A Raptor-ous time at AirFest

August 24th, 2009 at 03:25pm Thomas V. Bona

I was one of a record 160,000-plus people at Rockford’s AirFest 2009, and it was definitely the best of the three I’ve been to. The perfect weather, packed schedule and same-as-ever prices all helped bring out the crowds. Judging by how many cameras were out for the F-22 Raptor, I think it single-handedly brought lots out.

Fellow blogger Georgette Braun is asking people if they got their money’s worth. I know my family and I did. Here are some of the best, and some of the needs-improvement, parts of AirFest:

Highlights:

• The performers lived up to the hype, particularly the Rapor and the Harrier Jump Jet. Both did things I’ve never seen aircraft do, and it was their abilities to basically stop in midair and turn on a dime that impresed me, more than the pure speed (which was also way cool). With all due respect to the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels, the Raptor was the best headliner yet. Oh, and seeing a B-1 Lancer in the air was great too.
• The layout. It’s great that the food vendors are scattered around the grounds, along with the static displays. You don’t have to walk across the whole fest to get food or to see something cool (though I did because I wanted to see as much as possible). Even if you didn’t spring for a flight-line seat, you could see things real well from almost anywhere.
• Getting to drive on the runway. Well, after the show. To accommodate all the vehicles leaving, they had one departure route that sent us through a gate, onto a taxiway and then on the runway for a bit, before escaping out the south end of the airport. What a thrill! My father-in-law, driving, said, “You think the Raptor was something … wait until you see what a Ford Taurus can do!”

The “hmm” moments (borrowing a phrase from My Last Bite):

• Granted, they maybe weren’t expecting such big crowds, but there need to be more port-o-potties and loudspeakers if you’re gonna attract so mant people. I counted only 28 port-o-potties for the general public, not counting those for the VIPs and chalets. Those lines were pretty insane, and given the jam-packed schedule, it was hard to “go” without missing something. I had to jump off line to catch the Jump Jet, then go back and try again. And those of us on the far end of the grounds could barely hear any of the announcements as the nearest loudspeaker was seemingly miles away. Something to consider as the show continues to grow.
• Long lines for the static displays. Anecdotally, I heard of several-hours-long waits to get in some of those planes (including my poor half-brother). It seemed like there was no time limit for hanging out inside some of the aircraft, and perhaps something could be done next year to keep things moving a bit.
• No B-2 Spirit Bomber fly-by Saturday. Unless it was so stealth we just didn’t see it.

One I’m not touching is traffic. Yeah, the delay was long coming south on Illinois 2 by the bypass, and maybe things could be done better next year. But it was pretty standard fare for such a big event (80,000 or so each day - a football game’s worth!) so it wasn’t too bad. Plus, we got to see the Navy Leap Frogs and a few planes perform at the opener from the comfort of our car. It’s been said that traffic is relative - people will complain if it’s more than they’re used to … but this wasn’t crazy for such a big event.

What were your highlights and suggestions for next year?

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