RAF100 Your Ideas?

[DerekF]

Why have it on the Friday? What's wrong with Saturday and Sunday to let as many as possible actually see it?

[SPLAT]

RIAT set piece of chronological flyby by every RAF aircraft that has an existing specimen. I wonder how many that would be. It might have to be in reverse order newest first

Indian navy jaguar ,liberator , mosquito from caf, Sally b , U.K. Based p51' f4 corsair , Buck and lightning from South Africa , etc etc I reckon we could get around 30 types

[Andyph]

Why delude yourselves?

You know it is going to be a formation of Tutors spelling out 100!

[boff180]

Why have it on the Friday? What's wrong with Saturday and Sunday to let as many as possible actually see it?

Whilst I agree, reality is that the Friday is VIP day and putting on a spectacle for the amassed bigwigs, industry and royalty means it is inevitable that the Friday will be the main event with something smaller on the weekend.

[WG655]

RIAT set piece of chronological flyby by every RAF aircraft that has an existing specimen. I wonder how many that would be. It might have to be in reverse order newest first

Indian navy jaguar ,liberator , mosquito from caf, Sally b , U.K. Based P-51' f4 corsair , Buck and lightning from South Africa , etc etc I reckon we could get around 30 types

Not sure why a fly-by is necessary; the logistics involved with doing this would be immense and (as seen in 2008) very few of the assets would be able to operate from Fairford. Surely much better to have a portion of the flying display (perhaps from 1pm onwards) for a dedicated RAF section, with displays telling the tale chronologically?

[MRTT]

RIAT set piece of chronological flyby by every RAF aircraft that has an existing specimen. I wonder how many that would be. It might have to be in reverse order newest first

Indian navy jaguar ,liberator , mosquito from caf, Sally b , U.K. Based P-51' f4 corsair , Buck and lightning from South Africa , etc etc I reckon we could get around 30 types

Not sure why a fly-by is necessary; the logistics involved with doing this would be immense and (as seen in 2008) very few of the assets would be able to operate from Fairford. Surely much better to have a portion of the flying display (perhaps from 1pm onwards) for a dedicated RAF section, with displays telling the tale chronologically?

Agree, they did something similar in 1998.

[CJS]

Why have it on the Friday? What's wrong with Saturday and Sunday to let as many as possible actually see it?

Whilst I agree, reality is that the Friday is VIP day and putting on a spectacle for the amassed bigwigs, industry and royalty means it is inevitable that the Friday will be the main event with something smaller on the weekend.

This spectacle isn't going to just be for them though is it? I mean, it is for them of course but it's also for me, you and everyone else who loves their planes, their RAF and everything it stands for, past and present. This is a big event. If it's done properly, it could be the biggest peacetime event the RAF has put on I would guess (waits to be corrcected ).

It would be a massive (I mean massive) own goal surely to hold the main event Friday only, wouldn't it? The BoB tribute last year was brilliant and what a shame it would have been if that had been only on the Friday, when so many fewer people can see it. 20,000 people seeing the RAF's main 100th celebration in the air vs 120,000 if they hold it Saturday and Sunday too (I don't know the actual numbers and clearly I'm including those who would see it 3 times, but you get the idea) is a no-brainer isn't it?

Just my tuppence worth

[aviodromefriend]

Why have it on the Friday? What's wrong with Saturday and Sunday to let as many as possible actually see it?

Because in '08 it was also only on the Friday? (No, that was not because of the Cancelled, that was only planned for one day). Also not so many types in service anymore compared with '08.

Agree, they did something similar in 1998.

You mean what RIAT organised in a few days time, after the RAF scrubbed the planned thing on the Monday before the show?

[CJS]

But the thing in 2008 was never intended to be on a show day. It was, essentially, a private event.

Holding on Friday only in 2018 would be very different.

[MRTT]

Why have it on the Friday? What's wrong with Saturday and Sunday to let as many as possible actually see it?

Because in '08 it was also only on the Friday? (No, that was not because of the Cancelled, that was only planned for one day). Also not so many types in service anymore compared with '08.

Agree, they did something similar in 1998.

You mean what RIAT organised in a few days time, after the RAF scrubbed the planned thing on the Monday before the show?

Didn't know that! Thanks!

[st24]

, Hawks in Gnat training schemes etc.

Or even Hawks in their original schemes?!

Indian navy jaguar

Never had them..

[CJS]

But their airforce still does

The commentator at Cosford last year went to great lengths to explain this was the only place we could see Jaguars on the move in the world...oops

[Wes_Howes]

me, you and everyone else who loves their planes

I'm not that fond of my woodworking tools to be honest

However, a return to the role demo would be far better than a flypast or "balbo" as the in term seems to be. I seem to remember a good demo at RIAT one year involving a Sentry, a pair of Tornados and a pair of Hawks playing as red air (similar to the old FRADU display). So swap out the Tornados for Typhoons, they fly through behind a Voyager and break after a call from the Sentry, cue a tail chase over the field, once the Hawks have been dealt with, a pair of Tornados beat up the airfield. A Chinook or two drop off some Rock Apes and a Herc or Atlas drop off some vehicle support. Finally, the Chinooks hover at crowd centre, whilst all the fixed wing elements fly through.

[DerekF]

I'm not sure a role demo does much to celebrate 100 years of the RAF. Good for what it does now but the history part?

A nationwide flypast would be a great way of showing off to all (or a lot) of the UK (to the taxpayers, the ones who pay for it all) . As Spiny Norman said, if the Vulcan could do it, I'm pretty sure the RAF could sort something out.

Oh and if Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown uses "plane" in his book to refer to aeroplanes then it should be good enough for everyone else.

[Wes_Howes]

It would be part of the celebrations, certainly not the sum total. It would be difficult to perform a role demo over Buckingham Palace

[tankbuster]

RIAT set piece of chronological flyby by every RAF aircraft that has an existing specimen. I wonder how many that would be. It might have to be in reverse order newest first

Indian navy jaguar ,liberator , mosquito from caf, Sally b , U.K. Based P-51' f4 corsair , Buck and lightning from South Africa , etc etc I reckon we could get around 30 types

Not sure why a fly-by is necessary; the logistics involved with doing this would be immense and (as seen in 2008) very few of the assets would be able to operate from Fairford. Surely much better to have a portion of the flying display (perhaps from 1pm onwards) for a dedicated RAF section, with displays telling the tale chronologically?

Because flybys are a spectacle, remember FAA 2010 at RIAT, Abingdon 1990 and even last year's BOB at RIAT, the latter of which I found disappointing but the reaction on here was very positive. Could be a cue for a photo thread of all the great flypasts

[speedbird2639]

All good ideas - however you all know the reality will be a single pass by a Piper Cherokee owing a banner saying something like "Well done - 100 years!"

[phreakf4]

There's an awful lot of wishful thinking in this thread...

If "the RAF International Air Show" at Scampton actually happens that seems a more likely venue than Fairford which is, after all, a US base.

But imo even more likely to be a flypast of about 20-25 aircraft (including the Reds and BBMF) over either Buck House or Windsor Castle in April....

[phreakf4]

All good ideas - however you all know the reality will be a single pass by a Piper Cherokee owing a banner saying something like "Well done - 100 years!"

More probably a Piper Pawnee, few (if any) Cherokees are equipped for towing.

[speedbird2639]

All good ideas - however you all know the reality will be a single pass by a Piper Cherokee owing a banner saying something like "Well done - 100 years!"

More probably a Piper Pawnee, few (if any) Cherokees are equipped for towing.

lol - I knew some pedant would be along with a comment like that!

[DerekF]

There's an awful lot of wishful thinking in this thread...

That's what happens when you get asked for ideas.

A flypast over London or Buckiingham palace would be pretty insulting to the thousands that have served in the RAF and the millions all over the UK that actually pay for everything.

[WG655]

, Hawks in Gnat training schemes etc.

Or even Hawks in their original schemes?! .

That would be welcome also... My thinking was (as the US Navy did) painting aircraft to represent their predecessors rather than simply wearing schemes the type has already had in the past. Quite like the idea of a Hawk in the silver/day-glo of a Gnat, purely as an example.

[Spiny Norman]

, Hawks in Gnat training schemes etc.

Or even Hawks in their original schemes?! .

That would be welcome also... My thinking was (as the US Navy did) painting aircraft to represent their predecessors rather than simply wearing schemes the type has already had in the past. Quite like the idea of a Hawk in the silver/day-glo of a Gnat, purely as an example.

A Typhoon in the silver and red of a 56 Squadron English Electric Lightning?

Or in a 92 Squadron green/grey F-4 scheme from the 1970/80s?

[farnboroughrob]

Special schemes only work if lots of people get to see them. With so few shows that are airfield based so few people actually get to see the schemes close up. Lets see more bases open to the public. Family day on Friday 'at home' public day on the saturday. A couple of hours airshow with static of all major RAF types and some from AAC/FAA and NATO and a few warbirds. How many RAF bases have you never actually set foot in, let alone the locals who put up with them.
We have a flypast over London every year, lets do something different for this big event.

[FarnboroJohn]

One of the problems with a flypast is the very different performance levels of the different generations of aircraft.

The best way round this is actually to break the flypast into bite-sized chunks, start the season with the WWI/Twenties/Thirties flypast, then in high summer do the WWII stuff and finally August Bank Holiday the Fifties through to today. This would also involve and keep involved the public that pays for the RAF through taxation and airshows through attendance.

The first flypast would have to be over land and on a fine day, the second could go wherever you like and there's no real reason why the third couldn't go round the coast from Flamborough to Land's End. With a Tu-95....

RIAT could use its international flavour to celebrate Allied Air Forces under the RAF banner in WWII with special schemes (I liked the Polish PZL M28 in a Coastal Command Liberator scheme some years ago, for instance), NATO commitments and coalition work to bring things up to date.

And eight of the Red Arrows could be painted blue so the Diamond Nine would look like a roundel. More like one than the "Tornado" formation looks like a Tonka, anyway.

John