Optimism. That’s the feeling at Douglas Bader House as RIAT 2010 moves ever closer. With one or two star items announced, more notable announcements waiting in the wings and of course the impressive set piece that will mark the Battle of Britain’s 70th anniversary already starting to come together, it’s looking like RIAT 2010 will easily meet the high standards that many expect of the show.
But first, let’s go back to 2009 and see what might have been learned from last year’s show and how this might impact on 2010.
“It’s a never ending process really,” says Rob.
“The on-Base car parking was a challenge but overall it went well, so we’ll be trying to tighten things up there and the same applies to the traffic management. Traffic will never be perfect but we continually strive to make it as good as we can.
“We have also taken back a small area of car parking which means a slight change to each end of the showground as this will give us some extra flexibility in terms of parking aircraft for the static display. There are still a million and one challenges with parking aircraft and some aircraft can only be parked in certain areas, so this should certainly help us in that regard.”
RIAT’s chosen themes for each show are of course the spine of the event and a massive influence on what will be seen on the ground and in the air. This year’s will be no different and I ask Rob if we can preview each in turn, starting with the Battle of Britain 70th?
“The Battle of Britain theme is really gathering pace now and while we won’t be looking to match a show like Duxford’s Flying Legends we will be including a good number of warbirds in the flying display – notably Spitfires and Hurricanes of course. These aircraft will be operating from the south side so while not on static display as such they will be easily viewable from close proximity.
“There will also be a Battle of Britain village which will include a huge variety of displays and re-enactors, period singers and such like – bringing the Battle of Britain to life as best we can.
“Finally we hope to mark the anniversary with modern day aircraft from the nations that participated in the Battle. In true RIAT fashion it will be big and spectacular and will include a number of special items which will be announced at a later date – watch this space!”
It is possible that visitors to RIAT will see one or two notable aircraft participating in the Battle of Britain segment but not as solo display items. Without wishing to get anyone’s hopes up unduly, Rob is happy to confirm that the German Air Force has been approached for example, even though flying displays outside of Germany are not strictly policy at present. Time will tell on this front but, as I said at the top, an air of optimism prevails.
The second of the three themes for 2010 is Training and again, Rob confirms that plans are progressing well.
“We’ll have everything from historic RAF training aircraft on the ground to some civilian flying schools as we have always been keen to promote air mindedness. Pending written approval we will also have a selection of current RAF training aircraft and I can confirm a Belgian Alpha Jet on static which will be making its only appearance outside of mainland Europe this year. There’ll be plenty more to come on this one too.”
Training will make a significant impact on the flying programme with many displays provided by training squadrons and operational conversion units. Rob does however envisage one or two specific segments dedicated to the theme and, with aircraft being confirmed all the time, these will be announced in due course.
The final theme is Cadet 150 and this will be largely reflected in the displays seen on the ground. While this will be tri-service, the link from the Air Training Corps to RIAT’s charities will naturally be highlighted and recruitment for the Royal Air Force will play a key role.
Moving on to specific participation and it’s difficult to know where to start. While the first official participation list will not appear until early in April and every three weeks thereafter, a brief perusal on the internet brings up a raft of threads with rumour, conjuncture and hearsay playing a big part so Rob and I agree to start with something that has actually been announced, the Romanian Air Force MiG-21 Lancers.
“This one has come about from a lot of hard work both on our part and that of their attaché. They’ve not been here since 2005 so it was nice that we were able to confirm this one early as confirmations are generally slipping and coming in later and later these days. This is one of the main reasons why we won’t be confirming too much until April this year as we don’t like to put provisional or TBC next to participants.”
The next big news of course is that the F-22 Raptor will once again be appearing in the skies over Gloucestershire this year; a huge coup after the disappointment of 2008 where poor weather forced RIAT’s cancellation, meaning that only a relatively small number of people were able to see the Raptor in action.
“Rumours were flying around obviously and until the aircraft has landed you have to take it with a pinch of salt in some ways but it will undoubtedly be exciting to welcome the F-22 back to RIAT”
While many will say that the F-22 is appearing because it is a Farnborough year, that is something that Rob finds a little frustrating, confirming that in 2008 that aircraft came to the UK to display at RIAT.
“We work very closely with Farnborough and have a good relationship with them but while it is sometimes true to say that we are able to feed off their display that was not true in 2008, the Raptor came over for RIAT.”
It’s worth noting here that the days of bitter rivalry are gone where UK airshows are concerned. RIAT works most closely with the teams at Farnborough and Waddington and it makes sense to work on sharing participation wherever possible, although Rob admits that shows always like to include something unique to their event, with special praise reserved for Waddington for securing the Turkish Stars this summer.
Another notable inclusion for RIAT this year, for the static display this time, is an An-32 from the Sri Lanka Air Force. This sees another new country joining the list of those who have supported RIAT; the 52nd, and a 53rd is also a possibility.
“The An-32 is an exciting addition and a great aircraft which obviously no one gets to see very often so it will be an honour to welcome the Sri Lanka Air Force to RIAT. We’re hopeful of a second new nation too and, touch-wood, it might well happen as we’re just awaiting final approval. It’s a country we got very close to last year and I would say we are even closer this time around.”
What else of the Americans I wonder? There has been so much discussion about their participation this year and speculation seems to largely centre on the possibility of a bumper showing at RIAT.
“From our point of view we are always brilliantly supported by USAF and they are one of the top two or three participants in terms of numbers. I would say to people that they shouldn’t get their hopes up too much with regard to a massive increase on what we saw last year. Air Combat Command is already supporting us with the Raptor coming and while I am confident that we will see a B-1 and B-52 in the static and flying displays it would be pure guesswork to suggest that there might be anything extra at this stage.”
Budgets are tight at the moment and flying hours of course are expensive, especially on fast jets for example which also require tanker and transport resources, but it is interesting to note Rob’s hope that “things seem a little more stable this year” - this after 2009 which saw an unusually large number of cancellations in the run up to the show, largely as the result of worldwide military budget cuts.
On to display teams, something that has always played a big part in RIAT’s display programmes. What’s the latest, I ask?
“The Red Arrows will of course be appearing as will the Royal Jordanian Falcons. The Jordanians support this show almost every year with the display team and also the Hercules for the static and they really are a superb bunch. There is a strong historical connection too and I also think it’s a great display.
“The Patrouille de France will also be appearing and should be displaying on the Saturday and Sunday. They will be joined by the Patrouille Suisse and that’s it for the moment, but I can say that Team Aguilla and the Frecce won’t be at RIAT this year. There may be one more added to the list but that is yet to be confirmed.”
With some seven and a half hours of flying planned at RIAT 2010, once again from 10.00 until 17.30, Rob and the team feel they have a manageable period of time that still allows for other arrivals and departures as required, freely admitting that the eight and a half hour displays of previous years was a “bit too much”.
Earlybird tickets have sold in record numbers this year and it would seem that those people already planning a trip to RAF Fairford in July share the optimism I found at Douglas Bader House. Despite a while to wait for more comprehensive confirmation of participation, it certainly seems to be coming together extremely well and an exciting show is most definitely in prospect, with strong participation and a unique tribute to all those who gave so much in the Battle of Britain. We have been invited to cover the latter stages of preparation for this year’s show so look out for more exclusive RIAT coverage right here at Global Aviation Resource.
GAR wants to interact with its readers so if you have a question for the author or a comment to make on this feature, please click on the button below. The best comments will appear right here on GAR.2010-03-30 - pete dimmock
Looks like RIAT is going to be good again this year. Can't wait to attend this time.
2010-03-23 - Gareth Stringer
Hi Steven
Thanks for your comment - appreciate it.
Far too early to speculate on the Reds for this season. It's just good news that there were no horrendously serious injuries as a result of the accident.
Cheers
Gareth
2010-03-23 - steven marsh
Good article. I was wondering if the RA will still perform after today's accident off crete...hopefully so, although they must be one plane short (and possibly a pilot) as the pilot ejected from it.
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