Of the four (Royal) International Air Tattoos the author attended in 1993, 1999, 2000 and finally 2001, the 1999 edition was certainly the most impressive in retrospect, even though no MiG-21 took part. At least the pictures convey the impression of an abundance of types that have either disappeared from the arsenals in the meantime – such as the F-8 Crusader and the F-117A – or that the author saw there for the first time and never again afterwards – such as the B-2 Spirit.
Also remembered are a wonderfully sunny (and quite hot) summer day and a spine-tingling finale when, on the occasion of NATO's 50th anniversary, dozens of aircraft from the member countries first lined up on the runway with engines running, numerous helicopters hovered above them, and these were then overflown by very different (and only a few years earlier still opposing) pairings of combat aircraft.
Only the falling darkness ended this eventful day, from which it is difficult to select just a few pictures ...
On the way back through France ...
