RAF Centenary Flypast

This is AVIATION WEEK’s on-line coverage, with a photograph of each of the 18 ‘formations’ – plus the Red Arrows, of course

http://aviationweek.com/blog/royal-air-force-celebrates-its-100th-anniversary?NL=AW-05&Issue=AW-05_20180718_AW-05_821&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_9&utm_rid=CPEN1000003026595&utm_campaign=15643&utm_medium=email&elq2=79549d9a4f63401f8af78e8d66024f25

Good to see the RC-135…they seem to keep a low profile.

My sister-in-law (who has always indulged my aviation interest by driving me to countless museums during my UK visits and in doing so has become a bit of an enthusiast) in Suffolk actually drove to Cholchester to watch the fly past and was very impressed.

Apparently 50 years ago it was 300 aircraft in the air & another 600 on the ground.

A couple of the flypast, taken from the Park and Ride in Chelmsford.

free image hosting

The Daily Wail have excelled themselves, an 8 page special of pictures. Page 8 has a good picture of the BBMF. Part of the caption reads “the last flying Avro Lancaster is escorted by four Spitfires and a Hurricane”.

Had to record the flypast as I was filming up in Lincs, but I did get to see the Red Arrows return over the Dambusters Inn in Scampton. Can’t wait to watch it!

Yesterday, I picked up a copy of METRO at the station and, today, found this in their preview of the flypast:

“Up to 100 aircraft – ranging from a … BE2 biplane to a … Spitfire, a Dakota … and a Gloucester Meteor from World War II – will take part in a flypast over southern England.“.

Who knew?

Impressive !

For those interested, RAF Brize Norton posted this on Twitter showing how the flypast formed up and dispersed. I think it can be viewed even if you have no Twitter account:

https://mobile.twitter.com/rafbrizenorton/status/1016734060704608257

RAF 100 Flypast over London — Formation 1 : three Pumas, six Chinooks and one Seagull

Thanks Firebird, I suppose that’s fair enough! :applause:

Well the BBC coverage was ok and, thank goodness Sophie Raworth said that some of the formation was heading for Goodwood

They were actually heading for NATS at Swanick, and did an orbit flyover as a thank you to the NATS and RAF ATC for the hard work in prep for the flypast, especially with the 20 min closure at LHR and the issues that entailed with knock-on effect.

High fiving each other whilst piloting hover trousers probably. If we aren’t speaking Chinese, or Russian, or Klingon.

Mind you if we were there will still be people complaining about the correct colours of the Bird of Prey display team.

TT

I expect in 100 years’ time the RAF will have been privatized: so unless we all have a whip-round to pay for a flypast of drones, dear old Queen Elizabeth IV won’t be seeing much from her balcony in 2118.

The BBC coverage was alright, but the camera operators were quite fixated with capturing the next aircraft in the sequence. This resulted in a few shots of aircraft at some distance, and some slightly odd-looking formation flying, while Sophie and co are discussing closer aircraft. Some nice shots though, just a shame it was all said and done in ten minutes!

I do wonder what the RAF will be doing for their Bicentenary…

Well the BBC coverage was ok and, thank goodness Sophie Raworth said that some of the formation was heading for Goodwood. Just had the Spits and Hurricanes go over and, without her info, I would have missed them with the 2 preceding Hercules. Why on Earth didn’t the RAF publish the routes beyond the flypast breaking up? (or did they and I just missed it?)

My mistake maybe, it was a big flypast and following the A12 in Essex.. I’m sure it was in the 70’s

Probably one of the annual Trooping the Colour flypasts in June, they were quite something back in the 70’s, usually with multiple Vulcans, Victors with escorts Lightnings, F-4’s or Jaguars etc.

This was the one from 1981, the last to feature Vulcans, and taken from outside my parents house in West London.

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How many took part in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee flypast ?
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Wasn’t over London though was it, it was at RAF Finningley.

My mistake maybe, it was a big flypast and following the A12 in Essex.. I’m sure it was in the 70’s

I wasn’t there either, so the following comes from a couple of contemporary reports.

RAF Open Days were held at around 90 stations over the weekend of 15 and 16 September 1945 and it was the start of a Thanksgiving Week. PM Atlee addressed a crowd of over 20,000 in Trafalgar Square where a V2 and some German jets were on display. Atlee’s speech was to launch a savings drive (similar to the American War Bonds scheme, I believe). Part of the event was a flypast: “More than 300 planes were in the armada that entertained the city today”.

On Saturday, 15th September, at North Weald, “squadrons of Mosquitoes, Beaufighters and Spifires (were) readied for the flypast”. “… Coastal Command … Mosquito VIs … and Beaufighter T.F.X torpedo fighters …. were the first to take off”, followed, 20 minutes later, by a “Battle of Britain” squadron made up of BoB pilots led by Bader. They were flying various kinds of Spitfire IX (F., LF., and HF.) Just after 12.30, the rest of the formation arrived over North Weald and “…the 25 squadrons set off on their course round London, with the Spitfires followed by Mustangs, Tempest IIs and Vs, Typhoons, Mosquitoes, Meteors and Beaufighters”. Interestingly, “a low ceiling forced the aircraft to fly lower than they would have done under normal circumstances”. Having completed their part, “less than half an hour later, they were back” at North Weald.

On Sunday, 16th September, a display of German aircraft opened in Hyde Park, “disappointing in its small size”, as there were only around 10 of them. In the afternoon that day, Geoffrey de Havilland gave an aerobatic display over Hyde Park in a Vampire, described as “still secret”.

In Washington Cathedral (that’s DC, by the way, just to be clear), there was a service of thanksgiving, too. The scriptures were read by the British Ambassador, who was still Lord Halifax, an irony perhaps lost on most of the congregation.

How many took part in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee flypast ?

Wasn’t over London though was it, it was at RAF Finningley.