Having been told by my plane spotter grandad that he wasn’t too fussed about the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford this year, I didn’t think too much about booking tickets. After all, we had previously picked them up last minute or indeed on the day.
A week before take-off, I casually mentioned it again and he positively jumped at the chance to go. Unfortunately this year, the Royal International Air Tattoo Fairford sold out several weeks in advance, primarily as it was one of the few remaining chances to see the last flying Vulcan take to the skies before it sadly retires at the end of this season due to funding issues.
Being a resourceful chap and closet eBay fanatic, I fired up the app only to find tickets selling at five times the asking price. Don’t you just hate it when that happens? Fortunately, I am something of an early riser and was therefore in pole position when a couple of tickets were uploaded at face value at 7am. A few messages, and a small amount of negotiation later, we raced off to the Travelodge car park in Burford; yet more coincidence meant that we were headed that way for a wedding in Buckinghamshire and the seller was on his way out of Oxfordshire, all within a 15 minute window. A quick background check on Facebook and LinkedIn complete, we completed our handover much to the bemusement of bystanders.
On the morning of Fairford, I set off bright (ish) and early with my grandad and Sarah’s dad, feeling only ever so slightly sleepy from Sarah going to the Next sale at 3am. She did find me several pairs of half price trousers though so I can’t complain too much! My traffic dodging plan was a success; we pulled up at the airfield after only a nominal queue, and saddled ourselves like donkeys for the day ahead.
The show itself was a great success with a diverse range of aircraft, including the first Japanese plane to show in Europe, and a brilliant display from a Spitfire and Typhoon in coordinated paint. The undoubted highlight of the day was Vulcan soaring across the sky and joining up with the Red Arrows for a spirited display.
The flying complete, we rushed back to the car to escape before the hordes of fellow visitors. Looking back at the thousand plus photos I shot to test our new camera, I was pretty pleased with how they turned out and was reminded what a good day out it had been. We will definitely be going again next year, although I might try the more conventional route of buying tickets early! Perhaps I’ll see you there.