As years go 2020 is doing it’s best to be the one we will never forget for the wrong reasons. As I type this I should have been travelling back from Somerset and the RNAS Yeovilton Airshow, but that was cancelled along with everything else it seems.
Instead of travelling down to the West of England I spent the time looking at and re-editing my pictures of last years Royal International Air Tattoo. My last time as a FRIAT member. This year I had planned on attending inside base on one day and outside at Totterdown for a different perspective. Alas that plan remains just a plan for next year.
RIAT is big, though not as big as it used to be, and occasionally comes up with some gems. The two apperances from 2019 that most enthusiasts were avidly expecting were the return of the Harrier, in Spanish markings, an the Romainian MiG-21.
Friday was wet, proper old school wet, meaning that very little flew. Though for those lucky enough to be down the eastern end of the field the Harriers treated us to a spectacular display of VTOL meets a wet runway. My picture, highly cropped, just about shows up what we’ve missed in this wonderful jet.
The following two days were generally overcast with a smattering of blue every now and again. Saturday was spent down the east on the crowd line with good friend Stephen. Sunday back in the FRIAT enclosure and the grandstand. Saturday saw the special flypast of the retro British Airways – “BOAC” 747 and the Red Arrows. On Sunday it was the A400 and the Royal Jordanian Falcons – sorry to say that this was totally underwhelming. As usual the Ukrainian Su-27 display was as energetic as ever, possibly one of the best large jet displays you could see.
As usual I took far too many photos and it’s taken about a year to go through and edit them properly. One day I will learn that less is more – Ha ha ha! Below are the images from the three airshow days
Departures day on the Monday was always something I really looked forward to, but last year I just wasn’t feeling the love for it. Ok it’s the day you generally get to see the static planes depart, but it felt like a chore last year. I feel bad for saying that but I have to be honest and say that my love for the show wasnt there in 2019, maybe it will be rekindled in 2021. I hope it will because we only realise what we had until we haven’t got it.
