Flypast

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A flypast is a ceremonial or honorific flight by an aircraft or group of aircraft. The term flypast is used in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. In the United States, the terms flyover and flyby are used.

Flypasts are often tied in with Royal or state events, anniversaries, celebrations, and occasionally funerary or memorial occasions. Sometimes flypasts occur in special situations, to honour someone or to celebrate certain types of aircraft. They have affinities with

Flypasts are regularly featured in public and ceremonial life in the United Kingdom, where they function as a particular kind of aerial salute. They serve to show respect, display aircraft, showcase flying skills and as a form of entertainment to delight the public, for example, during their annual appearance after Trooping the Colour. Flypasts reflect milestones of national life, varying in scope from personal, to community and local, to military, and to national. They may honour individuals in private or public life or commemorate happenings at a particular location. They are also used to honour aircraft. On occasions both small and large they may occur over land or sea, sometimes connected with memorial or thanksgiving services.

In Commonwealth countries—notably Singapore, Canada and Australia—they occur on national days and occasionally on anniversaries. They are seen more rarely in other territories.

Locations

Flypast locations are usually of national importance. In the UK, these include

Settings have included the

Flypasts are a regular occurrence in the United Kingdom at national events or commemorations. In 1954 the Queen conducted a Coronation Review of the Royal Air Force at RAF Odiham which included a flypast by about 640 aircraft - among them 440 jet aircraft.^[2]

On many occasions, the flypasts are performed by the Red Arrows aerobatic team of the Royal Air Force, but on more important events like Royal occasions, for example the Queen's 80th birthday during 2006, was a flypast following the Trooping the Colour. Headed by the Lancaster with 2 Hurricanes and 2 Spitfires (Battle of Britain Memorial Flight), the 49 aircraft in 9 formations included Typhoons, Jaguars, Tristar, VC10, C-17A Globemaster III and E-3 Sentry. The highlight was a "Diamond 9" formation of Tornado GR4s and the appearance of a Canberra escorted by the Red Arrows.

Historic aircraft of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, including Supermarine Spitfires and the Avro Lancaster perform flypasts throughout the year particularly on military anniversaries and occasions and as a mark of respect at funerals and memorial services.

On 31 March 2021 the Red Arrows performed a flypast as part of a series of commemorative events taking place in Australia to mark the centenary celebrations of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).^[3]

National or Republic Day celebrations

In many countries, flypasts, normally performed by the precision aerobatic team of a country's

On Canada Day 1 July, the Snowbirds of the Royal Canadian Air Force perform a flyby over Parliament Hill in Ottawa. In 2017, this flypast was extended to 39 aircraft to mark Canada's 150th birthday.

The

In Singapore the National Day Parade on 9 August 2005 celebrated 40 years of independence with an elaborate flypast^[4] including two

In Finland, during Independence Day parade on 6 December the Finnish Air Force has traditionally performed a flyover of four fighters at the moment when the honour company of the Air force passes the podium where a representative of the war veterans, a representative of the city and the commander of the military province in question receive the parade troops marching past, the Helicopter battalion of Utti Jaeger Regiment has also performed flyovers timed to happen at the same time when the honour company of the Finnish Army provided by the Utti Jaeger Regiment passes the podium.

In India, Republic Day celebrations on 26 January includes a flypast in Delhi.

In the Philippines, flypasts (also called flybys) by Philippine Air Force are held to celebrate Independence Day on 12 June and Rizal Day on 30 December.

Air Force anniversaries

During October 2006, the

On 1 April 2008, a flypast by the Red Arrows over Central London marked the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the Royal Air Force. The milestone was also celebrated that June following Trooping the Colour 2008 with a flypast of 55 aircraft, and in July with a Royal Review and flypast of 90 aircraft at the Royal International Air Tattoo.^[6]

Ten years later, the RAF's centenary was celebrated over The Mall, London and Buckingham Palace on 10 July 2018 with a large-scale flypast featuring the Red Arrows, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and aircraft from several RAF squadrons. This flypast featured 103 aircraft of 24 different types, spread out over twenty different formations. The entire flypast took nine minutes to pass over London, and featured aircraft based from 17 different airfields all over the United Kingdom.^[7][8][9]

World War II

• 
  (1945) Formation of American planes over USS Missouri and Tokyo Bay celebrating the signing of the surrender
• 
  (2005) Five aircraft flying over Canberra for VJ day. Top to bottom:

  F-18 Hornet
• 
  (2010)

  Su-25s during the Victory Day Parade commemorating the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany

  .
• 
  (2019) The colours of the

  Liberation of Belarus

  .

Achievements in World War II were celebrated at the time and continue to be commemorated in flypasts. The Royal Air Force used the upper dams of Ladybower Reservoir to practise for the Dambusters raids and this is occasionally commemorated in flypasts by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

The largest flypast in history occurred on the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender which formally ended the war between Japan and the allied powers in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. 400 B-29 bombers and 3000 carrier aircraft participated.^[10]

On 15 September 1945, after the war ended, about 300 aircraft flew over London in the first Battle of Britain anniversary flypast. "The formation was led by 247 Squadron in their new Vampire fighters, the first time the public had seen the aircraft."^[11] This flypast was apparently led by Douglas Bader (RAF hero commemorated and portrayed by Kenneth More in the film Reach For the Sky.)

An attender recalls a victory parade in London on 8 June 1946 featuring two flypasts, one during the day and one at night. Scores of aircraft, of many kinds, took part.

The 50th and 60th anniversaries of World War II were commemorated with large flypasts. On 15 September 1990, 168 aircraft in seven formations celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Further flypasts occurred on 6 June 1994, celebrating the 50th anniversary of D-Day.

Over the weekend of 19–20 August 1995, the 50th anniversary of

On 5 June 2019, a flypast of 24 British Armed Forces aircraft was held over Gosport to mark the 75th Anniversary of D-Day. The flypast was part of a larger series of commemorative events to mark the anniversary, which were by Donald Trump and other world leaders.^[16]

On 10 July 2005, the 60th anniversary of

The 60th anniversary in 2003 of the Dambusters raid was marked by a flypast of the last operational Lancaster over the cliffs at Reculver, site of secret tests of inventor Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb. (This flight was part of a larger series of flypasts over key locations by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.^[18])

On 16 May 2008, Les Munro, the last surviving Squadron Leader, and

On 24 September 2020, a similar flypast is set to take place over the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to mark the 75th Anniversary of the end of the war. This flypast is expected to include nearly 100 vintage aircraft spread across 24 formations. Aircraft expected to take part include the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Bell P-39 Airacobra, Vought F4U Corsair, North American B-25 Mitchell, Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Douglas C-47 Skytrain, Avro Lancaster, Supermarine Spitfire, and Hawker Hurricane.^[23] In London, a flypast consisting of the Red Arrows and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight was to be held on 8 May, but was subsequently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[24]

Spaceflight

On 7 May 2007, hundreds of workers at

• Canada: The
  NHL, flying above the Winnipeg Jets Street Party fan viewing area outside of Canada Life Centre following the performance of O Canada.^[26][27]
• Italy: Among the celebrations in of the
  Pratica di Mare
  , streaming the red, green, and white of the Italian flag.
• United States: Flyovers are common at professional sports and racing events as part of the performance of The Star-Spangled Banner.^[28] The flyover had been a strong NASCAR tradition, as every major race features one, usually performed by an Air Force or Air National Guard wing based in the area, and in some cases naval and marine air units. Army helicopters have also occasionally performed them. It is also a staple of the national anthem at the NFL Super Bowl, MLB World Series games and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. A flyover occurs at the beginning of the Men's Final of the US Open Tennis Championships. This is usually performed by the Blue Angels, the official U.S. Navy aerobatics demonstration squadron. A flyby takes places prior to the start of the Indianapolis 500 mile race, the largest single-day sporting event in the world. Held annually on Memorial Day weekend, U.S. military aircraft perform a flyby while "Taps" is played in remembrance of Memorial Day. In some years, multiple aircraft participate, executing the missing man formation. In most racing events in NASCAR, flyovers are held, especially at the Daytona 500.

Entertainment

New Zealand showed its pride at being the location for The Lord of the Rings, at the premiere in Wellington of the third film in the trilogy, The Return of the King. An Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 flew in Lord of the Rings livery in a historic flight over Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Gisborne and Napier, "enabling more than two million people, one in two New Zealanders, to share in the excitement of The Lord of the Rings". This was the first time that a 747-400 had undertaken such a flypast in New Zealand.^[29]

Memorials

The funeral of Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti was sealed by a flypast from Frecce Tricolori over Modena Cathedral, his native town, on 8 September 2007. Tens of thousands of people who had filed past his coffin as it lay in state, witnessed the show of respect and mourning.^[30][31]

The memorial service for former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam on 5 November 2014 concluded with a flypast by four RAAF F/A-18 Hornets in missing man formation.

The 2022

• 31 May 1957: A
  US Navy Banshees are grounded until improved fittings can be installed.^[33]
• 7 June 1957: A
  Hensley Field, Dallas, Texas.^[34][35]
• 1 October 2002: Two
  Panjim, Goa, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of 315 Squadron of the Indian Naval Air Arm. The collision and subsequent crashes kill all six crew members in each aircraft and three bystanders on the ground.^[36]
• 11 October 2003: Hundreds of
  F-111 jets, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the High Court of Australia. Witnesses see "two thunderously loud balls of flame screaming overhead at a height of about 300 metres [980 ft] and heading toward the city's landmarks", and some mistake the fighters for incoming missiles, believing that a terrorist attack is in progress. Press releases had been issued but police had not been informed.^[37]
• 21 January 2021: An
  F/A-18 Super Hornet of the US Navy Blue Angels aerobatic team veers off course while practicing a high-speed "sneak pass" at Naval Air Facility El Centro in California in preparation for a planned air show there, passing within 30 m (100 ft) of a building. The intense shockwave from the fighter jet traveling at an estimated 1,100 km/h (700 mph) causes US$180,000 in damage to the building and injures a dozen naval personnel inside.^[38]

• Missing man formation
• Soviet air show

References

External links

Look up flypast, flyby, or flyover in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flypasts.

• Photographs of King George Review of 6 July 1935
• Official programme of Victory Parade in London 8 June 1946, including flypast
• Report on Queen's presentation in July 2003 of Royal Navy colour
• Pictures of the flypast and other events at the 125th anniversary of the sinking of the Eliza Adams lifeboat
• Helicopter and Red Arrow displays at Trafalgar 200, 28 June 2005
• The Lord Mayor's Show, which begins with a flypast
• Photographs of flypast for Trooping the Colour 2004
• BBC photograph (Image no. 10) of Italy World Cup 2006 celebratory flypast