RIAT 2008 Washout
This weekend Rhiannon and I packed our camping equipment, food supplies and camera gear into the car and headed west to attend the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford. Last year was my first time at this event on the recommendation of a friend and although the weather wasn’t great I really enjoyed the experience. We choose to stay at a nearby campsite, from which you can also view the display. The beauty of the location is that you are below the turning area of the display aircraft and you can therefore get some great photographs as they fly their displays.
We set off at 5am on Friday morning to get to the campsite for about 8am. The roads were clear and the 150 mile drive went very smoothly. We were pleased to be driving into warm and sunny skies as we neared our destination.
Just as we queued to enter the campsite the exciting sound of an F16 completing it display practice could be heard. Once parked up at our pitch we met up with a couple of friends and all looked forward to the events of the weekend, including the long awaited chance to the see the F22 Raptor in action.
The morning was slower than usual as the showground was being visited by royalty for the 90th anniversary of the RAF celebrations. At 2:30pm a large 90 aircraft flypast was due to show off RAF aircraft old and new. We were pleased to discover that the flypast route was very close to our campsite and we had a good chance to photograph the various formations as they flew overhead. Bad light levels and bland skies meant that the images weren’t fantastic but it was still an impressive event to witness.
The afternoon then saw some display practices, interspersed with heavy showers which really gave the new tent a good test of its abilities. Fortunately with a better forecast for the weekend we could save getting wet and watch the practices from the dry confines of our car.
In the evening we enjoyed a nice get-together and BBQ with some other friends and were treated to a late flypast practice of the Eurofighter Typhoon and Spitfire right over our heads. Not long after however we heard the extremely disappointing news that the Saturday of the show had been cancelled due to a waterlogged showground and car parks. It seems that the previous levels of rain added to the rain during the day were too much for the fields to cope with and parking would have been too tricky. Rumours of the news spread quickly and our spirits were lifted a little by the news that a display would happen for the attending VIPs so we would still get a show.
After an early night we awoke early to more promising skies and optimistically get ready for some displays. Cameras at the ready we met our friends and waited to see if anything would be flown. Early on we were hopeful when the sound of jet engines starting got us to our feet with cameras ready. However a pair of F16s took off but didn’t display, instead heading into the distance. By noon it was becoming clear that there would be no or little flying to enjoy. Instead we had to wait until 4pm to hear whether Sunday would go ahead. We killed some time with a relaxing walk into Fairford village and decided to grab some fish and chips for lunch. I can highly recommend them!
We then waited to hear the final news for Sunday. Thanks for mainly hot sunshine during the day things were looking good. The campsite had dried out very well and we hoped so would the showground. However at about 4:30 the news was that the Sunday was also going to be cancelled. It was a real shame as we had really assumed things would get underway and had geared ourselves up for a better result.
We decided soon after that there was little point in staying the extra night as it meant another night sleeping in a tent and the loss of Sunday morning while we drove back. We took down the tent, packed up the car and said our goodbyes, not really looking forward to the long drive home with barely 200 photographs taken for the entire weekend.
Here’s hoping for better luck next year and perhaps some summer weather for a change.