Airforces

Above right: The Typhoons fl y down The Mall and

over Buckingham Palace. Crown Copyright

Right: The ‘100’ fl ies over Central London – a sight

witnessed by thousands of people. Crown Copyright

Left: The mass start on the fl ight line at No 29

Squadron for the rehearsal on June 27. All the

jets started up on the main apron at Coningsby so

that the pilots could move quickly to spare aircraft

if required. Post-fl ight, the jets returned to their

respective parking areas on the airfi eld. Jamie Hunter

Above left: The route plan for the join-up and run-

in to London on July 10. No 29 Squadron

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #367 OCTOBER 2018 // 97

Each of the Typhoon ‘100’ elements got

airborne as independent sections (Triplex/Cobra/

Warlord) and they joined separately to compose

their respective numeral, before progressing

along the route towards the flypast datum whilst

slowly converging. At a pre-determined point

• Colchester – they were to be together in the
  ‘100’ (assuming the callsign ‘Typhoon’) and into
  the overall ‘Windsor Formation’ train. Child
  adds: “Once you’re together as a train it’s all
  good – it’s the speed differentials of the various
  elements and then the recoveries to home
  airfields that then becomes the hard part.”
  As the various groups of aircraft roared
  overhead Buckingham Palace, an immaculate
  ‘100’ of 22 Typhoons came into view. They
  were bang on time and shape – a proud
  moment for all of those involved after so
  much hard work. “It really was a whole force
  effort,” says Child. “It ranged from having
  the Lossiemouth guys here at Coningsby for
  three weeks and their requirement for regular
  training sorties as well as the centenary work,
  to the dedication of the engineers ensuring
  that all the jets we needed were available.
  Air Traffic Control had to work closely with
  us to get the 22 Typhoons and spares
  airborne and recovered safely plus the BAE
  Systems TyTAN [Typhoon Total Availability
  Enterprise] ensured we had the spares and
  support we needed – it really was a massive
  team that made up the whole effort.” AFM

“Once you’re together as a train it’s all good – it’s the

speed differentials of the various elements and then

the recoveries to home airfi elds that then becomes

the hard part.” Sqn Ldr Mike Child, No 29 Squadron

94-97 Typhoon AFM Oct2018.indd 97 9/7/2018 3:05:12 PM