A group of F-16 Thunderbirds line the tarmac at Dobbins ARB while waiting their turn to run demo flights during the 2008 Wings Over Marietta Air Show.
Lt. Col. Steve Drosos, director of the air show, said Monday he and other show organizers would like to sell beer to patrons, "as most air shows do," but that final approval will come from Col. Timothy Tarchick at Dobbins "sometime soon."
Because the base does not have enough parking for everyone expected to attend, Hankerson said organizers have asked the county to provide CCT buses to take spectators from Dobbins to their vehicles, as it did during the 2008 show.
At the 2008 Wings Over Atlanta, slow security checkpoints at Dobbins led to a transportation nightmare, causing many spectators to wait more than two hours for a shuttle bus to transport them to and from the show.
And while organizers are hoping to improve the situation this year, Lee said, "Even with the best of systems available, there will be traffic jams, congestions and lots of people, and many residents will have to come through our system anyway. When you get a large crowd in hot weather and add alcohol, that creates a lot of unknown factors and volatile risks that we can't control."
Hankerson said he would recommend to the Board of Commissioners that the county not allow CCT buses to be used for the event if beer is served, citing "security, safety and crowd issues."
"This is typically a family event, and if there's a mass exodus at the end with 100,000 people crowding onto the buses, and some of them have been drinking heavily, I see a problem with that," Hankerson said.
Hankerson acknowledged that the use of the buses "worked out well for us and we made a profit."
"People had to pay to ride, and the fee covered the overtime pay we had to give the drivers," he said. "But when you get alcohol involved, it's a different story."
Hankerson said Dobbins does not need a permit to sell alcohol as it is under federal - not local - jurisdiction.
Most of the revenue from beer sales would go to Dobbins, Drosos said.
Hankerson and Drosos said county and air show officials will meet this week to discuss the matter. Drosos was not sure if Dobbins would hire its own shuttle service for the day if the county does not provide service, as the event is "still in the planning stage."
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Other than a revenue producing feature, I do not see any benefit at all to beer sales at the event. I was there last time and it was AWESOME.
I am counting down to this time.
Let's say a lowball estimate of just 1 percent of attendees have a bit too much and have no patience.
That's 1000 alcohol-empowered-just-saw-an-airshow- idiots to deal with. Let's say those 1000 fine examples of humanity negatively influence just 10 other attendees apiece.
Now you have 10,000 people/children whose day and positive experience has been shot to hell.
Now run over the foot of any of those 10,000 with your stroller.
Think I'll attend the Buddy Walk on the Square instead.
On the alcohol issue, NO WAY!