The 1 April 2008 marks the 90th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Air Force and the RAF will be celebrating this important birthday with events throughout the year. And, for the first time, the Royal Air Force Red Arrows will fly in formation with 4 Typhoon aircraft along the River Thames to the London Eye– on our birthday, the 1st of April – giving Londoners the chance to see the flypast, whether they work or live in the East, the City or the West End of London.

The flypast is timed so that the formation will fly over the London Eye at 1 o’clock sharp. The RAF want to invite Londoners to come and see the spectacle of the Red Arrows and Typhoon aircraft in this unique formation – to celebrate our birthday and say thank you to all our airmen and women who have served on operations, both in the past and today. The flypast will start just south of London City Airport, before passing The O2, flying right past Canary Wharf, then past Wapping, over Tower Bridge, just south of Tate Modern, before overflying the London Eye at 1 PM. Once the formation has flown over the London Eye it will continue over the Ministry of Defence, Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.

As well as the 1 April formation flypast, the Royal Air Force will celebrate its proud heritage throughout 2008 and a number of key events will be held including a dinner at the Royal Air Force Museum and the presentation of both the Royal Air Force and Royal Air Force Regiment Colours in July at the Royal International Air Tattoo. The Battle of Britain weekend in September will provide us with an ideal opportunity to celebrate the contribution that the personnel of the Royal Air Force have made to the defence and security of the Nation across the 90 years of its existence and show that the ethos remains as strong today as it was in 1918.

The first event, which will launch the 90th anniversary year, takes place on 18th March at the RAF Museum in Hendon where Chinook helicopter ‘Bravo November’ (veteran of the Falklands and Afghanistan) will land in time for the flypast of 4 Tornado aircraft. Watching will be Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Glenn Torpy, accompanied by RAF servicemen and women representing the past, present and future – veterans, current serving personnel and air cadets. Henry Allingham, the oldest surviving veteran of World War One and a founding member of the Royal Air Force, will be there to join in the celebrations.

Source: RAF