IAT-The Wonder Years (Updated Again)

[bigcrow]

Due to a number of factors the RIAT shows in the past few years have been a shadow of it's former self. I attended my first IAT at Greenham Common in 1973 aged six with my dad, taking a few poor B&W prints. My first IAT with decent kit was IAT83 which celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Phantom. Here is a small selection from it's glorious past, plenty more to come...

The infamous Blackbird caught arriving for IAT83, which got daubed by pink paint by women CND protestors. The Blackbird crew got there own back when they departed on the Monday with a very low flypast over there campsite in full afterburner !!



IAT's have always been well attended by Raspberry Ripple aircraft from Boscombe, Bedford, Farnborough & the like.









IAT93 was the year of the first appearance of a Bear, probably the highlight of all (R)IAT’s



Over the years the F-104 had been a mainstay for the show in the static & the flying, Anybody remember the German Navy ‘Vikings’ team accidentally breaking the sound barrier at IAT85?





IAT91 saw the final appearance of a Whale at an airshow before the VQ-2 Skywarriors were retired from service, caught arriving in very wet conditions.



IAT93 was the final appearance of the iconic F-14 at an IAT with an example from VF-84 ‘Jolly Rogers’

[ChrisL]

Lovely stuff Stu, looking forward to seeing more.

[Westy]

Now were talking - you can post as many as these as you like.

The D14 is the pick of the bunch for me

[foxfour]

Cracking selection there. If you mind me asking, what film/slide scanner do you use as these are excellent quality scans?

[Danny]

Fantastic shots, superb clarity and sharpness.

Thanks for scanning and posting them.

[bigcrow]

Cracking selection there. If you mind me asking, what film/slide scanner do you use as these are excellent quality scans?

Thanks for the comments, scanner used is a Nikon Coolscan V all shot on Kodachrome 64.

[st24]

Excellent quality scans there young man , the "hi-viz" Blackbird is a cracking image to have I can assure you though, you didn't go to Greenham in 1975....

[bigcrow]

Excellent quality scans there young man , the "hi-viz" Blackbird is a cracking image to have I can assure you though, you didn't go to Greenham in 1975....

Cheers Geoff. The first Greenham I attended was the one with the Sea Vixen from I believe a unit in N Ireland so whenever that was Geoff?

[st24]

Excellent quality scans there young man , the "hi-viz" Blackbird is a cracking image to have I can assure you though, you didn't go to Greenham in 1975....

Cheers Geoff. The first Greenham I attended was the one with the Sea Vixen from I believe a unit in N Ireland so whenever that was Geoff?

You mean this one from Sydenham?


1973 mate - the very first Greenham Tattoo!..

[bigcrow]

Excellent quality scans there young man , the "hi-viz" Blackbird is a cracking image to have I can assure you though, you didn't go to Greenham in 1975....

Cheers Geoff. The first Greenham I attended was the one with the Sea Vixen from I believe a unit in N Ireland so whenever that was Geoff?

You mean this one from Sydenham?


1973 mate - the very first Greenham Tattoo!..

Bloody He'll.. That made me even younger 6 to be precise. Thanks for the info Geoff..

[boff180]

Cracking set mate, 93 was my first Tattoo.

Spending the night under armed guard was fun too... As the MIG came down in the field next door... Accessed only through ours!

Those guards got pampered with tea, coffee and cake from the campers all night lol.

To quote my mother "this display doesn't include parachutes.... Oh sh*t.... Run!"

Andy

[bigcrow]

Thanks for the comments guys... Here's a few more.

1983 and the Vulcan & the Lightning were coming to the twilight of there respective careers in the RAF. Here is XH558 caught in her former guise as a K.2 tanker.







A couple of departures from IAT85.





IAT91 was an excellent show with the Gulf War Salute & the official Tiger Meet being held at Fairford.

[IanH]

Glorious Stu and good on you for posting. Seems just like yesterday!!!!!!

Take care, Ian

[bigcrow]

Glorious Stu and good on you for posting. Seems just like yesterday!!!!!!

Take care, Ian

Thanks Ian, thought they may brighten up these grey winter days.. It's amazing to think most of these types and units are now a long distant memory...

[MikeH]

Superb images Stu. Makes me regret even more giving up the hobby in 1981.

[Westy]

Another superb batch

[Dragon Rapide]

Terrific pictures!! My Tattoo years were from the first at Greenham through to the mid-eighties, so I missed the Bear, which I much regret. But these are all marvellous memories - many thanks for sharing them.

[rob m]

Great scans, love the Whale + chute.

[bigcrow]

After the first appearance of a Bear in 1993 the following year the Russians attended with two an Air Force TU-95 & an extremly rare TU-142 from the Navy.. Backfires also got in on the act in the mid nineties as well...

[MartinNeedham]

Oh to have been born 15 years earlier..

[shaggie]

Only just seen these ,all i can say is ,i want more !!!

[Stu]

What a selection

[jwarnerxh558]

what an amazing selection of photos!
back when shows had veriety and lots of interesting examples!!
look forward to seeing more!

[chrisward123]

what a fantastic thread, only if I was born back in the 70's, very jealous!

christian

[nigelblake]

Fantastic shots, especially the Soviet stuff !
I used to get too excited to sleep the night before airshows in those days, it doesn't happen now!