RAF Fairford 2009

Held annually each July at RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, the Royal International Air Tattoo, the world's largest military airshow, has gained the well-earned reputation as one of the UK's top outdoor family events

With over 300+ aircraft participating each year, upwards of 170,000 visitors and support from the Royal Air Force and some of the world's leading aerospace companies, the Royal International Air Tattoo has been acknowledged as not only the world's largest military airshow but also one of the UK's premier outdoor events for the whole family!


This year's Royal International Air Tattoo staged at RAF Fairford over the weekend of 18th and 19th July 2009 promises to be THE aviation event of the year! During a thrilling 7 ½ hour flying display you can expect to see, fast jets, giant transporters, historic aircraft, and much, much more. Meet the crews, get close to the aircraft and enjoy a feast of first class entertainment including the critically acclaimed Tri@RIAT an interactive showcase designed especially for youngsters. Flight simulators, cars, shopping malls and fairground.

Add to this a rousing outdoor evening concert and FREE entry for accompanied under-16s and FREE parking, it's clear that the Royal International Air Tattoo, held in support of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust, offers unbeatable value for money.

Are you going?

I was going the the RIAT last year but due to heavy rain it was cancelled... So I'm really looking forward to this one. I'm taking my Brother Ian and a old friend Graham with me and one thing we forgot last time was a BBQ so thats going too ;-). Our tickets are for either Sat or Sun so we will make our mind as to the day nearer the time (like Friday before).

names paul just joined going riat fairford sunday with all me scanners and pmr446 for comms but just to advise you cant take bbqs onsite and indeed only cars on site are some disabled parking this yr i think on site i dont even think in the parking areas off base they like bbqs being set up so be careful

you may get fire brigade paying a visit

Hi Paul,

No problem on the info, I enjoy the Fairford Airshow a great deal and have been a couple of times now. The BBQ wouldn't be going onsite but for the carpark / field when we are waiting for all the other cars to clear :-). Two years ago we had to wait over 4 hours to get out of the field so plenty of time to sit back, relax and enjoy some good food ;-).

As for parking your right the blue badge holders are allowed on site to park but also this year we see the return of limited spaces for the rest of us to park onsite also. The wardens will be indicating to each car and only the selected will be able to park on the grounds for security reasons.

We will prob be going on Saturday as the weather looks better although our tickets are for either day. Hope you have a good day and welcome to the forum.

Dave

the parking on base is only if you have blue badge as you say but also done there security forms i dont have a blue badge i dont drive and till last week my carer/freiond was not sure he could go so i could of been going in another vehicle

but i have the tickets for the disabled viewing area

the limited parking for others not sure if you mean is it going to be just random ?

if so then i cant see how riat could justify asking personal questions about occupants of vehicles for disabled

it was offpting to say the least who i go with to airshow is i beleive my concern and not theres and if they allow on day random parking that then makes a mockery of the disabled having to fill in such a form and also having to have a blue badlge is annoying i have no need for such i am not as such pyhcially disabled but at duxford for example i just shoe my dla and ib paperwork and get aprked in disabled anyway noty really a topic for here just interesting i had no idea that others could park on base this yr

by the way i have fairford wx for next few days and its showing some rain on saturday and only 30 precent chance on sunday with sun i have no sun showing for saturday

paul

promaboss wrote:the parking on base is only if you have blue badge as you say but also done there security forms i dont have a blue badge i dont drive and till last week my carer/freiond was not sure he could go so i could of been going in another vehicle

but i have the tickets for the disabled viewing area

the limited parking for others not sure if you mean is it going to be just random ?

if so then i cant see how riat could justify asking personal questions about occupants of vehicles for disabled

it was offpting to say the least who i go with to airshow is i beleive my concern and not theres and if they allow on day random parking that then makes a mockery of the disabled having to fill in such a form and also having to have a blue badlge is annoying i have no need for such i am not as such pyhcially disabled but at duxford for example i just shoe my dla and ib paperwork and get aprked in disabled anyway noty really a topic for here just interesting i had no idea that others could park on base this yr

With the show in 2007 Saturday was the better day and so hundreds of thousands went and on the Sunday it was quite wet and towards the end of the Sunday people were getting stuck on the field. Last year we saw the show cancelled due to heavy rain and floods and so the RIAT committee board thought of ways to help with the parking situation. The thing they said would help relieve the parking was for allowing cars to park on the hard surface but as this would be a security issue the answer would be to allow random cars to park there.

Well the car is packed, I have a cool box which acts as a fridge when plugged in and I have a car fridge plugged into the mains in the house full of the BBQ food ready to load into the car in the morning. I have the 120a battery in the car charged ready to power the fridge and I have added a few repeaters on the the FT-857 for the trip down there.

I however couldn't store them all as it wouldn't allow me to get passed memory channel 8? Hmm when I saved the memory and try to transmit the radio shows the error message TX Error? Hmm anyone have any ideas?

Leaving the house at 03:15 :-( and picking my friend up at 04:00 from Liverpool before going down to Fairford. Hmm can't wait....

I have found the new about the new parking procedure on the RIAT website -

Organisers of the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford have unveiled two new initiatives they believe will minimise the risk of a repeat of last summer's cancellation.

Earlier this year, thousands of visitors were left disappointed when the event had to be called off after prolonged bouts of heavy rain flooded fields bordering the Base that were set aside for car parking.

In a show of support for the Air Tattoo, the US Air Force has granted permission for limited car parking on concrete on the Base next summer. Prior to 9/11, airshow visitors had been allowed to park on the Base but since then, heightened security measures meant that was not possible.
Commander 420th Air Base Group, USAF, Col Joe Dill said: "Security is my number one concern here. We looked at the situation and what we were up against with respect to weather and parking. Everyone got their pencils out, we put our heads together and I believe we have come up with a plan where we can make it happen as required."

In order to meet the necessary security requirements, Air Tattoo organisers have agreed that visitors parking on Base will be chosen randomly on the day from the many thousands of people attending.

In addition to introducing limited on-Base parking, organisers have also announced plans to make the fields more robust, including laying extra trackway.
Director Tim Prince said he was confident that these measures, along with other proposed initiatives, will make the difference.

"This is not the first time the US Air Force has come to our rescue when we have needed help to solve a problem and we remain totally indebted to them. This new parking option plus the extra trackway and spine roads we plan to lay in the car parks will significantly reduce the risk of us having to cancel the event, as a result of inclement weather, in the future."

Earlier this month, the organisers announced that in order to control the numbers attending the event, only advance tickets would be sold. None would be available at the gates on the day as in previous years.

Mr Prince said: "By not selling tickets on the gate we run the risk of losing some of our revenue. But first and foremost we have a duty of care to all those who purchase tickets to the Air Tattoo. Knowing in advance how many visitors are attending will help enormously with our pre-show planning and will enable us to react more effectively to unforeseen events, such as the atrocious weather we suffered last summer."

I have now uploaded the photos on the website, there are 620 of them so please take your time and look thru them. I might over the next few days go thru them and pick a few hundred best ones and just put them on the site but it's so hard to work out what's good and whats not...

I am going to write a bit on the pages about yesterdays show once I get some time so please keep checking out the site. The wx I am pleased to say was ok on a whole, warm enough to catch the sun but when the clouds covered the sun it did get a little cold. We were so lucky with the weather as we didn't feel a drop of rain all day :-) and with another friend being there today he say's it's not too good.

I just hope next year we see the F-22s which should have been there again this year but due to operational demands over the water the were doing there normal job...