SURVEY RESULTS – WINGS OVER ILLAWARRA 2018
November 23, 2018
We would like to send out a big thank you to those of you that took the time to complete the post event survey following Wings Over Illawarra 2018, your feedback, both positive and negative is invaluable to us in.
Reading through your responses we have put together a list of items that we feel can be improved and are doing our best to make changes where we can to make the 2019 event more enjoyable for all.
Some of the items being addressed are:
Free to access the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) aircraft open for inspection
We have reached an agreement with HARS ensuring that in 2019 all attendees will have access to all the HARS aircraft that are open for inspection included in your entry ticket price.
Better viewing of display aircraft
We are reconfiguring the parking area for the flying display aircraft and moving fence lines which will allow attendees to get much closer to the aircraft and this will also open up more grassed areas for those families looking for somewhere to spread out a picnic blanket and enjoy the show.
Increased shade areas
In addition to increasing the number of shade tents in 2019, we are also in discussions with other airport users in the hope of securing the entire taxiway south of the HARS hangar. This will allow HARS to display their heavy aircraft down both sides of the taxiway providing significantly increased shade along the grassed area beside the taxiway.
Increased Toilets
2019 will see increased toilet facilities and re-positioning of the existing toilets blocks to reduce queues. We are aware that a couple of the toilet blocks were out of action for a while this year due to mechanical failures and we have spoken to the service provider to ensure spare pumps will be on hand should they be required and to increase the level of cleaning/servicing of the toilet blocks.
Increased water stations – The number of free drinking water stations will be increased.
Improved shuttle bus management
We appreciate that at the end of the day large numbers of attendees leave at the same time and that there have been some issues with shuttle bus management and getting attendees back to the car parks. 2019 will see the addition of a dedicated manger to ensure buses are directed to P1 or P2 as required rather than sticking to their assigned route. There will also be increased signage clearly marking where the buses for each car park are departing from and where to queue for each bus route. We are also having talks with RMS seeking approval for a shorter bus route when returning to the Croome Road parking area.
Improved Public Address system
Due to the size of the event site, the PA system coverage has been lacking in some areas, and we are working with our audio supplier to see how we can best re-position the speakers to ensure the entire site gets the best audio coverage available without blocking sight lines for attendees.
Improved exit from Gold Pass parking after show
We apologise to those of you who purchased Gold Pass tickets for the length of time taken to exit the carpark at the end of the day and we are making some significant changes that we hope will eliminate much of the delay. 2019 will see many exhibitors exiting from the other airport gates and not joining the queue of traffic waiting to exit to the Princes Highway from the airport precinct. This will considerably lower the number of vehicles exiting via Airport Road. In addition, we are in discussions with RMS and NSW Police hoping to gain approval to open up an additional route the highway northbound via local roads.