The first Air Tattoo was staged at North Weald Airfield in Essex in 1971,[2] with just over 100 aircraft taking part.

RIAT allows the military aerospace industry to showcase its products to both the general public and customers in a more relaxed environment outside the commercial selling pressure of the Farnborough trade show.

The Farnborough show also restricts public attendance, in 2022 this was to a single day with free entry for under-21s to promote aerospace careers/recruitment.

As an extension to the Air Tattoo, Bowen and Price started the Flying Scholarship for Disabled People in 1983 in memory of Douglas Bader, who was a war hero and pilot despite losing his legs in an aerobatic crash.

The 2008 airshow was to feature two themes, the 90th Anniversary of the Royal Air Force and Global Engagement and was scheduled to be held on 12–13 July.

The USAF Air Combat Command's F-22 Raptor Demo Team had made the first trans-Atlantic flight for the new stealth aircraft to participate in the show.

Safety concerns for the hundreds of thousands of expected visitors led the organisers to a last-minute cancellation of the public section of RIAT for the first time in the show's history.

The show also featured a Search and Rescue display to recognise the significance of missions undertaken by the aircraft and people that undertake these jobs.

This Air Tattoo looked back over the past four decades as it celebrated the show's 40th anniversary with a series of special aerial displays and ground entertainment.

The pilot of the SoloTürk team, Murat Keleş was honoured with the highest award, the King Hussein Memorial Sword for the Best Overall Flying Demonstration.

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II was to make its anticipated European debut but was grounded in the U. S. due to an engine failure before it could cross the Atlantic.

[18] Highlights of 2014's show included a pair of Polish Air Force Sukhoi Su-22 Fitters along with celebrations for the 50th display season of the Red Arrows.

[19] The show also paid tribute to 35 years of the Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment, with three aircraft performing flypasts over the weekend.

The show was a tribute to the 70th anniversary of the United States Air Force (USAF) and saw the return of the Thunderbirds demonstration team for the first time in 10 years.

Notable static displays included two F-4 Phantoms from the Hellenic Air Force, a second Ukrainian Su-27 and an Ilyushin Il-76.

The show included a special "Dambusters Tribute Flypast" featuring an Avro Lancaster of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight accompanied by a Panavia Tornado and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft, all operated by the No.

Visitors on Saturday were treated to a rare flypast by a USAF Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber that had made the round trip from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, United States.

[23] The theme for the 2019 show was 'Air and Space, inspiring the next generation air force' and Tim Peake was among the guest speakers.

Sunday saw another pair of flypasts, most notably from the Red Arrows and Patrouille de France, who flew together, both in their 'Concorde' formation, to mark 50 years since the aircraft's first flight.

However, it was cancelled for the second year running due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of restrictions on both large crowds and international travel being in place by then.