Royal International Air Tattoo 2024 General Discussion Thread

[Professor_M]

For anyone thinking about buying Sunday tickets but yet to do so, taken from Thursday's email...

Last chance on lots of savings this Sunday!
At midnight, Sunday 3rd March, all discounted enclosure prices are ending, as well as the Super Early Bird offer for Sunday general admission tickets. Don't miss out and confirm your place now!

[Red-Eye-Knight]

This is nothing to do with RIAT but could possibly end up being something.

The RAF Typhoon Display Team is heading over to Canda to help celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Royal Canadian Airforce, link below.

https://www.air-shows.org.uk/2024/03/ai ... it-canada/

The report says that the Red Arrows will also be attending so I'm wondering if the Typhoon and Reds are going over to Canada and RIAT already has the Canadian CF-18 display i wonder if the Snowbirds might come to RIAT?

[Gary]

From memory the Snowbirds Tutor doesn’t have the range. So it’s logistics impossible even to island hop. Too expensive to ship them, talk of them coming back in 2018 ish.

There was talk somewhere they can’t use ferry tanks? They mange to get across Canada and to US shows so not sure how much truth is in it.

[witje]

Snowbirds will perform at Cold Lake AB in the weekend of RIAT, so don’t count on them.

[Red-Eye-Knight]

Aww that's a shame would have been nice to see a different aerobatic team.

[capercaillie]

From memory the Snowbirds Tutor doesn’t have the range. So it’s logistics impossible even to island hop. Too expensive to ship them, talk of them coming back in 2018 ish.

There was talk somewhere they can’t use ferry tanks? They mange to get across Canada and to US shows so not sure how much truth is in it.

Canada is joined to the USA so not so difficult to find places to land on the way.

[jasonT1981]

From memory the Snowbirds Tutor doesn’t have the range. So it’s logistics impossible even to island hop. Too expensive to ship them, talk of them coming back in 2018 ish.

There was talk somewhere they can’t use ferry tanks? They mange to get across Canada and to US shows so not sure how much truth is in it.

I believe that it was 2018 when this was said. From memory (though getting older so could be wrong) the then RIAT Air Ops had said he enquired for them to be part of the RAF 100 RIAT however they were unable to transit due to range.

[Red-Eye-Knight]

No Chinook Display Team for 2024

https://www.air-shows.org.uk/2024/03/ai ... -for-2024/

There might still be some role demos but no dedicated team for this season.

[seven]

Whilst a shame, IMO not something RIAT will miss too much, then again it also one of the more likely locations for the replacement role demo so...
That'll be today's update now

[Red-Eye-Knight]

This week we're thrilled to announce contributions from the Royal Air Force for the RIAT 2024 flying display programme:

Headlining the Royal Air Force contingent at RIAT 2024 will be the Red Arrows, back at full strength of nine jets and celebrating their diamond anniversary this year. As part of this, their Hawk jets have been adorned with a small special 'Diamond Season' logo and the team have redesigned their display sequence, bringing in a number of formation shapes and manoeuvres not seen for a number of years. The Red Arrows will be performing their full flying display on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. We hope to include the team in a number of special formation flypasts at RIAT 2024, but details of these will not be confirmed until much closer to the show.

The Eurofighter Typhoon, this year flown by Flight Lieutenant David 'Turbo' Turnbull, will be performing in the flying display on Saturday & Sunday. Visitors on Friday should be able to see the aircraft perform a flypast on arrival at RAF Fairford, but not a display. Likewise, for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, visitors on Friday will be treated to a series of flypasts from the Lancaster, Spitfire & Hurricane. On Saturday & Sunday, we are very lucky at RIAT to be seeing a special display from the BBMF, with the Lancaster accompanied by four of their fighter aircraft (planned to be two Spitfires and two Hurricanes).

Finally, and perhaps most exciting, for 2024 the F-35B will be performing a 'Role Demonstration' lasting around 10 minutes, rather than just the flypasts we've been used to seeing in recent years. This Role Demonstration will be performed on Saturday & Sunday and should include high speed and low speed passes, minimum radius turns, opening of the internal weapon bays and hovering.

Details of additional Royal Air Force contributions to RIAT, including static displays, will follow closer to the event.

Also this week, we're pleased that QinetiQ are supporting our 'Pushing the Boundaries in Air & Space' theme in spectacular fashion with seven examples of their fleet used by the Empire Test Pilots School due for static display. Of particular note is the debut of their new King Air 350 (which is due to painted into their eye-catching colour scheme ahead of the show) and the return of their Grob 120TP which we haven't seen since RIAT 2018. We plan to park all the QinetiQ aircraft together, alongside other British flight test aircraft, in the Blue Zone so they'll be visible on all three days of the show.

This week has had a very nordic feel in our office, as we have been in communication with the Royal Danish Air Force, Royal Norwegian Air Force and Swedish Air Force about which aircraft types they hope to send to RIAT 2024. We should be able to announce some of their contributions to the show next week...

[Red-Eye-Knight]

No Chinook but an F-35B role demo brilliant

And some special flypasts from the BBMF again brilliant

[airtyphoon]

Feel sorry for Friday visitors, not seeing not only Typhoon but the F-35B as well, going to leave the general public very sour.

[hernaman86]

F35b display, finally,,,,i am really looking forward to that! anything else is just a bonus for me now

[kieran]

Feel sorry for Friday visitors, not seeing not only Typhoon but the F-35B as well, going to leave the general public very sour.

Or breathing a sigh of relief!

[jasonT1981]

Nice update. Not too bothered by the Reds or Typhoon but am interested to see what flypasts with other Aircraft the Reds will have. I actually have come to prefer those flypasts to the display.

BBMF with 4 fighters is great, and finally a role demo of the F35. 2 Great additions.

[razor23uk]

Feel sorry for Friday visitors, not seeing not only Typhoon but the F-35B as well, going to leave the general public very sour.

I only ever do Friday nowadays, but we stay in the caravan club site and see all the display aircraft from there, no good for helicopters though, but we stay there from Wens to Monday, so catch all the arrivals and display practices. The Spanish harriers were awesome from there.... The slow hovering approach to the display line took them right over the caravan and the fast jet re heat climbs are amazing... Excellent update I think

[Red-Eye-Knight]

Nice update. Not too bothered by the Reds or Typhoon but am interested to see what flypasts with other Aircraft the Reds will have. I actually have come to prefer those flypasts to the display.

BBMF with 4 fighters is great, and finally a role demo of the F35. 2 Great additions.

I'm hoping 1 of the flypasts is the Reds along with Saudi Hawks (self confirmed) and the Midnight Hawks would make an awesome flypast IMO.

[seven]

The Red Arrows will be performing their full flying display on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. We hope to include the team in a number of special formation flypasts at RIAT 2024, but details of these will not be confirmed until much closer to the show.

Putting two and two together:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=241387

[jasonT1981]

The Red Arrows will be performing their full flying display on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. We hope to include the team in a number of special formation flypasts at RIAT 2024, but details of these will not be confirmed until much closer to the show.

Putting two and two together:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=241387

That would be something special to see.

Do the Gnats still display? Not seen them since 2014.

[Professor_M]

The Red Arrows will be performing their full flying display on Friday, Saturday & Sunday. We hope to include the team in a number of special formation flypasts at RIAT 2024, but details of these will not be confirmed until much closer to the show.

Putting two and two together:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=241387

That would be something special to see.

Do the Gnats still display? Not seen them since 2014.

The Gnats have been very rarely seen since the tragic events of 2015. There have been static appearances, and very few flying displays - Duxford in 2018 and Midlands in 2019 are the most recent public displays I can think of. They do however still keep the two Gnats flying regularly, though it seems to mainly be trips from North Weald out to the coast and back.