The RIAT stuff

The British 'summer' was back to it's troublesome self both in the run-up to and during RIAT. With the unpredictable weather that forced the cancellation of the Sunday display at the recent Waddington show persisting. Thankfully, however, the airshow was able to go ahead according to plan with the weather holding when it mattered, as Air Tattoo Director Tim Prince stated; "It has probably been the most difficult run-up to an Air Tattoo that I have experienced in recent years simply because the weather was so unpredictable. We had to consider the impact of heavy rain on our car parks and looked at various scenarios. Thankfully, in the end, people were able to enjoy the Air Tattoo in fine weather. I am not only pleased for the public but also for the 3,000-plus volunteers who give up so much of their time each year to stage the world’s greatest airshow."

Attendances climbed again this year, estimates place the increase at around 5 and 10 percent over last year 160,000. The forecasts for much better weather on Saturday leading to the unusual situation where around two thirds of the spectators chose to visit on the Saturday show day. This has lead the organisers to consider the possibility of day specific advance tickets in future. Thankfully, for those who did turn up on Sunday, the weather was grey but largely dry, the forecasted near monsoon conditions not materialising and the only rain fell towards the end of the day.

Notable VIPs attending the show were HRH Prince Michael of Kent; HRH Prince Feisal of Jordan; HRH the Duke of Kent; The Rt Hon Baroness Margaret Thatcher; Gen T Michael Moseley, Chief of the US Air Force; and Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, Chief of the Air Staff. Also at the show from the celebrity side were Sir George Martin, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson, actor Sir David Jason and racing driver Jenson Button.

Carried over from last years show was the TRI@RIAT feature in the centre of the showground. The idea behind this being something for youths visiting the show to both enjoy and learn. John Miller, 31, a teacher at Lawrence Sheriff School in Rugby, came to the Air Tattoo with a party of 13 pupils and 3 teachers. They spent four hours visiting the hundreds of exhibits in the showground and watching the flying display and then headed for the special youth exhibit area 'TRI@RIAT'.

Mr Miller said “The kids were flagging by mid-afternoon but, as soon as they got into the hands-on “Imagineering” section of Tri@RIAT, they immediately picked up and haven’t stopped since. To be able to bring any pupils aged 15 and under to a top event for free is fantastic. I would thoroughly recommend it to the other schools.”

There was some queuing on the roads around the base reported on Saturday but this was most likely in relation to the sheer numbers of people choosing the better forecasted day to attend the event. Entry into the base itself seemed to run smoothly with security checks providing little delay. Although it is a shame the gates can't open earlier as it would help provide a way to filter out those 6.30am queues.

The Royal International Air Tattoo is held annually in support of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust.