aviation - the past, present and future of flight

pair of Lakenheath F-15E Strike Eagles.
Spirit of New York had  own directly
from Whiteman AFB in Missouri but,
disappointingly, performed only one pass
before heading home.

Another interesting formation was a

heritage  ight featuring a USAF F-35  ying

with a pair of warbirds: a Spit re and a

Mustang. All three American pilots were

in the UK to perform at the show and the

Flying Legends event that was being held at

Duxford at the same time.

Of the fast jets, two routines stood out:

a Ukrainian Sukhoi Su-27P Flanker and a

French Mirage 2000D pair. The Su-27’s

excellent slow-speed manoeuvrability

being a wonder to behold. The French

 ghter Couteau Delta team  ew in tight

formation in addition to a series of

short solo displays. The French Navy’s

Dassault Rafale M gave a spirited

performance as did the Royal Canadian

Air Force CF-188A Hornet. Also of note

was the Polish Air Force F-16C (with

conformal fuel tanks) and the Slovenian

Air Force PC-9M.

To sum up: the show had a good variety

of aircraft, was well run and included

plenty to keep even the most well-travelled

enthusiasts entertained. It wasn’t perfect,

the static display was too strung out for my

liking, but it was certainly a most enjoyable

show. Next year’s RIAT is due to be held

on July 19-21 – I, for one, will make sure

I’m there.

http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 19

Left: Lithuania and Slovakia each sent a C-27J

Spartan to this year’s RIAT. Nigel Price

Below left: Hawker Hunter Aviation showed

Hunter F.58, ZZ191, in this new scheme.

Nigel Price

One of the most spectacular fast-jet

displays was performed by Ukrainian

Sukhoi Su-27P Flanker ‘Blue 58’. Nigel Price

USAF Heritage Flight formation of a F-35A,

a Spit re and a Mustang. RIAT