Went to my first airshow in 16 years. (rant)

[falconkidding]

Went to the smokey mtn airshow at ktys and dang were they not prepared for the crowd that showed up (about 100-120,000). Parking ran out even if you had a pass for one of the lots(which were about a 30 min walk from the viewing area). Traffic was so bad with no police direction. I left knoxville to meet some friends in maryville for breakfast at 830am and it was backed up to topside road and eventually went all the way to northshore(see pin on attached map). If you left knoxville at 930-10am for the start you probably missed the show. Bathroom wait times were an hour+ and they ran out of bottled water/food(you couldn't bring any in either). No crowd control on exit. They had these stupid vip tents show center that really cut down on viewing area. I love aviation to death and even I struggled to have a good time. I feel terrible for those with little kids who came.

I guess thats the downside of not having a show in almost 2 decades you have no idea how the turnout will be. Was gonna go for day 2 without the wives, bring the nice camera walk around and get some (hopefully) cool shots but I'm not even gonna fuss with that mess.

At least my dad came and hopefully got the buy an airplane bug. hes been looking at T6's and extras for about 6 months now so hopefully I can persuade a purchase out of him. Then again he's a cheap pilot... I think I'll start my argument with "you need to buy one now while your still making captain money" and "T6s will probably hold their value" Or appeal to his cheap side and be like that extras 240grand heres a super D for 60 lol.

 

[Somedudeintn]

I was hoping to go but couldn't make it. I heard Cirrus was not able to bring their jet out.

 

[Velocity173]

That's why you have to fly into the show. Heard the traffic was a madhouse on the other side. I waited 30 minutes to get a shuttle then said forget it, I'll stay on the other side. While I didn't have to deal with traffic, we didn't have the best viewing area on the other side as far as distance and lighting. Didn't get any decent shots.

Air shows have changed in the last 16 years. Even more in say the last 30 years. My observations:

- Cost. While this show was free for general admission, go over to Symrna in June and you'll pay over $30. Was half that, say 16 years ago.
- Lack of experience in running the shows, leading into disorganized events like this one. Went to one in Paulding, GA a few years ago where the Jr ROTC kids were keeping people 3 ft from the front line??? That's the whole point in having a rope! Also, they were dehydrated and barely fed because the organizers had no clue in how to support their volunteers.
-Traffic. Traffic has always been bad but it's gotten worse in years. You can't have 120,000 people (Knoxville) attend a show with gates opening at 1000, with the show starting at 1100. Allowing people to park at 0800 but not being able to get through the gates only creates long lines. The baggage check that was implemented after 9/11 doesn't help matters.
- VIP seating is the worst thing that's happened to shows. Reminds me of the Paris air show; complete waste of time. It's all about how they can make more money off the crowds these days. They block off show center with stupid tents that restrict viewing for others and the funny thing is, in some cases, they don't even provide the best seating for taking pics. Used to be early bird gets the worm. You show up early and beat the masses and get front row, show center seating.
Lack of statics, especially military. The 80s and even 90s shows had full ramps of military aircraft. Daytona Beach had a reputation for bringing in the military statics and the fly bys that occurred after the show. Those days are gone. Budget cuts and the reduction in the number and variety of military aircraft.
- Lack of military displays. There's no shortage of civilian performers these days but everyone knows the military is what draws the crowds. I've been to shows in the past that had 5 or 6 military demos outside of the primary demo team. You'd be hard pressed to find shows these days that have multiple military demos outside of the Blues or Tbirds.

 

[Scrabo]

Stopped attending them years ago, used to visit the shows at LukeAFB in Phoenix or Davis in Tucson. Parking, security restrictions etc just don't make it fun anymore.

Back home at EGAD, we would just set up the bbq on the front lawn, friends and family would gather on the lawn and a good time was had as the Red Arrow's flew over low ( the advantage of living 1.5 miles from the departure end, lined up with the center line ) - lost a few chimney pots over the years.

 

[ChemGuy]

Fly down to Rome, GA for their airshow in Oct. They do a few ta job and I got to taxi past an F4U and P51 etc. Took a about 20 min to walk to plane start taxi and leave.

Flying into airshow = winning

 

[Velocity173]

Fly down to Rome, GA for their airshow in Oct. They do a few ta job and I got to taxi past an F4U and P51 etc. Took a about 20 min to walk to plane start taxi and leave.

Flying into airshow = winning

Rome is really developing a reputation as a premier event. Lots of issues with traffic there as well though. Of course last year with the weather a lot of people were ticked off about no refunds . Wish I would've went. Didn't think it was going to go but it did. Vapor city!

 

[Somedudeintn]

Fly down to Rome, GA for their airshow in Oct. They do a few ta job and I got to taxi past an F4U and P51 etc. Took a about 20 min to walk to plane start taxi and leave.

Flying into airshow = winning

I'll have to add this to my to do list. I'm in Atlanta and have never flown to an airshow. Do you usually just have to arrive a few hours before it starts?

 

[Velocity173]

I'll have to add this to my to do list. I'm in Atlanta and have never flown to an airshow. Do you usually just have to arrive a few hours before it starts?

Just arrive before the TFR starts. Yesterday the KTYS TFR started at 1030. I made sure I arrived a good 30 minutes prior. Show aircraft didn't start until 1100 so they put a buffer in there for last minute arrivals.

Listen up to tower or if an uncontrolled field, the air boss. Don't know how many times I've heard pilots get chewed out for not listening. Just yesterday I heard ground repeat parts of a VFR instruction to guy because he didn't copy it correctly. Painful!

 

[Cpt_Kirk]

I've flown into one airshow and it was more enjoyable than driving. I've heard good things about the Rome show and would like to make it if I'm off. I'd definitely be flying in. I drove to a show at PUJ a few years ago and while it wasn't horrible, it wasn't a great experience either.

 

[Ravioli]

I've done Denton airshow by car and plane. Plane is much more fun!

Next weekend I'll see the Blue Angels at NAS Fort Worth. Won't have traffic because we'll be across the lake from base at a friends house.

 

[SkyDog58]

I was thinking pretty seriously about driving over to TYS for the airshow but cancelled that idea when a friend of my wife came to town for the weekend. I'm glad my plans changed.

 

[Cpt_Kirk]

Speaking of TYS, on the way back from LEX, we flew just east of the field at FL210 and were given a traffic call for the Blue Angles who were on the takeoff roll and given a clearance to climb up near us. I saw them from the time they started rolling on up. That was awesome. I picked the wrong career...

 

[Somedudeintn]

Speaking of TYS, on the way back from LEX, we flew just east of the field at FL210 and were given a traffic call for the Blue Angles who were on the takeoff roll and given a clearance to climb up near us. I saw them from the time they started rolling on up. That was awesome. I picked the wrong career...

I wonder how high their VSI gauge goes...

 

[Cpt_Kirk]

I wonder how high their VSI gauge goes...

Whatever it is, it's probably pegged.

 

[falconkidding]

That's why you have to fly into the show. Heard the traffic was a madhouse on the other side. I waited 30 minutes to get a shuttle then said forget it, I'll stay on the other side. While I didn't have to deal with traffic, we didn't have the best viewing area on the other side as far as distance and lighting. Didn't get any decent shots.

Talking to my sister today your plane caused a bit of a stir when you flew in(assuming it was your velocity cause they mentioned canards) apparently some of the spectators around them thought it was some sort of airshow plane

 

[Tflhndn]

+1 on flying into an air show. I too enjoyed the flying portion from the ramp at TAcAir today. Went over early to let my 6-year-old son see the static displays. At 10:10 the lines were outrageous. Left the air show grounds by 11. Just glad I didn't have to put up with the traffic.

 

[FORANE]

There was alot going on in Northeast TN this weekend. The airshow, spring rod run in Pigeon Forge, Bristol Nascar race... it was busy. We went to the rod run which was packed. We were able to walk faster than the cars driving the strip.

 

[Velocity173]

Talking to my sister today your plane caused a bit of a stir when you flew in(assuming it was your velocity cause they mentioned canards) apparently some of the spectators around them thought it was some sort of airshow plane

That's because I almost pulled my wings off doing the overhead! Just kidding, 60 degrees of bank and maybe 175 kts.

Seriously though, the only time I prefer to do the overhead is on fly-ins like this where you have people coming in from all over with varying degrees of speed. Instead of getting bottlenecked on final, you can top all that traffic, break, and then it's easier to see your sequence on downwind.

Unfortunately, tower switched me from 5R to 5L at the last minute and had me break at the approach end. So now I'm 1,600 ft up, trying to slow down, and tower telling me to "turn base now" for traffic. I had to really work to get down to gear speed (120 kts). 9,000 ft of runway helped. The great thing about a canard is you can throw it around the sky even at slow speeds and not worry about spinning.

 

[mscard88]

Attended the airshow at Tuscaloosa AL last year featuring the Blue Angels, F-22 demo (outstanding), and a few other demos. Drove in to one of the designated parking lots, stood in line for the bus (they used school buses) for maybe 10-15 minutes, then a ride to the airport for the show. Very organized and efficient. Departing the show the reverse procedure.

 

[luvflyin]

That happened at WJF 2 years ago. The Air Force decided to quit doing the EDW air show, which was a biggie. So the Los Angeles County air show at WJF takes over and gets the Blue Angels to show up. Total gridlock. Thousands of people couldn't even get there in time. They did refund advance tickets without question. It went off without problems last year and this year.

 

[EvilEagle]

I wonder how high their VSI gauge goes...

The legacy Hornets have the same gages we have in the Eagle. Regular old round dial that max's at 6k'/min - it is routinely pegged. We really only use it for instrument flying. High AOA sustained flight does funny things to pressure instruments.

The new supers (E-G) have glass and they'll display larger numbers (with the same pressure issues though).

 

[35 AoA]

……...and the only VSI anyone actually references in the Hornet/Super is what is in the HUD, i.e. INS derived "instantaneous" VSI. You only use the really poorly placed steam gauges (obscured by your right knee most of the time) if you have an INS dump or a HUD and HUD repeater failure.

The new color digital standbys in E-G are pretty neat though. I was wow'd a little.

 

[FlySince9]

You haven't been to an airshow unless you were fortunate enough to experience "The Biggest Little Airshow in America" at Sussex Airport in Sussex NJ... Big names, Good Food and very intimate feel being so close to the action... You could stick around and see Airshow#2... watching all the fly-ins wait their turn to Depart... Times Gone By...

 

[paflyer]

Those airshows are so crowded no one goes there anymore. - Yogi Paflyer

 

[BigBadLou]

Happened here too. A few years ago, they were trying to start an airplane expo with a helicopter or a warbird ride here and there. It was fun, it was dainty, we saw airplanes, parking was a no-brainer, it was fun.

A few years later, some marketing kid got ahold of the planning and invited everybody and their brother on FagBook and it turned out to be a zoo. About the same number of airplanes but thousands of people trampling everything in sight, lots of kids hanging off properllers and wings of unsuspecting airplane owners (they opened the community hangars to the public for some very strange reason), Mariachi band and some overpriced hotdog stands. The traffic was a ***** and half, I was really mad at the weather because we were originally planning on flying in to bypass the crowds. Didn't happen. All-in-all, the crowd was much bigger than expected, roads were blocked all the way to the Interstate exits, not a pleasant experience for anybody around.
I guess popularity has a price.

 

[PPC1052]

The legacy Hornets have the same gages we have in the Eagle. Regular old round dial that max's at 6k'/min - it is routinely pegged. We really only use it for instrument flying. High AOA sustained flight does funny things to pressure instruments.

The new supers (E-G) have glass and they'll display larger numbers (with the same pressure issues though).

This is why I chose not to do my private in an Eagle. It really causes you to develop bad habits. Law of primacy, and all. Ya' know?

 

[denverpilot]

Denver Airshow basically fell apart this year at the seams after a disastrous logistics mess last year trying to get people in to see the T-Birds.

You really have to bring in (whether hired, or through people who know them) heavy hitter logistics folks if you're going to have a jet team as the main attraction. There are people that truly LIVE for that stuff.

I worked with a couple of them on a couple of planning committees for large scale marathons -- they're a different breed. They think in checklists. It looked fun, but you need many years of practice under one of them to really "get it all"... they'd have contingency after contingency and contingency plan in their heads, and have DONE all of them before.

 

[EvilEagle]

This is why I chose not to do my private in an Eagle. It really causes you to develop bad habits. Law of primacy, and all. Ya' know?

Good call. Between that and the fuel burn rate, it's just not worth it to go do stalls and falls in it...

 

[flyingron]

Military assets are harder to get than in the past. They completely dried up in the sequestration and only partially are returning. Even the prestige stuff like the Smithsonian has to have their heavy hitters grovel for stuff (Jack Dailey who is the director of the museum was formerly Commandant of the Marine Corps).

 

[brian109]

Yes it was a madhouse but I had a blast at the airshow