Harrier GR7A ZD408/ '37A’ of the Naval Strike Wing crashed at Ashwell in Rutland, after a suspected engine failure.

The 23° Gruppo, 5° Stormo, Aeronautica Militare Italiana (Italian Air Force), based at Cervia AB near Rimini, in north-east Italy, has painted one of its General Dynamic F-16A ADFs (MM7251) to celebrate its 90th anniversary. The scheme was unveiled on June 20, 2008 and depicts a stylised black hound dog (representing 23° Gruppo) outlined in yellow on the fuselage, with '90 anni' (90 years) on the port side of the tail, and an octopus, the emblem of 70a Squadriglia Caccia (one of the Gruppo's four flights) on the starboard side. The Gruppo was formed at S. Luca di Treviso on July 7, 1918, flying Hanriot HD.Is and Nieuport Ni.11s. It has flown the Air Defence Fighter variant of the F-16 since January 1, 2004.

Among the aircraft taking part in the Pitch Black exercise held in the Northern Territory of Australia from June 6-27, 2008 was F-16B ADF '10201' (c/n 62-98/M20-1, ex 82-1032) of 102 Squadron of the Kongtap Agard Thai (Royal Thai Air Force). The squadron is part of 1 Wing, based at RTAFB Korat/Nakhom Ratchasima, and the aircraft carries special markings commemorating 20 years of Thai F-16 operations. The two white stars and the tiger on the tail (and on the nose) are the emblems of 102 Squadron.

This Spanish Air Force EF-18A was one of two in the static park. The colourful markings on the tail were applied to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ala 12 wing, which is based at Torrejon on the outskirts of Madrid.

To mark the 70th anniversary of the delivery of the Supermarine Spitfire to 19(F) Squadron - the first to re-equip with the aircraft on August 4, 1938 - one of the unit's BAe Hawk T1s (XX184) has been painted in the colours originally applied to the famous fighter. A photo-shoot with a Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight was organised, and the images will feature in a 2009 calendar, proceeds of which will go to the special care baby unit at Bangor Hospital, the squadron's designated charity.

At a ceremony at VII Brigada Aerea (Air Brigade) facilities at Moreno Air Base outside Buenos Aires on April 6, 2008, the Fuerza Aerea Argentina (FAA, Argentine Air Force) marked 30 years of operations by its Bell 212s by exhibiting H-88 painted in special markings. The first of nine examples, it was delivered to the FAA in April 1978. These nine have since served in the Antarctic, during the Falklands/Malvinas conflict in 1982 with the Escuadron de Helicopteros Malvinas, and with the United Nations Force in Cyprus at Nicosia from 1998. Three are currently assigned to support the United Nations Mission in Haiti. H-88 was acquired from a Brazilian off-shore oil company in 2006 and is the only FAA example equipped with a nose-mounted Bendix King RDR-81 radar and automatic floatation devices. The fleet has accumulated over 45,650 flying hours in its 30 years.

Lockheed P-3C-II.75 Orion of 28 Sqn Pakistan Naval Air Arm, is pictured taking off for the return to its base at Pakistan Navy Ship (PNS) Mehran, Karachi. Apart from proclaiming that it is the 'World's Youngest Orion’ (just below the cockpit), it also sports special tail markings representing Pakistan's origins 5,000 years ago as the Indus Valley Civilization.

Undisputed star of the show was the F-22A Raptor, which participated in the flying programme on the opening day. It is testament to the interest shown in it that even the 'hardened' aviation press and trades people stopped in their tracks to watch it display.

Lockheed Martin F-22A Block 20 Raptor 04-4077 of the 1st Fighter Wing based at Langley AFB, Virginia, flown by F-22 Demonstration Team pilot Major Paul Moga, formated with the RAF Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, on June 18, 2008 at a practice for the base's AirPower Over Hampton Roads airshow.

A.109BA Hirundo H06 crashed into a field near the village of Vecmont in the Belgian Ardennes on June 27, 2008. At the time of the accident, the helicopter was providing medical support to marchers commemorating the Battle of the Ardennes that took place in World War Two. It is depicted at Bierset Airbase during the Belgian Helidays event on June 6, 2005.

Montenegro Airlines received the first of two Embraer 195s on lease from General Electric Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) on June 5, 2008, 4O-AOA named Dan Nezavisnosti (Independence Day). The second is due in May 2009 under an agreement announced in August 2007. The aircraft has already been used on the Podgorica to Rome-Fiumicino and Nikola Tesla Belgrade routes and it is planned that they will also fly to Gatwick, Moscow and Scandinavia.

Among the 90 aircraft in the flypast were four Typhoons from RAF Coningsby.

ANA received the first 767-300BCF from ST Aerospace and Boeing on June 16, 2008.

A320 on the barge en route from the Airbus factory to the port of Hamburg, prior to its onward shipment to China.

Sudan Airlines A310-324 ST-ATN was destroyed at Khartoum International Airport on June 10, 2008 - it was the first of three major civil aircraft accidents in the country that month.

Due to make its RIAT debut, had conditions permitted, was the Brazilian Air Force Esquadrilha da Fumaga (Smoke Squadron). One of the team's seven Embraer EMB-312 Tucanos (FAB 1307/'2’) was photographed departing from RAF Fairford on July 14, 2008 with two long-range drop tanks on the underwing stations.

Erickson Air-Crane S-64F N163AC under contract to the Italian Protezione Civile crashed into Lake Aviguana while picking up water for an aerial fire-fighting demonstration at Torino-Aeritalia airfield.

Bombardier DHC-8-314 Q300 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) C-FQWY (c/n 660), destined for the Landhelgisgaeslan (Icelandic Coast Guard), emerged from the production facility at Downsview Airport in Toronto, Ontario, on June 23, 2008. Ordered on May 7, 2007, to replace the Coast Guard's sole Fokker F27-200, it will be based at Reykjavik International Airport, carrying out maritime surveillance patrols, interdiction, search and rescue, and medevac missions. Dash 8 specialist Field Aviation has been contracted to install mission systems, long-range fuel tanks and an air-operable rear door to allow the dropping of rescue equipment and para-rescue personnel, plus launch tubes for flares and oil sampling buoys. The sensor suite will include a maritime surface-search radar, side-looking synthetic aperture radar (SLAR) and an electro-optic/infra-red camera pod controlled by an L-3 Systems integrated data handling system.

In early June 2008 the Belgian carrier VLM (Vlaamse Luchtransport Maatschappij) painted one of its Fokker 50s (OO-VLP, c/n 20209) in the Dutch national colours as a sign of its support for that nation's football team in the European Championships. The airline's allegiance to its neighbour's team stems from the fact that Belgium failed to qualify for the contest and nearly half of all its passengers are flown between the Netherlands and London City Airport. The flags of the defeated opponents and the number of goals scored during each match are painted under the cockpit windows, while 'Hup Holland Hup' ('Go Holland Go') is painted on the port rear fuselage and 'Aanvallah' ('Charge' - a popular cry of the Dutch fans) is on the starboard side. Holland's hopes were shattered when they were beaten by Russia on June 21, 2008.

ON JUNE 30, 2008 the Spanish Servicio Aereo de la Guardia Civil (Civil Guard Air Service) received its first CASA CN-235 Military Patrol Aircraft (MAP) (T19B-21/'09-501', c/n 180) at a ceremony at the Base Central del Servicio Aereo de la Guardia Civil (Civil Guard Air Service Headquarters) at Torrejon Air Base, Madrid. Two CN-235s are on order for the Spanish Interior Ministry, and will be flown by the Civil Guard to help counter illegal immigration and undertake anti-narcotics patrols. They are equipped with a search radar, tv/infra-red nose turret and the EADS/CASA FITS system. One will be based in the Canary Islands and the other in southern Spain.

The A400M was rolled out at Seville on June 26, 2008 in a ceremony attended by King Juan Carlos I of Spain and other dignitaries.

BA Cityflyer took delivery of its first two BAe RJ85s in early June 2008 at London City Airport for use on a daily service to Barcelona in Spain. G-LCYB and G-LCYC (c/ns E2383 and E2385) were previously operated by Blue Air of Finland (as OH-SAH and OH-SAI respectively). The latter is depicted arriving at London City on June 23 in full BA Cityflyer colours.

Boeing 757-236 G-BPEK (c/n 25808) has been transferred from the British Airways' mainline fleet as the first aircraft for its OpenSkies offshoot.

Flight tests have begun with the US Army's first C-27J Spartan.

The first of four Airbus A330-200s to be converted as KC-30Bs for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) by Qantas Defence Services under the AIR 5402 tanker programme was the centrepiece of an induction ceremony on June 6, 2008. It took place at the Qantas Australian Conversion Centre at Brisbane Airport, Queensland, where the aircraft arrived in early June from the production line at Toulouse in France. The RAAF's initial KC-30B was modified in Madrid, Spain, by EADS CASA. Qantas will also provide in-service support for the fleet, which will enter service with the 'new' 33 Squadron. The final Boeing 707-338C(KC) tanker in service with 33 Squadron (A20-624, known as 'Richmond Town') was retired on June 30 at RAAF Base Richmond, after flying over Sydney Harbour bridge in the morning and over 33 Squadron's farewell parade in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the aircraft's appearance over Sydney (followed by a RAAF Hawk acting as a photo-platform) caused panic in some quarters after some assumed that the city was under attack by a hijacked airliner.

Anniversaries seemed to be rife this year. The fin markings of RF-4E Phantom 7487 reflect the type's 50 years of service with the Greek Air Force. It is on the strength of 348 Mira (Squadron), based at Larissa.

Making its debut at the Waddington show was the Chilean Air Force display team, Los Halcones, which flies Extra EA300Ls.

CIRRUS DESIGN completed the first flight of The Jet personal aircraft on July 3, 2008. The 45-minute shakedown was made from Duluth International Airport, Minnesota. The Jet is a seven-seat single-engine very light jet equipped with the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) fitted to the company’s earlier piston type.

BAE Systems unveiled the mock-up of the Mantis unmanned autonomous system. It is shown carrying GBU-12 laser-guided bombs and Brimstone anti-armour weapons, and it will have a self-designating capability. In addition, the Mantis has been designed for persistent ISTAR missions, with an endurance of over 24 hours.

Spray flies off the wheels and is thrown up from the runway by the thrust reversers, as Alli Squadron Tornado F3 ZE788/'HV' lands in a rainstorm. Note the roundel and the 'Royal Air Force Celebrating 90 Years' logo on the fin. These markings were applied to aircraft taking part in this year's role demonstrations.

Retirement of the F-4F from JG74 was celebrated on June 12, 2008 at a ceremony held at Neuberg. Phantom 38+37 was specially painted to mark the occasion.

Horizon Air is due to start receiving the first of its latest batch of 15 Bombardier Q400s soon.

Work recently commenced on the first Boeing Business Jet 3 (BBJ3), a corporate and VIP variant of the 737-900ER. The fuselage of the first aircraft has recently completed assembly at Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, and will be transported by rail to the Boeing Renton facility in Washington for completion. Boeing will than provide the 'green' airframe to the customer who will choose the completion centre to provide the desired internal layout. The BBJ3 was launched in October 2006 and will enter service in 2009 with an as yet unidentified customer.

On the Russian Helicopters' stand was a model of the Mil Mi X-1 high-speed helicopter. Powered by two VK-2s, the X-1 is expected to have a level flight speed of up to 270kts by using a retreating blade local stall elimination system and a vectored thrust pusher mounted at the rear of the helicopter. The X-1 will be able to carry up to 25 passengers and a crew of two.

The Fury is a development of the earlier Herti vehicle, itself based on the J&AS Aereo Design J-5/6 series of composite powered gliders.

The Pakistan Air Force’s first Saab 2000 Erieye AEW&C aircraft graced the static display, though it was devoid of markings for its intended customer. While the Erieye has previously been installed on the smaller Saab 340, mating the sensor with the larger Saab 2000 will enable the Pakistan Air Force to undertake more roles.