Flypast (Paperback)

Flypast is a term used in the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and other countries to denote ceremonial or honorific flights by groups of aircraft and, rarely, by a single aircraft. In the United States, the term flyover is used, although this carries additional meanings while flyby mostly refers to military situations. Flypasts are often tied in with Royal or state events, anniversaries, celebrations - and occasionally funerary or memorial occasions. Sometimes flypasts occur in special situations, to honour someone or to celebrate certain types of aircraft. They have affinities with parades, of which they form the aerial component. Often they occur in purely display contexts at airshows, but it is the flypasts linked with civic, ceremonial and national pride, that imprint themselves on a nation's memory. These spectacular and daring displays of military - and occasionally passenger - aircraft, are described in broadcast and print media as "historic." Flypasts are regularly featured in public and ceremonial life in the United Kingdom, where they function as a particular kind of aerial salute.