RIAT 2017 - AIRSHOW

USAF over 70 years

RIAT (The Royal International Air Tattoo), Sunday 16th of July 2017.

On Saturday evening we started again our journey with 4Aviation towards RIAT 2017.

Early Sunday morning we arrived at Fairford. Unfortunately the weather was not that good.

But at the end of the day we would be happy that only a few rain showers spoiled a nice day.

Already on Saturday we received rumors that a certain surprise would attend Riat 2017 on Sunday.

And yes, in the afternoon a strange silhouette was suddenly visual at the horizon.

A B-2 'Spirit Stealth Bomber' prepared himself to do a few fly pasts escorted by 2 F-15's.

It was a magnificent experience to view this beautiful aircraft and technology.

Only 20 aircrafts of this type are currently flying : each name begins with Spirit of.... (in our case Spirit of Pennsylvania). 21 aircrafts in total build, one of those aircrafts crashed shortly after take-off in 2008 at Andersen AFB (GUAM) making it the most expensive crash in USAF history. Crew ejected safely. (Spirit of Kansas)

This nice visitor in combination with the USAF 'Thunderbirds', USAF '70 years celebration', Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 'Flanker', The Finnish 'Midnight Hawks' and a lot of other aircrafts made this years Air Tattoo a special one.

Below you will find an impression, I have tried to choose a nice selection of pictures.

Not all aircrafts and display teams attending Sunday's airshow are included in below overview.

Because of the weather it was also a challenge for me to make good pictures.

PANAVIA A-200A TORNADO / Reparto Sperimentale Volo / Italian Air Force / Pratica di Mare

'SOLOTÜRK' Lockheed Martin F-16C 'Fighting Falcon' / 3 AJU/132 Filo / Turkish Air Force / Konya

'COUTEAU DELTA' / 2 x DASSAULT MIRAGE 2000Ds / EC2/3 & EC 3/3 / French Air Force / Nancy-Ochey

Saab JAS 39C 'GRIPEN' F 7 / Swedish Air Force / Satenäs

Leonardo T-346A 'MASTER' / Reparto Sperimentale Volo / Italian Air Force / Pratica di Mare

Westland 'SEA KING' Mk48 / 40 Squadron / Belgian Air Component / Koksijde

'The Patrouille Suisse' / 3x Northrop F-5E 'TIGER' IIs / Swiss Air Force Aerobatic Team / Emmen

AgustaWestland 'APACHE' AH1 / 4 Regiment / Army Air Corps / Wattisham

'THE MIDNIGHT HAWKS' / 4x BAe 'HAWK' Mk51/51As / Finnish Air Force Aerobatic Team / Tikkakoski

Leonardo C-27J 'SPARTAN' / Reparto Sperimentale Volo / Italian Air Force / Pratica di Mare

Avro 'LANCASTER' + 3x Supermarine Spitfires + Hawker Hurricane / Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

US AIR FORCE 70th ANNIVERSARY FLYPAST

Boeing B-17G 'FLYING FORTRESS' B-17 Preservation / Duxford / UK

North American P-51D 'MUSTANG' / Hangar 11 collection / North Weald

Boeing KC-135R 'STRATOTANKER' / 351st Air Refueling Squadron / USAF / RAF Mildenhall

Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 'HERCULES' / 37th Airlift Squadron / USAF / Ramstein AB

McDonnell Douglas F-15C 'EAGLE' / 493rd Fighter Squadron / USAF / RAF Lakenheith

McDonnell Douglas F-15E 'STRIKE EAGLE' / 48th Fighter Wing / USAF / RAF Lakenheith

Lockheed Martin F-16C 'FIGHTING FALCON' / 480th Fighter Squadron / USAF / Spangdahlem AB

!!!SPECIAL GUEST ON SUNDAY AND VERY NICE SURPRISE!!!

Northrop B-2 'SPIRIT' (93-1087) WM Pennsylvania / USAF 509th Bomber Wing / Whiteman AFB

Lockheed Martin F-22A 'RAPTOR' / 1st Fighter Wing / USAF / Langley AFB

USAF Heritage Flight : North American P-51B 'MUSTANG' 413318 CN-5 'Frenesi' (N357FG) & Lockheed Martin F-22A 'RAPTOR' / 1st Fighter Wing / USAF / Langley AFB