Gareth Stringer takes a look back at one day at RAF Fairford, as RIAT 2010 was about to get under way.
Friday 16 July 2010, jump in the car, drive to the Cotswolds, meet Karl Drage, dump one of our vehicles (I can’t actually remember where) and drive on to RAF Fairford with, for the first time, media access and a (relatively) free rein to have a wander around ahead of that weekend’s Royal International Air Tattoo.
It was a day that promised much, and didn’t disappoint – delivering a typical UK combination of sun, wind and rain, occasionally torrential! In all seriousness though, while we did get a mixed bag from the weather gods, the prospects for some excellent aviation highlights were good, with the presence of the F-22 Raptor, a practice for the Battle of Britain 70th anniversary flypasts, C-17 display, the EADS owned Bf-109, Dutch Apache and F-16 formation, RNZAF Boeing 757, and much more.
Mirage 2000 © Gareth Stringer www.globalaviationresource.com/v2
Our early-ish start was rewarded with a quiet static area so once we had finally cleared security and parked-up, that’s where we headed, trying to take advantage as the sun made the odd appearance from behind some fairly dark clouds.
As is often the case these days at shows like RIAT, quantity is down, but quality wins out, and there were a few gems waiting for us such as the Polish Air Force Su-22UM-3K Fitter, Armée de l’Air Mirage 2000B and the Bf-109.
Head-on Harrier © Gareth Stringer www.globalaviationresource.com/v2
As the morning progressed, the arrivals gathered pace and we were lucky enough to be in the right place at the time for a gaggle of Harriers (three in total – two from the NSW and one from 41(R) Squadron) which, unbeknown to anyone at the time, were making their final RIAT appearance.
A 3(F) Squadron Typhoon was close behind, and took down a whole row of cones in the act of parking – those EJ200s are pretty powerful huh!
Noisy! © Gareth Stringer www.globalaviationresource.com/v2
And then, a real highlight, a GAF F-4F Phantom from Wittmund, which, much to our delight, parked once and then moved, giving us not only some additional time for photography, but for its J79s to show that they could match the Typhoon’s blowers for power on the ground!
All good fun and, now that they have also retired, another experience I am genuinely glad to have ticked-off – up close and personal with an F-4F.
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Soon after we went and said hello to Flt Lt Tom Bould, 2010 Tucano Display Pilot, another recent arrival in the spectacularly camouflaged aircraft he flew that summer to mark to the Battle of Britain’s 70th anniversary.
Tom is now a first year Red Arrow and we hope to catch up with him later this season for a GAR feature.
Flt Lt Tom Bould © Gareth Stringer www.globalaviationresource.com/v2
Then, just as the Dutch F-16 taxied back in, post practise, and the Belgian F-16 taxied out – the heavens opened!
It was only a shower, if I remember correctly, but we had nowhere to go for shelter, so we just carried on regardless!
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And with that, we left the static line-up and made our way down to the crowdline to watch the afternoon’s coming and goings.
The Patrouille Suisse were displaying when we eventually reached the fence and the rest of the afternoon followed a fairly standard pattern of arriving aircraft, interspersed with full displays. These included a run-through of the formations that would make up the Battle of Britain 70th flypast, and included the likes of USAF F-15s, Belgian and Dutch F-16s, French Mirage 2000, RNZAF B757, RAF Hawks and Tornado F3.
Eagle take-off © Gareth Stringer www.globalaviationresource.com/v2
One F-15 Eagle ended up diverting to RAF Lyneham with an emergency, and, with a number of aircraft arriving at the same time, at one point it seemed like there were jets everywhere, holding to land and waiting to see what the outcome would be.
All ended safely, with the Eagle, if I remember correctly, taking the wire at Lyneham as a precaution.
Mirage 2000 © Gareth Stringer www.globalaviationresource.com/v2
Finally, we reached the moment we had all been waiting for – a practise display from the USAF F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team.
This was the first time Karl and I had seen the jet display in the flesh, so the anticipation as Major Dave “Zeke” Skalicky held at the end of Fairford’s runway was palpable. Guess what happened next? It started raining!
Raptor © Gareth Stringer www.globalaviationresource.com/v2
It didn’t disappoint though and, despite the variable weather (we got a bit of everything for the next ten minutes) the display left me spellbound, such was the Raptor’s power, poise and precision.
And I never tire of watching that take-off…..
You know an aircraft is doing something special when Karl Drage is watching, not taking pictures, and that rare sight happened on this occasion!
I had a go too – but confess that I did spend most of my time just watching.
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While we got the chance to see it again a few days later, twice actually, at FIA 2010, and in blazing sunshine, nothing will ever take away the sense of awe that watching the display for the first time generated.
You don’t often get the chance to see something new these days, and when you do, it isn’t always as spectacular as the Raptor, and it was searching for some other images, and seeing my pictures from this day in 2010, that brought those memories back and inspired this blog.
C-17 display take-off © Gareth Stringer www.globalaviationresource.com/v2
With the Raptor back on the ground, we took a deep breath, enjoyed a few more arrivals and displays and then wandered back up to the static line-up to find MACR Gareth Attridge, who had just arrived in an RAF Merlin.
Thank goodness we did, for, just as we were inside the Merlin, waiting for Gareth to return, the most incredible storm unleashed itself on Fairford. There was a torrent of water running along the taxiway and we would have been totally drenched had we been outside – so our timing was very lucky!
XH558 arrives © Gareth Stringer www.globalaviationresource.com/v2
And that was just about that. We said our goodbyes, wandered around a little bit of the static we hadn’t reached in the morning and headed for home.
As ever for me, I enjoyed the whole thing more than any single part. My pictures aren’t great, they never are, but I have some wonderful memories and experiences that will never leave me, and as long as my images compliment those, then I’m happy.
Line up © Gareth Stringer www.globalaviationresource.com/v2
I’m not entirely sure where the last five years have gone, but with another important Battle of Britain anniversary to commemorate, and the prospect of another enjoyable airshow season ahead, I am pretty sure that some more of those memories will be made in 2015 too.
Until next time…
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Hi, was the F-22 at RIAT in 2010, surely the only time it was there was in 2008 and displayed on the day we all got drenched.
Cheers
Both, Mike!