Page 25 - World Airnews September 2020 Edition

RIAT 2019 RIAT 2019

INSPIRING THE

NEXT GENERATION

By Steve Crampton

Concorde Formation, RAF Red Arrows

F-4 Phantom Turkish AF

show, NATO flypasts featuring a large number of aircraft, were to

have taken place. Torrential rains and strong winds on the Friday
oinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 prevented the mass flypast from taking place, along with most of F-16AM Fighting Falcon Belgium Air component

Cmoon landing, the theme of 2019’s Royal Internati onal Air the days other flying displays, although the NATO E-3A Sentry did

Tattoo, held at RAF Fairford, was ‘Air & Space: Inspiring the Next manage to take to the sky for a solo slot. Corps’ Attack Helicopter Display Team and its accompanying pyro- missed at UK air displays in recent years, the Harrier made a
welcome return to the skies over RAF Fairford; the pair of air-

Generation’ and many of the ground attractions, particularly in the On Saturday, with vastly improved weather conditions, more technics never fails to entertain. craft from the Spanish Navy, bearing a special Air Tattoo colour

Techno Zone were designed to do just that. of the NATO nations’ aircraft were able to take part for a more Fast jet displays are always popular and RIAT had several, giving scheme, drawing warm appreciation from the large crowd.

One such exhibit was part of the Black Arrow rocket; the UK’s impressive flypast. the audience a chance to compare the performance of the air- With nearly 250 aircraft from 25 nations, its unusual forma-

only rocket to successfully launch a satellite into low earth orbit. 50 years ago, Anglo-French collaboration resulted in Concorde. craft and admire the skills of the pilots, with the RAF Eurofighter tion flypasts and numerous and varied ground exhibitions,

Having lain in the Australian desert near its launch site for nearly Although no longer flying, both the national display teams of the Typhoon, Romanian Mig-21 and Sukhoi Su-27 from Ukraine being RIAT 2019 delivered first-class entertainment and proved once

50 years, the first stage of the rocket was returned to the UK in UK and France, the Red Arrows and the Patrouille de France, fea- undoubted crowd favourites. again why it continues to be such a major event on the airshow

early 2019 by Skyrora, ready to go on display and help to inspire a ture a Concorde formation in their aerobatic displays. Possibly the most anticipated item in the show and much calendar. Q

new generation of scientists and engineers. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Concorde’s first flight

Skyrora hopes to build on the Black Arrow technology to allow in 1969, both teams joined together to provide a double Concorde

the UK to re-enter the satellite launch market, with plans for one flypast. The Red Arrows also took part in another special celebra-

or more launch sites in Scotland. tion flypast, alongside a specially painted Boeing 747. The 747, in
Past RIAT shows have commemorated major anniversaries of retro BOAC colours for 2019, is one of a number painted to cele-

NATO. 2019 sees the 70th anniversary of the organisation and once brate the 100th birthday of British Airways, its forerunner, Aircraft

again, RIAT paid tribute, both in the air and the static park, with Transport and Travel Limited, having launched the world’s first

aircraft from seventeen member nations and NATO itself. daily international air service between London and Paris in 1919.

Planned for both the Friday and Saturday of the three day Always impressive, the AH-64 Apache display by the Army Air
RAF Chinook display Shorts Tucano RAF EAV-8B Harrier II Spanish Air Force
World Airnews | September 2019 World Airnews | September 2019
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