Following my first visit to RAF Fairford in July 2012 for the Royal International Air Tattoo, in 2013 I decided to attend again this amazing event. However this year I was busy with my MSc thesis and therefore I decided to only attend two days of the event, the Sunday show day and Monday, the departures day which is quite frankly, the best day of them all.
Unlike 2012, the weather forecast for the show was predicting sun on nearly all days of the RIAT week, which was great, with temperatures nearly as high as those of Malta! However, the lineup of the 2013 had nothing to compare with the 2012 lineup, with a significant reduction in highlights that made me quite relieved that I had only paid for two days of the show rather than the full fledged FRIAT experience that I had done in 2012.
The US sequestration coupled with the increasing budget restraints of air forces around the world meant that this year, RIAT was not going to be a ‘classic’. Despite this, RIAT ops managed to still bag some gems especially for the static display, including a Brazilian air force Embraer R-99 and a Hellenic air force Embraer EMB-145H AEW&C. These aircraft perfectly fitted in the the theme of the show, which for 2013 was ‘Skyguardian’. Despite the lack of any RAF ISTAR types as well as the lack of any NATO E-3As, there were other examples that fit within this theme such as the Netherlands Coastguard and German Navy Dornier Do228s. In addition, the German Navy also participated with a Sea King Mk41 and special centenary schemed examples of the Westland Lynx Mk.88 and the Lockheed P-3C-II Orion.
Other gems in the static display included the return for the last time of two French Air Force Mirage F1CRs, on their final operational year before retirement as well as a French Army Gazelle and Puma. Estonia also sent two very rare types in the form of an L-39 Albatross and an An-2, marking its first ever appearance at the Royal International Air Tattoo!. The L-39 was unusually painted in the same colourful scheme as the Baltic Bees Jet Team from which the aircraft is leased. Other notable highlights for me included my first ever Royal Danish Air Force Merlin in stunning olive green livery, and the Breitling Constellation, what a machine!!
With regards to the flying display, as usual RIAT is host to a large number of national display teams. This year RIAT attracted the participation from the Royal Jordanian Falcons, the Swiss Air Force PC-7 Team, Patrouille de France and Frecce Tricolori. Besides national teams, RIAT is famous for attracting the best solo jet demo teams, and in this year it was no exception, with the Polish Air Force MiG-29 Fulcrum solo being the highlight for many, including myself.
Other solo jet demos included two of the most advanced and modern solo jet displays in Europe at the moment, with the agile French Air Force Rafale and the Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon from the Reparto Sperimentale Volo. The display of the RSV was very different from the RAF solo display not only as the aircraft carried smokewinders, but also highlighted the Typhoon’s capabilities with very different manoeuvres. Further modern solo jet displays came from the Hungarian Air Force and the Swedish Air Force, both sending a JAS-39C Gripen for the flying display.
The flying display also contained a series of heavy lift aircraft and the ones which stood out in this year’s airshow consisted of the famous Alenia C-27J Spartan solo display from the RSV with its aerobatics routine with loops and rolls, and the Aeronautica Militare Boeing KC-767TT aerial refuelling tanker which performed a role demonstration flypast with an Italian and RAF Typhoon on each day. The Airbus A400M display was impressive as usual, in particular the flypast with the Red Arrows, a unique display that I was very much looking forward to. A flypast of an RAF Tristar was also a welcome sight, as these venerable aircraft are on the brink of retirement with the VC-10s based at nearby RAF Brize Norton.
RIAT would not be RIAT without helicopter displays, and this year there were quite a few helicopter displays, some coming from the UK and some provided by foreign air forces. Foreign helicopter displays came in the form of a Belgian Air Force A-109, a Royal Netherlands Air Force AH-64 Apache, and a Finnish Army NH-90TTH that provided an amazing performance of this modern tactical helicopter. Regular favourites from the UK included the Royal Air Force Chinook and the army Apache and Westland Lynx AH7, a personal favourite of mine as I had never seen the famous back flip that is a signature maneuver of the Lynx.
Other images of my two day visit to this event can be found below and in the following link: RIAT 2013
alistairzammitphotography.com 