The dramatic Queen's Jubilee flypast route will see Spitfires and Red Arrows soar across the UK and images of the iconic aircraft passing over Buckingham Palace promise to be a sight to behold.
The celebrations by the RAF will see 70 aircraft take to the skies swooping in from the North Sea and passing over multiple counties which will also take in areas such Kent, Surrey and Berkshire in addition London.
It promises some iconic images as the historic planes pass over the palace.
The famous Red Arrows will take part in the event alongside the Lancaster Bomber, Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane that make up the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
The flypast will happen on Thursday, June 2 and the website Military Airshows has the lowdown on the route.
MyLondon compiled information on what aircraft will feature, the timings and the route.
They are an estimate because weather can play a factor and there is such a huge number of aircraft flying in procession.
The route takes in multiple counties, areas across the South East and most of London too.
Aircraft will amass around The Wash, a bay and multiple estuary on the edge of East Anglia before doing a circuit over the North Sea. This will happen from 11.45am
They will then go back to the north west tip of East Anglia to head south at about 12.15pm over land via Swaffham and Thetford in Norfolk, then over Ipswich, before passing over Colchester in Essex.
The aircraft will then travel towards the capital in a patriotic display which will bring emotional memories to many.
The front of the long column of aircraft will start to appear over central London around 12.40pm, passing overhead between then and 1.15pm.
They are expected to first appear over Buckingham Palace around 1pm after forming up over Stratford and Shoreditch.
They will then break formation and fly over South London with residents able to see them overhead until about 1.30pm.
The route is split into areas A to I, and it's in areas E and F that London sits. Between the two areas, they cover almost the entire capital with area F taking in parts of South London such as Mitcham and Croydon as well as Surrey.
It's only the very north of London, north of Finchley and Wood Green, that won't see any aircraft according to the route. However it's important to note that the map provided by Military Airshows is approximate.
After passing through London the flypast will visit the far west of Surrey and Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Buckinghamshire.
Only a small section of Kent will see the planes on their way through Essex and London.
The most famous names on the roster for the flypast are of course the Red Arrows and the historic planes that make up the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF). The BBMF aircraft include:
- An Avro Lancaster Bomber
- Six Spitfires
- Two Hurricanes
- One C47 Dakota
- Two Chipmunk aircraft (usually used for training)
It's unclear if all the planes listed above will feature in the BBMF involved in the flypast however the Lancaster is the centrepiece and is normally flanked by at least one Spitfire and one Hurricane.
We're unlikely to see the Chipmunks, but given the scale of the flypast we could well see more than the usual couple of fighter planes alongside the bomber.
There are typically nine of the Hawk T1 fast jets that make up the Red Arrows in a display team at one time however for this season the team is using seven in all its displays.
The distinctive red jets are expected to fly over the palace in their famous V formation.
On top of this we can expect to see modern military helicopters from the RAF, Royal Navy and the Army such as the Chinook, some of which were used in the recent evacuation of Afghanistan.
At this stage it is not known what other aircraft will take part but it's likely we'll see some of the British Armed Forces' modern fleet.
The F-35B Lightning, one of the RAF's principle combat fighter jets alongside the better known Typhoon FGR4 fighters could also be seen.
It is a fifth generation of combat aircraft whereas Typhoons are fourth generation.
Both have multi-role capabilities meaning they can be used in direct combat air-to-air or air-to-ground, in electronic warfare and intelligence gathering.
The Hercules and Atlas C.1 are the RAF's transport aircraft providing tactical airlifts. These monster planes could make a striking sight over the palace.
