Punta Gorta thumbs down

RickyRicky · **Posted:** Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:31 am

My wife and I were near Punta Gorta last weekend. We decided to go to the airshow on Saturday. 25bucks to get in. Fifi and others could not give rides. P-51 rides were two grand. And the tents. The tents were all lined up in front of the people that were trying to see the aircraft flying. The announcer said "look at this and look at that" but all I saw were tents. We left after the pair of Migs flew. They were great except when they flew low down the runway. Thenall I saw were tents.
On the plus side, I went through Fifi and talked to some of the crew. That is an amazing airplane.

Ok I am done
Rick Bryant
S Weymouth MA

Mudge · **Posted:** Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:56 am

Well...there are them that know how to run an airshow, and them who don't. Sounds like Punta Gorda is in the latter group.

Mudge the opinionated :roll:

Chappie · **Joined:** Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:40 am **Posts:** 987

The tent thing, plus the fact that I've just about seen it all, is what has turned me off as far as airshows. Other than Pungo my last airshow was Ocean City 2010.

But the tent thing.....the blankin' tent thing really gripes my cookies.

Chappie

barnbstormer · **Posted:** Sat Mar 31, 2012 1:15 pm

The Aggravation level seems pretty mild compared to this airshow in NZ, where traffic was backed up for 34 miles! and a lot of people with Internet pre-purchased tickets turned around & never got there.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=10795873

The Inspector · **Posted:** Sat Mar 31, 2012 1:21 pm

Back in the early 80's the promoters of AIR FAIR @ KPAE not only managed to have every refueling truck from the FBO parked nose to tail along the show line half way between the crowd barriers and the actual show line which cut off most low stuff, but they doubled down by mooring the visiting GOODYEAR gas bag right @ Show Central on a North/South oriented showline and prevailing Northerly winds @ an airport that had a keyhole viewing area flanked by hangers and trees on either end of the show line so you were forced to 'admire' the profile of Akrons finest all day.

tow-3 · **Posted:** Sat Mar 31, 2012 3:30 pm

the layout of the tents was the worst. their only thought was $$$$$. there was nowhere to see the runway unless you paid for a premium spot. lucky, I was invited by FED EX to their tent. Thank you fed ex, they did a great job. on top of the layout problems, the security heads decided that they where not going to let any bottles in, they took my two bottles of water at the gate. a quick check of the web page stated no coolers or outside packages, nothing about a couple of bottles of water in my back pack. If I had paid 25 buck a head for it I would have been very pis..ed. pathetic time management, the show ended about 30 minutes before the angels were scheduled to fly so they had 30 minutes of dead time. bad time management.

Zachary · **Posted:** Sat Mar 31, 2012 3:49 pm

Unfortunately, VIP tent seating is going to become more and more common. It's a cheap way for the organizers to make more money, and as long as people are willing to pay for a "premium" experience, the tents won't be going away.

CH2Tdriver · **Posted:** Sat Mar 31, 2012 4:13 pm

I was at the Punta Gorda show on Saturday the 24th. Except for 2010 I've been at every show since 2006. As far as time management goes, this year was about the best so far as the acts were interesting and action back to back. Yes there was a lull for 30 mins before the Blues but that was not the fault of the producers. That slot was supposed to be for the Black Diamonds full show which I was looking forward to seeing. But on Friday night one of the L39's landed gear up. I don't know if it was a safety stand down, or whether they had no back up plan for one of the L39's being u/s, but only Snort and Buick flew the Mig-17s solo. And they were impressive. The show started at 1100 and the action was non stop until the lull.

As for the tents, yes they are a nuissance but unfortunately a fact of life of airshows in the 21st century. Remember this was a CHARITY airshow! Considering the cost of avgas/JetA is $6/gal? How do you expect to raise money and pay for acts at the same time? I bought my tix online and saved five bucks. If you bought them in Feb you would have saved ten bucks. I did this year what I did the previous trips and paid the extra $10 for a seat in the reserved roped off area, got their early and staked out a seat right in front so I could shoot video and didn't worry about carrying a chair. It sure doesn't seem like anyone was complaining about the prices as when I walked in at 0900 Sat the Beer Garden and other upgrade chalets were totally sold out. (At something like $25 a pop ABOVE the $25 general admission rate to boot).

The show setup was totally different this year and a bit weird. In previous years we were on the south end of the ramp with plenty of space. I don't know why they decided to sandwich everyone north of the hot ramp/airliner ramp which really cut down on viewing space. Also the static park was stuck in the middle in the GA tie down's which was strange. It was good all the statics were in one place but they clearly were not going to fly in the show. Also the Tobul Corsair and O'Conner Bearcat which in previous years would have been accessible before the show, were all the way out of sight on the south end. I don't know why the show was laid out differently this year. I originally thought it was for airline traffic which previously interupted the show. This year NO airliners which was a plus!

I learned last year as they confiscated my water too. I froze two bottles and they were on the sides of my camera bag. I understand the coolers and if your packing Coke etc...., but taking WATER is just tacky and cheap I agree!!! This year I wore cargo shorts with thick pockets and stuck two bottles in them so nobody noticed. Also they were totally unprepared for people arriving early. I got there at 0830 and nobody was directing traffic. I followed a few pickups into the main area of the airport. I slowly drove past three bewildered CAP kids who couldn't decide whether to put their arms up to stop us or not. So I just followed the crowd, we drove around a barricade and saw the main gate ahead. To our left was a parking lot and we just pulled in and got a nice spot in the front near the main gate. Nobody was around to yell at us so I had a short walk to the main gate. In retrospect I guess I was supposed to keep driving on down the access road to some lot in the distance and then take the shuttle bus? But since there was no one directing traffic I just made a right at the big electronic sign that said AIRPORT -->!

I stuck around for an hour after the Blues landed and had NO trouble leaving. Zoomed right out to I75 and south. All in all a good medium sized show and a decent value for the $30. Considering concert/ballgame tix are 3x that amount today? I can't complain. And I got to see Freddy Cabanas flying John O'Conners beautiful Blue Angels Bearcat!

Recommendations for the organizers:
1. You shouldn't have buried FIFI in the static park. They might have been able to sell rides and then we would have got to see her fly at the show possibly! Rides were only available THursday/Friday and Monday. (CAF Helldiver was a no show)
2. DON'T CONFISCATE WATER!!! Come on. I always end up buying t-shirts, hot dog, soda and a program. Taking it is over the top.
3. Go back to the original layout as you clearly no longer have airline service at PGA.

Pete

Obergrafeter · **Posted:** Sat Mar 31, 2012 5:42 pm

2 Grand for a Mustang ride is pretty cheap.

tow-3 · **Posted:** Mon Apr 02, 2012 6:33 pm

in their defense, I asked about the water thing and was told it was the decision of the sheriff and not the organizers.
the fact that the L-39 geared up should have had no effect on the show schedule as they should have known before morning briefing that the show would have been shorter and the schedule should have been adjusted. I know the blue's will not adjust their time, but other acts should have been adjusted to fill the gap. I know that the tents are here to stay, but I have never seen it that bad. the entire show line was tents, there was NO place to see the show line unless you were in a tent. at least leave SOME area to view the show with out paying extra

Ztex · **Posted:** Tue Apr 03, 2012 8:40 am

The tent thing has been a gripe of mine about the Alliance show for years. One year they even put 25 ft high bounce houses right up front too.

Last year they had made some changes for the better. They only had @ 1/4 of the show line covered with tents. They had opened up a section from show center south and another area of grass the last 1/4 of the line on the north end.

Much improved!

The water thing drives me crazy too....last year they would not allow water but I was able to pour mine out (right at the gate....it was a messy place) and then walk 20 yards to a big tank and re-fill the same bottle with their water....silly. Maybe they are worried about the possibility of 12 ounce bottles of white gas or... vodka?

This year I was able to walk right in with a bottle of water on my back pack....

Send them an e-mail and tell them your concerns...who knows maybe they'll hear it.

P51Mstg · **Joined:** Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:36 am **Posts:** 1202

The bounce houses for kids on the flight line is a safety problem..... STUPID........

Mark H

262crew · **Joined:** Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:24 pm **Posts:** 877

P51Mstg wrote:

The bounce houses for kids on the flight line is a safety problem..... STUPID........

Mark H

Umm...? I'm fairly sure we are not allowed to mention safety on this site? You may want to consider editing your "safety" remark. Or this topic may get locked?

Wildchild · **Posted:** Tue Apr 03, 2012 6:37 pm

P51Mstg · **Joined:** Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:36 am **Posts:** 1202

Safety... Look at my aviatar and see where I stand.... After 17 years as a lawyer I see things differently than most people. Safety is VERY important in events.... While Reno was fairly safe (I watched the accident happen), but putting children on the line isn't a good idea.

Mark H

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