Top 3 Places to Watch Military Aircraft Fly-Bys in the UK

Station 01 · Low flying area 7

The Mach Loop

Near Corris & Dolgellau, southern Snowdonia · Cad West / Cad East

If you want military aircraft at eyebrow height, this is the place. The Mach Loop (officially part of Low Flying Area 7) is a set of linked valleys used by the RAF, USAF units based in Britain, and visiting NATO squadrons for tactical low-level training. Eurofighter Typhoons, F-15s, F-35s, Hawks, Hercules and the occasional helicopter still come through Corris Corner and the Bwlch when the weather and the tasking allow — sometimes below the ridge you are standing on.

There is no ticket, no timetable and no guarantee. The reward is the one thing airshows cannot sell: operational jets working the contours for real.

Best odds

Late spring through early autumn on weekdays, mid-morning to mid-afternoon, in clear weather. Check enthusiast forums and live spotting feeds on the morning you go; empty hills do happen.

Field craft

Park legally, stay off private land, keep dogs on leads, and never shine lasers or flash at cockpits. This is a military training area, not a paid display line.

What you seeTyphoon, F-15, F-35, Hawk, C-130

CostFree (bring boots & waterproofs)

VantageBwlch & Corris Corner hillsides

Map pin52.7058, −3.8772

RAF Tornado GR4 banking low through the Mach Loop valleys — Plate 1 · Tornado GR4, Corris Corner Julian Herzog · CC BY 4.0

RAF Eurofighter Typhoon ZK327 low through a Mach Loop valley — Plate 2 · Typhoon ZK327, LFA 7 Wally Civitico · CC BY 2.0

RAF Texan T1 ZM330 low through the Mach Loop — Plate 3 · Texan T1 ZM330, LFA 7 Wally Civitico · CC BY 2.0

Get there

The pin marks a popular public hillside lookout on the western loop near the Bwlch. Approach via the A487 / A470; allow time for narrow lanes and wet weather.

Approx. 52.7058, −3.8772 · Snowdonia, Wales

Google Maps directions →

Film · Real sorties

F-15C “Grim Reapers” — hillside pass, LFA 7 (Elwyn R)

Typhoon cockpit — Mach Loop & Lakes low level (Antony Loveless)

Station 02 · Ceremonial flypast

The Mall & Buckingham Palace

Central London · King’s Birthday Flypast (Trooping the Colour)

Once a year the RAF puts a formation package down the length of The Mall and over the Palace balcony — helicopters, heavy metal, Typhoons, and the Red Arrows painting the Union Flag in smoke. It is ceremonial rather than tactical, but every aircraft is military, the route is published, and the viewing is free if you claim a spot early.

Stand near the Victoria Memorial or along The Mall facing the Palace gates: you get the balcony appearance and the flypast in the same upward glance. Green Park and St James’s Park take overflow when The Mall fills.

Timing

Typically a Saturday in mid-June. The flypast is usually around 13:00 BST. Crowds build from early morning for the parade — for aircraft only, later arrival can still work if you accept a denser sightline.

Weather call

Low cloud or operational constraints can thin or cancel the package at short notice. Follow RAF / MoD notices on the day.

What you seeChinooks, heavies, Typhoon, Red Arrows, F-35

CostFree public viewing

VantageVictoria Memorial / The Mall

Map pin51.5018, −0.1406

RAF Red Arrows in diamond formation with red white and blue smoke — Plate 4 · Red Arrows formation smoke Carfax2 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Red Arrows flying in formation over Buckingham Palace — Plate 5 · Over the Palace, 2012 Sgt Ralph Merry RAF / MoD · OGL v1.0

Crowds in front of Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial during a flypast day — Plate 6 · Palace & The Mall on flypast day SAC Matthew Gerrard RAF / MoD · OGL v1.0

Get there

Pin is the Victoria Memorial at the Palace end of The Mall. Tube: Green Park, St James’s Park or Victoria. Expect security closures on parade morning.

Victoria Memorial, SW1A · London

Google Maps directions →

Film · Birthday Formation

Full RAF package — King’s Official Birthday Flypast 2026

Balcony view — Red Arrows closing the flypast

Station 03 · Free coastal display

Eastbourne Airbourne

Eastbourne seafront, East Sussex · typically mid-August

Airbourne is still one of the last big free coastal military displays in England: two miles of shingle as the crowd line, the pier as a landmark, and a programme that routinely brings the Red Arrows plus front-line and historic military types. You are watching a scheduled public display rather than a training route — but the aircraft overhead are the military ones people travel for.

Western Lawns and the central seafront give the classic sightline. Arrive early on Red Arrows days; evenings sometimes close with fireworks after the last sortie.

Check before you go

Weather, council funding and operational availability can reshape or cancel the flying list. Confirm on the official Eastbourne / Airbourne pages close to the date.

Also on the gazetteer

Airbourne sits in our UK Airshows catalog with sister coastal weekends at Bournemouth and Southport when those calendars run.

What you seeRed Arrows + military display acts

CostFree seafront viewing

VantageWestern Lawns / pier frontage

Map pin50.7658, 0.2865