Name: Edinburgh Tattoo: Military cargo plane flies over Edinburgh Castle
Uploaded: 2024-08-14T14:08:05.000Z
Duration: 189 s

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For decades military flypasts have become a special addition to selected shows during the month-long run of the Edinburgh Tattoo - with RAF pilots showcasing precision timing to begin the spectacular event.

Over the course of this year’s Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the show features five flypasts involving several types of aircraft, including Typhoon jet, the iconic Red Arrows, and larger cargo planes including a Boeing C-17. The next scheduled flypasts are scheduled for August 15 and 23 at 9.30pm.

Tuesday night saw an A400M aircraft fly over Edinburgh Castle - arriving right on time at 9.30pm to mark the beginning of the spectacular show. The cargo aircraft made its way across the esplanade to thunderous applause before flying over the castle as the Royal Marine band began to play.

On Tuesday August 13, an A400M cargo aircraft flew over Edinburgh Castle as part of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo | NW

Jason Barrett, the Tattoo’s chief executive, spoke to the Evening News on the roof of Edinburgh Castle ahead of last night’s show. He said: “I think the people really enjoy the flyovers at the Tattoo, and dare I say it, I think everyone in the area enjoys them.

“When you look at the social media posts that come the next day, many posts come from people who were at the show, but even larger numbers come from people that were in the area and some of their photos are extraordinary.”

Jason said each year Tattoo organisers begin planning the show over a year in advance, partnering with the RAF very early in the process where they visit various squadrons and resource various flight paths. And aircraft pilots use a system that Jason said is ‘very similar to a GPS’ to ensure they arrive right on time.

He said: “It’s a time-on target, so we give pilots the time and this is set in their aircrafts, and then it’s a bit like any GPS - a time-space calculus that says you have to be over a specific target at a certain time.

“But should we need to change that time, we have an aircraft controller on the ground here that communicates with the pilot to relay that the time has changed. So they’re very, very precise and it’s not that different to what they do on real operations - they have to be overhead at a specific time and that’s what they do every single time when they do it for us.”

On Tuesday, August 13, audiences got to see one of the RAF’s ‘workhorses’ - an A400M cargo plane that ‘combines the capability to carry strategic loads with the ability to deliver even into tactical locations with small and unprepared airstrips and can act as a frontline-tanker’.

Last week saw the world-famous Red Arrows fly over the Tattoo crowds, displaying their trademark red, white and blue smoke in diamond nine formation just days after a Typhoon jet made an appearance at the event, flying over at blistering speed.

Recalling the Red Arrows display on August 10, Jason said: “I’ve seen them many times, but each time it is a draw dropping moment. When you see the smoke come on and they fly over, it’s spinetingling, it’s amazing.

“It’s a herculean effort to put on these shows but it has gone incredibly smoothly and that’s credit to all the hard work of the team that puts this together.”

Watch as Military cargo aircraft flies over Edinburgh Castle as part of spectacular Tattoo show

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