New Turkish ambassador to London congratulates SoloTürk for stunning air display at RIAT 2014

Ambassador Bilgiç (back row, third right) with the Turkish Air Force SoloTürk Display Team, RIAT 2014

NEWS/UK

Abdurrahman Bilgiç, the new Turkish ambassador to London, was among the audience that witnessed the breathtaking acrobatics of the SoloTürk Display Team at the Royal International Air Tattoo Show at RAF Fairford on 12 July. The event is the world's largest military air show, held annually over the third weekend in July, attracting over 150,000 spectators during the weekend. The SoloTürk display comprised a solo performance by a pilot from the Turkish Air Force flying a Lockheed Martin F16.

After the display, ambassador Bilgiç, accompanied by Air Force Education Commander, Lieutenant General Mehmet Çetin and London Air Force Attaché, Colonel Ömer Özkan, visited the Turkish Air Force stand to congratulate the team on their fine performance. The Turkish pilots also enjoyed a great deal of attention and praise from the British public.

In the evening, their moon-and-crescent-branded F16 plane was one of four aircraft to be on display at the RAF Fairford hangar as part of the Red Arrow’s 60^th anniversary celebrations. Alongside were the F-35 JSF, Red Arrows Hawk and the unmanned Global Hawk, which are all new additions to the Turkish Air Force inventory.

The Turkish ambassador, who took over the post from Ünal Çeviköz at the start of July, said being part of such a popular and important occasion not only underlined ‘the close relations between Turkey and the UK, but also the capabilities of the Turkish Air Force’.

The Turkish Air Force appearance at RIAT 2014 in Gloucestershire followed a similarly spectacular performance from them at an air show at RAF Waddington the previous weekend. Previously, SoloTürk was awarded the Best Overall Air Demonstration at RIAT 2011.

See this year’s SoloTürkperformance via this link: SoloTürk at RIAT 2014

Related articles: Turkey’s London ambassador Ünal Çeviköz withdrawn as part of global diplomatic reshuffle 10 January 2014