Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 September, 5.30pm (provisional)
The Red Arrows
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We are delighted that the Red Arrows have agreed to display for us at Chatsworth on both the Saturday and the Sunday in 2012.� Provisional times are 5.30pm on both days.
Their website can be found here. On it Red 1, Squadron Leader Jim Turner, has written that the team "will be flying as a seven aircraft formation throughout 2012. The 2012 display will conform to a traditional format of synchronised formation aerobatics during the first half of the display followed by a more dynamic second half; the ‘Synchro Pair’ will be retained and perform the traditional opposition manoeuvres for which they are renowned."
The Red Arrows are renowned throughout the world as ambassadors for both the Royal Air Force and the United Kingdom. Since the Team was officially formed in 1965 the Red Arrows have completed over 4,300 displays in 53 countries.
Their reputation is built on commitment and professionalism, combined with Royal Air Force skills, training and equipment. Many of the Red Arrows’ pilots and support staff have recently returned from Afghanistan and Iraq and many will be temporarily detached on operations overseas during their time with the Red Arrows.
Team History
The 1950s and 1960s were the heyday of�Royal Air Force�jet aerobatic display teams. By the mid-60s almost every Flying Training School, and several operational squadrons, had their own teams. So much time, effort and money was being expended on these non-established tasks that the Royal Air Force eventually decided to disband them all and form a single, full-time professional team. Thus, in 1964, the Red Pelicans flying six Jet Provost T Mk 4s became the first team to represent the Royal Air Force as a whole. In that same year a team of five yellow Folland Gnat jet trainers, known as the Yellowjacks, was formed at No 4 Flying Training School at Royal Air Force Valley in north Wales, led by Flight Lieutenant Lee Jones. The following year Jones was posted to the Central Flying School (CFS) to form the Red Arrows. The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team (RAFAT), the formal name of the Red Arrows, began life at RAF Fairford in Glouces�tershire, then a satellite of CFS. Initially there were seven display pilots and ten Gnat jet trainers. The name ‘Red Arrows’ was chosen to combine the appeal and expertise of two earlier teams, the famous Black Arrows and the Red Pelicans.
In their first season, 1965, the Red Arrows flew 65 displays in Britain, France, Italy, Holland, Belgium and Germany, and the Team was awarded the Britannia Trophy by the Royal Aero Club in recognition of its outstanding contribution to British prestige in the field of aviation. When the Royal Air Force decided to retain the Team for 1966, two spare pilots were established but the Team continued to fly just seven aircraft in most displays. The first display with 9 pilots was in July 1966 for the benefit of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The practice of carrying spare pilots proved unsatisfactory because the display was so specialised that each position had its own demands. To be of any use at all, the spare pilots had to be capable of filling any position at very short notice. Thus, they required more training than any other member of the team and, as a result, became more skilled. Not surprisingly the spares became dissatisfied with their roles as reserves.
Diamond 9
The Red Arrows flew nine aircraft in displays from time to time from mid-1966 onwards, but it was not until 1968 that the Team was officially increased in size to nine. Although there was nothing new in flying nine aircraft in a diamond-shaped formation, the Red Arrows’ perfectly symmetrical Diamond Nine quickly came to represent the peak of precision flying and it was eventually registered as an official trade mark. The Red Arrows took delivery of the British Aerospace Hawk trainer in the autumn of 1979 and during that winter the pilots converted from the Gnat and worked up a display using the new aeroplane in time for the 1980 display season. Since being introduced into service with the Red Arrows, the Hawk has taken the Team on tours of eastern and western Europe, the USA and Canada, the Middle and Far East, Africa, the former Soviet Union and Australia. The 4000th display flown in the Hawk was at Royal Air Force Leuchars' Battle of�Britain Airshow�in September 2006.
Since the Team’s creation in 1965, the Red Arrows have flown over 4,300 displays in 53 countries. Today the Red Arrows are renowned throughout the world, acting as ambassadors for Great Britain when displaying overseas. They also support UK industry by demonstrating the capabilities of British equipment and expertise.
The Hawk Aircraft
The dual control BAE Systems Hawk T1 is the RAF’s advanced trainer, and has been used by the Red Arrows since 1979, replacing the Folland Gnat. The Hawk’s Rolls Royce Adour engine produces 5,200lbs of thrust and can power the aircraft to a top speed of Mach 1.2. The aircraft has a maximum altitude of 48,000 ft and fuel capacity gives a range of 1,000 nm, making most of the world accessible apart from New Zealand. The aircraft are essentially the same as those flown by Advanced Flying Training students at RAF Valley, with the exception of smoke generation modifications and a slightly uprated engine giving a faster response time. The smoke generation system pumps diesel mixed with appropriately coloured dye into the jet exhaust to produce the colourful vapour trails that enhance both visual effect and flight safety. This allows 5 minutes of white smoke, 1 minute of red and 1 of blue.
The Reds' Year
Each display pilot flies with the Red Arrows for three years, ensuring that expertise is passed on from year to year. On completion of their three-year tour of duty, pilots return to their primary Royal Air Force role with front line or instructional squadrons. Therefore each year, three new pilots join the Team and, with the exception of Red 1, all other pilots change the position they fly within the formation.
Winter Training
Training begins at Royal Air Force Scampton as soon as the last display of the season is completed. To mark the transition, all members of the squadron revert to wearing green flying suits and overalls. The process begins with small formations of three or four aircraft as the new pilots learn flying references and formation shapes, and each pilot flies three times a day, five days a week. Each sortie is briefed thoroughly before it is flown and is recorded on video from the ground. After the pilots have landed, the sortie is debriefed in minute detail using the video footage. Slowly and safely, the display sequence is developed by the Team. The Red Arrows will not generally fly together as a formation of nine aircraft until February, five months after training first begins.
Essential Maintenance
Winter training is hard work for the whole squadron. The Red Arrows’ fleet of 13 Hawk aircraft is given an extensive overhaul by the engineers during this period. Each aircraft takes between 4 and 16 weeks to complete. The aircraft are dismantled, inspected and tested to make sure that any hidden faults are repaired. This work must run to a tight schedule so that winter pilot training is not disrupted and the aircraft are prepared in time for the summer display season. During the winter months the engineers must also have enough aircraft available for the pilots to carry out their training schedule. Preparation of the aircraft begins each day at 0630hrs, when the first technicians arrive. A night shift works into the early hours of the morning to make sure that there are sufficient aircraft to carry out the following day’s flying schedule.
Public Display Authority
In order to put the final polish on the display, the Red Arrows swap the sometimes unreliable weather of Lincolnshire for the guaranteed clear blue skies of Royal Air Force Akrotiri in Cyprus. The training season ends in May when the Red Arrows’ Commander-in-Chief makes an assessment of their safety and professionalism. If he is content, then he will award Public Display Authority, which is the Team’s formal authority to display in public. The Red Arrows are now allowed to wear their prestigious red and blue flying suits for the first time. They are truly now Red Arrows, but with a hectic display season ahead of them, the hard work continues for pilots and support personnel alike.
The Support Team
It is the hard work of the Team’s support personnel that keep the Red Arrows flying.
This Team is made up of a Team Manager, a Road Manager (also known as Red 10), a Public Relations Manager�and Public Relations Officer (the only two civilians on the Team), two Engineering Officers, an Adjutant and approximately 85 engineering technicians and other support staff. The latter are known as ‘The Blues’�because they wear distinctive royal blue flying suits during the display season. The Blues represent�nine out of the Royal Air Force’s broad range of�more than�65 technical and non-technical trades. Every team member has undergone intensive training in their particular specialisation throughout their Royal Air Force career.
The teamwork shown by the pilots in the air is reflected in the dedication and professionalism of the support staff on the ground. The support team’s success results from their Royal Air Force training, the pride they take in their work, and their determination, motivation, and, very often, sheer hard work. Without them, the Red Arrows could not function.
The Red Arrows at Chatsworth in 2011.