Why does the Pilot parking empty first?

I'm sorry your wife has such a low opinion of airshow pilots.

To answer your question, if the lot was full of pilots qualified enough to
be doing demonstration work, you would probably have a situation filled with
people who first of all had done this many times before and were comfortable
with the "system", and secondly, people who were capable of making flow
decisions in real time.
In other words, if you have people who are flow conscious and you have three
cars approaching a constricted spot that has room for only one at a time,
you will most likely get all three sizing up the situation at once as to
exactly how each fits into the pipeline as that pertains to rate of closure,
range, and angle off the constricted spot. Each would automatically adjust
to that real time input to create a spacing favorable to each one's
position.
The result could easily be a smooth transition area just in front of the
constriction (or gate as the case may be).
As a show performer, I've seen this happen many many times and think little
about it.
On the reverse side of this coin you have the average everyday driver facing
a constriction on the highway. The result is usually chaos, gridlock, and
every other driver exercising his or her middle finger to the point of
carpal tunnel syndrome!! :-))
Dudley Henriques

"Al" wrote in message
news:1127751174.aa11e9afd7c04f9f243b8c96e56f68fe@t eranews...
Ok, the air show season is running down, and once again I ask, Why does
the Pilot parking empty first. For years I worked at the Medford National
Air show, Medford, Oregon. We had a Pilot/Performer parking lot that held
a couple hundred cars. Without exception, the Pilot parking emptied first.

My only thought was cooperation. The pilots seem to space themselves
out approaching the gate. With two car length spacing, two rows "feeding"
into a gate, the streams can merge with about 1/2 car length spacing at
the gate. Of course like a fire hose and nozzle, rapid acceleration takes
place right at the narrowest point. I've never seen a pilot stop at the
gate to say "After You". But it happened all the time at the public
parking gate. The pilots seemed to act as one under the "Lead, Follow, or
Get Out of the Way" protocol.

My wife says that they are all going to the same place, the Bar just
down the road. With formation driving, and even though they circle the bar
parking lot once on their way in, they can fill the Bar lot rapidly and
sequentially, like 50 "Blue Angels"(My apologies to the NAVY).

My son says that it is the "school of fish" theory as applied to the
stop sign at the gate, and the speed limit on the dirt road. If you are a
cop, and you have 100 smoothly moving cars, (even at high speed), do you
mess with It? Who do you stop? How? Stop 'em all? (the Mayor is probably
in there somewhere).

Your Thoughts?

Al