A poignant visit to 6 Squadron at RAF Coningsby following the announcement of the premature retirement of the RAF’s Sepecat Jaguar fleet. Rolled out during the visit was the colour scheme for one of the Squadron’s jets in a stunning Jaguar scheme, forever to be known as “the spotty jet”.
Quick visits were also made to the BBMF hangar, and also 29(R) Squadron, the OCU for the Eurofighter Typhoon.
A first visit to this small grass strip south of Paris which features an airshow which appears to be a cross between Flying Legends and the Shuttleworth Collection.
Displays included EADS Bf109, Buchon, Spitfire, Hurricane, P-51 Mustang.
Season opener at Shuttleworth with typical grey clouds. A surprise participant in the form of BBC Television Blue Peter presenter Zoe Salmon wing walking.
End of season show at Duxford.
Displays included Patrouille de France, Belgian F-16, and plenty of warbirds.
Departure day from RIAT witnessed from the western end of the airfield.
Another RIAT scorcher! Both in terms of weather and content. Some enthusiasts bemoan the reduction in size of RIAT compared to the 1980’s/1990’s but it remains the world’s largest military airshow, and attracts some stunning displays not seen elsewhere in Europe.
Displays included MiG-29M OVT, Osprey, Dutch F-16, Mil Mi-24, F/A-18F Super Hornet, B-1B, Patrouille Suisse, Patrulla Aguila and Red Arrows.
A return to “Waddo” for the RAF’s premier airshow.
Displays included from Hawk, Harrier, The Blades, FRADU, Merlin, Spitfires, RNZAF 757, Canberra, Typhoon and Red Arrows.
Another great relaxed photo call courtesy of Valley Aviation Society (VAS) and RAF Valley.
Highlights included visits from Jaguars, VC-10, and the Irish Air Corps.
All the excitement of departures day at RIAT but from a different location this year.
RIAT 2005 finally witnessed blue skies and soaring temperatures to complement displays from the world’s military forces.
Displays included the F-16 (USAF & Dutch), Mirage 2000, F-18 Hornet, FRADU, DHL 757, B-1B, Hunter, Frecce Tricolori, and from the RAF: Tornado, Jaguar, Merlin, Tucano, Typhoon, Chinook, Hawk and Red Arrows with Spitfires.