Attend and Enjoy an Air Show
Air shows are usually conducted either at a military base or large airfield and are definitely an exciting experience. But the thought of very large crowds on a hot summer day can seem quite daunting (especially when bringing the family!). Hopefully, these steps will help you attend and enjoy an air show!
Steps
- Get detailed directions to the base or airfield well in advance. Map it out and possibly do a practice run. This is very helpful if the highway or road does not usually handle the high volume of traffic associated with such a large event. Bottlenecks occur and folks can be stuck in traffic literally for hours. If you do a dry run of the directions, you may find a quick alternate route.
- Over-pack for the air show. When you land yourself and your family in the middle of hundreds of people in the hot sun, it's better to have an extra bottle of water or snack than nothing.
- Use the 'buddy system' while visiting the great stations setup at the air show. It can be refreshing to split the family up into two groups and report back to each other on what was the most exciting!
- Don't be afraid to ask questions or initiate a conversation with the military personnel at their respective exhibits. They LOVE talking about their work, the aircraft and the air show as a whole.
Tips
- Create a designated "meeting place" in case you get separated. Make it easy to find from anywhere on the airfield.
- Bring a camera. Airshows are extremely fun to take photos at.
- Pack extra batteries for your camera. If you are using a digital camera, make sure your memory stick is cleared out. Don't get stuck with only room for a few pictures.
- Consider parking up to {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} away from the airshow and bringing a bicycle to cover the remaining distance quickly. You will avoid traffic before, and more importantly after the show when traffic can be stuck.
Warnings
- Bring sunblock - lots of it. Time goes by fast during these fun events and realizing you forgot to put it on (or on the kids) hours into the fun is the worst.
- If it's at a military base, follow the rules and don't wander off. Make sure your bags can be easily checked.
Things You'll Need
- Sunblock
- Sunglasses
- Earplugs (optional)
