It wouldn’t be RIAT without the Royal Jordanian Falcons and we’re thrilled to announce they’re soaring back to RAF Fairford with their four vibrant Extra 330LX aircraft. They’re officially our first international display team confirmed for this year’s flying display, it’s set to be spectacular!
Behind the scenes, talks continue worldwide, with interest building from Kuwait and South Africa for static displays.
Stay tuned for more announcements, more aircraft, and more reasons to get excited.
On the 30th of April 1980, six-armed men stormed the Iranian embassy in South Kensington in London, it was a siege that was to last for six days.
The gunmen took 26 people hostage including embassy staff, several visitors and a police officer who had been guarding the embassy.
By the sixth day of the siege, the gunmen, frustrated at the lack of progress to their demands, killed a hostage and threw his body out of the embassy.
The British Special Air Service (SAS) initiated Operation Nimrod to rescue the remaining hostages, abseiling from the roof and forcing entry through the windows. The raid, which was televised live on a bank holiday evening, became a defining moment in British History.
The Army Flying Museum at Middle Wallop in Hampshire are thrilled to give you the opportunity to hear from a veteran of Red Team, B Squadron, 22 SAS Regiment as he describes the events of the Iranian Embassy siege of 1980 at the Museum on Monday 9th March.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear and ask questions of the first-hand account of someone who was there. A Trooper of Red Team that entered the embassy on a caving ladder through the light well. A replica model of the embassy will also be on display for visitors to view.
This special evening at the Museum is set to be a real treat for visitors as they hear this account in the stunning surroundings of the Hayward Hall amidst the many aircraft in the Museum’s collection.
The Midlands Air Festival is extremely pleased to announce that the Grumman Turbo Firecat will be appearing at the festival with an amazing display and role demonstration of water bombing.
This aircraft started life as a Grumman Tracker, built for the Canadian Navy. It was then sold to be converted into a firefighting air tanker. It went on to Conair who upgraded it by removing the Wright Cyclone piston engines and replacing them with twin Pratt & Whitney turbine engines and five bladed props, giving the aircraft a better rate of climb and a combined power of 2040hp.
Flown by Nikash Coffin from France, who will be showing us what a Firetracker does best by dropping 3,395litres of water in a simulated firebombing run. Few of us will have seen an air tanker in operation and in the intimate surroundings of the Ragley Hall estate, we are all in for an unforgettable and spectacular experience. The Firetracker retains its Conair livery and operating number T15.
We run special evening events at numerous times throughout the year. Bike Nights, Classic Car nights, Clubs, Interest Groups etc.
New dates for the 2026 Season…
Classic Car Nights: 28/05, 25/06, 30/07, 27/08, 17/09 Bike Nights: 20/05, 17/06, 22/07, 19/08, 23/09
Everyone welcome to attend these free evening events. Come and see our Wing Hangar No 1 exhibits and our new MOZA Jet Provost Flight Simulator. All donations gratefully accepted.
It’s less than six months until RAF Fairford is transformed into a world-famous aviation showcase, and event organisers have announced the first participating aircraft.
A Finnish Air Force F-18 is the first aircraft to be confirmed for this year’s flying display, where the show will be highlighting the aircraft used throughout the last century for air-to-air combat and modern fighter aircraft used across the globe under its ‘Fighter Meet’ theme.
In addition, 2026 also marks 30 years since Royal status was granted to the event, and in recognition of this, the aviation showcase will have a sub-theme of Royal Flight, which will be marked with a gathering of aircraft for VIP transportation.
Head of Air Operations, Peter Reoch said: “We are delighted to unveil the Finnish Hornet as our first participant for RIAT26 – this display is always well flown and is the perfect introduction to our Fighter Meet theme.
We are very busy working with Air Arms from around the world to attract an exciting assortment of aircraft to the show and we’re excited to start announcing these weekly as these are confirmed.”
In recent years the event has seen huge demand for tickets, with tickets being sold at record speed for three consecutive years.
This year, the event has already sold over 70,000 tickets and all proceeds are donated to its parent charity, the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust, which aims to inspire young people and RAF personnel to reach their full potential in STEM, air and space.
Head of Charity Development, Hannah Langford said: “Every ticket purchased for the Royal International Air Tattoo plays a direct and powerful role in shaping young futures.
“Thanks to this support, we’re able to fund inspiring STEM experiences and skills development that open doors for young people aged 5 to 25 — especially those who might never otherwise see themselves in air, space or technology.
“When people come to RIAT, they’re not only enjoying an extraordinary aviation event; they’re helping us spark curiosity, build essential skills, and create opportunities for the next generation.” To buy tickets for this year’s show, visit www.airtattoo.com.
We think it’s time for the Midlands Air Festival to announce some rolling thunder of its own, so we are pleased to welcome the first appearance of the MiG 17F all the way from Poland! This aircraft will be flown and operated by Fubar aviation and will be the only airworthy MiG 17F in Europe.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17F is a Soviet-era swept-wing fighter, which was the first afterburner-equipped fighter in Soviet service (1953). Powered by a single Klimov VK-1F turbojet with afterburner producing 7452lbs of thrust it achieved speeds of 714mph and featured enhanced, stable manoeuvring capabilities over its predecessor, the MiG-15. It was armed with one 37mm and two 25mm cannons, 16 rockets or 1100lbs of bombs. Well over 6,000 Mig 17F’s were built and were used by 20 different air forces including Poland.
It will certainly create an impact and a whole lot of noise in the intimate surroundings of the historic Ragley Estate and will be another unforgettable ‘must see’ moment that the Midlands Air Festival is becoming famous for, making the show a brilliant family day out to chase the winter blues away.
With even more big announcements to come, tickets will be in short supply as we always sell out. Tickets especially for Saturday, premium car parking and seats in our crowd line enclosure are already low and are expected to run away now. Also don’t forget that children under 13 are still free. Spaces in our camp site are nearly all sold too. So don’t delay, shake a leg and get yours right now. Get tickets and more info at www.midlandsairfestival.com
Sunday, 5th April, Easter Sunday (First open day) Sunday, 19th April Sunday, 3rd May Sunday, 17th May Sunday, 31st May Sunday, 14th June Sunday, 21st June Sunday, 12th July Sunday, 26th July Sunday, 9th August Sunday, 16th August Sunday 30th August Monday, 31st August (Bank Holiday Monday) Sunday, 20th September Sunday, 27th September Sunday, 11th October Sunday, 25th October Sunday, 8th November (Remembrance Sunday – Final open day)
The Centre is situated within the campus of the National Construction College East (NCC) at Bircham Newton, near King’s Lynn, Norfolk PE31 6RH. The Centre is easy to find in West Norfolk, where there are many road signs giving directions to NCC. The Heritage Centre is located near the B1155 road, from Stanhoe to Great Bircham, which passes through the NCC site. It is close to CITB’s Conference Centre. Additional direction signs are displayed within the campus on open days. There is also a large external sign which will help you to locate the building from the car park. This open day schedule will also be pinned in the noticeboard outside the Heritage Centre.
Best way to find us by navigation is Google maps, simply search RAF Bircham Newton Heritage Centre. Or what3words: (///dime.highlight.turns)
If you wish to visit the Heritage Centre, but are not able to make an open day, we are open to arranging Ad Hoc Visits. This is subject to availability of Volunteers. Please contact us by email or ringing the number provided below.
If you need to contact the Heritage Centre team, please call Chairman of Trustees, Jamie Heffer: 07807098348 or email at: jamie_heffer@hotmail.co.uk
The next Newark Air Museum Outdoor Aeroboot / Aerojumble Sale at the museum’s site in eastern Nottinghamshire takes place on Saturday 18th April, 2026. This charity fund raising event has attracted interest from a wide range of sellers across the UK and is taking place as a standalone museum event.
The funds that the museum raises from organising the event will be used to support the development of facilities at its Gateway Aviation Site, which is located in eastern Nottinghamshire close to the Lincolnshire border.
Invitations to attend have been sent to previous sellers on our mailing list. These people come from around the UK and will be allocated pre-booked selling spaces on the wide expanses of our Southfield Site, close to the aircraft display line and the museum café.
Buyers / visitors who attend this fund raising event will have the opportunity to search through a varied selection of aviation and avionic items: including books, paintings, prints, DVDs, plastic kits, die-cast models, clothing, radio equipment and a wide range of aircraft parts.
Normal museum admission rates will apply: Adults £12.50, Over 65s £11.50, Children £6.50 and Family ticket [2 adults & 3 children] £35.00.
The museum opening times will be 09.00 to 17.00 hours; with the sale taking place between 09.00 and 14.00 hours; to get the best bargains we suggest that you get there early.
Further details are available on the Events Page of the museum website www.newarkairmuseum.org or by telephoning 01636 707170.
With our first aircraft announcement taking off on Thursday 19th February, we caught up with the Air Operations team to bring you the latest update on preparations for RIAT26 so far.
Planning for this year’s show started long before RIAT25 even opened. Once our themes were confirmed, the team began building aircraft “wish lists” for both the flying and static displays – spanning military, commercial and privately operated aircraft from across the globe.
In September, the formal invitation process got underway, with letters sent to more than 100 Air Arms worldwide. Since then, the team has been meeting with International Air Attachés in London to share our vision for the show and champion the aircraft we’d love to see arriving at RAF Fairford this July.
There are already some exciting plans in motion, particularly around our Fighter Meet and Royal Flight themes. As always, our goal is to deliver an entertaining, varied and unforgettable line-up that offers something for every aviation fan at RIAT.
Peter Reoch, Head of Air Operations, explained that: “The majority of militaries aren’t able to tell us what aircraft they plan to send to RIAT until the spring. Thankfully, some national planning cycles come sooner so we’re pleased to be able to start our weekly aircraft updates next week. As per usual, whilst we’ll start slowly, history tells us as the months pass, we’ll have more aircraft to announce as we get closer to the show. Generally, the more rare/exotic participants can’t be announced until much closer to the event, as we always wait until we have formal written confirmation of their attendance and all the arrangements in place before we add any aircraft to our participation list. I’m confident we’ll have an exciting mix of aircraft at RIAT26 for everyone to enjoy, thanks to the efforts of everyone at Douglas Bader House.”
