RIAT 2007 by André Jans. Photos by André Jans and Paul Filmer

The Royal International Air Tattoo, the grand old lady of European airshows, took place again at RAF Fairford on 14 and 15 July 2007. RIAT can also be considered the Mother of all Airshows when one looks at the number of participating aircraft. Despite some difficult years around the millennium due to tight budgets and the declining number of available military aircraft in post-Cold War Europe, this remarkable show is back on track.

In earlier years, RIAT was the largest military air show in the world based on aircraft numbers. Nowadays, the show aims to provide quality over quantity. And in 2007 the organizers succeeded – in addition to “regular” European show teams like the Red Arrows, Frecce Tricolore, and the Royal Jordanian Falcons, RIAT was proud to host the US Air Force Thunderbirds as part of the team’s USAF 60th anniversary tour of Europe. Not many airshows outside North America get the chance to host a US display team, so the organizers can justly be proud of their efforts. (Remember that the RIAT is put together and run almost entirely by volunteers, to save money for the RAF Charitable Trust’s charity program.)

Another show highlight was what was probably the last RIAT appearance by the F-117 Stealth fighter, which is due to retire in 2008. Although stealthy when in combat mode, this aircraft has been a visible and well-appreciated participant in past Air Tattoos. Other solo displays included the Dutch and Belgian F-16 demo teams, Spanish and Royal Air Force Typhoons, and the Swiss and Finnish F-18 Hornet solo performers.

One thing the RIAT organization is not able to control (although I am sure they are working on it!) is the British weather. On the Saturday the weather was fair, with sunshine and puffy clouds spoiling the public. But on Sunday a thick overcast covered the sky, forcing the display pilots to run their “low shows.” In no way did the weather kept the visitors home, though, and over 150,000 attended like in previous years.

I want to express my thanks to the RIAT organization for running another smooth edition of the Royal International Air Tattoo!

Be sure to visit the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust website at www.airtattoo.com/rafcte.

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