RIAT 2012 (Part 1)

This year's RIAT was always going to be a bit of a gamble with regards to the weather. After the wettest Spring/ early Summer on record in many places, the car parks were slippery to say the least, but once in (wellies needed!) it was a great show with a lot more interesting items in the flying display than the last few years. I also used a new Canon EF 70-300mm IS USM lens which I bought a few weeks earlier and I'm pleased with it's performance compared with my ancient 75-300mm lens! I started off with a walk round the extensive static line-up. With one of the longest runways in Europe, it took nearly 2 hours to walk the length of the static! First off, a line of C-130 Hercules transporters from various countries, reminding me of shows in the 1990s:

The Columbians win the prize for best paint scheme, and they brought along a matching light aircraft inside too:

The USAF brought along a huge C-5 Galaxy; something not very common anymore at UK airshows. Just before I got to it, they opened up its huge cargo doors, allowing the public to walk through:

The highlight of the static this year was the very rare appearance of a US B-2 'Spirit'. Based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, USA, it is one of only 19 in service today, and this is only the third time one has visited RIAT. I hadn't seen one since the 1999 flypasts.

The sign says the use of 'deadly force' has been authorised!

Next up, the flying display. With flying from before 10 a.m. right through until after 5 p.m., it was certainly a full schedule. First up is the Yak-130 trainer from Russia

The weather was a bit hit-and-miss for sunshine, but luckily the Sun shone for the Vulcan. Most people agreed this was one of the best displays since it returned to flight in 2007; plenty of noise and wing-overs!

By far the best display team this year were the South Korean 'Black Eagles', who were in the UK for their first ever visit. They gave us tight formations and constant action for over 20 minutes with their powerful, but very agile, T-50B Golden Eagle jet trainers.

Next up was the Dutch F-16 display, which was mostly cloudy, so the only half-decent shot I managed was from soon after take-off:

The US Marines brought along three V-22 Ospreys for this year's show. For those who don't know, they have a tilt-rotor design which allows the fast forward speed of a normal aircraft with the vertical take-off/landing of a helicopter and look quite unique. Again, cloud prevented any decent flying shots:

We were lucky enough to see the Diamond Jubilee flypast (EIIR formation) by 27 RAF Hawks, as seen flying during the Queen's celebrations earlier in the year. They were scrubbed for the day before due to low cloud: