High G area? Thoughts or Pictures?

[degroodtt]

We had a great time all week long, but I had to wonder if we were missing something by not going to the high G area. On our flight home I sat next to a woman who had been out there. She didn't seem too impressed, but she also didn't seem like a rabid fan either. Anybody go out there. I thought the announcer could have done a better job of telling us exactly where it was. Does anyone know what the closest pylon was to it?

[ak9er57]

Re: High G area? Thoughts or Pictures?

I was out there last year(2009) on Sat. I thought it was fantastic! The unlimiteds, jets and super sport planes came around the back pylons and right in front of us then headed down to the valley of speed. If you have a chance next year I would go.

[dvddude]

Re: High G area? Thoughts or Pictures?

I went out to the High-G viewing area on Saturday. I thought it was fantastic and I really did enjoy the experience. I guess whether it is worth it or not depends on one's expectations. I had read about last year's partakers, so I think I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. Here is how it works:

You meet at Gate 3, I think it is, the one that is closest to the T-6 raffle booth with the checkered flags. This is where they sell the tickets. I don't know what the hell RARA did this year, but they really didn't advertise this at all, with virtually no promotion whatsoever. There was nothing on the website or any where else, I could tell. The ONLY way I knew about it was because of reading it here in the forums last year.

The bus to take you out there leaves strictly at 12:00 PM on the dot. They take you out via dirt roads to the viewing area which is an elevated "plateau", if you will, between pylons 5 and 6 on the Northwest corner of the course. Out there they have a hospitality tent as well as stands. So, you can either watch from the shade, sitting on chairs and tables via the tent or outside in the sun on the stands. They limit the number of tickets to 100 each day, and they cost $100 per person. When I went on Saturday, they had sold only 60 tickets. I watched the races on Sunday from the General Admission grandstands, so I have no idea how that went down.

Once you get out there, it is all you can drink, free water, soft drinks, beer, and wine. You pay for nothing! They also have very limited food, just pretzels and chips, with nothing else. If you think you might get hungry out there, I recommend you buy food from the concessions in the G.A. area and bring it with you.

Once out there you get a real nice view, though not particularly close, of head-on shots as the racers round pylon 5. For anyone with a telephoto lens, this provides a good opportunity for shots. The racers are actually belly-up to you, in the turn while they traverse towards pylon 6 in the distance. From there, they level out and go downhill into the valley of speed. This is where I got my best photographic opportunities. I brought my High Definition camcorder and tripod and got some great video of the planes going down into the VOS. You can see the racers the entire time on the course from the High-G viewing area, just like in the grandstands on the airport.

The other nice feature out there is they have a P.A. system set up where you can hear everything that is going on. The escorts will put it on whatever frequency the people want. We had it mostly on the race control frequency so we could hear all the planes talk to each other. That was pretty cool, as I had a "built-in" audio soundtrack as I took the video. Sometimes we listened to the P.A. from the announcers at the grandstands, but only during the "dead" times. A few times they changed the frequency to tower or ground. They would put it on wherever the people wanted it or wherever the action was.

I have to admit, from the time I got on the bus until I got off, they did make me feel very special and gave lots of attention. We had a "tour guide" who was our escort on the bus and also provided commentary during the race by using his unamplified, natural voice. The "tour guide" was a seasoned pilot and former air racer, so he knew his information quite well.

I was especially impressed about how everyone looked after us during this experience. A few times we ran out of beer, and they got special permission from the Air Boss to run a "beer truck" direct from the ramp area to our location to replenish our exhausted beer. They made sure we didn't run out of anything! The whole event ended 15 minutes after the last airshow occurrence ( the Gold heat race in our case), loaded us all up on the bus and took us back to Gate 3 at the airport. It's only about a 10 minute bus ride back. I can't say for sure whether everyone would enjoy it, but here are the pro's and con's:

Pro's

- all you can drink free liquids, including beer and wine
- chance to view the races in comfort, from a chair and shade
- great photographic opportunities from a different vantage
- get treated like a "King" for a day, instead of a mass of cattle
- personalized escort/guide who will explain/talk about anything related to the races
- real-time, "live" race control frequency broadcast for all to hear - no scanner needed
- don't have to listen to the "corny" and sometimes outlandish airshow announcers
- "Sani-huts" provided!
- most fans there were at least semi-serious race fans, so it was fun to meet new people who knew as much about racing as I did, instead of dealing with Darwin rejects in the stands on the airport.
- no fighting crowds, or shooting through people's heads. There is plenty of space to get set up for your own personal photography, whether via tripod or hand-held
- better vantage than the grandstands for the Unlimiteds only.

Con's

- not the closest "legal" viewing area for the races
- slightly expensive at $ 100 a pop (but worth it!)
- with the exception of the racers rounding the pylons in the distance, most of the planes are "belly-up" to the viewing area at the closest tangent
- once out there, you are stuck there for the duration (half-day) unless you have a true emergency. (Not a big deal for most fans, however!)
- no real food available
- worse vantage point for anything in the "airshow" portion, except the Unlimited races. The performing acts are REALLY far away and barely can be seen for the most part.


Inevitably, people will ask comparisons of this versus the "free" viewing area at the fenceline. Here are my thoughts. The fenceline allows you to get a little closer to the racers and they are mostly in a wings-level attitude. This allows for better composition of photographic shots. HOWEVER, the fenceline has a HUGE detriment that, for me, is almost a show-stopper. That is, the barb-wire fence on the boundary is so dang high, with Concertina wire at the top, that it's nearly impossible to get a "clean" shot of the planes either with stills or video.

It's exceedingly difficult to get an unobstructed shot in the small gap between the top of the fence and the "angled-in" Concertina wire at the top. Unless you are shooting from the top of an R.V. or on one of the few hills out there (which get claimed extremely fast), one is destined to getting good close-ups of the racers in wing's level with barb-wire obstructing the foreground of the shot. To me, that totally ruins the picture and/or video.

If all you plan on doing is actually watching the races from the fenceline with no photography, then it's not a problem at all. With the High-G viewing area, obstructions are not a concern AT ALL, even with the other people. There is plenty of room to spread out and you can always guarantee a "clean" shot. The belly-up aspect of the High-G viewing area is easily solved by just using a zoom, or long-range lens or tripod to get a good wings-level shot as the planes head downhill into the VOS.

So, overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I will definitely do it again next year. Is it worth it to you? Only you can determine that based on what's important to you, i.e. - creature comforts, drinks, proximity, photographic vantage, etc.

I, personally, feel like I got my money's worth.

Hope that answers your questions. Anything else you want to know about?

[WVRACEFAN]

Re: High G area? Thoughts or Pictures?

Is the High G viewing area what was formerly know as the "Fenceline"?

Thanks

[BUD_XXX]

Re: High G area? Thoughts or Pictures?

No, "the Fenceline" is not the same as the "high G Viewing Area".

[T. Adams]

Re: High G area? Thoughts or Pictures?

Wth the exception of being at the pylons, the cul de sac at the end of Placerville road is as close as you can get legally, that and the rest of the fenceline, but the road is public, so just park your car and watch.

[Bill@Interstell]

Re: High G area? Thoughts or Pictures?

I brought my High Definition camcorder and tripod and got some great video of the planes going down into the VOS.

So when might we get a peek at your video?

Excellent review of the High G club location. Lots of good information.

[dvddude]

Re: High G area? Thoughts or Pictures?

So when might we get a peek at your video?

Excellent review of the High G club location. Lots of good information.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked my review. It took me a long time to think up and write.

Just to reiterate what was said above, the "High-G viewing area" is NOT the same as the fenceline. They both exist. One is free and on "public" land and one you pay for and is on the course.

As far as the video I took, it will probably be a while before i upload or post. I am several projects behind right now, and under time constraints and don't have time to edit it or convert into an internet friendly format. I'll put some up eventually, but I don't know when. Even though I thought it turned out great, most of you people probably would not be too impressed with it. We have a lot of people on this forum with awesome photographic abilities than exceed my own

[Bill@Interstell]

Re: High G area? Thoughts or Pictures?

[QUOTE=dvddude;83760]As far as the video I took, it will probably be a while before i upload or post. I am several projects behind right now, and under time constraints and don't have time to edit it or convert into an internet friendly format. I'll put some up eventually, but I don't know when. QUOTE]

See Larry... sounds just like me doesn't it?

[FENCELINER]

Re: High G area? Thoughts or Pictures?

[QUOTE=Bill@Interstell;83766][QUOTE=dvddude;83760]As far as the video I took, it will probably be a while before i upload or post. I am several projects behind right now, and under time constraints and don't have time to edit it or convert into an internet friendly format. I'll put some up eventually, but I don't know when. QUOTE]

See Larry... sounds just like me doesn't it?
[/QUO
At least you guys could do a teaser

[Coyote Chris]

Re: High G area? Thoughts or Pictures?

Hey, dvddude, thanks for that review....my friends and I were wondering what it was like.....good stuff.

[dvddude]

Re: High G area? Thoughts or Pictures?

Hey, dvddude, thanks for that review....my friends and I were wondering what it was like.....good stuff.

No problem, glad I could help. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[Funflyer]

Re: High G area? Thoughts or Pictures?

I was also out there on Saturday and concur with everything DVD posted. I did enjoy the down time between the heats without the throngs of people that are always around you in the grandstands or the pits. I especially liked the rear on shots as they dove on the valley of speed !!! Will I do it again, probably, if they promise not to run out of beer again. Will post some pic's when I have them sorted. Rad

[dineega]

Re: High G area? Thoughts or Pictures?

We were also there Saturday, as well as going last year. We think it's totally worth the money, though we did hear some guy moaning about being bored at the waiting between the action.

I liked the breaks. They turned the announcer off, and it was a great way to spend the afternoon.

I also kind of enjoyed watching the Snowbirds in reverse, then watching the correct show on Sunday.

We'll be back next year.