2019 Avalon Airshow and Grandstand tickets
 

Hi all

Now the tickets are on sale, wondering if anyone has purchased grandstand tickets before and what they thought of the 'experience' versus the price.

Cheers

Adrian B

So update is I have purchased a grandstand ticket. Will try to do a comparison after the airshow as to whether it is worth it or not.

So far the costs a $200 for grandstand versus $68 per ticket (adult) plus $10 parking. parking is included in the Grandstand ticket price.

Had an interesting day at Avalon 2019 yesterday, just a few thousand frames to sort through now but all in a a good day.

Congrats to the Avalon Airshow team, all the volunteers, staff, display personnel and everyone from pilots to engineers whom had a chat with everyone during the day. I would suggest that the numbers were down on the last show due to the extreme heat as there was plenty of space in front of the grandstands for GA ticket holders.

Suffice to day conditions were really bad for a sunny day - 40 degrees, little breeze and a warm wind from the northwest. The organsisers certainly responded to the heat well from what I saw. Everything was organised and moved well (except the exit out of the car park), there was water available everywhere, industrial mist fans in several locations and regular announcements reminding people to keep cool stay hydrated and layer the SPF50 on.

So on to the grandstand seats.

So the costs as mentioned were $205 and compared to a General Admission ticket this is what you got:

Admission -$65
Parking - $10
Program - $15 (i think)
Hat - $25
Souvenir Lanyard Hologram pass ($?)

Pros of the Gold Pass

Elevated seat giving clear shots of the runway - albeit shooting between the speakers.

Elevated into the breeze provided some relief from the heat

Enclosed area slightly reduced the queues for food and drink - but only slightly

Seats were reasonably comfortable

Marquees to get out of that damn hot sun!!!

Cons

Cant take an esky in with you - nowhere to store unattended for security reasons

Reduced number of food outlets - maybe 8 outlets for all three grandstands?

Not a lot of room if you have camera bags etc.

No special parking - took 1 hour to get out to the road after leaving at 3pm.


So will I get a grandstand seat again?

Not sure to be honest. It did have its benefits from a photography perspective but I did find that I didn't do as much walking around as I had in other years. When I go again in 2021 for the Air force's 100 year celebration (pencil that one in lads and ladies, there are some big blue names plus some loud birds coming apparently....) I might jut go GA and spend more time away from the skies.