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So how was it for you? A new venue for 2000, as the runways and taxiways at Fairford are being refurbished. After much speculation, it was announced in January that RAF Cottesmore would be hosting the show, a surprise to many as it had been assumed Boscombe Down would once more step into the breech. Was the airfield big enough, we asked? Would the traffic be horrendous, we wondered? What sacrifices would have to be made? Tales of doom abounded after the Silverstone quagmire in April, as all car-parking at Cottesmore would be in surrounding fields. A wet spring and early summer fed the flames of foreboding, as dismal June turned into dark July. So what happened? No queues to get in, the
car parks were firm, over three hundred aircraft put in an appearance. Rutland, the
smallest county in the UK became a veritable aircraft carrier filled with aeroplanes from
all corners of the globe. Access was good, the local authorities and organisers achieving
what has never been possible at Fairford, that of unimpeded entry and unrestricted egress
from the car parks. Some did have to queue to get through the paypoints, and the delay in
opening the gates on Saturday was unacceptable, Cosy Cottesmore 32 nations took part in RIAT 2000, including Canada and Brazil. The former Eastern Bloc was represented by Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Ukraine and Russia. A marvellous collection of aircraft on the
ground transpired, with a whole gaggle of Open Skies An30 'Clangers', a first for any IAT.
Any fear that the airfield would be too over-crowded were quickly dispelled as the
organisers did a wonderful job of extracting the maximum usage of the concrete and tarmac
available, the two large ASPs accommodating a whole bevy of C130s, KC135s and other
transport types for AirLift 2000. Well spaced they were too, with photography being quite One feature that was widely recognised to be better than Fairford was the park-and-view facility at the threshold of runway 23, which offered superb photographic opportunities, being close to the runway and taxiway. Many of the fighters came within a few yards of the ranks of enthusiasts, providing a heady mix of jet efflux and close-up shots. It was perhaps fortunate that runway 05 wasn't in use, as the park-and-view facility at the western end didn't match the quality of its counterpart, being too low and some way from the taxiway.
One aspect of RIAT that always provokes much debate is the cost of attending the airshow, whether it be the entrance fee, the programme, or the photobus. One thing that has been recognised as good value is the FRIAT membership pass, which provides six days of undiluted aviation action for an all-in lump sum price - many use it for the arrival and departure days only, treating the two show days as ones of rest! RIAT, at £21.95 in advance, £27 on the day, compares with other events such as the British GP at £45 for qualifying and £90 for raceday. RIAT is the premier aviation event in the UK, if not the world, so maybe it's actually very good value... Bear in mind that this show is primarily run by volunteers, who give a lot of their time to make the event happen. Otherwise, the RAFBF would not enjoy a substantial injection of cash, which is the main purpose of the weekend. Behind the scenes 4,000 military and civilian volunteers bring the show together from aircraft parking to programme sales. The team go through 100,000 meals, 400,000 cups of tea and coffee, and 6,000 gallons of squash!
What a disastrous weekend for the flying: cloud base 600 feet, rising much later to 1,000. On Saturday the gliders performed a loop from low level and disappeared into cloud! Many felt as sorry for the organisers and participants as they did for themselves, shivering in the north-easterly wind which brought temperatures in the low teens. Many turned up in shorts and tee-shirts, buoyed by the woefully inaccurate weather forecast that the clag would clear by mid-morning. Sunday brought no respite, despite the cloud being marginally higher and permitting most of the flying display to actually take place, something that the previous day had missed out on. Ironically the arrivals days had been blessed with high summer, suntan oil being liberally applied to frying flesh, especially on Friday, proving just how fickle English weather can be. As a consequence of the poor weekend, the crowd was appreciably thinner than is usual at Fairford, with approximately 78,000 on Saturday and 50,000 on Sunday. This undoubtedly contributed to the free traffic flow, but it would never have scaled the delays frequently experienced in the lanes of Gloucestershire. Cottes-more please!
Cottesmore has a different atmosphere to Fairford, is more photogenic and has proved it can handle the logistics of hosting the largest aerial armada in the world. Nothing is perfect, and it's true that you can't please all of the people all of the time, but it would seem folly not to use the knowledge and expertise gained for a repeat in 2001, with perhaps extra weather insurance just in case... Part Two: The Aircraft, the bit you really want to see...
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Part
One: Aircraft Carrier Rutland! 
it being some ten minutes after the advertised
7:30 start before the long queues began to progress through the turnstiles. Many had been
queuing for up to an hour, and with an event of RIAT's stature an earlier opening time
should be available so that full value can be made of the short time before the flying
display begins.
Costly Cottesmore?
Cottesmore's clag
Opinion has been mixed
as to the selection of Cottesmore, but Air-Scene UK considers it was a fantastic success
by the organising committee to transfer a well-established set-up routine to a new venue
with different challenges, and make it work in terms of traffic and fitting it all in. The
Station Commander, Group Captain David Walker, should be congratulated for offering his
station and coping with what must have been a quite stressful six months since that
announcement in January. To give some idea of the logistics involved, some six miles of
new telephone cable was laid to connect 400 show telephones, 3,500 metres of crowd barrier
was erected, 16,000 metres of rope and stake installed, and 6,500 traffic cones placed
(don't we just know!).