United States - Georgia - Wings Over Marietta 2008 - Dobbins ARB, Marietta - 10/18/08

[Steve Rice]

No scale model. The sign was on the roof of base ops. Taken with film (obviously) from the back side of the control tower circa 1971. Scanned the slide. I wish I had better pictures of the cars parked in front of base ops.

Those would be a fun bunch of cars to cruise around in and for airshow transportation. 

[MikeRiffle]

David Schultz posted the following over at ASB yesterday:

Dobbins will have their aerobatic box parallel to taxiway "A" which is slightly east of midfield. All take-offs and landings will be on 11/29 at Dobbins but the box is shifted a little less than 90° to the runway to take Hwy 41 and North Atlanta Road and the Railroad Tracks out of the equation. The Thunderbirds will be parked on Taxiway A and the hot ramp will be near the intersection of "A" and "G."

It will be a challenging box and one that might not be really great for photos, but the line-up for the show this year is exceptional. Look for a schedule to come out soon via our website at:

http://dobbins.schultzairshows.com

Below is my interpretation of that description. From a safety standpoint the box makes perfect sense. The run-ins to the box are relatively free of structures, where-as the run-in to a runway based box has commercial and residential areas at each end. As David says, from a photography standpoint it will be a challenge. The sun will be a factor in the afternoon.

[BillF]

And the crowd is where?

[MikeRiffle]

And the crowd is where?

Since David said previously the sun would be to our left, I'm guessing the spectator area is around the blue arrow. If so it looks like the crowd line will be around the same length as it is when the show is over on the Navy side.

[BillF]

It appears that we will have an outstanding opportunity to take pictures of the sun. Too, I should be able to complete my collection of backlit aircraft at this show.

[JT]

It appears that we will have an outstanding opportunity to take pictures of the sun. Too, I should be able to complete my collection of backlit aircraft at this show.

 LMAO , I feel your pain been in that situation many times.

[Steve Rice]

The showline has been shifted to face north this year instead of being on the runway of 11/29.   This should allow everyone to have the left side of the face sunburned and not the whole face.

David Schultz, President
David Schultz Airshows LLC

Mike, does this still fit?

[BillF]

Facing N? That would put us on the (former) Navy ramp, but a long ways from the box, would it not?

If so, I'll need my 1.4 coupled to the 500 and hope that all aircraft are C5's.

[VFA-203 KMGE Guy]

Facing N? That would put us on the (former) Navy ramp, but a long ways from the box, would it not?

If so, I'll need my 1.4 coupled to the 500 and hope that all aircraft are C5's.

Haha; I was actually thinking our backs would be more towards the runway as obviously the NAS won't have a part in this one considering that's straight North until David cleared it up.

Anyone else think that's one tiny aerobatic box?

Basically we'll be facing pretty much directly 290 looking down Atlanta Rd/The Railroad Tracks.

Photo's are gonna be murder, But oh well I guess. David, Anyword if this was imposed by the FAA or Dobbins for a safety reason or just trying something different?

The Cemetery actually might be the best place for photos if the box stays that way; I may try one day from over there and the other from on base; Depending what results I have Friday at the practice show.

Could always see if Lockheed would let me shoot from over there as that'd be the perfect spot. 

I'll try to snag some shots this week of what you're working with around 3pm and a little before, If it'll help anyone out on how much silouhette you're gonna be getting.

BTW; Looks like we snagged a Bone and Buff for static. Never saw a Buff in here; B-1's have been in before when the ANG had them and a pair of Ellsworth Birds came in for a flyover back in '04 or '05.

Adam
VFA-203/VMFA-142 Forever
12/21/70-10/04/06 - The End, Baby...!

[schultzairshows]

The box is much longer than what is shown on the image.   It stretches just shy of South Cobb Drive and over to the end of taxiway "A" on the south side.   

Dobbins presents some major challenges for an airshow with active railroad tracks to the departure end of 29 and Hwy 41 to the departure end of 11.   Both of these areas are also problematic due to powerlines, buildings, etc.    The FAA, Thunderbirds, Dobbins folks, and us have all looked at this layout and it's a much better layout for performers and for the full 12,000 ft of aerobatic box that we need without closing major roads or overflying buildings on Hwy 41 at low altitude.   

Yes, it will be bad for photos later in the day.  Sorry.

Cargo Drop Demo, etc. will be taking place over the assault runway but all other demos will be along the Taxiway "A" showline.

David Schultz, President
David Schultz Airshows LLC

[MikeRiffle]

Yes, it will be bad for photos later in the day.  Sorry.

I think we all understand that safety takes precedence over a photogenic aerobatic box. To put a positive spin on this we can use the Great Georgia Airshow a week prior to Dobbins as practice. Since Peachtree City has a similar sun challenge we can use it to get our exposures right for Dobbins. 

Cargo Drop Demo, etc. will be taking place over the assault runway...

The lower the better

[MikeRiffle]

Just noticed this statement under the FAQ section at the shows website:

What time do the gates open?
The main gates of the Lockheed Marietta parking lots will open at 9am with the main gates of Dobbins ARB opening at 8:30am for entry to the airshow.

Somehow I can't see Dobbins security or Marietta PD allowing traffic to back up on Cobb Pkwy for the main gate they way it does on S Cobb and Atlanta Rd for the Lockheed parking lots. 

[integra2316]

Is there parking at the ARB gate?

[BillF]

Negative. While some parking might be available in some lots south of the gate, it couldn't handle more than a couple of hundred vehicles. Might make for a good VIP parking area. No, I think the rank and file attendees are going to have to play the Lockheed game. During the C5 production days, Lockheed employed close to 35,000 people, so they've got plenty of parking available.

We're lucky to have several MGE types on the boards here that can give us the inside scoop.

[camaronut502]

Just went to there website and looked at the schedule and it doesnt have the c17 demo listed, Anyone know about this?