I Hate Airshow Announcers

Howdy all,

I know this has been discussed here ad nauseum, but having just got home from a local airshow I need to vent:

I HATE AIRSHOW ANNOUNCERS!!!!!!!


Especially the one that I just experienced this weekend. Here was the topper: a guy was doing an aerobatic routine in a Sukhoi (and this guy was really, really good!) and had Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman" playing for his music. This idiot with the microphone just talked (yelled) continuously over top of his music. "NOW HE'S GOING UP...THIS GUY REALLY LIKES GOING UP...NOW HE"S TURNING ON THAT AIRSHOW SMOKE...HE GOES FOR THE OUTSIDE...NOW THE TUMBLING ROLL...WOW...UNBELIEVABLE...NOW A TAILSLIDE BACK INTO THE AIRSHOW SMOKE..."

I was trying to have a coffee with "the blonde", all the while trying to resist the urge to yell out "SHUT THE F-CK UP, ALREADY!!!!"

Dan the (now) deaf.

[Tinker51]

I feel your pain.
I would love to have some sort of a setup at events (airahows, racing, sports etc) where the audience listened over some sort of broadcast medium and could choose between two different announcers. One announcer for the novice and another for those in the know who also knew when to be quiet.

[hurk130]

He kicks and GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!

I hate that guy!

[RyanShort1]

In fairness to the announcers, there are some, like Rob Reider and a few others who are actually good or aren't too bad... it all has to do with the audience, and you know we aren't their target audience.

Ryan

[The Inspector]

We had two locally in the 70's, both on air local TV broadcasters and rated pilots, one in the Naval reserve @ NAS Whidbey. Jeff Renner, still a weather guy on KING TV and Bill Brubaker, long gone news anchor for KOMO who tag teamed the local air shows and both of them must have split a bottle of 'Old Loudmouth' before the shows, they NEVER EVER SHUT UP and must have been able to breathe through their ears!

[A2C]

We had two locally in the 70's, both on air local TV broadcasters and rated pilots, one in the Naval reserve @ NAS Whidbey. Jeff Renner, still a weather guy on KING TV and Bill Brubaker, long gone news anchor for KOMO who tag teamed the local air shows and both of them must have split a bottle of 'Old Loudmouth' before the shows, they NEVER EVER SHUT UP and must have been able to breathe through their ears!

They are annoying, i'd rather just watch the plane.

[Kyleb]

I've always thought the "big" shows, like Osh and SnF should have an announcer free airshow day where you can watch and listen to the aircraft without having to put up with the (sometimes awful) play by play.

IMO, it would also be nice to have an airshow day without a half dozen Sukhois, Extra's, etc. performing virtually indestinguishable routines. I hate to say it, but those acts have not done anything new and interesting since Sean Tucker started doing his thing 15 or so years ago.

[vernicator]

What the heck is wrong with letting THE AIRCRAFT do the talking? The planes actually sound much better than some putz telling me what i just saw.

[Jerry O'Neill]

I agree with the basic premise of too much talking. I've announced many shows myself and am very aware of MY desire to hear the aircraft and watch what's happening.

That said, everyone must understand that many performers have a script for the announcer to read from that describes their act, hence you are going to have to deal with the talk because the performer is basically requesting it.

Also, many performers have their own personal announcer to make sure their act is delivered to the general public in the best possible light, especially if they have big sponsors supporting them.

Sean Tucker not only has his own announcer, but he also talks through much of his routine, describing it as he is performing his act.

Jerry

[RyanShort1]

That gal flying yesterday at OSH was a scream - almost literally as she talked through her routine. Heard it on EAA Radio and saw a few snippets on the BlueDot video stream. Most amusing, but in the same general category.

Ryan

[Mudge]

IMO, it would also be nice to have an airshow day without a half dozen Sukhois, Extra's, etc. performing virtually indistinguishable routines. I hate to say it, but those acts have not done anything new and interesting since Sean Tucker started doing his thing 15 or so years ago.

I'll drink to that. How many times must we watch hammerhead stalls, cuban 8s, 4/8/16 point rolls, aileron rolls, etc?

Mudge the eclectic

[DoraNineFan]

IMO, it would also be nice to have an airshow day without a half dozen Sukhois, Extra's, etc. performing virtually indistinguishable routines. I hate to say it, but those acts have not done anything new and interesting since Sean Tucker started doing his thing 15 or so years ago.

I'll drink to that. How many times must we watch hammerhead stalls, cuban 8s, 4/8/16 point rolls, aileron rolls, etc?

Mudge the eclectic

This is what Masters of Disaster was doing, and very well before the accidents. In a interview, Jim Leroy said that tumbling aircraft were getting boring and they were trying to bring excitement back.

Hopefully, one day some organizers will have airshows with no blaring music, no announcers, and no noisy jets. V12s and round engines are all the noise that is needed.

[warbird1]

I thought one of the coolest moments in airshow history was at the Gathering of Corsairs in Indy, 2002, when the airshow announcer acknowledged the fact that the fans didn't want to hear a rambling announcer. He just said, "listen to the sound of freedom" and was quiet, as the 5 or 6 Corsairs made numerous passes for about 15 minutes or so. It was so weird and eerie, hearing just the planes and engine noise without any announcements. That was a great moment which I will never forget.

I agree with all that has been said, but having an announcer free airshow will NEVER happen. Remember, the airshow is not targeting the warbird experts or fans, but rather the uneducated general population, in order to "hook them" to come back for next year. The general population DOES want information on what they're seeing as it makes it more interesting. I don't blame them, and it's probably the right thing to do. An analogy - would you like to go to an art museum, like, "The Lourve" in complete silence and not have any information - no signs, and no tour guide to tell you what you are looking at? That art would be kind of boring without knowing the history behind what you're looking at. Well, in this instance, we are the uneducated airshow fans at the silent Lourve and our art tour guide is the hardcore art fan, like us and our warbirds. It's a little different when the roles are reversed.

Like it or not, airshow announcing will never ever change, unless it is a "private" airshow conducted for a specialized group, and not the general public.

[The Inspector]

I forgot completely about the gal who does the flying Heritage Collection announcing on 'FLY DAYS' @ KPAE. She obviously is reading a set of notes, knows little to nothing about airplanes, never pre-reads the notes for timing and pace, and has a set of vocal chords that must be 3/16ths of an inch long, her voice is so high pitched it could cause glass to spiderweb and of course, she has to deep throat the microphone.

[ZRX61]

I agree with all that has been said, but having an announcer free airshow will NEVER happen. Remember, the airshow is not targeting the warbird experts or fans, but rather the uneducated general population, .

In that case they can RTFP.