The King’s birthday flypast featured a dramatic aerial display from the Red Arrows, which for the first time were powered using renewable fuels.
At 1pm on Saturday (14 June), as part of King Charles’ birthday celebrations, over 30 Royal Air Force (RAF) planes flew over Buckingham Palace in a ceremonial flypast.
As every year, the grand finale featured a dramatic aerial display by the pilots of the RAF aerobatic team flying the Red Arrows.
But unlike previous years, the nine Red Arrows’ BAE Systems Hawk fast-jets were powered by a high-ratio blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biofuel used to produce the trademark red, white and blue vapour trails.
According to the RAF, using these renewable fuels is a “world-first” and the result of many trials by its engineers and logisticians.
Squadron leader Andy King, the Red Arrows’ senior engineering officer, who led the pioneering fuels project, said: “The vibrant vapour trails that we generate is what sets...