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Kelcie Clarke, our media volunteer for the seaon, reports from another memorable weekend at The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT).


The phenomenon of the ‘Vulcan Effect’ is totally gripping the nation this season with yet another show resulting in a complete sell out. RIAT 2015 was a show which many will remember fondly in years to come. The aptly named ‘Spirit of Great Britain’ is dominating the country’s aviation scene. Social media has been full of the images of a series of incredible performances this weekend and of the Farewell to Flight formation flypast with the Royal Air Force Red Arrows.

The massive crowds were left waiting until 14:45 for the much anticipated Vulcan display; thousands filled the crowd line to get the best perspective as XH558 roared along the runway and thrust into what many have said to be, the most spectacular take-off they had seen. No sooner had XH558 left the ground, she powered into her display, causing a stir among the congregation below. There was an air and atmosphere of incredulity and suspense as to which moves the huge aircraft would perform next. As the Red Arrows taxied onto the runway to move into position for take-off, XH558 roared above the runway into a zoom climb which resulted in a beautiful howl and a wing over, moving out of the display circuit to allow the Reds to take off.

The much awaited flypast with the Vulcan and the Red Arrows took place to the background of great anticipation and excitement and this was a very fitting farewell and send off to XH558 from the Royal Air Force. After breaking formation XH558 gracefully landed, streaming her brake chute to the delight of the applauding crowd.

I caught up with Kev Rumens shortly after landing on Saturday, to ask the questions about his breath taking display, which had everyone captivated in the moment.

'The take off was a display take off, I wasn’t permitted to turn below 50ft, so I hung on until 100ft before pulling a hard right’. As for the wing over we were all in awe by this point in the display.

Kev continued ~ ‘I always aim to use 135 degrees of bank in the wing over. It is a little harder to judge after a zoom climb, because of the nose of the aircraft. It’s a lot higher and therefore the horizon is harder to see. On Saturday, I aimed for 135 degrees as normal but in reality I think I ended up around 150 degrees’.

Photographs and videos of the display have had millions of views, and being there and seeing it in real time was an amazing and truly memorable experience. The agility of such a large aircraft was perfectly implemented with a huge credit to the very experienced and talented Kev Rumens, Bill Ramsey and Phil Davies.

Bill Ramsey was in the hot seat for the formation flight with the Red Arrows, fully utilising his highly tuned and excellent skills and professionalism to both ensure that the formation was a huge success and making a massive impact on the spellbound audience. Kev went on to comment that the blessing of the good weather had made the flight a bumpy one, with the thermals created on such a sunny day.

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