Her Majesty’s official 90th Birthday celebrations will end with an impressive display of 15 different types of aircraft, five of which are being provided by squadrons celebrating their own 100th birthday.
Starting at 1pm, eight ‘elements’ consisting of between two and nine aircraft each, will pass over 30 seconds apart from one another and include helicopters, fast jets, World War II aircraft, the Voyager, a C-17 transporter and the Red Arrows.
The formation will be led by helicopters from four squadrons, all of which are marking their centenary, and include a Chinook, a Griffin, the AW109SP and a Puma 2.
They will be followed by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Spitfire and Hurricane.
The next three waves will consist of logistical, transport and training aircraft. The first will include the C-130 Hercules, in use by the RAF for 50 years now, and the squadron operating it (47 Sqn) is another of those marking its centenary. The first Hercules is accompanied by two King Airs, which are used as pilot trainers.
These will be followed by another Hercules and a four-propeller-engine Atlas, which is a recent replacement for an older Hercules variant and provides a strategic lift and troop transport capability.
The fifth element includes the immense C-17, demonstrating the RAF’s ability to transport troops, aircraft or equipment anywhere across the globe, accompanied by its smaller cousin, the BAe 146. C-17s provided substantial support in Afghanistan, while also having played a major role in international humanitarian aid missions to Nepal and Vanuatu after last year’s natural disasters.
The sixth element contains the RAF’s ‘eye and ears’ with the Sentinel and Airseeker which provide intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capabilities. They will be escorted by two Tornados, which have provided the backbone of the coalition air campaign against Daesh over the past year.
The seventh element will contain the Voyager, the RAF’s air-to-air refuelling and main passenger transport aircraft. The Voyager is carrying a group of Air Cadets from around the country as part of the celebration of 75 years of RAF Air Cadets organisation. The Voyager will be escorted by two Typhoons, which have had a busy year over UK skies in its Quick Reaction Alert role, as well as assisting UK allies as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing Mission.
Closing the flypast are the nine-strong Red Arrows, flying in their iconic ‘Big Battle’ formation in their distinctive red, British-built Hawk jets.
Photographs:
Queens’s Birthday Flypast Rehearsal
© MOD Crown Copyright 2016
