Hundreds of people braved the elements as RIAT 2023 opened on a very soggy Friday.

With the flying programme limited by the appalling weather, umbrellas proved to be an essential piece of kit for the aircraft fans who came to RAF Fairford.

The organisers of what is generally considered to be the world’s largest military airshow did their best as the heavens opened over the airbase in Gloucestershire.

The vintage aircraft of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight were the first to cancel, deciding to scrub their show for the Friday and Saturday, when strong winds are forecast.

Some modern high performance aircraft took to the air – the Lockheed Martin F35B from 617 Squadron made a flypast, as did the massive Airbus Atlas, the successor to the recently retired Hercules in RAF service.

This contrasted with the previous afternoon, when broken cloud and sunshine allowed some of the display pilots to practice their routines.

The first display item to brave it in the skies were The Saudi Hawks, a seven ship display team who probably found the weather rather different to their home skies over the King Faisal Air Base.

But the flying displays were limited as the organisers battled against the incessant rain. Fingers are being crossed for the rest of the weekend, when one highlight is likely to be a reconstructed Messerschmitt 262, the world’s first jet fighter.