As an Aerospace Engineer I must confess I can easily get carried away at air shows but before this happens I must mention the accessibility of the event. Held at RAF Fairford, a standby US Air Force base and former Space Shuttle emergency landing site it is suitably flat to accommodate such a large runway. As the event was so big there was a regular fully accessible bus service which takes you between the individual ‘zones’ along the airfield which included the static displays, stalls and company stands. There was also an accessible seating area which if you love plane spotting as much as I do is excellent because it is as close to and as near the middle of the runway as you can be which means that the flying displays are centred on your position! In total there were nearly eight hours of flying on each of the days of the event so there was certainly plenty to see.
Vulcan being put through her paces was a very impressive sight
Of course, the show is not just about the many aircraft flying with many more on the ground to look at and the sheer number of aircraft is impressive on its own. For me the highlight of the static displays had to be the Royal Air Force’s huge new Airbus A400M ‘Atlas’ transport aircraft. It was open to the public and access into and out of the aircraft was via the huge rear ramp which went down to ground level. Now as a powerchair user I had to take this as a challenge and with a run up made it up the ramp into the main cabin. Indeed from experience I can say that the RAF’s new airlifter is wheelchair accessible!
The A400M ‘Atlas’ with its rear ramp is incredibly manoeuvrable for its size
So in conclusion the Royal International Air Tattoo is a fully accessible event. With so much to see I cannot recommend it enough, even if you’ve never been to an air show before. Unlike many large air shows it is held every year and I can assure you, its scale, flying and static displays are sure to impress!
For information about forthcoming airshows visit www.air-shows.org.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment