Winston-Salem airshow

[LadyO2Pilot]

hi JDK - thanks for the feedback. You have certainly seen more shows than me. - Actually I have tried to communicate with the show organizers prior to the show, but got no reply. So I have not attempted to since the show. I would be glad to offer comments to them. - My basic disappointment is the fact that none of the invited planes showed & neither did the confirmed F-18. This simply looks dishonest & makes it easy to find other problems with the show. Had we seen a B-2 , B-52, F-18 or other invited planes , it would make the other problems easier to overlook. I could call up my friends to come over this afternoon to meet Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan because I invited them over , but I know they are not likely to show up. To their credit, they did actually have a show, no easy task in this ecomony. And frankly I may have been spoiled by not being marketed to so much at previous shows. -- The one piece of advice I would offer to the folks at WS is be painfully honest about what they really expect to show up & promptly remove from the website planes they learn are not going to show. - take care

I think your claim/feeling that the airshow is being dishonest about the invited planes and those not showing, is a bit naive and somewhat insulting. <Disclaimer - I have nothing to do with this particular show> This happens all the time due to weather and mechanical issues beyond the control of the show or the pilots involved. I can give a story as evidence. I experienced a grounding situation during run-up going to my first show this year. I had to notify the airshow people 3.5 hours before my arrival time that I had a serious mechanical and would not be there. This was also 5.5 hours before my first scheduled appearance at that show. What would you propose the airshow coordinators do with posters already on display all over town and publicity already in the media. Was is dishonest on their part that they could not inform people that this particular aicraft couldn't come. There were two other aircraft for the same show that had similar situations and if I remember correctly there were some weather issues later in the day. Excuse the expression - S^%T Happens! Nobody was DISHONEST!!!

[JDK]

Thanks Ober, I think that's a fair comment, and reflects the demands and constraints the US military are under at the moment. Appreciate the clarification.

Just as a tangent, my first experience of great American hospitality was at the much-missed Mildenhall Air Fetes in the 1980s. The service personnel who made the show happen were the best ambassadors for their country you could ask for, and my subsequent experiences match that. If only the brasshats realised how relatively cheap such efforts are in winning friends and influencing people - at home and abroad.

And if I'm reading catsplanewatcher's posts correctly, the beef with the non-attending USAF presence was that those aircraft were never really available, let alone booked - rather than a last-minute tech or logistics cancellation. Is that correct? And if so, what do you base that opinion on?

Regards,

[catsplanewatcher]

to JDK - exactly what I ment , It looked like simply name dropping on the part of the organizers when none of the big acts showed B-2, B-52, F-15, F-18 . I appreciate all the feedback, positive & negative. And to those of you that have performed at shows Thanks! and especially those that have kept the homeland safe many thanks!
I will try to give feedback to the organizers at WS. If everything goes according to plan our next show will be Goldsboro ! whoop-dee-do! no disappointment there ever! Someone mentioned modern military aircraft being my thing , I must confess it really is my thing - fast low pass of USAF Thunderbirds ! nothing greater!

[JohnTony]

I'll be there. Just not sure which day yet.

[JohnTony]

the worst airshow I have ever attended