On arriving at DWC by taxi on Tuesday morning, [the typical taxi fare from Dubai city, around 37km one way
was of about AED100, ie €25] the first day for us, it was very clear that the day ahead was going to be a
scorcher. Already the sun's rays were intense and only stressed further upon realising that our taxi driver
had actually managed to drop us off at the wrong spot!
Skyview grandstand spectators are not permitted to access the air show from the main airport building. We
were instead directed to walk along the outside perimeter of the airport towards the southeast and around
some rather large parking lots complete with several of the latest models of SUVs, Range Rovers, Humvees
and Ferraris. Its Dubai. So instead of cooling off with a cold beverage in hand we were instead treated to a
20 minute walk under the 40deg Celsius midday sun. Upon arriving at the correct entrance I asked one of
the guards positioned there whether we could wait for the main gate to open somewhere in the shade. His
reply was "This is Dubai, what did you expect!!" so initially our request was refused and it quickly became
quite apparent that the midday walk was only going to be followed by the midday wait of around half an
hour to 45 minutes on a dusty kerb.
To enter the air show the general public admission from the 9th till the 12th November was AED80 per per‐
son per day, equivalent to about €20. Tickets could be purchased online beforehand from around two weeks
before and were electronically refundable to a credit card account in the event that the show was cancelled.
The show on the 8th November was provided exclusively for groups of 20 persons or more. The Skyview
grandstand is located just outside the perimeter fence of DWC. Access to the Skyview does not allow per‐
sons to enter onto the static park or the trade area at the air show. Admission to Skyview was available from
noon till 4.30pm on the day. Displays commenced at 2pm. On Wednesday the 11th November the air show
had to be cancelled due to strong wind conditions. The air show started at 2.30pm on Thursday 12th No‐
vember. This review covers the displays held on the 9th and 10th November which proceeded punctually
and as per programme. We did not have access to the trade show or the static park. As noted earlier we did
not ask for a Media Pass for this event, as we truly wanted to see the event from a general visitor's perspec‐
tive.
Luckily we had emailed Skyview on several instances before travelling to Dubai and were fortunate to meet
members of the Team who were very helpful and immediately let us in and avail ourselves of a giant tent
which had been erected close to the food and beverage kiosks. Thank you Darren.
The Skyview grandstand has a maximum capacity of around 6,000 spectators but on the Tuesday barely held
a thousand people on it. Dubai air show, like many events in the region, follows a more relaxed flow than its
European counterparts. The freshly printed day's programme looked very promising and held around 15 dis‐
plays ranging from the B‐1B Lancer and Dassault Rafale to the latest Airbus A350. Every major display was
followed or preceded by a slower moving propeller powered aircraft or trainer. The aerobatic Al Fursan
team opened proceedings on Tuesday with their seven smartly painted black and gold MB‐339NAT mean‐
while on Wednesday it was the turn of the superbly choreographed Italian Frecce Tricolori which got things
underway with their team of ten MB‐339PAN sporting the new tail tricolours and complete with their 55th
year commemorative emblem on their aft fuselage.
Static aircraft parked on the main apron relatively nearby included (on the Tuesday) three A380s from Eti‐
had, Qatar and Emirates while on Wednesday the Etihad A380 had been replaced by a National Airlines
B747‐400. Several medium to large sized executive jets filled the remaining part of the static park, i.e. air‐
craft such as the Bombardier Global Express, Embraer Legacy and Dash 8. Elements of military fast jets,
training aircraft, helicopters and transports were positioned farthest from the grandstand and were barely
visible, a huge disappointment.
All display aircraft except for the B‐1 and F‐22 operated from Al Maktoum itself. The runway threshold is
situated around 2km away, towards the west, so from a spectator point of view this makes photography of
aircraft taking off or landing virtually impossible. Not only is the runway quite distant but the gentlest of
breezes quickly kicks up swirling sand under those hot and dry conditions. There is also no chance of seeing
aircraft taxiing to or from the operational runway. Atmospheric conditions were hazy and for the most part
of the afternoon the distant skyscrapers of Dubai city were barely visible against the skyline. Thankfully the
sun is positioned directly behind the spectator throughout the afternoon.
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