::: The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the biggest airshow in the world. Held at at RAF Fairford on July 16 and 17, the 2005 edition was blessed with very nice weather and a splendid array of interesting aircraft on display. This report will cover the the whole event starting from the first aircraft arriving on Wednesday till the departure of most of them at Monday after the show. This was only possible by becoming a member of the Friends the RIAT (FRIAT). At a price of £ 150,- (!) you get access to the so called Park and View area and the FRIAT grandstand.

::: With the terrorist attacks on London's metro stations a week earlier, lots of people feared cancellation of the RIAT. Fortunately this was not the case. The strict security measures in place where effective and even welcomed by the airshow visitors. The cues  at the gates were moving at the least... ;-)

Continue >>