Flypast

Flypast is a term widely used in the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and other countries to denote ceremonial or honorific flights by groups of aircraft and, rarely, by a single aircraft. (In the United States, the term flyover is sometimes used, although this carries additional meanings. Flyby mostly refers to military situations.)

Flypasts are often tied in with Royal or state events, anniversaries, celebrations - and occasionally funerary or memorial occasions. Sometimes flypasts occur in special situations, to honour someone or to celebrate certain types of aircraft. They have affinities with parades, of which they form the aerial component. Often they occur in purely display contexts at airshows, but it is the flypasts linked with civic, ceremonial and national pride, that imprint themselves on a nation's memory. These spectacular and daring displays of military - and occasionally passenger - aircraft, are described in broadcast and print media as "historic".

Flypasts are regularly featured in public and ceremonial life in the United Kingdom, where they function as a particular kind of aerial salute. They serve to show respect, display aircraft, showcase flying skills and delight the public, e.g., during their annual appearance after Trooping the Colour. In Commonwealth countries, notably Singapore, Canada and Australia, they occur on national days and occasionally on anniversaries. They are seen more rarely in other territories.

Flypast performers

Flypasts are usually performed by the national Air Force of a particular country.

In the UK, Royal Air Force (RAF) flypasts often originate from certain well known airfields, e.g. RAF Duxford or RAF Odiham. Very often, a flypast will be concluded by the RAF's aerobatic team, the Red Arrows, flying with their trademark red, white and blue trails. On appropriate occasions there is an appearance of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, generally comprising the distinctive Lancaster flanked by two smaller World War II aircraft, a Spitfire and a Hurricane.

Flypast locations

Flypast locations are usually iconic. In the UK, these include Buckingham Palace, where the Royal Family on the balcony will join the thousands of spectators in streets and parks below. Other London settings have included the River Thames. 50th and 60th anniversaries of World War II were celebrated by flypasts over Normandy in France. Festivities of Trafalgar 200 were centred over Portsmouth and at sea.

United Kingdom Flypasts

Early Flypasts

The connection of Trooping the Colour with Royal Air Force flypasts began in 1913 when the Royal Flying Corps Military Wing performed a flypast for King George V on Laffan's Plain, near Aldershot.^[1]

World War II and associated flypasts

On 15 September, 1945, after the war ended, about 300 aircraft flew over London in the first Battle of Britain anniversary flypast. "The formation was led by 247 Squadron in their new Vampire fighters, the first time the public had seen the aircraft."^[2] This flypast was apparently led by Douglas Bader (RAF hero commemorated and portrayed by Kenneth More in the film Reach For the Sky.)

An attender recalls a victory parade in London on 8 June 1946 featuring two flypasts, one during the day and one at night. Scores of aircraft, of many different kinds, took part.

Coronation Day, 1953

The ceremonial flypast over Buckingham Palace on Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation Day, Saturday 2 June 1953 was nearly cancelled due to bad weather. However, "after a short delay Duxford's Wing Commander Wallace successfully led 144 RAF Meteors and 24 Royal Canadian Air Force Sabres at 12,000 feet up The Mall in line astern as the newly crowned Queen took the salute from the balcony of Buckingham Palace." ^[3] This 168-aircraft parade was under the charge of the Earl of Bandon. (On 15 May 1954, the Duxford Wing escorted the Queen on her return in the Royal Yacht, called HMY Britannia, from a six-month world tour, illustrating how much a part of ceremonial flypasts were in Elizabeth's early reign.^[4] )

On 15 July 1953 the Queen conducted a Coronation Review of the Royal Air Force at RAF Odiham. This spectacular featured a flypast by about 640 aircraft - among them 440 jet aircraft - again under the command of Air Vice-Marshal the Earl of Bandon.^[5]

50th and 60th Anniversaries of World War II

On 15 September 1990, 168 aircraft in 7 formations celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain, the biggest flypast since the end of World War II. Further flypasts occurred on 6 June 1994, celebrating the 50th anniversary of D-Day.

Over the weekend of 19-20 August 1995, the 50th anniversary of VJ Day was marked, including "a two-minute silence which...was ended by a Lancaster bomber overflying The Mall and dropping about a million poppies over the site." In the evening, there was a further flypast on the Thames. ^[6]

6 June, 2004 marked the 60th Anniversary of D-day, with the Normandy landings commemorated by veterans (many now aged 80+ years) and political leaders at locations throughout Normandy. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight scattered millions of poppies over the veterans as they crossed the English Channel by ferry^[7]. Later, it flew over the veterans at Arromanches, concluding a memorial service with a 47-aircraft flypast of modern military jets led by the RAF Red Arrows.^[8] At Pegasus Bridge, the Army Air Corps conducted a flypast of Lynx helicopters.

On 10 July 2005, the 60th anniversary of VE Day was marked by a flypast of vintage aircraft which again dropped one million poppies on crowds in The Mall.^[9]

Trafalgar 200

Royal Flypasts in the United Kingdom since 2000

The years since 2000 have been particularly rich in flypasts reflecting milestones of Royal life.

To greet the Queen Mother as their Commandant-in-Chief during her 100th Birthday Official Celebrations on 19 July 2000, the Red Arrows gave a 10-Hawk flypast over Horse Guards Parade - one plane for each decade of her life.^[10]

On Tuesday, 9 April 2002, the Queen Mother's burial at Windsor was marked by a flypast of a World War II Lancaster flanked by two Spitfires.^[11]

The finale of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Weekend on 4 June, 2002 saw a lavish flypast "14 miles long at a speed of 310mph, passing overhead at a height of 1500ft."^[12] The formation, concluded by Concorde with a Red Arrows escort, was watched by the Royal Family on Buckingham Palace balcony and a million well-wishers in the Mall.

Among the celebrations of the Queen's 80th birthday during 2006 was a spectacular flypast following Trooping the Colour. Headed by the Lancaster with 2 Hurricanes and 2 Spitfires (Battle of Britain Memorial Flight), the 49 aircraft in 9 formations included Typhoons, Jaguars, Tristar, VC10, C-17A Globemaster III and E-3 Sentry. The highlight was a "Diamond 9" formation of Tornado GR4s and the appearance of a Canberra escorted by the Red Arrows.

Miscellaneous commemorations

In the UK, flypasts reflect milestones of national life; varying in scope from personal, to community and local, to military, to national, they may honour individuals in private or public life or commemorate happenings at a particular location. They are also used to honour aircraft. On occasions both small and large they may occur over land or sea, sometimes connected with memorial or thanksgiving services.

Dambusters Anniversaries

Annual Flypasts

International Flypasts

National or Republic Day Celebrations

In many countries flypasts, normally performed by the precision aerobatic team of a country's air force, are an integral part of Republic Day or National Day celebrations.

Air Force anniversary celebrations

On 1 April, 2008, the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the Royal Air Force was celebrated with a flypast by the Red Arrows over Central London. This gave rise to some impressive views photographed by spectators in Docklands, the City of London, and in Westminster.

Flypasts associated with World War II

Anniversaries of World War II, such as VJ Day, have also been celebrated with flypasts in other countries, notably Australia and Canada. (The photograph at right shows such a flypast occurring in 2005.)

The Royal Canadian Air Force at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa honoured Canada's participation and commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Britain on September 17, 2006. Modern aircraft performed a flypast along with four World War II planes provided by Vintage Wings of Canada who made a "once-in-a-lifetime formation".^[19]

Marking the 50th anniversary of US Spaceflight

On Monday, 7 May 2007, hundreds of workers at Kennedy Space Center watched as US Air Force Thunderbirds performed a series of passes over the main industrial area, where the Space Shuttle is maintained and prepared for launches. The purpose of this flypast was to photograph the planes at KSC for promotional purposes. Almost six months later, in November 2007, the Kennedy Space Center hosted the inaugural World Space Expo. The opening featured an aerial salute to NASA with the Thunderbirds as the main attraction.^[20]

This airshow was a highlight of a weekend which celebrated the 50th anniversary of US spaceflight, which thousands of spectators turned out to see. Other flypasts and aerial demonstrations took place.

Panic and disaster

Some Canberra residents panicked during a flypast in 2003 over Parliament House by two F-111 jets, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Australian High Court. It manifested itself as "two thunderously loud balls of flame screaming overhead at a height of about 300 metres and heading toward the city's landmarks." Apparently press releases had been issued, but the police had not been informed. ^[21]

In Goa during a ceremonial flypast to mark the silver jubilee of the Naval Air Squadron 315 in 2002, the wingtips of two Ilyushin aircraft brushed in mid-air, with the loss of a dozen lives. The tragedy raised questions as to the necessity of flypasts which, "although spectacular and entertaining, can be risky". ^[22]

Entertainment and Sports

Flypasts have also been used to show national pride at landmark entertainment and sporting events.

London 2012 Visa Olympics Handover Party

United States Sporting Flypasts

In the United States, flypasts are common at professional sports and racing events as part of the performance of the Star Spangled Banner.

Annually, a flypast occurs during the beginning of the Men's Final of the US Open Tennis Championships. This is usually performed by the Blue Angels, the official U.S. Navy aerobatics demonstration squadron.

Lord of the Rings premiere in New Zealand

New Zealand showed its pride at being the location for The Lord of the Rings, at the premiere in Wellington of the third film in the trilogy, The Return of the King. Air New Zealand's Boeing 747-400 flew in Lord of the Rings livery in a historic flight over Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Gisborne and Napier, "enabling more than two million people, one in two New Zealanders, to share in the excitement of The Lord of the Rings". This was the first time that a 747-400 had undertaken such a flypast in New Zealand.^[23]

Italy's Football World Cup

Italy: Pavarotti's Funeral

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