Red Arrows birthday plans for Royal International Air Tattoo
The Royal International Air Tattoo will mark 50 years of the Red Arrows with a major birthday celebration for the team next year.
To mark the special anniversary, the air show next July will be extended from two to three days. Aviation enthusiasts are being offered 10,000 tickets for the Friday to gain special access to the aerobatic display team and their aircraft. The Red Arrows began life in 1964 at RAF Fairford, where the tattoo is held. Since then the team has performed more than 4,500 displays in 54 different countries. Friday visitors will be able to watch aircraft arrive and rehearse from within the base, as well as seeing the Red Arrows in action. Other landmarks being celebrated at the 2014 event include the 40th anniversary of the Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon and the BAE Systems Hawk, the aircraft currently flown by the Red Arrows. The Air Tattoo on the Gloucestershire Wiltshire border is the world's largest military air show.