WHETHER IT was by design of just plain coincidence, this year’s Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD 2018) organisation seem to have followed closely on the heels of its predecessor two years ago when little pre-show publicity kept potential visitors guessing as to what they would see at the show.
In some respects – just as it was the case two years ago – the lack of information about what people would see can be laid at the feet of both the exhibitors themselves and those charged with organising the event as each seemed to blame each other for the perceived lack of publicity.
Appointi ng a Public Relations company a matter of a few weeks before the gates at the Waterkloof Air Force Base, did not help either.
For example, as far as revealing which aircraft would be flying at the show, exhibitors found themselves in the run-up to the event in a position of not knowing until virtually the last day, which aircraft would be available for the exhibition – especially those based in distant lands.
This had the obvious knock-on effect of exhibitors unable to tell the organisers and so on down the line to the potential visitors themselves. Basically, it became a matter of guesswork so World Airnews, like other media, should be forgiven if their identification of what aircraft actually will be flying somewhat misses the point. So, working with this in mind, the following is about all the information available at the time if writing.
