Event security

[Alpine]

This is my first year to attend the races and I am wondering what security is like to get in. What kinds of things can be brought in? Can I take my backpack/camera bag, a cooler, folding chairs? Is outside food and drink(especially water) allowed in? I've looked on some sites for the info but can't seem to find it.

thanks,
Alpine

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Event security

This is my first year to attend the races and I am wondering what security is like to get in. What kinds of things can be brought in? Can I take my backpack/camera bag, a cooler, folding chairs? Is outside food and drink(especially water) allowed in? I've looked on some sites for the info but can't seem to find it.

thanks,
Alpine

Alpine.. sit back and get ready for the experience of a lifetime! There is NOTHING like Air Racing anywhere!

On the what you can bring in.. I'm sort of out of the loop on that subject because I've "lived" on the site for the last several years in a motor home during the event and never left or came on site during the event.. until last year..

I do know, coolers are a no no, unless you have one of the box seat slots, then they "confiscate" them and deliver them to your box seat area.. folding chairs.. yes, if you are going down to the genera admission area, I believe they are allowed.. not in the pits however.. at least this is how it was in the distant past. Outside food and drink.... I think, as long as it's not in a cooler, you'd be ok..

(patting self on back) the only air show site I've ever done got second place last year at the ICAS marketing competition (nellisairshow.com) and I think it's mostly because of the GREAT information provided to me by the Air Force Public Affairs Officer (Chuck Ramey) and one of the first things they always provide me is the information "Q&A" sheet on "what can I bring" stuff...

Who cares about fancy graphics.. gimme INFORMATION!!! Right??

Hope this helps.. some of the regulars will be along soon with more, I'm sure..

Wayne

[Leo]

Re: Event security

There is an extreme variety of options, depending on how prepared you are and how much you want to spend!
The RARA site has the best ticket info I've seen.
I do the lawn-chair-on-the-ramp, general admission and have for years. It works out great for my needs, but you need to get there early on Sat. and Sun. to get the prime space. My son and I are usually in line at the main gate before 6:00 am. The bleachers offer a little better view but get too crowded for me and offer less options for moving around.
The reserve seats are less crammed and you get the luxury of not fighting for a spot to sit, but I do not think you get any choice of seat anymore (could be wrong).
Boxes, etc. are way out of my price range, as are hotels in town. I've always stayed in the Soroptimist's lot outside the main gate, until I moved here.
Every year they cry "no cooles" and "no lawn chairs in the pits" but every year I see people hauling coolers as big as Amana's into onto the ramp on wagons and have to wind thru the chairs in the pits, so go figure. I always assume "this is the year" they'll finally enforce it and plan ahead.
If you are in the stands you have room for nothing, unless you hang it under you. If you are on the ramp you can have more. I bring a little soft sided cooles (six-packer) with a few essential snacks, meds and water to survive the day. along with my camera bag, radio, binoculars and chair bags I'm set. Try to minimize and be thoughtful to those who will be around you. And please, NO UMBRELLA'S!
Also, at least one day you are there, visit the pits. It's more than worth the cost. Some spend the whole event there.
Bring clothes for every season, rain, snow or heat, as I've seen them all, sometimes within the same week, sometimes within the same day...
Bring lots of sunscreen and a wide brim hat.
Above all, bring your enthusiasm for the best aviation spectator experience you can have!

[T. Adams]

Re: Event security

I know that there were not many chairs if any in the pits last year. The crew that hangs out in front of the Dago pit resorted to sitting on 5 gallon buckets, and I think RARA may have taken some of them too.

IMHO they don't belong in the pits anyway. If they are allowed you can't even make it through without nailing someone, and I'm pretty wide with my Lowepro camera bag, and two big lenses hanging off the side.

They will let bottled water in. At least they did last year. Sometimes I would leave a lense behind and stick a quart of water in it's place.

As for refreshments, I kept stuff in the rental car and walked back usually once a day to take a break and eat. It is much cheaper that way. I also had a cheap styrofoam cooler in the trunk and a 6 pack of water in the quart size bottles. I only bought 1 brat the entire week from a vendor.

[rpzo]

Re: Event security

Alpine,

In addition to all the helpful information above you may want to invest in a Camelback. As a general rule I will spend at least one day wandering the pit area and the Camelback has been a lifesaver as well as a money saver. With the prices that the vendors charge for a bottle of water you could cover the cost of the Camelback in one weekend.

I've actually got two, one that I carry and one that my son carries. One of them is also a backpack so that we can carry a few sandwiches and snacks, as well as my monopod and other camera gear that doesn't fit in the camera bag.

Cheers,

Rick

[speeddemon]

Re: Event security

Or we could just tap into the bladder tanks of one of the racers. I'm sure the distilled ADI would give you a fine buzz.....

[hattend]

Re: Event security

Alpine,

I did this one year: I had two friends who were sitting in the reserved section and I was down in the box seats. They filled up a cooler for themselves at Scolaris, placed it in my car and had it delivered with mine to the box. Then every so often they would call me on the cell phone, place an order and I would bring them beer or food to the back fence in a backpack and transfer it over.

Worked pretty well. We were as discrete as we could be in case somebody would get cranky about it.

Find somebody in the boxes who will do the same for you and you're golden.

Don

[Ron101502]

Re: Event security

I know they don't let you carry a folding chair through the pit gate. I recommend either getting 9 other folks together and get box seats, or else join the Chairman's club if you can afford it, or if you're on a budget as I am join the Checkered flag club. The few years we bought grandstand seats we hardly used them.

Both the clubs and the box seat folks get private parking and both clubs have free food and drink as well as several "celebrity" guests that give talks during breaks in the action (Mr. Hoover is kind enough to talk with us checkered flag guys each year, and we have had folks such as Brian Schull (SR-71 pilot/author), Bob Gilliland (original SR-71 test pilot), the late Col Morgan (Memphis Belle aircraft commander), Jon Sharp (Nemesis NXT), well, you get the picture. You have a hangar to go in if the weather gets bad, all the bottled water you want, and they say they will even have better bleacher seats than they have had in the past. We usually watch the action from the static display area or the pit ramp.

I'm fairly new at Reno-first year was 1990.

Ron Henning