The editors of 10best.com voted the Royal International Air Tattoo as one of the best air shows in the world and I concur wholeheartedly. In a year when sequestration has led to cancellation of most air shows in the U.S., RIAT 2013 was an immense treat for me and fortunately we had enough frequent flier miles to get there. The weather was generally cooperative and the sun is behind the audience at RAF Fairford, unlike most of the other shows I attend.
RIAT is the first air show I have attended outside the U.S. and it was exceptional. I have seen aircraft from several U.S. Allies at Red and Green Flag exercises at Nellis as well as the Royal Netherlands Air Force and Belgian Air Force F-16 demo teams and Canadian Air Force Snowbirds and CF-18 demo teams at Nellis, Edwards and Miramar. RIAT had over 20 countries represented with flying or static display aircraft. I’m undoubtedly biased and would have liked to see an American presence, but it was a great show regardless.
There were almost 40 different flying displays that continued for about 8 hours each day. In addition to Typhoon and Tornado demos, there were numerous demos by aircraft that previously I had only seen in photos or videos including Gripens, MiG-29 Fulcrum, Rafale and the Vulcan bomber. The Vulcan To The Sky Trust deserves a great deal of credit for maintaining that incredible aircraft. Much to my delight, even the C-27J Spartan transport did 360o flips and rolls during its demo.
There was a wealth of precision flight demonstration teams including the RAF Red Arrows, Italian Air Force Frecce Tricolori Display Team, Patrouille de France Aerobatic Team, Swiss PC-7 Display Team and Royal Jordanian Falcons.
Rotary wing demos of the Chinook, Apache Longbow, and others were also exceptional. I was thoroughly surprised at the maneuvers the RAF Chinook pilot was able to perform with that 50 year old air frame.
As is often the case, I’ll leave you with few words and many photos. I’m having computer issues & it’s going to take a while to sort and process a representative sample, but I’ve started to post at RIAT 2013 - Military Pictures - Air Force Army Navy Missiles Defense. Many more will follow and hopefully some video as well, to show the maneuvers of the C-27J, Chinook, both Apache demos and others.
(In deference to my UK hosts) Cheers.
RIAT is the first air show I have attended outside the U.S. and it was exceptional. I have seen aircraft from several U.S. Allies at Red and Green Flag exercises at Nellis as well as the Royal Netherlands Air Force and Belgian Air Force F-16 demo teams and Canadian Air Force Snowbirds and CF-18 demo teams at Nellis, Edwards and Miramar. RIAT had over 20 countries represented with flying or static display aircraft. I’m undoubtedly biased and would have liked to see an American presence, but it was a great show regardless.
There were almost 40 different flying displays that continued for about 8 hours each day. In addition to Typhoon and Tornado demos, there were numerous demos by aircraft that previously I had only seen in photos or videos including Gripens, MiG-29 Fulcrum, Rafale and the Vulcan bomber. The Vulcan To The Sky Trust deserves a great deal of credit for maintaining that incredible aircraft. Much to my delight, even the C-27J Spartan transport did 360o flips and rolls during its demo.
There was a wealth of precision flight demonstration teams including the RAF Red Arrows, Italian Air Force Frecce Tricolori Display Team, Patrouille de France Aerobatic Team, Swiss PC-7 Display Team and Royal Jordanian Falcons.
Rotary wing demos of the Chinook, Apache Longbow, and others were also exceptional. I was thoroughly surprised at the maneuvers the RAF Chinook pilot was able to perform with that 50 year old air frame.
As is often the case, I’ll leave you with few words and many photos. I’m having computer issues & it’s going to take a while to sort and process a representative sample, but I’ve started to post at RIAT 2013 - Military Pictures - Air Force Army Navy Missiles Defense. Many more will follow and hopefully some video as well, to show the maneuvers of the C-27J, Chinook, both Apache demos and others.
(In deference to my UK hosts) Cheers.