The Queen of England has turned 90 years old, and the streets of London are packed for the celebration. The Royal Air Force took part in this super-sized birthday bash of sorts with a parade flyover of Buckingham Palace.
Nearly every type of aircraft in RAF service was featured in today’s spectacle, as well as a couple of heritage aircraft. Here is the official lineup:
Although it was not as large as some flyovers from the past—no surprise, as these things continue to shrink as the years go by—it was really cool seeing the RAF’s new RC-135 Rivet Joint/Airseeker as the centerpiece of one of the flyover’s main elements.
Check out the whole aerial display, below, and note that the Red Arrows even made the Queen smile, a rare enough occurrence that when it happens, it makes news. Who can blame her? Seeing the Red Arrows pushing it up with their signature red, white, and blue smoke smearing across the sky is always a sight to behold. When it’s all for you, well, that’s a whole other realm of reality to experience.
Author’s note: Sky News‘s footage is no longer available but the BBC footage (shown below) is. Sadly it does not have the cool air-to-air shots that the other video did, but still it is quality video of the vent.
Contact the author Tyler@thedrive.com