Thanks Alan. Did you have a good day?

Last years RIAT had a fairly large “historic” flying content including the mighty Vulcan. I think it was some sort of anniversary. It amused me to see all the younger enthusiasts avidly taking pictures of the modern aeroplanes but not bothering at all with the historic. Me, anything engineering is interesting and if it has wings and is old, well, that’s a bonus. Not so much flying in the display this year but “historic” is well represented in the static display.

Possibly a bit more infamous than famous just at the moment, but, of course, this example flown under military regs. This aeroplane provides the MOD/defence companies with an economic flying platform for testing both airborne equipment and land/ship based equipment. Because of the MOD requirement OEM support is available.
They do have a Buccaneer which is available to fly so possibly just a question of paying the money. Any fans out there with very deep pockets.

The Sea Hurricane normally housed with the Shuttleworth Collection, which also provided some other exhibits.

The aeroplane in the background had come a very long way and does deserve a mention, later.

I have seen this aeroplane static at several airshows but have yet to see it fly, maybe on Monday.

Turned out to be so many “historic” aircraft I had to start economizing on film by shooting them two at a time;)

Regrettably we didn’t make it at all on Thursday and late on Friday however, this does mean that we are able to confirm that at 1200 we were able to drive straight to the blue car park with not a queue in site. We did, however, see a queue which was possibly for the green car park.

Today there was a reduced airshow and together with our late arrival, this proved ideal for a walk along half of the static line. The static line is quite literally miles long!
This half, going east from the blue gate, consisted mainly of HISTORIC aeroplanes. Being a Friday it is not so crowded allowing better photographic opportunities, however, being a school day meant that there were a fair number of junior school parties.

There are the usual array of enclosures to either suit your pocket or your image! It was our first RIAT last year and the FRIAT (Friends of RIAT) packages offered seemed good, and so it turned out. There is plenty of information on the RIAT website about the packages. A marquee is provided the regulatory size too small to accommodate everybody in the event of a serious downpour. However, it does have Wifi good tables and chairs and the left luggage facility. Within the enclosure there are food and coffee stalls and a good supply of very clean toilets. The grandstand has been increased in length this year. Bring a cushion and something to dry the seats in the unlikely event that you should experience rain at an airshow. Like everything else we found about RIAT it is exceptionally well organised and very large. If you have more than a passing interest in the equipment on display you will need more than two days just to do the static line justice. Then, of course, there is the airshow, which is 8 hours long on Saturday and Sunday and 4 on Friday. The FRIAT enclosure is, of course, mainly occupied by enthusiasts most of which appear to like taking photographs. If you dislike the sound of hundreds of shutters drowning out the subtle sounds of those fast jets then this may not be for you.

Although everybody is allocated a seat in the grandstand it is not obligatory to use it, now there is a surprise. So if you prefer to be at low level on the fence bring your chairs and come early. You still get all the benefits within the enclosure.

To get those golden spots in the seating hierarchy, the much desired back row of the grandstand, you are required to jump through some hoops. More on this latter.