July 16, 2011 - RIAT (or Royal International Air Tattoo). A name that sounds like a bell in every aviation enthusiast ears. RIAT also marked the final airshow of the first half of the 2011 season for the Belgian Air Force F-16 Solo Display Team. After this the team will take a break until half August to kick off the second leg of their tour. But, RIAT first. An overwhelming display of international aircraft. A crowd to be re-conned with. However, the weather was at it's 'best'. A complete downpour on Saturday. Luckily the weather cleared a little on Sunday, but Mitch was forced to a 'bad weather 'routine anyway. Still, this is something the crowd wouldn't want to miss.

This year marked the 40th anniversary of the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford. One of the highlights of the 2011 demo season and a challenge for Mitch to defend his Lockheed Martin Cannestra Trophy he won in 2010. On July 14th, Pipo, TC, Neskes and Pier were welcomed at Fairford and after the necessary check ins they had to wait for Mitch and Joyce to come in. After some technical routines and flight planning Mitch took off for his rehearsal. This was flown in beautiful weather, slight overcast with a 'good demo' as a result.

RIAT is known for its vast array of aircraft and it held its name high. One big problem though. The weather forecast for the weekend was simply terrible. And it did indeed. on Saturday morning the team woke up with pouring rain, wind and low clouds. This resulted in the cancellation of several demos in the morning and Mitch's display turned into a very wet taxi run. The numerous crowd that was present - against all weather odds - were greeted by Mitch, but nothing more than that. A 'warm' applause was the result and also a soaking wet crew on the flightline. The only thing to be done was erecting the PR boot and start with a good mood with the numerous Belgian people that were present.

Sunday morning wasn't a lot better, but Mitch glitched through a sparse sunshade and flew a tight low show. The crowd loved it with compliments to Mitch and the entire team. Between the sun and the rain the rest of the show featured magnificent demos and a farewell hangar party at the end. Besides the weather conditions RIAT 2011 came to a close and yet again a big thanks to the entire organisation and up to RIAT 2012.

The Team