“Never Volunteer!” - Or Why I Broke That Rule And Enjoyed Doing It At The Royal International Air Tattoo

By Kev Baxter

“Never volunteer!” intoned the barrack-room lawyers back in the day. The young shavers this sage
advice was aimed at invariably were young, keen and their fresh-faced enthusiasm was an
anathema to the cynical veterans. More often than not though, these cynics had made limited or
no progress through the ranks either through lack of aptitude, ambition or both; however, they had
a point - in the military volunteering could get you killed. In less dramatic circumstances, of course,
volunteering might not get you killed; but, absolutely, it would guarantee more work would come
your way and as days and nights were often pretty cram-packed, this had to be weighed carefully
as a life-choice, whatever the promised reward. On balance though, just being in the military could
get you killed, but without ever taking chances it was evident there would be little to no reward in
the humdrum existence of service. Roll on forty years, give or take, from hearing such nonsense
personally and a mate from way back approached me in 2022 telling me that he had been invited
to join the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) team that year by a mutual friend. My friend
suggested that in my retirement RIAT might be a fulfilling pastime and could even be fun.

After a wee grimace, because I had become that cynical, I considered his proposal. My
involvement with RIAT had evolved over many years. I attended my first Show at RAF Greenham
Common in 1979 on a coach trip with the Air Training Corps; I loved it! In 1983, I was awarded my
first speeding ticket travelling back to Scotland after the Show. Exhausted, having picked up mates
in Newcastle, attended IAT, as it used to be, spending the Saturday night in a tent pitched on a
cocked-hat junction in the middle of nowhere, while the other two half-slept in the car on the verge
and then dashing back to Scotland, via spotting at Heathrow, to make it back for my shift at RAF
Leuchars, I might have been subject to a lapse of concentration due to fatigue; I loved this a little
less. Years passed and by and large the same group of us did what we did and discovered the
Show became more about rekindling the camaraderie than the content; I still loved it, but a little
less. A decade went by, catching the MiG 29s crashing on the first shot I’d taken with a borrowed
telephoto lens; I loved it still, but with mates moving on, an over-familiarity with fast-jets and the
awful traffic at RAF Fairford becoming a limiting constraint on travelling to the Show without taking
precious leave meant that the honeymoon was over for sure. I had begun to wonder how much I
wanted to see grey F-16s doing the same routine six times over. In 1990, leaving RAE Boscombe
Down before the Reds displayed got me back to RAF West Drayton in less than an hour, which
was a momentary thrill once more. Much is made of the air traffic control relationship between
RAF Fairford’s volunteer RIAT controllers and RAF Brize Norton that provides radar services for
the Show. However, for the overseas visitors to the Show, the Area Control services provided by
the military at RAF West Drayton (and now Swanwick) played a vital and largely unacknowledged
rôle. Back at RAF West Drayton, controlling in the late 1990s, getting the widely varying RIAT
aircraft in and out of the Country through and via the busiest airways structure in Europe was a
buzz and I loved the RIAT challenge from Wednesday to Friday and on the following Monday. That
said, I only attended RIAT at the weekend because the Unit got free tickets, which made sitting in
traffic for hours getting into and out of the Show bearable. Incidentally, if anyone wondered why
the Hungarian MiG-21 was never seen at the Show again after its first appearance, it was because
on departure, having negotiated carefully with civvy airways to accommodate the aircraft’s limited
avionics fit and language problem, the pilot got airborne, ignored his clearance completely, pointed
his jet direct to destination and climbed through the entire airways structure of southern England at
400kts, without squawking and speaking to nobody. The Heathrow/Gatwick bomb-burst was a
horrifically gut-churning sight and the smoke, had it occurred, would not been red, white or blue!
Another decade and a half passed and the shine of attending airshows, having been involved
professionally for nearly 30 years had worn off completely. One brief dalliance with Totterdown
Farm ended any wish to ever attend RIAT again, having dragged my wife and young-teenage
daughter along to an incessant, Dutch-led, 48-hour rave, I realised I wasn’t the resilient 20 year old
I had once been and my infatuation had long-died. That was that, or so I thought.

So what happened to change my mind? Having worked for the opposition at Duxford since
retirement from the day job, RIAT had never been on my radar, since Flying Legends had always
clashed. However, after Covid, the combination of full-time retirement and bumping into my friend proved to be the catalyst for change. My friend and I chatted about the opportunities offered at
RIAT, his experience and how it all worked. Moreover, my friend mentioned friends I had know for
decades working on his Team, which was a huge incentive, together with the access afforded and
my new-found involvement with COAP and the inspiration that had given me to expand my
photography skills. Therefore, I thought, “Ah, why not give it a go? What’s the worst that could
happen, shave off my hair and send me to the Air Force - again?”

The P-51D at RIAT, a type Kev was very familiar with following his days at Duxford.

So, how did I get in to the Team? At a model show, I approached the Aircrew Reception Transport
Manager ( a serving Wing Commander, although volunteers have many stripes - no pun intended -
and come from wide and varied backgrounds), responsible for the fleet of vehicles used to meet
and ferry crews about the Show and gave a brief overview of my career and my wish to join the
Team. This chap, now a firm friend and which will happen if you, too, join, encouraged me to
volunteer through the RIAT Portal, which is an online facility available to anyone wishing to
volunteer. This process ensures that the pool of volunteers does not become excessively
nepotistic and a vetting process is undertaken. That said, having completed the form and been
vetted, I cannot comment on how much weight was given to me sharing mutual friends and the fact
that the Transport Manager’s RIAT Boss had served with me in the RAF and we played many a
hand of cards in the Crewroom. Furthermore, several of the Team, it transpired, had been
members of the same gliding club as I had flown with; small world! Whatever the circumstances, I
was invited to join the Team in 2023.

But then what? Things were not that simple, however, and one does not just pitch up and crack
on. Prior to joining the Team, several hours of online training were required with pass/fail tests
undertaken. Failure to complete the tests successfully meant automatic rejection. My skillset
included driving on airfields; therefore, acquiring an airfield driving permit for the Aircrew Reception
task did not prove to be too difficult and it was a major stepping stone to doing this particular job.
Clearly, these circumstances were fortuitous and mitigated a lot of the rabbit in the headlights
reaction to a new and intimidating environment. Nevertheless, given the training offered, no job
should put off anyone from volunteering for RIAT. There are myriad opportunities to volunteer for
any of the teams and the energy amongst the volunteers is so positive that provided someone
brings the right attitude to the job, a warm welcome is guaranteed.

What does Aircrew Reception involve? There is no sugar-coating this, the hours are long, the
accommodation challenging and although the Crews are happy to be at the Show, there are
pressures upon them, which we are there to mitigate. Furthermore, cultural norms can make some
of the crews’ behaviour require a degree of tolerance on the part of the volunteer. Some nation’s
personnel see only a bus driver, in this case, not the person that is the volunteer. Therefore, an
amount of assertive, tactful diplomacy can be required. Food is provided throughout for volunteers
and it is adequate, if simple; think posh school dinners, on paper plates with wooden cutlery.
However, during 13/14 hour days, a break and any sort of hot meal is most welcome.
Accommodation is on the Camp’s domestic site, formerly four-man rooms in a barrack block and
may be again. Sadly, the accommodation block was demolished for upgrading and
accommodation this year was provided in 2-man glamping pods, but with en-suite facilities. The
built-in snoring machine in the other bed, who may, or may not, be a stranger, was an added
bonus. Camping and motorhome hook-ups are available for those who would prefer to go self-
sufficient. Transport is provided onto and off the airfield, where the dining facilities are situated and
the working day begins at 08:00. The airfield closes at 19:00, but it is not uncommon to be chasing
crews around until the last off-base bus departs at 21:00 and beyond for some of the engineers.
Since the bar area for the volunteers on the accommodation site closes at 23:00, squirrelling away
crews reduces the time for socialising considerably, which after all, is most of the fun. Arrivals
days consist of half of the Team, callsign - Hunters, greeting the crews at their aeroplanes to
ensure they have everything they require to prepare the aircraft for the show and let them know
what we can do for them in terms of technical support. Once the Engineers and Movement Teams
have re-fuelled, positioned and unloaded the aircraft as required, the crews are released. Here the
Greens, that was me, in a fleet of minibuses pick up the crews and ferry them to the Aircrew
Reception Centre. The crews are processed into the Show via a dedicated host, who remains with
them off-base and throughout the Show. Operational tempo is high. Customs are cleared, identification and welcome-packs issued, accommodation off-base is allocated and transport
arrangements clarified. The crews are then free to visit the Crew Club bar, which shall remain the
subject for another story. In the same hangar and behind the Reception Centre desks are the
operational aspects of the Show: Flight Planning, Flying Display Directors, Flying Display
Committee, Aircrew Engagement, the Commentators and meteorological services. The latter side
of the Centre come into their own on show days and departures. Show days for the transport crew
comprise of ensuring air/ground crews are set up for the public and getting pilots to their
aeroplanes in a timely manner for their displays. The show days also encourage several ‘Elvises’,
i.e. something everyone needs to come and see, be it the shenanigans of the German CH-53G
crew, who shut down rotors on Wednesday evening, cracked a beer and partied-on continually
until Sunday night to the Greek Phantom pilot in a Spook costume climbing on his jet causing a
security alert and then doling out ouzo to the crowd after things had calmed down. Departure day
begins early and comprises 9 hours of non-stop round trips to aeroplanes. These trips ensure 250
aircraft depart on time, having loaded up, dismantled the parking jigsaw puzzle and got the aircraft
ready to make their slot-times outbound. The whole process is an intricate ballet of man, machine
and good humour - generally. Suffice to say that the Reception Team’s cumulative mileage on the
airfield amounted to driving a bus to Mecca to pick up the Saudis in person; ironic, when
sustainability was pushed as one of the themes of the Show - they wouldn’t have thanked us for it
anyway.

Off duty, socialising is encouraged, but in moderation for our team, naturally. As mentioned the
domestic site has bar, street-food snack facilities and entertainment laid on each evening. The
main volunteer party is on the Sunday evening, for obvious reasons, but the operational side of the
Show is not over until Monday evening. Hence a much-diminished, but equally exuberant
‘Survivors’ Party’ swings into action on Monday night, where those not driving the next day, e.g.
me, could let our hair down and pretend we were in our 20s again.

Is there really an advantage of all this? Well, if you are volunteering for the kudos, you will be
hard-pushed to find it. Moreover, discipline is strict to ensure the Show is neither brought into
disrepute nor does it outstay its welcome with the Americans, who, shall we say, are not wholly on-
board with the RIAT vibe. However, RIAT does the very best it can for the volunteers and is keen
to promote their work and thank them for their efforts, because without the hundreds of volunteers
there would be no Show. Letters of commendation are written by team bosses to employers for
those who have had to negotiate time off for the event. Fuel claims are paid and food and
accommodation are free. The major advantage to an aviation enthusiast, which is practically
anyone who is on the Team, is access. Although time is tight, photography is unlimited on the
South-side and the Aircrew Reception Team pass enables a volunteer to go to anywhere on the
airfield - bar the runway. Moreover, time off duty can be booked during the Show. Thus, if you
wish to meet the guests, who you got their free tickets for, crack on; or, should you wish to
photograph a Harrier hovering for the 400th time, grab a flying programme, wander into the press
enclosure or the FRIAT stand at the right time and fire away! It is fantasy to expect to have the
time to be able to fire off half a dozen memory cards taking the same photographs as everyone
else from the mid-point. Photography is prohibited, under pain of instant dismissal, on the
Northside; meaning getting a selfie with Katsuhiko Tokunaga and Al Fursan isn’t going to happen
or the Patrouille Suisse taxi past your wagon 15 yards away in pinging light must be committed to
memory solely. For the modellers among us, getting amongst the static is invaluable and with a
good eye, the rainbow tents, crowds and even the blue cones and string melt away with a good
choice of angle. Alternatively, some judicious movement of cones after the crowds have gone is
an option or, if you are really struggling, Gen’ AI can really help for those cluttered backgrounds
that cannot be erased by adopting a weird posture.

So, break the rule that says you should never volunteer. Check out the RIAT website and see if
there is anything that you can do to facilitate the largest military airshow on the planet. If you have
rinsed the FRIAT stand for all it is worth over the decades and spent the price of a small car on
entrance fees, think whether there is something more that you can explore to expand your skills
and possibly give back to something that has inspired and entertained all of us for so long. Try it -
you might love it, all over again. See you in the bar, cheers!

Below are some of the images that Kev captured during his time volunteering at RIAT.