Aerial thrills aplenty at this year’s Fairford tattoo

By Katie Bond, @SwindonAdver007

A vulcan taking off at last year’s show

TIME is running out to get your tickets to this year’s Royal International Air Tattoo which takes place this weekend.

Tickets are now only available to purchase online for the three day event which kicks off on Friday at RAF Fairford, but tickets for Saturday are now completely sold out.

The sun is set to be shining on Friday when HRH The Prince of Wales will attend the special Red Arrows’ Pit Day, although showers are expected late afternoon.

The Prince of Wales will meet the pilots and aircrew beside their aircraft following the display and after the team has performed a special flypast with aircraft flown by the team leaders from the Patrouille de France, Patrouille Suisse, Frecce Tricolori and Breitling Jet Team to mark their 50th display season.

The Prince of Wales will also visit the airshow’s Techno Zone, an interactive area sponsored by Lockheed Martin, which brings engineering and technology to life with entertaining, hands on entertainment. Here he will meet youngsters and members of the Air Cadets.

The new F-35 Lightning II will also make its first appearance outside of America at this year’s event.

Tim Prince, chief executive of RIAT, said: “At Fairford we look to be more than just any other air show and bring in planes from across the globe which is why we are internationally renowned.

“Everyone is very pleased we will have the new F-35 not only on display but also in the air, as it is something no other show will have.”

On Sunday, there will be a special appearance from Disney who will be promoting their summer movie Planes 2: Fire Rescue. They will be keeping kids entertained with their re-vamped fire truck, with some fun activities planned for all the family.

This year is also the first time the event has had a free mobile app to enable visitors to keep up-to-date with maps, information on participating aircraft, descriptions and general information.

One day tickets for Friday are still available for £34 for over 16s, and £44 for Sunday.

Two day tickets for the Friday and Sunday cost £68.

All sales are now online only through airtattoo.com and the ticket line is no longer taking orders by telephone.

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