The RIAT (or Royal International Air Tattoo) is the largest air show held by the Military in the world and occurs annually. This air show takes place in July (usually over the course of the 3rd weekend in that month) and is normally held in Gloucestershire, England at RAF Fairford.
This air show attracts a huge following and the spectator numbers usually fall within 150-160,000 people each year over this weekend period. If you are not able to make it to the RIAT, then don’t worry as you can buy DVD’s that show all of the action from each show.
The footage here is from the Royal International Air Tattoo 2015 and shows a MiG-29 going through take-off and then through aerial maneuvers, with incredible skills due to the pilot’s abilities. This MiG comes from the Polish Air Force.
The single-seat MiG-29 can reach a maximum speed of Mach 2.25. At low altitude, it can max out at Mach 1.25, which is pretty impressive. When going through takeoff this aircraft can utilize the 2 Klimov RD-33 afterburning turbofans to give better boost; this is left to the pilot’s discretion and need.
The first MiG-29 that Poland received was built in the Soviet Union and sent to Poland in 1989-1990. This aircraft was designed to best counter the F-15 and F-16 crafts. Poland is the largest MiG-29 user and has no plans to discontinue their use – at the moment their plans for this type of aircraft run well into the 2020’s.
As long as the MiG-29 remains in day to day use, we should be lucky enough to continue seeing them in action in European air shows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrHlJmJibOs