Royal International Air Tattoo
Fairford - 17 & 18 juli 2022
And then it was time for the RIAT again. Without Bart this time, but with the gang.
The bus ride and boattrip to Fairford was very exhausting, one of the worst I have experienced so far. If I got 3 hours of sleep it was a lot.
As usual we arrived on time. The first thing I do is race the static. I want to get all the planes, just in case I have them not flying later on. This time the static was long... It took me about 2 hours (including coffee). Below the highlights / planes I didnt see later on.
One absolute highlight for me was the memorial for "Grey Wolf", the former Ukraine Su-27 display pilot. I saw him many times flying. All flying Su-27 photo's on this site, it is him flying.
He died in the war when his aircraft was shot down by a Russian Surface-to-air missile. May he rest in peace.
When the static run was done, I went back to the gang, where I stayed the rest of the day.
The airshow itself was not very great on line-up. The fact that it was very hot and I was very tired didn't help either. Fell asleep a couple of times...
In hindsight, the show was not worth the trip.
I got a very good sleep in the hotel, with airco.
The next day we left early for the departures. After some back and forth which side to take, I decided it was wiser to stick with the gang than go on my own.
In the morning the aircraft took off from our side, so a lot of taxi shots.
Then in the afternoon the runway changed (switching the side they take off from), so the remaining aircraft I got flying. Because of this we got a spot in the shade, which was nice, since it was very hot again.
The trip back was very long again.
I really don't know if the trip was worth it. Next time I have to think twice before going, or go without an organised trip, for only the arrivals or the departures.