Royal International Air Tattoo, 1999
RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, 24/25 July
One of the largest air displays anywhere in the world, this year the RIAT boasts a number of unique features.
The flying display is eight hours long, and includes a 35th Anniversary salute to the Red Arrows by the aerobatic teams of the world, led by the Frecce Tricolore of the Italian Air Force. Altogether 450 aircraft will take part in the Tattoo this year, and aside from the flying display they will make up a static park exhibition over two miles long!
The themes for the display this year are:
Spotlight on NATO
Aircraft from the Cold War to the fall of the Berlin Wall from both sides of the Iron Curtain will evoke the tense decades since the end of the Second World War. Modern NATO equipment will bring the story up to date, underlining NATO’s importance to world peace into the 21st century. The NATO theme will form the finale to the display, when over 50 aircraft will line up on the runway as helicopters fly the national flags of the NATO countries, while overhead mixed formations of Allied and former Eastern Bloc aircraft will form a parade of peace.
Pit Stop Challenge
In the centre showground a unique competition is being run this year. Teams from NATO nations will compete to see who can turn around a NATO aircraft the fastest, refuelling and rearming the aircraft in the minimum time. The aircraft can be from any country, so you may see the RAF team called upon to service a MiG-29 for example!
Showcase NATO
A ground display of presentations explaining the work of the various NATO air arms. Your chance to see the equipment and meet the people who man the front line of NATO’s international response teams.
75 years of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force
An hour long pageant, part of the main flying display will celebrate the
important role played by the auxiliary forces of many nations, to
commemorate the 75th anniversary of the RAuxAF. A special enclosure for
current and former members of the service will be available, call
Gates open at 06:30am on Saturday and Sunday, and the flying display starts at 10:00am.
For the first time the gates will be open on Friday 23rd, to allow
enthusiasts to get clear photographs of the aircraft in the static park
before the crowds arrive. Only 7,500 tickets at £19.95 in advance are
available for this day, call
Tattoo Hotline for all the information on the display: 0891 122999
Ticket Hotline: 0891 122997
Adult advanced tickets – £19.95 in advance, £25 on the day. Children under 15 are admitted free.
(Calls to the hotline numbers cost 60p per minute, of which 15p per minute is donated to the RAF Benevolent Fund Enterprises, PO Box 1940, Fairford, Glos, GL7 4NA.)
Advance tickets are available from branches of Waitrose and Stroud & Swindon Building Society.
For group bookings or any other enquiries about RIAT 99, call
- Who is the current leader of the Red Arrows?
WIN tickets to RIAT 99!
DeltaWeb have 15 pairs of adult tickets to give away for The Royal International Air Tattoo, 1999, at Fairford on 24/25 July 1999. Closing Date for entries is 30 June 1999.
To win one of these pairs of tickets, all you have to do is answer the following simple question:
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