FAIRFORD | This year’s Royal International Air Tattoo, known as the world’s largest military airshow, has been cancelled due to the coronavirus, the first July airshow to be hit by the disease.

The airshow had been due to take place from the 17th-19th July at RAF Fairford, with performers such as the Patrouille Suisse, Royal Danish Air Force F-16AM and US Air Force F-16C expected to take part in the flying display.

The airshow organisers said: “This decision has not been taken lightly and a significant amount of work sits behind this course of action.  The crisis, which is worsening by the day, and the implications of which are becoming more profound, has led us to conclude that the most prudent course of action is to cease any further planning to deliver this significant event.

“The Air Tattoo is reliant on the support of a wide range of stakeholders, not least the participation of international air arms, medical professionals, military security teams and our Emergency Services, many of whom are delivering a fundamental contribution to fighting this crisis. We believe delivery of our event would distract them from this.

“At the heart of this difficult decision is our firm belief that staging the Air Tattoo this year would not only run counter to the current Government advice but would also be beyond what we could reasonably ask of our supporters. We recognise that our decision will have a negative financial impact on our valued suppliers and traders, on the local economy that benefits so much from the large influx of people who arrive in the area for one week in July, as well as on our parent charity. For this we apologise.”

Although dozens of airshows have already been cancelled globally due to the coronavirus, the Royal International Air Tattoo 2020 is the only one so far beyond mid-June to be scrapped. However, given its reliance on international air arms, the event is particularly vulnerable to global pandemics.

It is the third UK airshow to be officially cancelled, after the Midlands Air Festival and Duxford Air Festival were pulled from the calendar earlier in the week. Schools are to close to most pupils today, and 1.4 million Britons with underlying health conditions are being advised to self-isolate for 12 weeks, starting over the weekend. Follow the latest news as the outbreak continuis to affect the airshow industry on our coronavirus live blog.

The next Royal International Air Tattoo will be held on the 16th-18th July 2021, and will celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary. Remember if you want to re-live previous Air Tattoos, our 90-minute documentary on RIAT 2018 is available on our website!

MURCIA | Aerobatic displays by Spain’s main aerobatic team have been suspended following three fatal accidents in just six months at the team’s base of San Javier.

According to El País, Spain’s second-largest daily newspaper, the Spanish Air Force have cancelled training and displays by Patrulla Águila while they perform a review of its training methods and the workload of its pilots. Patrulla Águila pilots must fly for the aerobatic team while also working as full-time flight instructors.

It had been speculated that the team could be grounded after its solo pilot, Commander Eduardo Garvalena, was killed in a training accident last month while flying a 40-year-old C-101 Aviojet belonging to the team. His predecessor, Cmdr. Francisco Marín, died flying a C-101 in Murcia last August, shortly after passing over the reigns to Cmdr. Garvalena. As Patrulla Águila solo pilots are trained by their predecessors, there is currently no way to quickly train a replacement pilot.

However, Spain’s ageing fleet of C-101s has not been grounded, and El País say that investigators have not found a technical fault on Cmdr. Garvalena’s aircraft, although the investigation is ongoing. This means that Patrulla Águila will continue to participate in parades and flypasts.

Spain’s fleet of over 60 C-101s are due to be replaced in some roles by the Pilatus PC-21 over the next few years, with the entire fleet expected to be retired before the end of the decade.

The Belgian Air Force’s Agusta A109BA solo display can be seen at the following events this year.

Date	Show	Location	Country
May 16-17	Portes Ouvertes BA116 Luxeuil	Saint-Sauveur	France
Jul 11/td>	Royal Navy International Air Day	Yeovilton	UK
Jul 21-23/td>	Meeting Aérien International	Albert – Picardie	France
Sep 11	Sanicole Sunset Airshow	Hechtel	Belgium
Sep 13	Sanicole International Airshow	Hechtel	Belgium
Sep 19-20	60th Anniversary of the Frecce Tricolori	Rivolto	Italy

The Belgian Air Force’s official aerobatic team, the Red Devils, have published their 2020 airshow season. The team, who fly four Marchetti SF.260s, will perform at nine events, including two international shows.

Date	Show	Location	Country
Jun 14	Danish Airshow	Karup	Denmark
Jun 21	Aerotorshow	Valence Chabeuil	France
Jun 27-28	Aérodrome en Fete	St Hubert – Cerfontaine	Belgium
Jun 27-28		Cerfontaine	Belgium
Jun 28	Le festival Des Ballons et des Ailes	Le Roeulx	Belgium
Jul 1	Open Door	Koksijde	Belgium
Jul 4-5	BOACK	Koksijde	Belgium
Jul 4-5	Navydays (flypast only)	Zeebrugge	Belgium
Sep 13	Sanicole International Airshow	Hechtel	Belgium

GRANADA | The Spanish Air Force’s EC-120 Colibri aerobatic team have released their 2020 airshow schedule, which includes two international shows.

Date	Show	Location	Country
Mar 7	Estaremos en las Jornadas Aeronauticas de Tablada	Seville	Spain
May 13-17	Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung (ILA)	Berlin	Germany
Jun 21	Festival Aéreo de Motril	Motril	Spain
Jun 27	Fiestas Patronales de Burgos	San Pablo	Spain
Jul 23-26	XV Criterium Aeronautico y XXXVII Vuelta Aerea a Galica	Lugo	Spain
Jul 24-26	Festival Aéreo de Gijón	Gijón	Spain
Jul 24-27	Regata Tall Ship Race	La Coruna	Spain
Oct 10-11	Free Flight World Masters	Saint-Maxime	France

The Belgian Air Force’s popular F_16AM Fighting Falcon solo display is due to participate in 16 events spanning eight countries this year. It will be the final year with Captain Stefan Darte, callsign “Vador”, flying his “Dark Falcon” jet.

Date	Show	Location	Country
May 23-24	Duxford Air Festival	Duxford	UK
May 30	Croatian International Military Airshow	Zadar	Croatia
Jun 6	Rygge Airshow	Rygge	Norway
Jun 13-14	Meeting de l’Air	Cognac – Châteaubernard	France
Jun 28	Ursel Avia	Ursel	Belgium
Jun 28	Aérodrome en Fete	St Hubert – Cerfontaine	Belgium
Jul 1	Open Door	Koksijde	Belgium
Jul 4	BOACK	Koksijde	Belgium
Jul 17-19	Royal International Air Tattoo	Fairford	UK
Aug 1-2	Wings Over Baltics	Jurmala	Latvia
Aug 23-24	Meeting Aérien International	Albert – Picardie	France
Aug 29-30	Slovak International Air Fest	Sliač	Slovakia
Sep 6	Meeting Aérien de Cambrai	Cambrai – Niergnies	France
Sep 11	Sanicole Sunset Airshow	Hechtel	Belgium
Sep 13	Sanicole International Airshow	Hechtel	Belgium
Sep 19-20	60th Anniversary of the Frecce Tricolori	Rivolto	Italy

ZADAR | The Croatian Air Force’s aerobatic team, Krila Oluje (Wings of Storm), are planning to debut a new feature of their routine this season, which will start at the end of May.

The acclaimed team, best-known for challenging manoeuvres such as the formation tailslide, plan to perform with smoke for the first time this year, it was revealed by Croatia Week. The first aircraft was test-flown with its new smoke system on Monday 2nd March, with a total of nine aircraft expected to be fitted with smoke generators. Six are typically used in the display.

The modification was installed by American manufacturer Smoking Airplanes, one of the world’s top providers of smoke systems for aircraft, at the Aeronautical and Technical Center in Velika Gorica near Zagreb. A smoke tank has been fitted in the luggage compartment on the left of the fuselage behind the cockpit, feeding smoke oil to the engine exhaust on the front right hand side of the fuselage.

The new system will look visually similar to many other teams flying turboprop training aircraft, such as Switzerland’s PC-7 Team, which saw a near-identical system fitted in 2014.

It is planned that the new system will be debuted at the inaugural Croatian International Military Airshow (CROMAS) in Zadar on the 30th May this year.

SAN JAVIER | The solo pilot of the Patrulla Aguila was killed in an accident near the team’s base in Murcia today, Thursday 27th February.

The Spanish Air Force confirmed that a C-101 Aviojet from the General Air Academy crashed into the sea near La Manga in an area commonly used for training flights. It was being flown by Patrulla Aguila’s solo pilot, Aguila #5 Commander Eduardo Fermín Garvalena, who did not eject.

Patrulla Aguila said they were “broken with pain” over the loss of their team mate, who had over 2,300 hours of flying experience. He flew the Eurofighter Typhoon before joining the General Air Academy in San Javier in 2017, joining Patrulla Aguila as the solo pilot for the 2019 season.

The Air Force said Cmdr. Garvalena was conducting a routine training flight at the time of the crash. However, as all Patrulla Aguila pilots also serve as flight instructors, it is has not been made explicitly clear whether he was flying with the team on his final sortie.

According to Murcia Today, the jet which crashed was one of the oldest in service, having been flying for over 30 years.

Patrulla Aguila have been Spain’s main national aerobatic team since 1985, and currently perform with seven C-101 Aviojets. The solo pilot is responsible for some of the team’s most daring manoeuvres, such as the tailslide and outside loop.

It is the third fatal crash of a General Air Academy plane in Murcia in seven months, with one of the previous accidents taking the life of former Patrulla Aguila soloist Comandante Francisco Marín. The ageing C-101, which first flew in 1977, is used as an advanced and basic jet trainer in the Spanish Air Force, although it is soon to be replaced in the basic jet training role by the Pilatus PC-21.

The Spanish Air Force had previously attempted to procure Korea Aerospace Industries T-50B Golden Eagles as advanced jet trainers, which would be used by Patrulla Aguila, but the deal did not come to fruition.

Although the Alenia M-345 is seen as the front tunner, it is not yet clear which design will replace the C-101 and F-5B in the advanced trainint role, or which type will eventually equip Patrulla Aguila. However, the initial order of 24 PC-21s is likely to be insufficient for Patrulla Aguila’s C-101s to be replaced for at least the next few years.