The event had potential, a lot of potential, but somehow the events' organizers missed their target, as hardly any spectators attended, and the two flying schedules on Sunday, were cancelled due to the lack of audience. That potential revenue from the attendees, would have provided the funds necessary for the event to pay for the fuel for the aircraft. Pilots were ready to participate on Sunday in the air show, if the fuel would have been paid by the organizers. Without the paid fuel, aircraft owners and pilots didn't fly, which is quite understandable since aviation fuel is $6.00+ a gallon, and some of the warbirds do consume a fair amount. All the aircraft and most of the pilots just sat on the tarmac all day until the pilots were paid for attending. Soon after that, most left the event. The only aircraft that flew on Sunday was the C-47 Black Sparrow, in the morning for the paratrooper jump, which was privately funded by the Liberty Jump Team organization, and again in the afternoon, giving rides for a few adventurous attendees.
The event lasted from Oct. 3-5. There was a lot to see and photograph. And in some ways, that too was the problem with the event. It tried to satisfy too many diverse interests, which to me, was a huge mistake. It is much better to have a smaller venue and to concentrate on events which truly draw the crowds such as a good air show made up of rare warbirds and advertise that on the web site vs., other information which do not generate much interest.
It had WWII re-enactors, a mock battle, parachute jumps using WWII style parachutes, antique cars from the era, tractors, and other displays with period style entertainment, a dinner/dance, and the list goes on. The venue was spread out in approximately a mile long area, on a very large airfield too; this was a bit much to walk back and forth.
One more very important fact was also overlooked; the bang for the buck! The event was expensive. These days with the cost of gasoline, job losses, financial chaos that is rampant, it is difficult to get people to come to an event, and it has to be enticing, price wise.
Personally I did have fun, with less crowds, as I had more opportunities to take photos of static aircraft on Sunday.
To summarize, the potential was there for an exceptional event, just look at the list of aircraft, however, the execution and timing of the show left something to be desired. I truly hope the organizers learned a valuable lesson, and I do wish them better luck for next year, if there will be one at all! |
