I just booked my Fairford visit with the 4aviation bus trip. Since it is my first visit of the RIAT I was wondering if a grand stand ticket is much better than standing along the crowd line. I am asking because at Le Bourget 2015 the crowd line was just perfect to get nice pictures (you have to find a spot early though to stand directly at the fence).
What about the crowd line? Do you guys have any experience or maybe some example pictures taken at the crowd line?
Best,
Peter
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Re: Advice for RIAT 2017
Hi Peter, there are pluses and minuses for either a grandstand seat or just being on the crowd line.
Grandstand seating - my experience is based on using the FRIAT grandstand, which is located pretty much at the centre point of the crowd line. The advantages of a seat are, well, you've got a seat and a slightly elevated position. The elevated position is good for some things but IMHO, it's best for the Monday departures. The down side to the grandstand seating is that it can be pretty cramped if you're tall and a bit of a PITA if you have a lot of camera gear with you.
Crowd line - the thing to appreciate with the RIAT crowd line is that it's very LONG. There are a few places where you can't get to the very front (e.g. grandstands and other enclosures). If you want to get right to the front of the crowd, then you've pretty much got to get in early and stake your claim. Being at the front of the crowd is essential if you're looking for shots of stuff on the runway. For the flying displays, it's far less essential.
The type of shots you're looking for will dictate where along the crowd line you need to be. It also depends which direction they're using (although the wind is predominantly from the west, so runway 27 most often used).
In summary, there is no one "best place", a lot will depend on the types of shots you're looking for. Closer to the time, you should be able to download a show map from the RIAT site.
Grandstand shots (departures Monday):
Grandstand shots (weekend):
Crowd line (middle, not at front)
Crowd line (near 27 threshold, at front)
Grandstand seating - my experience is based on using the FRIAT grandstand, which is located pretty much at the centre point of the crowd line. The advantages of a seat are, well, you've got a seat and a slightly elevated position. The elevated position is good for some things but IMHO, it's best for the Monday departures. The down side to the grandstand seating is that it can be pretty cramped if you're tall and a bit of a PITA if you have a lot of camera gear with you.
Crowd line - the thing to appreciate with the RIAT crowd line is that it's very LONG. There are a few places where you can't get to the very front (e.g. grandstands and other enclosures). If you want to get right to the front of the crowd, then you've pretty much got to get in early and stake your claim. Being at the front of the crowd is essential if you're looking for shots of stuff on the runway. For the flying displays, it's far less essential.
The type of shots you're looking for will dictate where along the crowd line you need to be. It also depends which direction they're using (although the wind is predominantly from the west, so runway 27 most often used).
In summary, there is no one "best place", a lot will depend on the types of shots you're looking for. Closer to the time, you should be able to download a show map from the RIAT site.
Grandstand shots (departures Monday):
Grandstand shots (weekend):
Crowd line (middle, not at front)
Crowd line (near 27 threshold, at front)
Re: Advice for RIAT 2017
Suggest this thread is moved to Aviation Photography as you'll get more responses there...
Re: Advice for RIAT 2017
Thanks for this comprehensive information! Your feedback is just amazing!
Re: Advice for RIAT 2017
Glad to help. I'm slightly surprised you didn't get any other responses.
Re: Advice for RIAT 2017
For me the main problem with the grandstand is that you can't stand up (unless you're lucky enough to get on the very top row) and I can't pan the camera effectively from a seated position, it's just not the natural thing to do IMO. And If you dare to stand up (unless you are on the top row) you will get shouted at!
Re: Advice for RIAT 2017
If you get there early (I try to drive overnight from North Yorkshire and arrive at about 4am then sleep in the back of the car for a couple of hours then move the car to the official car park at 6 am when they open), queue up in the damp morning air with all the other excited manchildren and saunter on down to the crowd line. My preference is to be upwind of the grandstand in the Red zone about in front of the aviation club (http://www.adsadvance.co.uk/media/image ... %20map.jpg). That's just my preference however. If you go downwind of the grandstands I find that with the way displays are these days lots of the noisy stuff is already at 500ft by the time they get there. I didn't go last year due to ave a baby (well my wife had the baby and I apologised a lot) so I have a lot of pent up airshow excitement.
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