We’ve already had lots of fantastic announcements in the run up to RIAT23 and this week is no different. So here we go, our final aircraft announcement…

We are excited to welcome the Zambian Air Force to RIAT for the first time, along with great aircraft from our regulars the Royal Air Force, United States Air Force and the Italian Air Force.

We are also very pleased to confirm that the Royal Air Force will be bringing one of their
F-35B Lightning II aircraft to join the flying display for all 3 days.

Following on from that, we have another addition to our SKYTANKER23 theme. On both Saturday and Sunday, the USAF will be bringing their MC-130J Commando and CV-22B Osprey. Examples of both aircraft will be seen in the flying display (including simulated air-to-air refuelling flypast) as well as being available for closer inspection on the static display.

From the US Navy, we welcome their TACAMO aircraft, the Boeing E-6B Mercury. You will be able to see the aircraft up close on the static display on both Saturday and Sunday.

Joining as the 58th nation to participate in RIAT, it is with great pleasure that we welcome the Zambian Air Force to this year’s show. They will be sending their C-27J Spartan for the static display.

We are also very excited to announce that SAAB will be bringing their new Gripen E aircraft for its UK debut! You will be able to see this impressive jet on all three days of the show in the flying display as well as the static display in SAAB’s showcase area alongside a GlobalEye AEW&C aircraft.

Finally, we have a small update from the Italian Air Force who will be displaying an F-2000A Typhoon in our special ITAF 100 static display area.

Check our website now for the full list of all aircraft attending the show! Follow the link here for the full list of this week’s announcements as well as the show line-up.

With just 2 weeks to go, we’re all in a flurry of excitement and like you, all eager to see the aircraft up close and in the sky.

Sunday tickets are selling fast so if you haven’t bought them already – get your tickets now!

www.airtattoo.com/tickets

Cockpit-Fest 2023 proved to be another great event at the Newark Air Museum site in eastern Nottinghamshire. Once again the Cockpit-Fest and Aeroboot display areas were located alongside each other on the Southfield Site, which works well by integrating both aspects of the weekend.

The two-day event was well attended and drew a lot of positive feedback from exhibitors and visitors alike. Amongst the attendees were visitors from Hawaii, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and from across the UK. One young school girl chose to attend Cockpit-Fest with her father who was exhibiting at the event, rather than go to her Year 6 Prom!
The museum trustees were particularly thankful to a host of people: all of the Cockpiteers and Exhibitors, their friends and families; the Aeroboot stall holders; the museum staff, aircraft openers and volunteers who helped during the build-up, during and after the event.

Support for this year’s event came from the following people and organisations:

Ken Ellis (‘Wrecks & Relics – Spirit of Cockpit-Fest’ Awards)
The Museum Shop
Jane Knox-Kiepura & Kiepura Aviation

As now seems to be the case with Cockpit-Fest there was a diverse range of cockpits and supporting displays on show and everyone who displayed at the event was a winner and a credit to this wonderfully diverse hobby. Below are this year’s official results:

Grand Champion (Visitors Award) – Bill Fern (SYAM), Jaguar GR1, XX736

Visitors Award Non-Cockpit – Richard Fryer, Flying Helmets display

Cockpiteers Cockpit Award – Ritch & Max Blood, Provost T1 cockpit

Cockpiteers Award Non-Cockpit – Richard Fryer, Flying Helmets display

Wrecks & Relics Spirit of Cockpit-Fest Award (Ken Ellis) – Bill Fern (SYAM) –
Vickers Valetta cockpit

Wrecks & Relics Spirit of Cockpit-Fest Award (Ken Ellis) – Ian & Gary Morton –
Dove, G-ANAP cockpit

Cockpit-Fest will be back next year, on Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd June, 2023

www.newarkairmuseum.org

Where: RAF Museum
When: Sat 22 July – Sun 3 September
How long: Each session is 2 hours
How much: £7.50 per person, or £25 for 5 people on our group saver ticket

This summer, fasten your seatbelts as the RAF Museum presents Horrible Histories Up in the Air Adventure.

Get ready to experience the (sometimes gruesome) history of flight in the Horrible Hangar. Meet fearless and foolish flyers and solve the clues in this fully interactive experience for all the family.

Based on the Horrible Histories book, ‘Up in the Air’, written by Terry Deary and illustrated by Martin Brown, the RAF Museum will bring characters from the book to life with some of the truly brainless blunderers pursuing the desire to fly! Legendary aviation pioneers from throughout history will be on hand to steer you around six amazing zones for one fantastic adventure, including the Engineer’s Workshop; Barnstorming Braves; Creation Station; Meet the Inventor; Selfie Zone and the Up in the Air Challenge.

Barry Smith, Director of Visitor and Commercial Development RAF Museum said:
‘We are incredibly excited about our partnership with the Horrible Histories team at Scholastic. This is our biggest, most exciting family event of the year. Full of all the hilarious mishaps, mistakes and triumphs we love from Horrible Histories combined with our iconic aircraft and expert knowledge, there is something for everyone. Meet the characters and work together as a family, couple or group to complete the challenges in each zone.’

Elizabeth Scoggins, Publisher Non-fiction, Brands and Licensing said:
‘It’s been a joy to see the Horrible Histories collaboration with the RAF Museum come to fruition. A truly entertaining and immersive experience awaits children and families this summer with exactly the right mix of fantastic fun and foul facts that Horrible Histories has delivered for generations.’

Bespoke Horrible Histories activity packs and a free Twinkletoes Trail around the Museum are also on offer for visitors throughout the summer break. Not only did Twinkletoes the cat feature in the book, she’s the Transatlantic traveller and lucky charm of Arthur Whitten Brown who flew on the first ever non-stop transatlantic flight in 1919. Twinkletoes is the purrfect character to guide you round the Museum and can also be spotted on display at the Museums Midlands site over the summer.

This year celebrates the 30th anniversary of Horrible Histories – the world’s bestselling historical book series for children.

The Horrible Histories Up in the Air Adventure runs from Saturday 22 July until 3 September, with three 2-hours sessions daily. Advanced booking is strongly advised for this immersive experience. Tickets are £7.50 per person, or £25 for 5 people on our group saver ticket. Book now for a great day out this summer, visit www.rafmuseum.org/HorribleHistories.

This week we have made a double announcement with our Italian contingent finally unmasked alongside a host of other aircraft.

Starting with today’s unveiling, the United States have a trio of aircraft joining our static display that are adding to our SKYTANKER23 theme. Next month we will be joined by the USAF’s newest tanker, the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus. In addition, we will also be seeing the U-2 Dragon Lady, and special WC-130J Hercules Weatherbird.

Plus, we have a massive update that includes 14 new civilian aircraft for the static lineup! There are a plethora of interesting aircraft here. For a full look, please click the link below and check on the civilian section on our confirmed aircraft page.

Elsewhere, we also welcome the Hungarian Air Force to RIAT. They will be arriving with a SAAB JAS-39C Gripen for static display.

Earlier this week we also revealed an update from the Italian Air Force, who are treating us to four incredible flying displays.

For those who missed it, we are set to welcome the return of the Reparto Sperimentale Volo with their impressive solo displays of the F-2000A, T-346A and C-27J. Plus, we will see a search and rescue demonstration from their HH-139B helicopter.

The Italians will also be bringing an impressive number of aircraft for the RIAT static lineup, of which, highlights include a pair of U-208A’s, combat helicopters such as the HH-212A & HH-101A, Tornado & Ghibli jets and adding to our theme of SKYTANKER23 we will see both their KC-767A and KC-130J tankers too!

www.airtattoo.com/tickets

Even with our 2023 show just on the horizon, we are still unveiling some fantastic aircraft!

Starting off, we have more aircraft from the United States Air Force. Bolstering the static display, we have some cracking examples of fast jets, including an F-15E Strike Eagle, an F-35A and a pair of F-16CJ Fighting Falcons!

As part of our SKYTANKER23 theme, we have a pair of USAF KC-135R Stratotankers, one joining the static display and another providing a flypast on the Saturday and Sunday of the show.

We are very happy to also confirm that the RAF Chinook Display Team will be performing in the flying display on Saturday and Sunday, Wokka Wokka! In addition, we will also be seeing Joint Helicopter Command Apache, Merlin and Wildcat helicopters within our static display. These will all be arriving on Friday afternoon and available to see on the ground over the weekend.

To round off our rotary additions, we have four more military helicopters. From the French Navy, we have the NH90 Caiman and Dauphin, and from the Irish Air Corps we have an Augusta Westland AW139 and Eurocopter EC135.

Stay tuned for more updates in the run-up to the show. Pretty soon we will be confirming the aircraft in the Friday flying display as well as providing more information on more showground offerings you can look forwards to!

www.airtattoo.com/tickets

The recent spell of good weather has allowed the staff and volunteers at Newark Air Museum to complete the long-overdue move of the Reid & Sigrist Desford VZ728, G-AGOS into its final display position in Hangar 1. Here the aircraft will reside alongside contemporary airframes such as the General Aircraft Monospar, de Havilland Tiger Moth and Avro Anson.

Good progress is also being made on the repaint of Gloster Meteor T.7 VZ634; and the final top-coat has now been applied to the repaired spine panels on Avro Vulcan XM594.

With continued good weather in the forecast other projects are expected to progress at a steady pace.

www.newarkairmuseum.org

What a week for us here at RIAT HQ! Starting from next Monday, are officially out on site getting the ready for the show! But before then, we still have more exciting aircraft to announce, so without further adieu…

To kick us off, we have another fantastic national aerobatic display team joining our flying display! From the Royal Saudi Air Force, we are pleased to announce that the Saudi Hawks will be performing in the flying display on all three days at RIAT this year!
The Saudi Air Force will also be bringing an addition to our SKYTANKER23 theme, with an Airbus A330 MRTT for the static display. This will be joined by another Airbus A330 MRTT operated by the Multinational Multirole Tanker Transport Unit, so make sure to bring the wide lens for the heavies!

We also have many additions to our static lineup to announce this week! Coming in from the Royal Canadian Air Force, a CP-140M Aurora and CC-130J Hercules. From the Qatar Emiri Air Force, we have a factory fresh Eurofighter Typhoon in a brilliant camo pattern as well as a pair of Hawks.

Further additions include a Dauphin helicopter coming from Bristow Helicopters and aircraft from QinetiQ. Check out the link below for more details on each of the above as well as the full list of announcements!

The previously announced Argentinian Boeing 737 will no longer be participating at the Royal International Air Tattoo 2023.

For the full update as well as a total list of confirmed aircraft at this years show, please click here: www.airtattoo.com/airshow/aircraft/latest-updates-2023

If you missed the chance to buy RIAT tickets for Saturday 15th July, there is no need to panic as we still have plenty for Friday 14th and Sunday 16th!

Friday and Sunday still offer you an incredible day out with a plethora of spectacular aircraft taking to the skies.

On Friday you’ll get a chance to see a unique flying display, with some aircraft only with us on that date. You’ll also be able to take a spin on our Fairford Eye!

Just like Saturday, Sunday will enable you to see some of your favourite aircraft participating in the flying display, including the Red Arrows, Spanish Harrier and the USAF B-52s in addition to having full access to our showground.

If you’re still looking for more reasons to come and visit us this year, don’t forget – kids go free!

www.airtattoo.com/tickets

This week’s announcement is a cracker, as we unveil participants from the United States, Poland and the United Arab Emirates!

Starting with the United States Air Force, they’re bringing two B-52s to this year show, with one participating in the flying display, while the other will be part of the static line-up. There is plenty more still to come from USAF, so keep your eyes peeled for further updates in the coming weeks.

Moving back to Europe, the Polish Air Force have added some impressive aircraft to this year’s show, they’ll be bringing a Sukhoi SU-22 Fitter.

In addition to this, we are pleased to announce that the Fursan Al Emarat display team from the United Arab Emirates, who will be bringing their seven colourful MB-339 jets!

Last but not least, we will also delighted to welcome a civilian SAAB 340B which is operated by Cranfield University.

While you’re with us this summer, you can also take your experience to new heights as we have recently gone live with tickets for our Fairford Eye!

To book your spot in advance, visit www.airtattoo.com/tickets.

Arrangements for the 2023 Cockpit-Fest are well advanced at Newark Air Museum’s site in eastern Nottinghamshire; close to the border with Lincolnshire. The museum is a registered charity located on part of the former site of RAF Winthorpe; this year’s Cockpit-Fest is once again taking place in its traditional June time-slot; on Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th June, 2023.

This will be the twenty second (22nd) time that like-minded enthusiasts have displayed their aircraft cockpit sections at the museum. Cockpit-Fest has become a fixture on the aviation calendar and each year attracts many visiting cockpits and associated displays. Cockpit-Fest allows the owners the chance to display their prized exhibits to their fellow enthusiasts and the general public.

At this year’s event a diverse range of aviation will be represented; this incorporates a range of military jet cockpits and civilian types; plus, several of the on-loan cockpits that resident at the museum; some cockpits will be displayed at the event for the very first time.

In addition, a diverse range of visiting cockpit related exhibits are also expected to be displayed around the 16-acre site; alongside an Aeroboot / Aerojumble aviation and avionics sale. Here enthusiasts and the public can search out those aviation artefacts, books and models.

The event is supported by a range of organisations and individuals; with the visitors being encouraged to have a say in deciding, which is the best cockpit by voting on their favourite display and from these results, prizes are awarded.

Cockpit-Fest also attracts other visiting displays like local history groups; re-enactors; and even more aviation related displays such as clothing and historical artefacts.

Full details about the events and a full list of visiting cockpits and displays can be found on the Museum Events page of the museum website at www.newarkairmuseum.org