T

he best display teams, unusual

aircraft and a few UK ‘ rsts’ are

always guaranteed at the annual

Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT)

at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. And this

is especially true when it coincides with the

Farnborough International Airshow. True to

form, RIAT 2018 produced a long and varied

 ying programme, plus some superb items

on static display.

The event, held over July 13-15, drew a

record crowd of 185,000, and featured 302

aircraft from 43 air arms representing 30

nations. An impressive total of 121 aircraft

took part in the  ying display.

I attended RIAT on July 14 and found

the event’s logistics extremely well

organised. It was my  rst RIAT for several

years, and I was pleasantly surprised with

how easy it was to get into and out of the

show. I drove straight into the car park at

7.30am without the hours of queuing that

marked the Fairfords of old. That said, it

took half an hour to get through the entry

points on foot; but that was an acceptable

wait time, in my opinion, considering the

high attendance  gure. Leaving the site

at the end of the show was quick and

easy too – well done Team RIAT. (It’s

taken me hours to get out of the car park

in the past.)

Dozens of bowsers offering free drinking

water were positioned across the site and,

given the blistering heat over the weekend,

were a welcome provision.

STATIC STARS

Around 180 aircraft were on static display,

spread around the air eld. Highlights on

show included a General Atomics MQ-9B

SkyGuardian remotely piloted aircraft. It

was  own to the UK by an operator located

at the aerospace company’s Flight Test

and Training Center in Grand Forks, North

Dakota. The RAF is due to bring the UK

variant of MQ-9B, known as the Protector

RG1, into service in the early 2020s. RAF

markings were applied to the MQ-9B shortly

after landing at Fairford on the Thursday

prior to the show. It also gained 31 Sqn

markings, the unit being earmarked to

operate the type.

A Japan Air Self-Defense Force Kawasaki

C-2 transport made its debut appearance in

the UK and was popular with photographers.

Tours aboard the C-2 were available

throughout the day and places were eagerly

snapped up.

Another eye-catching item was the

Boeing E-7A Wedgetail from the Royal

Australian Air Force. Based on the Boeing

737-700, the 2 Sqn AEW&C aircraft is based

at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South

Wales. Other highlights in the static were an

Austrian Air Force C-130K Hercules, Italian

Air Force M-346 Master and a Estonian Air

Force Antonov An-2.

RIAT often attracts aircraft with

colourful paint schemes and these were

VINTAGE

R IAT

Surprises, debuts and

special RAF100 displays

made this year’s Royal

International Air Tattoo sparkle.

Nigel Price reviews the event.

16 Aviation News incorporating Jets September 2018

Main photo: An impressive element of

the RAF100 display was a Dambusters’

formation  ypast by the BBMF’s Lancaster,

 anked by a Tornado GR4 and an RAF F-

from 617 Sqn. RIAT

Above: Seville-based A400M EC-400, operated

by Airbus Defence and Space, being put

through its paces at RIAT. Nigel Price