If you loved Top Gun: Maverick, you should consider attending the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) in England in July. Imagine breakneck speed and aerial stunts above you and static displays you can walk right into. Here’s a look at our day at the RIAT.
In the summer of 2017, our family was lucky enough to attend the RIAT. This is the world’s best military air show held at RAF Fairford which is about 2 hours outside of London in the beautiful area of the Cotswolds. Patrons here get to see the full force of not only the United States Air Force, but all of the NATO nations, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Jordan, Australia and Japan. Each year is a little different among the participating countries, but nonetheless it is a spectacular display of air power.
One of the best parts about the show are the static displays where you walk around the jet fighters, bombers, transports and can even talk with the crews that fly the planes. While the static displays have their merits, the aerial displays put on by the jet fighters and helicopters are the real stars of the show.
This is not your ordinary air show where the planes simply fly-over and give the observer a cursory look at the jets. Rather, it is more akin to Top Gun where each pilot tries to out-fly their opposite number from another country. When we were there, one of the shows top performers was the F-16 pilot from Turkey who seemed to do the impossible with the plane. Another personal favorite was seeing the Saab Gripen from Sweden as well as the French Rafale and the UK’s Typhoon. The show stopper, however, was the F-22 Raptor displaying super maneuverability and stealth technology. I can still hear the roar of the jet engines as they engaged full afterburner over the crowd.
Additionally, the bomber fly overs were outstanding and included a B-2 flying with F-15 escorts, the last remaining Vulcan Bomber from the Cold War era and a Lancaster Bomber flying with Hurricane and Spit Fighter escorts from WW2.
They also had a whole area dedicated to STEM activities for children, called the Techno Zone, and it was exceptional! There were all sorts of displays and hands on learning activities that got kids engaged and taught them so much. In fact, it was better than any science museum we’ve ever visited. Had we known more about it, we may have tried to go for two days so that they boys could’ve spent a day in the Techno Zone and another day watching the air show.
If you’re a fan of aviation make sure to add this experience to your bucket list – it’s not to be missed! The airshow usually happens the second weekend of July and tickets can be purchased online. Bring your lawn chairs or blankets and keep your eyes on the sky!
Have you ever been to the RIAT?
