Tag: 2023

Training Aircraft Inbound!

RIAT Mustang

We are very happy to announce a large assortment of training aircraft will be joining the RIAT 23 Static display.

Starting us off, we are announcing our first batch of Royal Air Force aircraft joining the RIAT static displays, with all powered aircraft types from 22 Group to be represented at the show this year. Aircraft that are coming include a pair of Hawk T2’s, a pair of Beechcraft Texans, a pair of Juno Helicopters and much more! Check out the link at the bottom of the page to see the full list of aircraft. Also, m-ake sure that when you are on the showground that you check out the RAF Experience (in the Red Zone) to see a good mix of RAF aircraft and speak to RAF personnel about their roles. More aircraft announcements from the RAF to follow next week so keep an eye out for that…

The training theme continues with aircraft from Portugal and France! We’re pleased to welcome Esquadra 101 back to RIAT, once again with a pair of their Epsilon aircraft on static display. In addition to the previously announced flying display items, the French Air & Space Force will also contribute a TBM-700 to the static aircraft displays.

Finally, we have four historic civilian aircraft for those of you joining our static displays. We’re pleased to be welcoming the Norwegian Vampire back to Fairford, which will be wearing Italian Air Force markings and join our special ITAF100 static display area. We are just putting the finishes touches to our plans and awaiting the final approval from the Italian Air Force to announce their modern-day aircraft which will be on display in this special ITAF100 exhibition.

Not wanting to miss out on any day exclusive aircraft, or wanting to see some of the iconic static aircraft flying into Fairford? Why not upgrade and become a FRIAT member!

With a FRIAT pass you can enjoy complete flexibility, allowing you to choose the days you’d like to attend, including the Park and View enclosures and Grandstand enclosure admission on Thursday through to Monday. From £300, you’ll have a front-row seat to catch aircraft arriving and departing over the full 6-day event.

www.airtattoo.com/tickets

May Update at Newark Air Museum

Sea Vixen XJ560

At Newark Air Museum along with the restoration work being undertaken on Fairey Gannet XP226; further museum volunteers have recently started work on a partial repaint of de Havilland Sea Vixen XJ560.

As with the Gannet, this work had been planned for 2022, but it was delayed by the major repaint work required on Vulcan XM594. In recent weeks some surface preparations work has been carried out on the upper surfaces of the Sea Vixen and in recent days the first primer has now been applied to the nose.

www.newarkairmuseum.org

Early Bird offer ending soon!

RIAT King Charles

You’re running out of time to get your RIAT tickets at Early Bird prices! There are only a few days left to secure your admission at a discounted price, as our offer comes to an end at midnight on Monday 8th May.

This weekend is set to be one full of celebration for King Charles III’s Coronation. As part of the Royal activity, almost 70 aircraft are taking part in a flypast and you can catch some of them for a second time at RIAT.

Why not upgrade and enjoy the weekend in style with one of our enclosures while you still can as they are selling fast?

www.airtattoo.com/tickets

Welcome to the Turkish and German Air Forces!

RIAT Tornado

First aircraft announcement of May and we are starting off with a bang, announcing more for our SKYTANKER23 theme as well as adding another international display team to our line-up.

We are happy to confirm a large contingent of aircraft from our loyal supporters, the German Air Force will be joining us at RIAT 2023. Headlining their contribution will be a special flypast, with an A400M performing a simulated air-to-air refuelling with a pair of Tornados! In addition, we welcome their mighty CH-53G helicopter for static display, alongside a pair of H145M helicopters and a Eurofighter EF2000.

After not being seen at a British airshow since 2010, we are incredibly pleased to welcome the Turkish Stars Display Team! The team will be performing in our weekend flying display with their six colourful NF-5A Freedom Fighter aircraft, sure to be a highlight of the show!

Finally, we all add four more civilian aircraft to our static display. Aircraft include a Max Holste MH1521 Broussard, a Reims-Cessna F152 from the Halton Aero Club, Reims-Cessna FR172H and a Vans RV-12 from the Southampton University Aviation Society.

Keep your eyes peeled next week as we hope to be able to announce additional contributions to RIAT from the Royal Air Force. Some of the aircraft types you’ll be able to see flying over London in the Coronation flypast this weekend.

With a FRIAT pass you can enjoy complete flexibility, allowing you to choose the days you’d like to attend, including the Park and View enclosures and Grandstand enclosure admission on Thursday through to Monday. You’ll have a front-row seat to catch aircraft arriving and departing.

From £300 you can gain access to an exclusive grandstand seat in a prime location along with a marquee, wifi and private toilets!

www.airtattoo.com/tickets

RAF Museum saves Scarf VC for the nation

Scarfs medal bar

The Royal Air Force Museum is proud to announce the success of our campaign to keep the Arthur Scarf Victoria Cross and medal bar in the UK and on display at our London site.

The Victoria Cross awarded to Squadron Leader Arthur Scarf for his bravery during the Second World War is a unique and rare artefact which shares the story of the RAF in the Far East.

This important part of history was under risk of being lost to the nation after being sold at auction to a private overseas buyer. With the help of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, generous donations from the public and other charities, and coverage in the press, the RAF Museum has now matched the £660k winning auction bid in order to keep the medals in the UK.

Maggie Appleton, RAF Museum CEO, said:
‘A heartfelt thank you to every single person who supported us. Whether you donated or shared our campaign with friends and family, we couldn’t have done this without you. To have raised £660,000 in three months is simply amazing. Special thanks to the National Heritage Memorial Fund for their major donation of £390k, and to our good friends at the RAFHS and the Bomber Command Association. We will be displaying Arthur’s Medal at our London site this summer and will also make short tour of our Midlands site. So come and visit and discover more about this remarkable story.’

Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said:
‘I am delighted that the RAF Museum’s campaign to acquire Arthur Scarf’s Victoria Cross has been successful and that the National Heritage Memorial Fund has been able to support this important acquisition with a grant of £390,000. The National Heritage Memorial Fund works to safeguard the UK’s most significant heritage and form a lasting memorial to those who gave their lives. This rare and unusual medal, which will now form part of the national collection, perfectly encapsulates what NHMF stands for’

www.rafmuseum.org

Confirmations from France and the Netherlands!

RIAT Typhoon

Last announcement of April here, big announcements from France and the Netherlands!

Let’s start off with our flying display announcements. From the French Air and Space Force, we are pleased to confirm the participation of the Rafale Solo Display. The team will have a newly painted display jet for the 2023 season which we look forward to seeing, so keep your eyes out on all our socials for the reveal of this nearer to the show. In addition, as part of our SKYTANKER23 theme, visitors on Friday will be treated to an exclusive appearance from a C-135FR Stratotanker!

Also, this week, we are adding more aircraft to our special static display to celebrate the Italian Air Force’s centenary, with a pair of MB.326 and Fiat G.91 all confirmed.

To round up, we have a large contingent from our friends in the Royal Netherlands Air Force to join the RIAT 2023 static displays! Fast jets include a brand-new pair of F-35A Lightnings alongside a pair of F-16AM Fighting Falcons, C-130H Hercules, a pair of Chinook helicopters and an NH90 helicopter.

Now that the announcements are coming thick and fast, why not enjoy RIAT from a whole new perspective with a FRIAT pass? From £300 you can enjoy an exclusive grandstand seat in a prime location along with marquee, wifi, and private toilets! The FRIAT pass allows you to be at RIAT from Wednesday to Monday, to see every aircraft arrive at the show and know that your seat alongside fellow aviation fans is secure.

The FRIAT pass gives complete flexibility with access to Park & View arrivals on the Wednesday right through to departures on the Monday.

www.airtattoo.com/tickets

Shuttleworth – Season Premiere Air Show

Shuttleworth Hurricane

The Shuttleworth Collection and Gardens are proud to announce their first air show of the 2023 season.

The event will be held on the 7th May 2023, the Sunday following the coronation of King Charles III. The theme for the air show reflects the celebration of the coronation and also the significance the Royal Family has had on the Shuttleworth Trust and the aircraft and vehicles that are maintained and displayed to this day.

The Season Premiere promises to be an incredible spectacle with dramatic air displays over the Old Warden Aerodrome. As well as a host of Shuttleworth operated aircraft, such as the Blériot XI (the world’s oldest airworthy aeroplane), there are also fantastic visiting acts lined up like the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Avro Lancaster, the Fairey Swordfish, the de Havilland Chipmunk, that King Charles learnt to fly in, as well as the display debut of the Westland Lynx AH7 XZ179.

Shuttleworth Air Shows are not just about what happens in the air, but provide a thrilling day out for all ages and interest types. The historic collection of vintage vehicles will be showcased to the public, Discovery Zones will be located across the site for some hands on activities, and food and fun are provided by the vast array of traders and ground attractions.

www.Shuttleworth.org

Rare example of Second World War Bomber unveiled after decade of conservation

RAF Museum Wellington

A Second World War Vickers Wellington bomber has been restored to its former glory after more than a decade of conservation at the Royal Air Force Museum Midlands.

The Wellington, one of only two remaining, has moved from the Conservation Centre into the public display hangar and will be the centre piece of a new Bomber Command exhibition opening in May.

The fuselage and inner wings section can now be viewed by visitors, while the remaining work of attaching the huge 31ft outer wings, engines, propellers and front turret to the aircraft will be carried out over the next few weeks. Members of the public will be able to view some of the final steps towards its completion as the Museum’s Conservation team work within the hangar.

The Wellington was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, and famous for its geodetic fuselage structure designed by Barnes Wallis. By 1942 Wellingtons were the most numerous aircraft in Bomber Command. They began to be replaced by more capable four-engined heavy bombers such as Halifaxes and Lancasters. Wellingtons continued to operate with Bomber Command as a training aircraft and served in North Africa, Italy, the Far East and Coastal Command.

The Museum’s example was constructed in 1944 and served with No. 1 Air Navigation Training School between 1949 and 1953. Although not operational in the Second World War, it represents the role played in the bombing campaign against Germany. This much-loved aircraft is one of only two Wellingtons to survive into the present day and the only one complete with its fabric outer skin. The aircraft is now on public display at the RAF Museum Midlands for the first time.

After almost 40 years on display at the Museum’s site in London, the aircraft was transported by road to the Museum’s Conservation Centre in the Midlands in July 2010, for work treating corrosion to its structure and a complete replacement of its fragile Irish linen outer skin.

The extensive restoration of the Wellington is one of the largest aircraft projects to be undertaken by the Museum’s Conservation Centre team. Work has been carried out by Technicians, Apprentices and a team of Volunteers, including one Volunteer who previously worked on Wellingtons during his RAF instructional airframes training more than half a century ago. During the conservation process the Wellington was regularly visited by the late Mary Stopes-Roe, daughter of the aircraft designer Barnes Wallis.

The final stages of the project will be completed within the next few weeks, in time for the Bomber Command exhibition opening on 16 May.

The Museum is open daily from 10am and admission is free. Pre-book your arrival time online at www.rafmuseum.org/midlands.

Historic aircraft confirmed for 2023!

RIAT Me262

Another week, another set of amazing aircraft announcements!

Kicking us off, it’s with great pleasure that we can say the SKYTANKERS are here! First on the list, we have a KC-135 Stratotanker being supplied by Metrea Strategic Mobility for our static aircraft display. This aircraft was once flown by the Republic of Singapore Air Force and is now being flown by to provide commercial air-to-air refueling for partner Air Arms. The camouflage scheme will be a real highlight, make sure you don’t miss it whilst you are on the showground!

Some rare aircraft from the Italian Army will also be joining the static display this summer. Confirmed this week, we have an amazing trio: A debuting UH-169B Helicopter, a fantastic Dornier Do-228 and a rarely seen Mangusta attack helicopter!

Last (but certainly not least) we are very excited to announce that we will be adding a Messerschmitt Me 262 to our flying display! This will be the first time that the UK will see one of these classic jets performing at an air show, so a thank you to Airbus for their efforts to support the aircraft for us to enjoy in July.

Tickets are still available for all days of the show, so get your tickets now to make sure you do not miss out on the fantastic lineup we have this year! You can check out all our Aircraft Updates here, to learn more about each aircraft and find some teasers as to what we might be announcing in the coming in the future.

https://www.airtattoo.com/tickets

Do you like fast jets?

RIAT Harrier

We’re well underway with the aircraft announcements for RIAT23 and the flying display is beginning to take shape.

It won’t be long until RAF Fairford is alive with the roar of engines and there will be plenty of fast jets in the skies to get your blood pumping.

We already have F-16s courtesy of the Belgian Air Component and Royal Danish Air Force, Gripens from the Czech Air Force and Swedish Air Force, a Hornet from the Finnish Air Force, a Harrier from the Spanish Navy, and a Typhoon from the Royal Air Force.

We announce new aircraft at midday every Thursday so make sure you keep an eye out for the latest additions!

https://www.airtattoo.com/tickets