RIAT 2011

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ipswichboy

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Les
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Hi,

having taken a fairly recent interest in airshow photography I'm planning on attending this year's RIAT in July. I would appreciate any hints and tips from experienced RIAT photographers, including best time to arrive, best position to view the show, etc.
I plan on attending both days, but is it worth extending my stay and using the park & view enclosures to see the arrivals and departures? I'll be using a D300 with Sigma 120-300 F2.8 and 1.4x teleconverter - is this combination likely to be long enough for most shots?

Thanks

Les.
 
Hi,

My first RIAT was in 1991, so I hope the following helps.

RIAT is incredibly busy, and the first challenge you are going to have is getting there early enough. Assuming you live in Ipswich, unless you are planning to leave at a ridiculous time, you are going to need to stay locally - you will want to be getting near to the base by 6:30 at the latest, which will allow you to join the queues for the car parks.

Once you have parked, you will be faced with another queue (albeit this time on foot) to actually get into the airshow. The gates don't open until 7:30, but join the queue as soon as you can, because by 7:30 it will be long.....

To get in, you have to go through an airport style security check.

Once in, you have to decide what to do. If you are planning to attend both days, you may choose to spend one shooting the static display, and the other the flying display. One of the advantages of getting in early is that the static area is relatively uncrowded, which makes it a lot easier to get shots, especially of the larger aircraft or if you are going for a more arty type of photo.

Getting in early also means that if you plan to spend the day watching the flying display, you can go straight down to the runway to bag a good spot. The best place to view the display is halfway down the runway - however, this area is full of corporate chalets and various public viewing facilities that you can use for a further payment. However, there should be plenty of space to either side of this area, albeit you may have people in front of you. Another popular area is at the end of the runway where they are taking off and landing from. If you are at the other end, aircraft taking off will be high by the time they have got to you (or may have turned away from the runway) and landing aircraft may not come all the way down the runway.

Don't leave when the flying display ends unless you want to again get stuck in heavy traffic. You should leave either just before the end of the flying display or alternatively, go for a walk around the static display after the show. Again as the showground empties, you can get uncluttered shots and some wonderful light as the sun starts to set.

Instead of going to both show days, it may be worth going to one of the show days and then either the arrivals and departures day. Not only will this be cheaper, but you will also avoid a second day of traffic congestion and crowds.

The departures day on the Monday offers an excellent opportunity to get a record shot of the air show participants, with most just doing a routine take off. I usually arrive at about 8:30-9:00 and am never on the front row, but usually get a good view. Expect to be on your way home by about 2pm, as by then almost everything will have left.

On Friday, as well as arrivals, you will also have the display aircraft doing rehersals and display validations, so this makes the day more like an airshow, with action right through the day.

You could do worse than go to the Friday Park and View and then attend the show on the Saturday rather than going both days, which could be a bit much (albeit there are many who go for the whole week).

My lens goes upto 300mm so you shouldn't have any problem with the converter.

Hope this helps.

Neil
 
Thanks Neil, that's just what i wanted. I'm hoping to stay locally from the Friday until the Monday. I've been to a couple of the Duxford shows and know how busy they are, but I have a feeling that Fairford may be a completely different proposition.
Can you tell me what side of the runway the spectators are? My only issue with Duxford is that you are north of the runway and therefore have to be careful about shooting into the sun.
 
If you havn't already, I would suggest you visit the airshow forum at www.airshows.co.uk where you will find masses of info about RIAT and all the other airshows. Also home to some of the best airshow photographers.
 
Hi Les

I normally do the full week.The actual show days are a bit of a drag to be honest.Thursday and Monday are the best days to visit.
Many 1000's of images up on my website from the event.If you want any more specific info give me a shout.
Getting yourself a FRIAT ticket is also worth it if you want the weekend to be a bit less stressful.

Cheers
Gary
 
My advice is stay local the night before and plan a nice early start. I have always gone in from the west side and had no problems. I usually head to the flight line and shoot the static on my way out
 
If you are looking at staying locally, start looking now, accomodation gets full pretty quick. Last year was my first RIAT, and we went camping from Tues to Mon, to get all arrivals and departures.
 
Hey, i shot my first one last year, it was amazing. I always remember going with my dad when i was young.

I shot with a 500 for most of the show, but a 300 would have been fine, i used my 70-200 for some shots as well. I don't think i have any advice, i got there around 10, stayed most of the day and went home. If you want to see some examples please head to my flickr www.flickr.com/brad_wakefield

Have fun !
 
I arrived at the gate at 5.30am last year and still wasn't at the front..The que starts early!

Kev.
 
RIAT is a bit of a busman's holiday for me - I work with aircraft as an occupation, and I go to RIAT to be part of the engineering team, handling all the aircraft. I normally work the flying side during the show, but do try and get across to the static park. I missed last year as I was away with work so missed the F-22 display. I did get to see and look round it the last time it came, before the rains...

Southside should be OK but there are layout changes planned due to new rules/regs. Not seen final plans yet. I expect the security to be just the same. I'll have my 55-200 with me so will see what I can get. (edit - and now my new 70-300!)

There are togs and enthusiasts on the planning side and they DO try to place the aircraft thoughtfully without too many cones and fences, but they are restricted on what they can and can't do by higher authority rules.

Hope you have a great time.
 
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Well, I've taken the plunge and purchased a weekend ticket along with park & view for the Friday and Monday. Also booked 3 nights b&b. This'll be my first full airshow season having been to a couple of shows at Duxford last year. Really looking forward to it and hopefully it will rekindle my interest in photography which has been on the wane over the last 6 months.
Thanks for all the advice.
 
vulcanlover said:
If you havn't already, I would suggest you visit the airshow forum at www.airshows.co.uk where you will find masses of info about RIAT and all the other airshows. Also home to some of the best airshow photographers.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link.

RIAT 2010 was the first and only airshow I have ever attended. I really enjoyed it especially the Rapture!

I took the train, from and back to london each day, but this time I will look for some accomodation or campsite close by.
 
Wednesday and Thursday are VERY good for Park and View Arrivals as well and there is no need to pre-book.
Monday, unless your first by the fence at the taxi track, all you'll get is arse end shots going away, so try going to the opposite end's P&V for the stuff that stays lower on take off, (Obviously not the RAF Typhoons as their pilots are all wimps and afraid of the ground hence the ballistic take offs :nuts:).
If you don't like that end your ticket allows you back into the other end.(But check as the management has a habit of changing things that have worked well for years!:shake:)

AND NO OVER THE TOP SECURITY CHECKS FOR PARK AND VIEW! :clap:

Heres a good link for more info; http://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=31521&sid=693344613ac3ebd864d0a5d2f7130387
 
have a quick google of rhymes farm and knock yourself out. So long as it's not sunny it's the best seat in the house from wednesday to monday
 
i shall be going for the 2nd time this year from Wed night till sunday night. Last year i was only there for the sunday and missed so much!
 
Might be a bit late but have a look at the FRIAT packages, with FRIAT you are teh only ones on the airfield on Monday and as such have the best view.
 
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