Heavies hoping to be seen & heard at RIAT!

Last year at the RAF Fairford, there was a notable absence - that of the B1 bomber in the skies, sure enough one was on the deck in the static display, but it just wasn't the same as having a thunderous Lancer ripping the skies apart, and causing those stomachs to reverberate with it's special take off.

There was also the lack of a flying C-17 last year thanks to operational requirements, which of course takes priority over any air show plans, and rightly so, but still disappointing for the airshow fans. This year though there is already one booked in for the flying display, and with a bit of luck this year it will remain in the programme.

The B52 is also a regular at RIAT, with its screeching engines that bleed the ears nicely on take off, and that impressive nose down lift off too a common sight at Fairford, and hopefully this year we'll get to see it all again.

The Avro Vulcan is of course on its road to recovery once again after the public - largely thanks to a anonymous donation of £458,000 - brought her back from the brink of a trip to a museum, and I for one cannot wait to see the fantastic take off, and famous howl once again from those Olympus engines.

All that's needed now to complete the set would be a tasty C5 Galaxy - now that, along with the other heavies listed, would be a most fantastic air display to head to, and one that I'm sure would live very very long in the memory!

There is bound to be plenty of noise around Gloucestershire once again this year as the return of the F-18 Super Hornet has been confirmed, in what is always a powerful and ear bashing display, and the Us Navy will I'm sure be keen to put on a good show!

Another master blaster is the Typhoon which will almost certainly be showering the skies with bags of noise, and it may well team up with a Spitfire as part of the Heritage Flight at this year's air show which of course commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, and I'm sure officials are preparing a wonderful fly past similar to the 100 years of the Navy fly past last time, although lets hope none are so high and far away as the Sea Venom was!

There will also be the return to the skies of the RAF Role Demo, which will include after a four year absence, a return to the display for the Harrier GR9, and also not one, but 2 Tornado GR4's, so ear plugs at the ready!

As far as team displays are concerned, the Patrouille de France return in their Alpha Jets and are sure to decorate the skies in red, white and blue, as I'm sure will the world famous Red Arrows, who will have hoped to recover from their set back in Europe this year.

Moving across Europe a little, and the Dutch will be represented by the F16 Fighting Falcon once again, which will be sure to have people desperate to see if flares can be used, but unfortunately it looks as though that won't happen again this year.

One team that always makes its way over to the UK is the Royal Jordanian Falcons, who are now cemented in to the show's history, and always a delight to watch.

RIAT have also been celebrating participation from what will be the 52nd nation to support the Air Tattoo, that being the Sri Lankans, who are sending over an Antonov An-32B for this year's show, and will I'm sure be a highlight in the static park.

So, plenty of good things to look forward to, and once the B1, B52, and Vulcan are all confirmed as Flying, I'll certainly be counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds to the display this year, which is shaping up to be one of the best for many a year.

Now, what about the B2 anyone???

F22 Raptor leading the Poll

The F22 Raptor is leading the way in the Poll for Air tattoo fans preferred choice of Aircraft to attend next year's Airshow at RAF Fairford.

The Raptor has a total of 60 votes, just four ahead of it's nearest rival the Mig 29 Fulcrum, and it's going to be a close battle one expects throughout 2010 too.

Hopes are high for both aircraft to attend the show, with Farnborough taking place next year too, which normally increases the level of quality of participants, keen to show off their products to the rest of the world.

The F22 was of course here for the 2008 show that sadly got cancelled thanks to shocking weather that the area received in the week leading up to the show, but a select few managed to get a glimpse of the Raptor during it's practice the night before the Saturday show was due to take place.

The Mig 29 , which has received 56 votes, hasn't been over for a few years, but there is always a clamour for it, so hopefully the organisers of next year's Tattoo will be able to persuade the powers that be to bring it over to the largest military air show in the world.

Just behind the Mig, is the B2 Spirit, a surprise, considering it's not the greatest of displays, but obviously the look of the aircraft is the appeal, with the "flying wing" look to it, ensuring that it is a favourite amongst the crowd. It seems a long while ago that the B2 made it's first appearance at a UK airshow, with 2 USAF fighters either side during it's flypast, having flown all the way across from the USA.

The B2 Spirit has 36 votes, whilst another B2, this time, the Vulcan B2, has 29 votes, and has become (once again) a firm favourite amongst airshow fans, the sad fact though is that money is running around thick and fast on the project, partially down to the mail strikes, which have prevented many receiving newsletters requesting financial help in keeping XH558 in the air.

It would be hard to take the Vulcan being grounded after such a great year in 2009, with hundreds of thousands of people having witnessed great displays complete with "the howl", but the Vulcan to the Sky team need £400,000 before Christmas to remain on course of bringing that howl & display to the public next year too - you can donate here.

The B1 bomber is just two votes behind the Vulcan in the Air Tattoo Poll, and was sorely missed in 2009's RIAT, even though there was a presence of 1 bomber - on static - at the show, but the great thunderous sound of the B1 was not there, something I personally was disappointed by, considering it had become a regular fixture on the Air Tattoo calendar - hopefully it will take it's place in the flying display next year.

Finally, just one vote behind the B1 is the A10 Thunderbolt, which has not been included in the flying display for some time, but would certainly be a most welcome addition given it's unusual shape. There are many A10 fans in the UK, but they are seldom seen in the skies, so come on US Air Force, let's see them up there next July!

The Poll will of course continue, and feel free to vote on the aircraft that you'd most like to see at Air Tattoo 2010!