This year, 4Aviation visited the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford with two busses operating independent from each other. While the participants of the first tour only went to the air show on Saturday 17 July 2010, the participants of the other tour went to England for both Sunday (18 July) and Monday (19 July, departure day).
The participants of the Saturday tour were, after a smooth first leg, treated to very nice weather during the air show, before boarding the bus again at 19:00 o’clock for the return leg. The other group had to do with meagre weather on the Sunday. Clouds and windy conditions made the day a bit less comfortable than hoped for. This was, after a very relaxed stay in Swindon, compensated big time on the Monday. The departure day offered beautiful weather conditions for the major part of the day.
The events itself was probably suffering from the world wide financial problems as well, considering the low number of participating aircraft (for RIAT standards that is). The highlight for many this year was the presence of the United States Air Force F-22A Raptor. The type was also present two years ago, but as a result of the cancellation of the entire RIAT event, eventually there was no opportunity for the aircraft to fly its demo. That opportunity was there this year and it was an impressive sight.
Apart from the USAF Raports, a New Zealand Boeing 757 is a participant you do not encounter very often. Furthermore, RIAT is, for many enthusiasts, that do not have the option to travel to the USA, the only venue to see a flying B-52 for example, or a USNavy E-6.
