIP exhibit and I then had a play on that sim from take off through 15 minutes of flying and into landing it with a German pilot helping with map reading etc.........WOW, just WOW
What a bloody great day
What a great day, the A380, A350 being thrown about were simply brilliant and the A400 was simply amazing
Highlights were of course the F35 which is in a different league and hovered right in front of us giving a brilliant opportunity to get some great photos (to follow). The Typhoon was noisy and unfortunately hit by the rain that had threatened us most of the day.
We also went into the BAE exhibition and had a private play with the full large Hawk simulator flying Mach Loop which was bloody brilliant and then into the Typhoon VIP exhibit and I then had a play on that sim from take off through 15 minutes of flying and into landing it with a German pilot helping with map reading etc.........WOW, just WOW
What a bloody great day
Edited by HoHoHo on Friday 15th July 21:21
I was surprised by the lack of traffic, as the only place I had to wait for a bit was getting in to Queens Parade. I parked up around 8:40 and I wasn't sure whether if I was able to get in, if I caught one of the busses. To my surprise I was able to get in before 9:30 and I got through Security just after 9.
Did the P8 Poseidon do a display? I was in the Runway Enclosure for most of the display, but I left there for another wander around when the Wing Walkers started their display. The last display I heard and saw was the Eurofighter Typhoon and from what I saw it kept going into the clouds as the cloud base was noticeably lower, so I'm wondering if the P8's display was cancelled due to the weather?
I wouldn't recommend the Runway Enclosure unless you are prepared to pay to be able to sit down. I was expecting to be closer to the runway than the main area, though I did overhear that it had been moved back around 25 metres compared to the previous Airshow. Overall though I would recommend going to Farnborough Airshow. I found it very interesting, though I was a bit saddend to see the state the TSR2 Cockpit is in. It was on it's own outside the Brooklands Museum marquee, with a bin right next to it.
Did the P8 Poseidon do a display? I was in the Runway Enclosure for most of the display, but I left there for another wander around when the Wing Walkers started their display. The last display I heard and saw was the Eurofighter Typhoon and from what I saw it kept going into the clouds as the cloud base was noticeably lower, so I'm wondering if the P8's display was cancelled due to the weather?
I wouldn't recommend the Runway Enclosure unless you are prepared to pay to be able to sit down. I was expecting to be closer to the runway than the main area, though I did overhear that it had been moved back around 25 metres compared to the previous Airshow. Overall though I would recommend going to Farnborough Airshow. I found it very interesting, though I was a bit saddend to see the state the TSR2 Cockpit is in. It was on it's own outside the Brooklands Museum marquee, with a bin right next to it.
I went yesterday and did enjoy but as Dr Gn suggested, the actual flying display was not the best I have ever seen. To cap it all, the last hour of flying was cancelled because of very low cloud, drizzly rain and rubbish visibility. That's why the P8 and 727 didn't get to fly. The F-35 was excellent.
Having said all that, however, I still enjoyed myself as I never really attend Farnborough to watch the flying display. I can see that from my back garden for the whole week of the show. I really wanted to get into the main exhibition halls (only possible on a Friday these days) and had a great time chatting to people manning various stands, including a lady who was looking after an exhibit on the Exo Mars Rover project and an engineer from Williams who was explaining the technolgy being their Formula E car.
Will I go next time - probably, as it's local, but I think they do really need to try a bit harder to get more participating aircraft in the flying display.
Having said all that, however, I still enjoyed myself as I never really attend Farnborough to watch the flying display. I can see that from my back garden for the whole week of the show. I really wanted to get into the main exhibition halls (only possible on a Friday these days) and had a great time chatting to people manning various stands, including a lady who was looking after an exhibit on the Exo Mars Rover project and an engineer from Williams who was explaining the technolgy being their Formula E car.
Will I go next time - probably, as it's local, but I think they do really need to try a bit harder to get more participating aircraft in the flying display.
I can't remember which was my first Farnborough Airshow, but it was either 1968 or 1970. Whichever it was, I haven't missed one since. Like Eric, a big attraction for me is the trade stands in the halls, but it's still nice to have a decent flying display.
Since the mid-70s I've always been on the Friday, the logic being that you get to see the trade stands and the best bits of the flying display without all the "filler" you tend to get at the weekend. That logic fell apart yesterday, with by far the worst flying display I can remember. For me, there was just too much small/slow/quiet stuff, and it just doesn't grab the attention. There seemed to be long periods of relative boredom, interspersed with a few good bits. Judging by the reaction of other spectators, I dont think I'm the only one with that opinion.
To make matters worse, the grandstand (just past the rotation point) that used to be free to use (no reserved seating) was changed to pre-bookable only (at extra cost) a couple of air shows ago, though you could still stand/sit on the grass between it and the fence for nothing. This year, they've fenced-off the area in front of the grandstand, and seem to be charging extra to get into that area. This meant that the areas available to get close to the fence are relatively limited.
In summary, without a major revamp in 2018, I probably won't bother again.
ETA: And another thing; the static display was pretty sparse too. I was hoping to see the 747-8F and An-124, which had been open for walk-throughs earlier in the week, but they'd gone.
Since the mid-70s I've always been on the Friday, the logic being that you get to see the trade stands and the best bits of the flying display without all the "filler" you tend to get at the weekend. That logic fell apart yesterday, with by far the worst flying display I can remember. For me, there was just too much small/slow/quiet stuff, and it just doesn't grab the attention. There seemed to be long periods of relative boredom, interspersed with a few good bits. Judging by the reaction of other spectators, I dont think I'm the only one with that opinion.
To make matters worse, the grandstand (just past the rotation point) that used to be free to use (no reserved seating) was changed to pre-bookable only (at extra cost) a couple of air shows ago, though you could still stand/sit on the grass between it and the fence for nothing. This year, they've fenced-off the area in front of the grandstand, and seem to be charging extra to get into that area. This meant that the areas available to get close to the fence are relatively limited.
In summary, without a major revamp in 2018, I probably won't bother again.
ETA: And another thing; the static display was pretty sparse too. I was hoping to see the 747-8F and An-124, which had been open for walk-throughs earlier in the week, but they'd gone.
Edited by S7Paul on Saturday 16th July 08:54
Edited by S7Paul on Saturday 16th July 08:55
Yep - the static was poor too. There were no privately owned historic aircraft in the static either - which in the past few shows I've had great fun chatting to the owners or operators and have even been invited on board a few i.e. the Catalina, C-47 and a Percival Pembroke.
There also seemed to be awful lot of clutter parked between the crowd and the fence line i.e. simulators, container trucks, tents, gazebos etc. They should have been parked BEHIND the crowd line so as not to obstruct the view. Poor layout planning, in my opinion.
If I hadn't been able to access the halls, I would have been VERY disappointed.
There also seemed to be awful lot of clutter parked between the crowd and the fence line i.e. simulators, container trucks, tents, gazebos etc. They should have been parked BEHIND the crowd line so as not to obstruct the view. Poor layout planning, in my opinion.
If I hadn't been able to access the halls, I would have been VERY disappointed.
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