30th March

• 30th Mar 2023

Firstly this week, we are extremely excited to announce the participation of the Spanish Navy at RIAT 2023 with their McDonnell Douglas EAV-8B Harrier II aircraft! The iconic 'Jump Jet' will performing a solo flying display, with another example on static display and we're looking forward to welcoming these very special jets back to RAF Fairford.

Another rare appearance in the RIAT 2023 flying display will come from the Royal Danish Air Force, with their F-16 solo display. This is the first time we'll have seen the Danish Fighting Falcon perform in the RIAT flying display since 2011 and they plan to use their spectacularly painted 'Dannebrog' jet for the flying display. In addition, they'll also be bring a twin-seat F-16BM for static display.

This week we've also added a small number of civilian aircraft to the static displays, including what will probably be the smallest aircraft at RIAT 2023, a Slingsby Nipper!

This week various staff from RAFCTE have been attending the MAA/CAA Display Flying Symposium, hosted at Shrivenham. The aim of the event is for individuals involved with the air display industry to receive briefings on new regulations, increase safety awareness across the community on various flight safety issues including human factors, and to share best practice between display pilots, event organisers and flying display directors. In addition, our team met with many of the UK military display pilots who'll be performing at RIAT in July.