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THE RIAT STUFF

From his local airfield of RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, one of our intrepid Fighter Control photographic editors, Stuart Freer, reports on whether the Royal International Air Tattoo [RIAT] got it ‘riat’ this year, with additional text and images from Chief Photographic Editor, Rick Sleight.

Getting It Right: For almost twelve months of the year, Royal Air Force [RAF] Fairford is indeed like the proverbial ghost town but during the period 13-18 July 2005, there was suddenly a hive of activity, as the biggest military airshow in the World came to town! Today is indeed a challenging time for airshows and their organisers, whether through defence cuts, the demands on military aircraft and their crews, due to overseas operations and commitments, or due to the huge rise in insurance costs for the organisers and civilian participants. In recent years a large number of air shows have fallen by the wayside but the RIAT display has always remained as part of the display season calendar. RIAT indeed itself went through a difficult time financially, after the ‘100 years of Flight’ show in 2003 but the organising team had a turn around in fortunes in 2004, with a better attended show. Therefore could the team come up with goods for this year’s event and get it ‘riat’ again? With regard to aircraft participation, in recent years the show has evolved from quantity to quality. Gone are the lines of transport aircraft, such as United States Air Force [USAF] KC-135 Stratotankers and C-130 Hercules, with much more emphasis now being placed on ensuring unusual aircraft attend, that are painted in special schemes or markings, plus attempts are made to include military air arms which have not attended the event before. From a personal perspective, I think this is the best way forward, as once the general public [who are indeed responsible for the largest percentage of the gate receipts] has seen one USAF KC-135 in the static display, they don’t particularly want to see another nine! Surely, for the majority of hard core aviation enthusiasts and photographers who attend, it is indeed certainly more beneficial to include a high variety of different and quality airframes, from a large number of air arms, in attractive and photogenic special paint schemes and markings? So, did the guys at RIAT get it right this year? Well, the weather was certainly on the team’s side, with uninterrupted sunshine and cloudless skies over the Gloucestershire airfield during the entire weekend. As for aircraft participation, although the numbers in attendance were down on previous years, the organiser’s advanced promises of quality didn’t disappoint. Variety Is The Spice Of Life: RIAT 2005 could certainly not be faulted for providing a wide variety of air arms and participating airframes, with many different armed forces attending. Considering Eastern European participation is now much harder to secure than it used to be, a quartet of Romanian Air Force MiG-21 Lancer Cs, plus their supporting transport in the shape of an Antonov An-26 Curl, which had just concluded a deployment to RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland was quite amazing. This was also most welcome indeed and perhaps the star turn, although these aircraft had already participated at the RAF Waddington airshow two weeks before RIAT.

The organising committee always try to ensure that there are a number of ‘first time’ participants each year and 2005 was no exception. A first for a United Kingdom [UK] airshow was the attendance of another Eastern European aircraft, in the shape of a solitary Polish Air Force Su-22M-3K, resplendent in a striking ‘tiger’ colour scheme, which was on static display. Another highlight on view in the static aircraft park was a Mil Mi-8 Hip from the Lithuanian Air Force, which similar to the Su-22, was taking part in one of the ‘themes’ that are always a major part of all RIAT events, which are discussed later in this report.

Other notable first timers in the static park were an Irish Air Corps PC-9M training aircraft, a Polish Air Force Casa CN-295 transport and two AV-8 Harriers, including a twin-seat example from the Italian Navy, based at Grottaglie-Taranto in Western Italy. Italian Armed Forces participation was excellent this year, with even the Guardia di Finanza making their debut, providing an ATR-42-400MP patrol aircraft and two Augusta-Bell AB-412s.

Special paint schemes on aircraft were in abundance too. With many of the RAF squadrons celebrating their 90th Anniversaries in 2005, a number of specially marked Tornados brought some colour to the normally dull grey RAF aircraft present in the proceedings.

The Danish Air Force brought several F-16s for the display, one which was painted with a very smart piece of tail art. The Spanish Air Force also got in on the act, sending a twin-seat EF-18B Hornet, painted with artwork on its tail to celebrate the type achieving 100,000 flying hours in service.

One can always rely on the UK Armed Forces to come in force to RIAT and this year was no exception, with most current types being represented. Welcome additions this year were from the Empire Test Pilots School from nearby Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, who sent along the ASTRA Hawk T.1A, serial number XX341 and their solitary Twin Squirrel, serial number ZJ635. Not so long ago, such aircraft operated by the resident units at Boscombe Down would always participate in large numbers at RIAT events but the aircraft known to enthusiasts as ‘raspberry ripple’ airframes [because of their red, white and blue colour schemes] have now become a rarity at airshows such as RIAT.

Seeing as RAF Fairford is a standby base for USAF bomber fleets and is occasionally used for military exercises and operations, it was no surprise that the USAF were the second largest contributor at the show. Maybe not in the abundance seen in previous RIAT displays but it was still an impressive gathering.

One major disappointment for the many aviation enthusiasts, who descend on Fairford every July, was the fact that there were no F-117 Stealth Fighters or B-2 Stealth Bombers in attendance this year, which have both attended previous events. This was due to operational commitments, as they were both involved in large scale exercises. RIAT seldom fails to provide at least one B-1 Lancer and a B-52 Stratofortress from the USAF and this year saw two B-1s, the first from Ellsworth Air Force Base [AFB] in South Dakota, USA, provided as the static example and the second being from Dyess AFB in Texas, USA, which was used for the flying display. Two B-52s came from Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, USA, again one for the static show and one for the flying display, however the flying demonstration was very tame compared to the routines aircraft from the mighty Strategic Air Command [SAC] performed at UK airshows in the 1980s and 1990s but it was still good to watch.

Theme Parks: Each year, RIAT has a least one, if not more ‘themes’ to the event. One of the main themes for RIAT in 2005 was ‘Surveillance 05 - Eyes in the Sky’, which brought together reconnaissance aircraft from around the world. As 2005 marks the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the Lockheed U-2, it was appropriate that the organisers managed to secure a ‘Dragon Lady’ to form part of the static display for ‘Surveillance 05’. The 9th Reconnaissance Wing [RW] at Beale AFB in California, USA often uses RAF Fairford as a staging post, when deploying U-2s to and from the Middle East. Therefore two U-2s, serial numbers 80-1069 and 80-1084 where flown direct from Beale [just before RIAT, on July 12], to Fairford where they both stayed overnight, before departing very early the next morning, one to RAF Akroitiri in Cyprus and the second to Al Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates. A third aircraft, serial number 80-1079 arrived from the USA on the Wednesday before the show and this particular airframe was kept in one of the new B-2 hangars throughout the show. It had suffered a technical problem therefore it didn’t depart to Akroitiri until July 20. Mid July was indeed a busy time at Fairford for U-2 movements, with a fourth aircraft, serial number 80-1077, arriving on July 14, to take centre stage in the Surveillance ’05 static display.

	There were many highlights included in ‘Surveillance 05’ but surely the rarest items had to be from the Armee de l’Air [AdlA - French Air Force] who attended with a C-160G Transall ‘Gabriel’, one of only two aircraft from a special surveillance unit, EE01.054 based at Metz.
Visitors to air events in France don’t get to see these rare aircraft, so one being present at a UK event was a great surprise! Another French rarity came from the Aviation Legere de L’Armee de Terre [ALAT - French Army] AS.532 Cougar ‘Horizon’, which was also on display. So, the organisers must be congratulated on persuading the French Armed Forces to attend with these very elusive aircraft.
	Probably the star of the show for many was the RF-4E Phantom II from the Hellenic AF belonging to number 348 Mira, at Larissa in Greece. This was complete with superb tail markings depicting a ‘Phantom Phixer’ [the logo of Phantom Fanatics] casting his eyes over the aircraft’s Greek homeland.
Possibly another first at a UK air show, away from its home location was an elusive Nimrod R.1 from number 51 Squadron. Continuing with the RAF reconnaissance presence, the attendance of a number 39 [1 Photo Reconnaissance Unit] Squadron Canberra PR.9 was certainly the last time an operational Canberra would be seen at RIAT? The unit is due to disband shortly, with the final Canberra T.4 training flight planned for early September, due to the lack of training requirements for the unit, so it was great to see this old aircraft from RAF Marham in the static display.

The second theme for 2005 was the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations [UN] in October 1945. There were a mixture of helicopters and transport aircraft on display, showing the International co-operation shown by the UN in humanitarian operations over the past 60 years. The rotary section of this part of the static display was very impressive and included a Netherlands Air Force AS.532 Cougar, marked with SFOR titles, a German Army CH-53G and probably for the last time an HH-3F Pelican, from the Italian Air Force, the type due to be retired from service in the not to distant future.

As for the fixed wing element of the UN anniversary theme, there was a good mixture of transport types represented, including a rather tatty looking G-222RM from the Italian Air Force. The German Air Force sent a C-160D Transall and a very smart looking A.310 Airbus, resplendent in a VIP scheme. The C-130 Hercules was represented but surprisingly there were only five examples on show, although one was making its show debut, a CC-130J, from the 314th Airlift Wing, Air Education and Training Command [AETC] at Little Rock AFB in Arkansas, USA. Another RIAT regular, the giant C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft, was present, dominating the RIAT skyline, this example being a C-5B from the 436th AW at Dover AFB in Massachusetts, USA.

The final theme of 2005 was the much anticipated ‘Tigers Roar 05’, especially by the aviation enthusiasts who, in the main, are photographers. This gathering of aircraft was not just from Tiger related Squadrons but from other units with links to similar members of the big cat family. Usually when there is a gathering of Tiger Squadrons you can almost guarantee to see many colourful paint schemes on the aircraft involved but several of the ‘Tiger’ units didn’t want to come to the party this time! Considering many of the ‘Tiger’ units have had aircraft painted in special tiger markings in 2005, it was therefore a great shame they stayed at home, in favour of sending plainly marked, regular Squadron jets but there were a few gems still to be photographed, including the beautiful Polish Air Force Su-22 Fitter, mentioned earlier. Sadly, as for some bizarre reason, is often the case at such events, it was parked on the eastern ramp away from the fellow tiger Squadron aircraft and was not particularly well positioned for photography, which was a great shame. For once, the British armed forces, who often are accused of having unimaginative Tiger schemes, in stark contrast to their NATO counterpart Tiger units, certainly got in on the act, with all three services providing a tiger unit participant. Number 230 Squadron sent their prize winning Puma HC.1, serial number XW231, from Aldergrove in Northern Ireland, which was in a truly stunning scheme. Number 814 Squadron, from the Royal Navy [RN] at Naval Air Station [NAS] Culdrose in Cornwall, attended with a Merlin HM.1, which is painted in very smart but toned-down tiger stripe markings. Not to be outdone the Army Air Corps [AAC] brought along a Lynx AH.7 from number 671 Squadron at Middle Wallop, which was painted in part tiger, part camouflage markings.

Congratulations must also go out to the USAF Reserve Command [AFRC] KC-135R crew from the 77th Air Refuelling Squadron [ARS]/916th Air Refuelling Wing [ARW] at Seymour Johnson AFB, in North Carolina, USA. When the aircraft arrived on the Wednesday before the show it was devoid of any special markings whatsoever but on the morning of show day, the crew had obviously been very busy the night before, applying tiger marking decals to the fuselage and tail.

Another welcome addition was a TA-7C Corsair II from the Hellenic Air Force, from number 335 Mira, as it had been over six years since one attended a RIAT event.

Overall, despite the lack of colour from certain units involved, it was still an excellent collection of ‘Tigers’ who roared at RIAT!

And Now For Something Completely Different:
	Moving on to the flying display, the longest and largest display marked a change with previous shows. With the increasing costs, such as insurance, there was a lack of war birds on the programme. So could the organisers come up with something different this year?
Opening the display on both days was a 99 Squadron C-17A Globemaster III from nearby RAF Brize Norton. On arrival on the Saturday the huge aircraft off-loaded a pipe band to participate in the show.
	Helicopters were in abundance on both days of the show with the AAC combining their Historic Flight and Blue Eagles display team. The ever impressive Royal Navy ‘Black Cats’ team were also part of the programme, with their pair of Lynx showing off some immaculate flying skills.
It was good to see the rarely seen Augusta A.129A Mangusta from the Italian Army, even if its display was a little sedate. The same could not be said for the Netherlands Air Force AH-64D Apache, which really stole the show with its looping, combined with firing off flares. So it was no surprise that the Netherlands crew won no less than three separate awards, which were the Sir Douglas Bader and As the Crow Flies trophies for best overall flying demonstration and Friends of RIAT’s best overall flying display. Yet another award went to the rotary section, this time to the RAF Chinook crew who won the Steedman Display Sword for best UK participant.

Moving on to the fast jet participation, much has been made of the incident involving the Typhoon from number 29 Squadron, flown by Officer Commanding, Squadron Leader Matt Elliot, during his display routine validation on the Friday before the show. On approach to a slow pass via a vector roll, he lost height rapidly by taking off too much speed, dropping to what was estimated to be between 20 and 50 feet above the ground. To the relief of all watching and no doubt Matt too, he recovered the aircraft and made a safe landing. Matt later met with the Flying Control Committee [FCC] and removed this part of the display. The Typhoon flew on both show days without incident, showing what a true performer this aircraft is at airshows, especially considering that it is in its first year on the display circuit. The Typhoon was demonstrated at some air events during the 2004 season however, these were purely demonstrations, rather than full air display routines.

	Any youngsters in the crowd, budding to become future RAF pilots, must have been impressed with the skills of the pilots of two of the RAF current training aircraft, the Hawk T.1 from 208 [Reserve] Squadron, from number 4 Flying Training School [FTS]
at RAF Valley in Wales and the Tucano T.1 from number 72 [Reserve] Squadron, from number 1 FTS at Linton-on-Ouse in Yorkshire.

	2006 will see the final year of operations for the Sea Harrier in RN service so it was fitting to see the four-ship routine included as part of the flying display. Five examples were present from the remaining RN Sea Harrier Squadron, number 801, from NAS Yeovilton.
This included a twin seat Harrier T.8, which was painted in a gloss black colour scheme and the markings of its former operator, number 899 Squadron but this aircraft remained on the ground, as it was an air spare.

It is always a welcome sight, to witness the Dassualt Mirage 2000 perform its excellent flying display and this year was no different. Pilots Captain Yannick Vallet and Captain Fabrice Camiliti put on outstanding displays on consecutive days, earning them the well deserved prize of the Lockheed Martin Cennestra Award for best overseas flying demonstration.

	The Netherlands Air Force displayed their F-16AM, serial number J-055, which had been painted in the latest of a long line of striking display colour schemes, this one for the 2005 display season, which certainly looked impressive against the deep blue skies
that were ever present over the Gloucestershire airfield during the weekend. Continuing with the F-16 theme, the US East Coast F-16C Fighting Falcon Demonstration Team performed their display, using an F-16C from the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem in Germany. For the enthusiasts, it was a pity they borrowed a European based aircraft, instead of bringing one of their own and rarely seen US based examples. The display was very different to the Netherlands example with the pilot certainly using a lot of sky, which meant that he never really showed off the true agility of the aircraft at close quarters.

During most RIAT displays there is usually a flying display by an F/A-18 Hornet and it was the turn of the Finnish Air Force to take part this year, with one of their aircraft being flown by Captain Ollie Slivola from Kuopia-Rissla. This was another outstanding display of agility, earning Captain Slivola the Paul Bowen Solo Jet Trophy.

It wasn’t all military hardware on view this year either, as a DHL Boeing 757 freighter was also included in the flying display, showing just how agile this airliner is, for such a big aircraft.

One or two other civilian aircraft were also involved, although some were ex military types, such as the Hawker Hunter F.58, which was an ex Swiss Air Force example, serial number J-4021, here as representation of the Cold War era. This particular aircraft has participated at RIAT before, although actually during its active military career, when it was part of the Patrouille Suisse display team. It is now owned by Hawker Hunter Aviation [HHA], which is based at Scampton in Lincolnshire, where HHA provide services which include target towing and also threat simulation using a number of Hunter aircraft, most of them being ex Swiss Air Force examples.

RIAT has always seen large numbers of military display team included in the flying display and as usual, the show enjoyed its display teams in 2005. The Red Arrows performed to their brilliant best and other regular attendees such as the ‘Patrulla Aguilla’ from the Spanish Air Force and the ‘Frecce Tricolori’ from the Italian Air Force, also performed to their usual high standards, with the ‘Frecce’ being afforded the honour of concluding the flying display on both days.

However, the highlight for myself and many enthusiasts present was the unique flypast with three Spitfires [but sadly only two on the Saturday] together with the Red Arrows. In keeping with the theme of ‘Surveillance 05’, the Spitfires were all in painted in a photo-reconnaissance blue colour scheme and together with the immaculate nine Hawks of the Red Arrows they made for a marvellous sight and sound.

So Long: In summary this was yet another very enjoyable and well balanced flying display and thoroughly enjoyable show for both the public and aviation enthusiast, providing pretty much something for all. Early indications were that the attendance figures for the two public show days were approximately 160,000, which is an increase of around seven percent on the previous year’s numbers. So for now, it’s goodbye from RIAT for another year and once again the Gloucestershire airfield of Fairford can return to peace and quiet for another twelve months. With many things about the airshow scene being far from certain, one thing is for sure and that is that the Royal International Air Tattoo is still the worlds biggest and best display of military aircraft, so long may it continue!