R.A.F Fairford 2010
Held annually each July at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, the Royal International Air Tattoo is the world's largest military airshow. The 17th & 18th July 2010 provided over 7 hours of flying which included fast jets, transport aircraft, helicopters and also historic aircraft, together with a large and varied static aircraft display, despite the dwindling numbers of aircraft in recent years. As with everything these days finance comes into play, and with air forces around the globe cutting back on budgets it makes it harder each year for the organisers to attract the numbers and variation of aircraft that in the past would have been taken for granted.
First held in 1971 at North Weald in Essex, the show became the International Air Tattoo in 1973 when it was held at the former USAF base at RAF Greenham Common, where it continued to flourish until 1983. In 1985 it moved to its present home at RAF Fairford and was re-named the Royal International Air Tattoo in 1996 upon approval by Her Majesty the Queen for its unique status. RIAT is staged in support of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust, which was set up in 2005. It has built a reputation over the years that is unsurpassable and attracts enthusiasts from around the world. As usual Jetwash Aviation Photo's were in attendance to capture some of the visitors to this years event.
The main themes for 2010 were the '70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain' and 'Training'. So as they say, on with the show...............................
06-4126 prepares to take off at Fairford for its display routine
Without doubt the stars of RIAT for 2010 were the United States Air Force's Lockheed-Martin F-22A 'Raptors' from the 525th Fighter Squadron based at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska with the Pacific Air Force's (PACAF) 3rd Wing.
Four 'Raptors' had arrived in the U.K during the week prior to Fairford weekend and based temselves at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. Two aircraft subsequently re-positioned to Fairford for the weekend display.
This was the second time that the F-22 had been seen at an Air Tattoo, three having appeared at RIAT 2008. Sadly though, due to the torrential rain that year the show was cancelled on both days and so 2010 proved to be the first time that a F-22 actually flew at the show, and what a performance it was, perfectly illustrating the capabilities of this high performance jet and its thrust vectoring.
The aircraft attending were from the 525th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf, Alaska. The 525th FS being an old F-15 unit once based at Bitburg in Germany. The display aircraft however was flown by Major Dave 'Zeke' Skalicky form the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.
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06-4126 goes through its display routine at Fairford on Saturday 17th July 2010
Royal Air Force PANAVIA Tornado F.3 ZE163 in 111 Squadron marks, seen in the static line up. This is the last time that the venerable
F.3 fighter will be seen at a RIAT, with withdrawal of the type well underway they will all have sadly disappeared by 2011
This Polish Air Force Sukhoi SU-22M-3K from Swidwin Air Base was a welcome visitor to RIAT
The two-seat 'Fitter' is from 7 ELT
JG.71 'Richthofen' at Wittmundhafen supplied the F-4 Phantom for this years RIAT in the shape of 38-50 Sadly like the Tornado F.3 above they are a dying breed and we need to make the most of this classic fighter aircraft while we can
Celebrating 30,000 hours on the Aeritalia AMX is MM7180 from 32 Stormo based at Amendola
Now this really was a coup for RIAT and a surprise to everyone. Tucked away in the static display was this Diamond DA.40 XLS from the
US Air Force Academy in Colorado Sprimgs. Surprising in that it was not listed as a participant prior to the show, and that it was a long way from home.
However, a very welcome surprise and a debut that every enthusiast welcomed
Not seen at a RIAT for some time is the Harrier T.12. This particular aircraft being ZH657 from 4 Squadron at RAF Cottesmore in Rutland
Amongst the helicopters on display was this Agusta A.109E Power from the Empire Test Pilots School at Boscombe Down. This aircraft appears to have a bit of an identity crisis as it can't make up its mind whether it wants to be ZE416 or G-ESLH. For the uninitiated, it has swapped between the two identities on more than one occasion and was photographed by myself only in March of this year wearing the G-ESLH markings! Confused or what??
Yet another airframe that will not be around for too much longer is the German Navy Sea King from MFG-5 at Kiel-Holtenau
These particular aircraft are due to be replaced by the Eurocopter NH.90 within the next couple of years
The US Air Force provided some heavy-lift capability with this Boeing C-17A Globemaster 3 from the 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
It's quite unusual for a C-17 from this particular unit to take part in such an event as it is assigned to Air Education & Training Command (AETC). Globemaster displays are normally carried out by aircraft from front-line units assigned to Air Mobility Command (AMC).
The photograph on the left shows the inside of the C-17A with its state of the art 'Glass Cockpit'. I have never seen a C-17 cockpit on the 'web' before so thought I'd give everyone else the opportunity to have an interior view. Notice the fighter style Head Up Display (HUD) at the top of the photograph.
From strategic to tactical transports we have the Lockheed C-130J-30 Hercules from the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein in Germany
The 86thAW have recently transitioned from the older C-130E model to the "J" model and currently have fourteen on strength
The new kid on the block and making its debut in the U.K is the Airbus A400M military transport. The aircraft has been oredred by some
ten countries, with orders totalling almost 200 at this time
The Royal Air Force Chinnok is seen going through its display at Fairford on Saturday 17th July. As with many of the Royal Air Force aircraft present it was nice to see the Chinnok at RIAT. Sadly over the last few years participation has decreased more and more due to the withdrawal of various types. Combine this with the ever increasing commitments in both Iraq and Afghanistan and the availabilty for public airshows has radically diminished.
Hopefully with more new aircraft coming into service in various guises, the withdrawal from Iraqi commitments and the planned gradual reduction in Afghanistan over the next coupole of years we will begin once again to see a larger number of RAF aircraft available to show the British tax-payer what they are getting for their money.
The U.S Navy provided this Boeing E-6B Mercury from VQ-3 Squadron, part of Sea Control Wing one (SCW-1)
This Lockheed P-3C Orion is from VP-30, the Fleet Replenishment Squadron (FRS) based at NAS Jacksonville, Florida
An immaculate F-16AM Fighting Falcon from the Royal Netherlands Air Force taxying out for its display routine
The Netherlands Air Force put on a unique display during RIAT, flying a F-16 alongside one of their AH-64D Apache helicopters,
something I've certainly never seen before and don't expect to see again!
A number of aircraft from various countries flew in the Battle of Britain anniversary display
Seen here are two Belgian F-16's and a French Air Force Mirage 2000B
This F-15C Eagle from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath took part in the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain display
The Omani Air Force have been regular attendees at RIAT's over the years. C-130H Hercules '501' making its first appearance
ZJ646 is one of the ex-German Air Force Alphajets operated by QinetiQ at Boscombe Down , seen in the now standard paint scheme
No RIAT show is complete without the obligatory B-52. This year saw an aircraft from both the 23rd Bomb Squadron/5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB (above)
and another Air Force Reserve example from the 93rd Bomb Squadron/917th Wing at Barksdalke AFB