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Post by viscount on Jul 14, 2014 11:02:22 GMT 1
ROYAL INTERNATIONAL AIR TATTOO, RAF FAIRFORD,
FRIDAY, 11th JULY, 2014
It is some years since I last attended RIAT, however this year with limited public opening and partial air display on the final arrivals day, I thought I would give Friday a try.
I arrived later than intended, around 9am at the usual ‘Green Zone’ car park (for arrivals from the north west) and then waited well over a frustrating hour for the compulsory ‘park and ride’ bus to the open public east end. This ride though, did have the great advantage of passing along within photo distance of the ‘closed’ sections of the assembling static – reminiscent of the photo-bus of the past, although at greater speed! The organisers did announce several times during the day their apologies for the delays faced by those using the Green Zone car park, but I still faced a lengthy wait at the end of the day for the return trip.
Initial impression was of very many fewer aircraft than in the past in the static park. My eventual log numbers around 180 or so aircraft static and flight-line, although over 50 are contributed by 6 aerobatic teams. Clearly from the website further aircraft would arrive on the Saturday, and there could have been aircraft there that I did not see. Long gone are the days of long lines of Hercules, F-16s, Phantoms etc – large areas of concrete and grass that I can recall covered in aeroplanes in the past sat empty or with well-spaced out aircraft, where once densely lined-up. However once I had wandered the huge distance around the static, it was rather like the earliest days of RIAT, with public only two deep along the crowd line and elbow space enough to pan a big lens without knocking out half the population of England! For once at a major air show I could enjoy the challenge of photography without constant jostling for position. After a sunny start to the day, it clouded over for the parts of the flying display programme, so flying shots tended to silhouette against the white cloud, later though the cloud broke and the sun shone at times – not a problem at Fairford, one of the few shows where the sun is behind you, just where it should be for good lighting conditions.
This listing is mainly from observation with only limited use of reference books/internet to fill the inevitable gaps. including my list here more to give an impression of what I saw than a check-list. I’ll split it into three sections: Red and Blue Zones ie the east end of the airfield which was open to the public Friday; Green Zone, the west end closed on Friday (seen from the bus) but open Sat & Sunday; Flight Lines to the north of the runway. Each section I’ll arrange in standard civil first in alphabetic order by nationality, then military with UK first then other nations. Registration quoted is that observed, with additional identities in (-). I have noted those aircraft that arrived during the day (0900-1815) and those that were moved around. A number of aircraft from the flight line flew during the afternoon flying show.
BLUE & RED ZONES (east ‘27’ end of Fairford), OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
D-ETPG Grob G.120P
D-EXLH Extra 400 c/no.006
G-BYXE Grob G.115E Tutor
G-UPFS Waco UPS-7 biplane, ‘Aotsa’
HB-KAB TB-20 Trinidad
I-FENI Piaggio P.166c, Portofino restoration rebuild
N45CF Beech G.18S, bare metal finish, exhibited by Carlo Ferrari
N350KA Beech 350 King Air, “Special Missions”
N531TA Textron AirLand Scorpion
N630LA Beech AT-6, 2-tone sand scheme
NC17633 Spartan 7W Executive, highly polished metal finish
N56200 Boeing Stearman, “Artemis Investments”
PH-CGN Dornier Do.228, Kustwacht
R4118/UP:W (G-HUPW) Hawker Hurricane 1
XE597 Hawker Hunter FGA.9 – cockpit section only, 1 Sqdn
XJ771 (G-HELV) DH Vampire T.55, camouflaged
XM479 (G-BEVZ) Jet Provost T.3A, red/white colours
XS231 Jet Provost T.5, red/white cols – cockpit section only
XW324/U (G-BWSG) Jet Provost T.5, red/white colours, CFS badge
XX154 BAe. Hawk T.1, black, ETPS markings
XX162 BAe. Hawk T.1, black, RAF Centre of Air Medicine
..... BAe. Hawk T.1, ETPS colours – forward fuselage & cockpit section only
XX537/C (G-CBCB) Bulldog T.1, black with yellow detail colours
XX641/I (G-….) Bulldog T.1, red/white colours
XX629 (G-BZXZ) Bulldog T.1, red/while colours
ZE416 Agusta A.109E, ETPS markings
ZJ301/BJ Typhoon T.4, 29 Sqdn marks
ZJ647/47 Alpha Jet, all black, QinteiQ marks
ZK488/D (G-RAFD) King Air 200GT, 45 Sqdn marks
QQ101 BAe. RJ.100, ETPS marks (moved)
E-008 R.Danish AF F-16A (arr)
ET-614 R. Danish AF F-16B (twin seat) (arr)
51+06 German AF C-160D Transall, LTG.63 marks
603 Hungarian AF Antonov An-26
Blue 08 Lithuanian AF Aeritalia C-27J Spartan “Vytautas”
J-624 R. Neth AF F-16AM, Archer unit badge
J-644 R. Neth AF F-16AM, Archer unit badge
304 R. Norwegian AF F-16B (twin seat), no unit marks
671 R. Norwegian AF F-16A, tiger tail, 338 Skv.
016 Polish AF Casa C-295M
T.21-09/34-47 Spanish AF Casa C-295M
Also: “IR808” scale Chinook used for RAF recruitment
“K2544/M:H” Hurricane and “ ---/S:X Spitfire scale kit plane models
Plus:
The Red Arrows, Hawk T.1 from the UK:
XXX219, XX242, XX244, XX245, XX310, XX311, XX319, XX322, XX323 & XX325 (=10)
Freece Tricolori, Macchi MB.339A from Italy:
mm054/6, 055/11, 473/5, 477/9, 480/2, 514/10, 518/8, 533/0, 534/3, 535/4 & 538/1 (=11)
(airframe identity from nose wheel door (some difficult to read) and are the 'last 3' of the mm serial)
Patrouille de France, Alpha Jets from France:
46/5, 73/6, 85/-, 88/2, 95/0, 119/7, 158/4, 162/1, 166/3 & ??/9 (=10)
(airframe identity from nose wheel door) The team arrived in am and parked on the distant flight line, displayed in pm airshow
Patrouille Swiss, Northrop F-5E from Switzerland:
J-3081, J-3082, J-3084, J-3085, J-3087, J-3090 & J-3091 (=7)
Breitling Team, L-39c Albatros
ES-TLC/8, ES-TLF/5, ES-TLG/4, ES-YLF/6, ES-YLN/1, ES-YLP/7, ES-YLR/0, ES-YLX/3 (=8)
The Polish Air Force Team, PZL-130TC Orlik turbo prop trainer
all with fuselage covers on (=7) Parked over on the distant flight line parking area and did not move.
GREEN ZONE (west end of Fairford) CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC FRIDAY
G-BNKD Cessna 172N
G-BOYH PA-28-151 Cherokee Warrior
G-LUXE BAe.146-301, FAAM (arr)
G-TEDB Cessna F.150L, black with gold trim
XH134 (G-OMHD) Canberra PR.9 (arr)
XL577 (G-BXKF) Hunter T.7, silver, yellow T-bands (arr)
...../P SA.330 Puma HC.1, special markings - all black, SEAC roundels
XX218/218 BAe.Hawk T.2, black 208 Sqdn marks (flew)
XX184?/CQ BAe.Hawk T.1, black 100 Sqdn marks
XX436 Gazelle AH.1, camouflaged ‘Marines’
XZ334 Gazelle AH.1, camouflaged ‘Army’
XZ723/672 Lynx HMA.8, ‘Royal Navy’ “Rosie”
ZA542/035 Tornado GR.4, no unit colours
ZB627/A (G-CBSK) Gazelle HT.3 red/white RAF
ZH004 BN-2T Islander T.3, grey ‘Army’
ZH836 Merlin HM.2 ‘Royal Navy’ (moved)
ZJ122/F Merlin HC.3, 78 Sqdn (arr)
ZJ243/43 Squirrel HT.2, DHFS
ZJ708/K Bell 412 Griffin HT.1 , DHFS (arr)
ZK018/I Hawk T.2, 4 Sqdn special tail marks (arr)
ZZ501 King Air 200 Avenger T.1, 750 Sqdn ‘Royal Navy’
7T-WHE Algerian AF C-130H Hercules
red H Austrian AF Saab 105oe
CH-11 Belgian AF C-130H Hercules (arr)
C-172 R. Danish AF CL.604 Challenger (arr)
154477 R. Hellenic AF TA-7C Corsair
..... R. Hellenic AF A-7E Corsair, all black “Fly low, strike hard”
42 Hungarian AF Saab 39D Grippen (twin seat), 59th TFW on tail
10+26 German AF Airbus A.310MRTT (moved then dep)
31+05 German AF Eurofighter EF.2000ES
46+28 German AF Tornado ECR, special colours for AkG.51
60+05 German AF P-3c Orion, special colours (arr) MFG.3
87+28 German MBB Bo.105P, special colours
262 Irish Air Corps Pilatus PC-9M
97-3603/603 Japan SDF Boeing KC.767J
346 R. Jordanian AF C-130H Hercules
G-988 R. Neth AF C-130H Hercules
5699 R. Norwegian AF C-130J-30 Hercules
506 Omani Air Force C-130J Hercules
16708 Portugese AF Casa C-295MPA
CE.15.01/15-70 Spanish AF EF-18B Hornet, special tail cols
841 Swedish AF Saab JAS.39D Grippen (twin seat)
T-311 Swiss AF AS.332M Super Puma
433915 (G-PBYA) PBY-5A Catalina (arr)
80100/D USAFE Boeing KC-135R, 100th ARW (arr)
AF91-335/LN USAFE F-15E Eagle, 48th TFW
NB Will add detail once discovered on other sites etc.
NORTH SIDE FLIGHT LINES & COMPANY AIRCRAFT
F-WWMZ A.400M (arr)
...... Cherokee
...... Aztec 250 (arr), presumed Marshalls of Cambridge
G-CTNG Cirrus SR.20
...... Diamond DA.40 (arr)
G-RAVN Robinson R.44 (photo flts & dep)
N750TX Citation X (arr & dep)
WK514 (G-BBMO) DHC-1 Chipmunk, silver with yellow T-bands (arr)
XR991 (G-MOUR) Folland Gnat, all yellow (arr)
“XS111” (G-TIMM) Gnat, all scarlet (arr)
XZ184/B Lynx AH.7 Army
XZ592/H Sea King HAR.3 ‘Rescue’ yellow (arr)
ZF240/240 Tucano T.1, standard black scheme
ZF244/244 Tucano T.1, special poppies ‘Lest we forget’ scheme
ZH856 Merlin HM.2 Royal Navy (moved)
..... Chinook HC.2, RAF (& went tech)
ZJ... AH-64A Apache, Army (arr)
ZK308/TP:V Typhoon FGR.4, special colours (arr)
ZK343/BX Typhoon FGR.4, 29 Sqdn special colours (arr)
RF-26 Austrian AF Saab 105oe, full tiger scheme
...... Belgian AF F-16A, special tail colours
FA-92 Belgian AF F-16A, standard colours
10 Estonian AF L-39C Albatros, tiger/bee special scheme
..... French AF C-160R Transall (arr)
mm7288/36-42 Italian AF Eurofighter F-2000A
mm62217/46-81 Italian AF Aeritalia C-27J (c/no NC.117?)
mm………./32-23 Italian AF Aeritalia-EMB AMX
mm………./6-22 Italian AF Tornado Strike
mm621.. Italian AF Avanti, RSV (arr)
J-515 R.Neth AF F-16AM, no unit badge
J-631 R.Neth AF F-16AM
...... Polish AF 3 x Sukhoi Su-22 all in full fuselage covers
213 Swedish AF Saab JAS.39C Grippen
227 Swedish AF Saab JAS.39C Grippen
J-5005 Swiss AF F/A-18C Hornet
J-5009 Swiss AF F/A-18C Hornet
T-314 Swiss AF AS.332M Super Puma
...... Turkish AF F-16C single seat, special tail cols
167955/JA US Navy Boeing P-8A Poseidon (arr 1810)
168890 US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet, no unit marks (arr)
As previously stated, these are observed details with only limited information from reference books, so some registrations etc are currently not known to me. To save me a search, anyone PM with a good, authoritive, RIAT check list on the web?
FINALLY
An enjoyable day out, marred a little by long waits for the shuttle bus and distance to be walked. The much vaunted visit to the UK by 3 Boeing F-35s of the US Marines did not materialise, however I not previously seen the A.400M and the Scorpion was a new one to me! Very poor effort by the American Air Force – no B-52, C-17, B-2, C-5B, KC-10 etc, just the two USAFE aircraft, not even a UK based Hercules or Bell CV-22, while the RAF could at least have spared a A.330, C-17, C-130J, E-3 or Sentinel surely? Highlights, well seeing (and hearing) the A.400M, the mixed aircraft formation to celebrate the 'Red Arrows' 50th season, first sight of a USN Poseidon and the presence of an aircraft from the Japan Self Defence Force along with seeing an Orion in flight again after many years. Could go on, but won’t…………, nevertheless a great variety of aircraft and air arms to be seen. RIAT is still worth the effort to get there. Photos to follow over the next few days.
Final thought – visually the A.400M is clearly the product of mating a Russian bear and an American C-17!
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Post by bulldog on Jul 14, 2014 16:05:39 GMT 1
I visited Fairford on the Saturday and as Brian says days of long lines of aircraft have gone. Luckily weather good as the flying from an enthusiast point of view was not very original or exciting. Only worth going as we played golf at westonbirt on the Friday! They need to do something to spice it up, only went for F 35 as nothing else new coming, and that was broken. Sukhois interesting but their display was too high and just big circles. Not worth posting photos as we have seen them all before.
you see more RAF at Liverpool these days!!!
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Post by viscount on Jul 14, 2014 22:15:54 GMT 1
Think I may be a little more open minded than 'Bulldog' about what is interesting to photograph. Having said that, this first RIAT photo post will concentrate purely on the aircraft from the 6 aerobatic teams present on the Friday. As they are in their 50th year, I'll start with the 'Red Arrows' resplendent in their fresh tail colours.     From the 'Red Arrows', who along with 'Patrouille de France' are Europe's oldest aerobatic teams, to one of the youngest - and a civilian team at that, the Breitling Jets. Just the one aircraft flew on the Friday afternoon.  Although the full was present on the Friday, 'Freece Tricolori' only put a single aircraft in the air on Friday.  Likewise the Swiss 'Patrouille Swiss' only put a single aircraft in the air on the Friday.  There was another team present, one I have not myself encountered before flying PZL Orlik turboprop trainers with the Polish Air Force. All their aircraft remained on the far-side light lines all afternoon.      To celebrate the 'Red Arrows' 50th anniversary, a special formation with 5 different types of aircraft from 5 teams. Apparently more of challenge than it would appear as there is quite a difference in the operating speeds between the Alpha Jet and the Northrop F-5E. A unique photo-opportunity which I was pleased to be able to capture. Unfortunately the two Gnats present stayed firmly on the ground Friday - one representing the predecessor 'Yellowjacks' the other the mount of the initial 'Red Arrows' team.    The 'Red Arrows' then went on to present their full display with their usual precision and flair. They were followed later in the display programme by the Alpha Jets of the 'Patrouille de France', who fly superbly, but never seem to quite match the 'Red Arrows' performance in their Hawks.    |
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Post by digit on Jul 17, 2014 10:17:07 GMT 1
Adding some flying display shots from RIAT Sunday, the first day of a runaround with Daz Kellett (Fairford and Brize on Sunday, Heathrow and Gatwick on Monday, Heathrow and Farnborough on Tuesday then Hawarden and Valley yesterday).
I agree that the RIAT military content is a pale shadow of earlier shows at Fairford, Cottesmore, Boscombe and Greenham Common but the world geopolitical situation has changed beyond recognition. Did I enjoy RIAT 2014? Yes! Will I go next year? You betcha!
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