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  • New first year pilots of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team discuss new manoeuvres at RAF Scampton. Flt. Lts. Jezz griggs and Matt Jarvis discuss the finer points of an aerobatic manoeuvre recently taught in the crew room. They will soon be putting this formation into practice in the air of their RAF Scampton airspace. Using two scaled model Hawk jet aircraft Griggs shows how their formation is to be flown on their next training flight. Five autumn and winter months are spent teaching new recruits manual aerobatic display flying while the older members (who rotate positions) learn new disciplines within the routine. Their leaning curve is steep, even for these accomplished fast-jet aviators who had already accumulated 1,500 hours in fighters. By Summer they need every aspect of their 25-minute displays honed to perfection.
    Red_Arrows608_RBA.jpg
  • Towing bars on the ground in the hangar of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team. Seen from above in the hangar at RAF Scampton the team's base (but once the hangars of the famous Dambusters 617 Squadron), the engineering specialists called the Blues perform routine maintenance in the Red Arrows team hangar. They are ground-based back-up crew (so-called after their distinctive blue overalls worn only during the summer) and perform routine engineering tasks in the hangar at RAF Scampton, then while on tour, keeping the jets serviceable and ready to display. The Blues outnumber the pilots 8:1. Without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly. Some of the team's Hawks are 25 years old and their air frames require constant attention, with increasingly frequent major overhauls due.
    Red_Arrows475_RBA.jpg
  • Hawk jets of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team perform training display over the skies above their Lincolnshire home. Overhead they fly near an old MoD landing light at the end of the airfield runway at RAF Scampton. This is an In-Season Practice (ISP) training flight near their base at RAF Scampton. In front of a local crowd at the airfield they practice a 25-minute series of display manoeuvres that are loved by thousands at summer air shows. Their objective is to appear perfectly spaced from a ground perspective are seen below. After some time off, spare days like this are used to hone their manual aerobatic and piloting skills before re-joining the air show circuit. Since 1965 they've flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.
    Red_Arrows422_RBA.jpg
  • Stored in their respective wooden boxes are the flying helmets and miscellaneous equipment belonging to two pilots of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, at their headquarters RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. All ten pilots have their own storage space for gear. We see the place names of Reds One and Two: Squadron Leader Spike Jepson and Flight Lieutenant Matt Jarvis, whose visors are protected by soft cloths preventing scratches protective face screen. Squadron Leader Jepson is team leader and Flight Lieutenant Jarvis flies slightly behind and to the right in the Red Arrows Diamond Nine formation. On an average winter training day at Scampton, the crews will collect their kit up to six times a day in readiness for the forthcoming summer air show season. Flight Lieutenant Jarvis died of cancer one year later in March 2005.
    Red_Arrows021_RBA_1.jpg
  • Military air traffic controller Flight Lieutenant Barrie Robinson is on duty in the control tower at RAF Scampton, home base of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team. RAF controllers liaise with civilian air authorities to ensure safe travel for any aircraft using their airspace, manning communications and airfield safety, the officer wears a headset with which to speak to air crew and ground-based personnel. Scampton is not the busy airfield that other stations are where larger squadrons are based but the Red Arrows fly their training sorties from here up to six times a day in the winter months then use this as a base from which to fly their summer air shows.
    Red_Arrows372_RBA.jpg
  • At the start of another day's work, pilots belonging to the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, walk in single-file out into the pink morning light for the first winter training flight of the day at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. Emerging from their squadron building the aviators make their way along a pathway towards the waiting Hawk jet aircraft known the world over. Wearing winter green flying suits and carrying their helmets, their day is spent flying and de-briefing up to six times a day when weather permits. Long shadows spill over on to the airfield's cropped grass. Scampton  is one of the original World War 2 RAF stations for the Lancaster bombers the 617 Dambusters squadron who attacked the damns of the German Ruhr valley on 16th May 1943 using the Bouncing Bomb. Today, it is used almost exclusively by the team.
    Red_Arrows011_RBA_1.jpg
  • Scheduled maintenance on a Hawk Mk 1 jet in the hangar of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team. Engineering specialists called the Blues perform routine maintenance in the Red Arrows team hangar. They are ground-based back-up crew (so-called after their distinctive blue overalls worn only during the summer) and perform routine engineering tasks in the hangar at RAF Scampton, then while on tour, keeping the jets serviceable and ready to display. The Blues outnumber the pilots 8:1. Without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly. Some of the team's Hawks are 25 years old and their air frames require constant attention, with increasingly frequent major overhauls due.
    Red_Arrows482_RBA.jpg
  • Young air cadet sits in Hawk cockpit of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team during visit to RAF Scampton. RAF students visit this base on a regular basis to learn about their heroes who fly air displays around the UK and Europe. The young lad has been given the chance to sit in the cockpit of this BAE Systems hawk, sitting in the Martin-Baker ejection seat that helps saves lives in the world's jet fighters.
    Red_Arrows232_RBA.jpg
  • Engineering ground staff of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team, during turnarounds of training flights. Wearing ear-defenders, military green overalls and fluorescent tabard, a 'line' engineer from the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, inspect the avionics of a Hawk aircraft immediately after a winter training flight at the team's headquarters at a damp RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. The men are members of the team's support ground crew (called the Blues because of their distinctive blue overalls worn at summer air shows). The team's support ground crew who outnumber the pilots 8:1 and without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly. Eleven trades are imported from some sixty that the RAF employs and teaches.
    Red_Arrows026_RBA.jpg
  • Pilot of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team performs a pre-flight check before training flight. Flt. Lt. Si Stevens of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, walks around his  Hawk jet at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. He will fly up to 6 times daily during this winter training, when weather permits, learning new manoeuvres. Wearing winter green flying suits, their day is spent flying and de-briefing. Stevens wears a green flying suit with anti-g pants and helmet on with its pilot number. He is being followed by a member of the team's support ground crew who outnumber the pilots 8:1. The engineer wears a fluorescent yellow tabard and stands politely by the waiting aircraft on the 'line'. He has already prepared it for flight and helps with any technical issues that may arise.
    Red_Arrows087_RBA.jpg
  • Flight Lieutenant Simon Stevens, a pilot in the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, makes a pre-flight check of his Hawk jet aircraft before a practice flight at RAF Scampton. Stevens and his fellow-aviators fly up to 6 times in winter training, learning new manoeuvres. The dangers of high-speed close formation flight makes health and safety precautions vital; the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Royal Air Force take working environments of their personnel seriously so pre-flight examination of aircraft happens before every sortie (flight). Performing the brief safety walk-around, Stevens bends at the waste to avoid the aeroplane's low aileron despite wearing a helmet, full flying suit, boots, life-vest and anti-g-pants. Flying still continues despite rain clouds in the gloomy Lincolnshire sky.
    Red_Arrows005_RBA_1.jpg
  • Scheduled maintenance on a Hawk Mk 1 jet in the hangar of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team. Engineering specialists called the Blues perform routine maintenance in the Red Arrows team hangar. They are ground-based back-up crew (so-called after their distinctive blue overalls worn only during the summer) and perform routine engineering tasks in the hangar at RAF Scampton, then while on tour, keeping the jets serviceable and ready to display. The Blues outnumber the pilots 8:1. Without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly. Some of the team's Hawks are 25 years old and their air frames require constant attention, with increasingly frequent major overhauls due.
    Red_Arrows479_RBA.jpg
  • Seated on a cradle in an RAF hangar is a Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca Adour Mk 151 jet engine belonging to the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team at RAF Scampton. Inside the hangar that housed the Dambusters 617 Squadron are Hawk aircraft elsewhere. This engine powers the Red Arrows Hawks throughout their calendar of appearances at air shows and fly-pasts across the UK and a few European venues. Since 1965 the squadron have flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries and are an important part of Britain's summer events where aerobatics aircraft perform their manoeuvres in front of massed crowds. The Adour is the result of an Anglo-French project of the early 1970s which has proved exceptionally reliable, economical for fuel and simple and cheap to maintain.
    Red_Arrows387_RBA.jpg
  • A lone figure stands silhouetted against a hangar belonging to the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. Two huge hangar doors are ajar revealing an orange glow spilling on to the concrete outside. A Hawk jet aircraft is parked awaiting overnight maintenance. Engineers talk inside as the door travels along its track. The men are the team's support ground crew and eleven trades are imported from some sixty that the RAF qualifies. The hangar dates to World War 2, housing Lancaster bombers of 617 Dambusters squadron who attacked the damns of the German Ruhr valley on 16th May 1943 using the Bouncing Bomb. This version of BAE Systems Hawks are low-tech, without computers nor fly-by-wire technology, Some of the  team's aircraft are 25 years old and their airframes require frequent overhauls due.
    Red_Arrows074_RBA_1.jpg
  • Engineering ground staff of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team, makes repairs to a BAE Systems Hawk nosewheel. Wearing ear-defenders, military green overalls and fluorescent tabard, a 'line' engineer from the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, inspect the nosewheel assembly of a Hawk aircraft immediately after a winter training flight at the team's headquarters at a damp RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. The man is a member of the team's support ground crew (called the Blues because of their distinctive blue overalls worn at summer air shows). The team's support ground crew who outnumber the pilots 8:1 and without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly. Eleven trades are imported from some sixty that the RAF employs and teaches.
    Red_Arrows025_RBA.jpg
  • A red Hawk jet aircraft belonging to the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, is parked outside a nearby hangar on the concrete 'apron' (where aircraft park) at the squadron's headquarters at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. A member of the team's support ground crew (the Blues because of their distinctive blue overalls worn at summer air shows) prepare to refuel as the last daylight fades and artificial light from the hangar illuminates the scene. Their winter training schedule is both rigorous on the aircraft and demanding on the pilots who will typically fly up to six times a day in preparation of the forthcoming summer when they display at 90-plus air shows. After the day's flying, the engineers' night shift arrive to service and maintain the aging fleet of 11 aircraft.
    Red_Arrows013_RBA_1.jpg
  • A red Hawk jet aircraft belonging to the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, is parked in the hangar at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, the home base for the squadron. Night is falling with only blue daylight remaining in the western sky and the warm light from the hangar spills out of the giant open doors on to the concrete. The aircraft awaits attention from the engineer's night-shift who service and maintain all 11 of the famous red aerobatic jets before flying the next morning. The hangar, an original World War 2 shelter for the Lancaster bombers of 617 Dambusters squadron who attacked the damns of the German Ruhr valley on 16th May 1943 using the Bouncing Bomb. The Red Arrows use this and nearby offices administrative nerve-centre for the 90-plus displays they perform a year.
    Red_Arrows007_RBA_1.jpg
  • Some of the nine Hawk jet aircraft of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, perform the 5/4 Split high during an In-Season Practice (ISP) training flight near their base at RAF Scampton. Seen through the explosive Plexiglass cockpit of a tenth plane, we see forward into deep blue sky as two sets of aerobatic pilots steer their machines from a crossover manoeuvre, their organic white smoke pouring from their jet pipes to emphasize their paths through the air. In front of a local crowd at the airfield the team work their way through a 25-minute series of display manoeuvres that are loved by thousands at summer air shows. After some time off, spare days like this are used to hone their manual aerobatic and piloting skills before re-joining the air show circuit. Since 1965 they've flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.
    Red_Arrows730_RBA.jpg
  • Hawk jets of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team perform training display over the skies above their Lincolnshire home. Their winter training flight takes them over Brattleby Hill just outside the perimeter fence of their base at RAR Scampton. But ironically, the word Slow has been stencilled on this quiet road though the Hawk jets fly up to 500mph. During their training period, they fly up to 6 times daily, when weather permits, learning new manoeuvres.
    Red_Arrows254_RBA.jpg
  • Squadron Leader Duncan Mason of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, strides out across a gloomy, rainswept 'apron' at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. Squadron Leader Mason will fly up to 6 times daily during winter training ,when weather permits, learning new manoeuvres. Wearing winter green flying suits, their day is spent flying and de-briefing. Mason wears a green flying suit with anti-g pants and helmet on with its pilot number. He is being greeted by a member of the team's support ground crew who outnumber the pilots 8:1.  The engineer wears a fluorescent yellow tabard and stands politely by the waiting aircraft on the 'line'. He has already prepared it for flight and helps with any technical issues that may arise.
    Red_Arrows015_RBA_1.jpg
  • Four RAF fighter pilots of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team stand on their home airfield at RAF Scampton after another hard day of winter training sorties (flights). The four swap banter with others before a post-flight debrief. Holding their helmets and wearing heavy boots, anti-g-pants and life vests these men form an elite squadron with the RAF but have accumulated over 1,500 flying hours in fast jets with experience in theatres of war. After three years in the Red Arrows they return to frontline and instructing duties. Since 1965 the squadron have flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries. During a forthcoming calendar of appearances at air shows and fly-pasts across the UK and a few European venues they are an important recruiting tool for future personnel – of pilots and ground-based trades.
    Red_Arrows611_RBA.jpg
  • A Dye Team engineer refills the dye-derv mixture to a Hawk jet of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team. Wearing goggles, military green overalls and fluorescent tabard, a 'line' engineer from the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, refills the pressurised under-belly smoke pod with a dye-derv mixture that gives the displays the famous coloured smoke of a team Mk 1 Hawk jet aircraft immediately after a winter training flight at the team's headquarters at a damp RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. The man is a member of the team's support ground crew (called the Blues because of their distinctive blue overalls worn at summer air shows). The team's support ground crew who outnumber the pilots 8:1 and without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly. Eleven trades are imported from some sixty that the RAF employs and teaches.
    Red_Arrows440_RBA.jpg
  • Engineering ground staff of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team during winter training turnaround. <br />
<br />
Wearing military green overalls and fluorescent tabard, the 'line' engineers from the elite team come to the aid of an arrived Hawk jet after another training flight at RAF Scampton, their UK base. The men are members of the team's support ground crew (called the Blues because of their distinctive blue overalls worn at summer air shows). The team's support ground crew who outnumber the pilots 8:1 and without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly. Eleven trades are imported from some sixty that the RAF employs and teaches.
    Red_Arrows248_RBA.jpg
  • Junior Technician Brian Robb, an engineer with the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, shines his torch inside the flaps of a Hawk jet aircraft checking for obstructions, RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. Wearing ear defenders clasped to his head, J/Tech Robb peers into the wing assembly during a pre-flight inspection before the pilot emerges from for another winter training flight. Robb is a member of the team's support ground crew who outnumber the pilots 8:1 and without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly.  Eleven trades are imported from some sixty that the RAF employs and teaches. Crouching by an RAF roundel emblem, he wears an army style green camouflage coat as protection over the biting Lincolnshire wind, and a fluorescent tabard required for any personnel working on the 'line', where the aircraft taxi to and park.
    Red_Arrows028_RBA_1.jpg
  • Two pilots of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team enjoy a moment of release during a stressful display season. In a brief moment of light-hearted banter, the officers joke around in the crew room at their UK base at RAF Scampton. Otherwise, their leaning curve is steep, even for these accomplished fast-jet aviators who had already accumulated 1,500 hours in fighters. By Summer they need every aspect of their 25-minute displays honed to perfection.
    Red_Arrows746_RBA.jpg
  • Squadron Leader Dunc Mason of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team instructs new manoeuvres to others.  <br />
Flt. Lt. Dave Mason shows the finer points of an aerobatic manoeuvre in the crew briefing room. They will soon be putting this formation into practice in the air of their RAF Scampton airspace. Using magnetic models of Hawk jet aircraft Mason shows how their formation is to be flown on their next training flight. Five autumn and winter months are spent teaching new recruits manual aerobatic display flying while the older members (who rotate positions) learn new disciplines within the routine. Their leaning curve is steep, even for these accomplished fast-jet aviators who had already accumulated 1,500 hours in fighters. By Summer they need every aspect of their 25-minute displays honed to perfection.
    Red_Arrows476_RBA.jpg
  • Chief Technician Kerry Griffiths is a with the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team, the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. In camouflaged military green jacket, large forearms and rolled-up sleeves, he oversees the loading of spares and personal effects into a C-130 Hercules aircraft before the two-day journey from RAF Scampton to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. Surrounded by heavy-duty flight-spares, survival equipment boxes and a tyre for a Hawk jet aircraft, the Hercules looms large in the overcast sky. The team complete their winter training schedule in Cyprus. The Red Arrows pilots fly their own jet aircraft to air shows but when requiring the support of ground crew  they borrow a transporter to fly behind the main airborne squadron. 10 tons of spares and personal effects are shipped for a six-week stay.
    Red_Arrows052_RBA_1.jpg
  • Spare wheels belonging to Hawk aircraft of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team are stored in the team’s hangar at RAF Scampton. On a shelf are the front and rear tyres (tires) and wheel of the Hawk jet aircraft that perform across the UK in the summer months. Since 1965 the squadron have flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries and are an important part of Britain's summer events where the aircraft perform their manoeuvres in front of crowds. Their spares collection is therefore a vital element to the team’s presence at air shows and fly-pasts. This version of the BAE Systems Hawk is primitive, without computers or fly-by-wire technology. Nevertheless, the team's aircraft are in some cases over 20 years old and their air-frames require constant attention with increasingly frequent major overhauls due.
    Red_Arrows022_RBA.jpg
  • Squadron Leader Spike Jepson, leader of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, demonstrates the Corkscrew manoeuvre to his group of pilots and visitors in the briefing room at their RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire headquarters. Using two scaled model Hawk jet aircraft he shows how their formation is to be flown on their next training flight. Five autumn and winter months are spent teaching new recruits manual aerobatic display flying while the older members (who rotate positions) learn new disciplines within the routine. Their leaning curve is steep, even for these accomplished fast-jet aviators who had already accumulated 1,500 hours in fighters. By Summer they need every aspect of their 25-minute displays honed to perfection.
    Red_Arrows452_RBA.jpg
  • Corporal Andrew Haynes and Senior Aircraftman Michael Owen load boxes packed with the possessions and kit belonging to the elite 'Red Arrows' pilots, Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, before travelling for winter training at Akrotiri in Cyprus. In the team's hangar at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, the two Suppliers lift the reinforced cardboard 'tri-pack' struggling to lift the weight from the ground. Corporal Haynes lifts with the correct technique: knees bent, straight back. The man on the right, has a bent back risking spinal injury. Some 80-plus members of the team will spend six weeks away from home. 23 tons of spares and personal effects travel ahead by ship with another 10 tons travelling on-board a C-130 transport aircraft. The Suppliers ensure possessions and spares are stored taking many weeks of meticulous planning.
    Red_Arrows014_RBA_1.jpg
  • A civilian weather forecaster passes on airfield meteorology news to the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team from his office desk at RAF Cranwell, England. Referring to the information on his screen he talks to one of the aeriobatic team members in another part of the airfield before an important flight display later that day.
    Red_Arrows407_RBA.jpg
  • Engineering ground staff of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team, consult technical information on Ministry of Defence (MoD) computers. Outside the old building's windows (once the hangars of the famous Dambusters 617 Squadron) is an old Gnat once used by the team. They are members of the team's support ground crew who outnumber the pilots 8:1 and without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly.  Eleven trades are imported from some sixty that the RAF employs and teaches. Eleven trades are imported from some sixty that the RAF employs and teaches.
    Red_Arrows436_RBA.jpg
  • Corporal Mal Faulder pushes a Martin-Baker ejection seat through an RAF Hangar. He is an Armourer (an engineer handling seats and weaponry on military jets) but here in the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team, his duties are wider. With other members of the team’s support staff (the Blues who outnumber the pilots the Reds by 8 to 1) he also helps clean the Hawk aircraft before air shows across the country. He pulls the seat into a blast-protected bunker for safe storage where explosive charges inside this equipment are temporarily removed. The seat is returned to service when the aircraft is through its regular maintenance schedule. British company Martin-Baker manufacturers ejection seats and membership of the its Tie Club is solely for air crew who have ejected from an aircraft in an emergency which saved their life.
    Red_Arrows018_RBA.jpg
  • Engineering ground staff member of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team, tests red smoke canister in a regular safety procedure. The man belongs to a team of highly-skilled engineers known as the  'Blues' who support the pilots known as the Reds. Eleven trades skills are imported from some sixty that the Royal Air Force (RAF) employs and teaches. The better-educated officers in the armed forces enjoy a more privileged lifestyle than their support staff. In the aerobatic squadron, the Blues outnumber the pilots 8:1. Without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly.
    Red_Arrows006_RBA.jpg
  • Corporal Karen McNally is a flight planning administrator in the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team. Reaching up across the information board, this RAF lady is responsible for maintaining this vital part of the team's logistical plans that are outlined on this busy calendar of their movements and appearances at a seasonal series of air shows and fly-pasts across the UK and a few European venues. Since 1965 the squadron have flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries and are an important part of Britain's summer events where aerobatics aircraft perform their manoeuvres in front of massed crowds. Corporal McNally is a part of the team called the Blues, the team's ground support personnel that outnumber the pilots (the Reds) by 8 to 1.
    Red_Arrows048_RBA.jpg
  • Engineering ground staff's tea mugs of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team. An assortment of these cups with names on are hanging on hooks in the engineers staff canteen of this famous aerobatic team. They belong to a team of highly-skilled engineers known as the  'Blues' who support the pilots known as the Reds. Eleven trades skills are imported from some sixty that the Royal Air Force (RAF) employs and teaches. The better-educated officers in the armed forces enjoy a more privileged lifestyle than their support staff. In the aerobatic squadron, the Blues outnumber the pilots 8:1. Without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly.
    Red_Arrows002_RBA.jpg
  • Chief of the Air Staff Sir Jock Stirrup pays visit to Red Arrows, Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team. Walking away from the red Hawk jet aircraft in which he has been flown in the rear seat, the VIP smiles after the exhilarating training flight. Carrying his flight helmet and wearing the full survival suit, he is here to see for himself what value for money the Red Arrows give to the UK. Their purpose is not simply to entertain summer seaside crowds but also as an RAF recruiting tool and for UK defence export advertising. Air Chief Marshal Sir Graham Eric Stirrup GCB, AFC, FRAeS, FCMI, RAF (born 4 December 1949), usually referred to as Sir Jock Stirrup, was a fast jet pilot, and is now a senior Royal Air Force commander. He was the Chief of the Air Staff  (CAS) from 2003 to 2006 and Chief of the Defence Staff.
    Red_Arrows383_RBA.jpg
  • Engineer airframe specialist Junior Technician Barry Pritchard of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, forms part of the team's highly-skilled group of support ground crew who outnumber the pilots 8:1. Here J/Tech Pritchard straddles the fuselage of  the Hawk jet aircraft performing a Ram Air Turbine (RAT) jack change in the squadron hangar. Eleven trades are imported from some sixty that the RAF employs and teaches. The team's aircraft are in some cases 25 years old and their airframes require constant attention, with frequent overhauls needed. In these shelters were housed the Lancaster bombers 617 Dambusters squadron who attacked the damns of the German Ruhr valley on 16th May 1943 using the Bouncing Bomb. The Red Arrows nearby offices as their administrative nerve-centre for the 90-plus displays they perform a year.
    Red_Arrows030_RBA_1.jpg
  • Corporal Chris Ward, one of the photographers belonging to the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, reads a novel while wrapped up in sleeping bag and hammock aboard a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft during a two-day journey from RAF Scampton to RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. Corporal Ward has established for himself a comfortable nest in the rear section at the loading ramp. The interior is basic with sharp corners but the walls are padded.  Ward wears a heavy camouflaged coat to counteract the cold and ear-plugs from the droning engines. The Red Arrows pilots fly their Hawk jet aircraft to air shows but on long journeys requiring the support of ground crew borrow RAF transporters that fly behind the main airborne squadron shipping 10 tons of spares and personal effects for their six-week winter training stay.
    Red_Arrows050_RBA_1.jpg
  • From the rear seat of a 'Red Arrows' Hawk of Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team during an In-Season Practice (ISP) training flight near their base at RAF Scampton. Through the explosive Plexiglass canopy, we look towards the Lincolnshire countryside from an altitude of a few thousand feet. This is the view from the leader’s jet during an In-Season Practice (ISP) training flight. Waiting for the other eight members of the team to re-form as an airborne squadron, they fly in front of a local crowd at the airfield. The team work their way through a 25-minute series of display manoeuvres that are loved by thousands at summer air shows. After some time off, spare days like this are used to hone their aerobatic and piloting skills before re-joining the air show circuit. Since 1965 they've flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.
    Red_Arrows572_RBA.jpg
  • Seen from another aircraft, the Diamond Nine formation of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team is seen over freshly-ploughed English fields and hedgerows (the result of the old agricultural ‘enclosure’ system of land division) the nine aircraft fly in a tight formation approximately 8 feet (2.5m) apart from each other. This is an In-Season Practice (ISP) training flight near their base at RAF Scampton. In front of a local crowd at the airfield they practice a 25-minute series of display manoeuvres that are loved by thousands at summer air shows. Their objective is to appear perfectly spaced from a ground perspective are seen below. After some time off, spare days like this are used to hone their manual aerobatic and piloting skills before re-joining the air show circuit. Since 1965 they've flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.
    Red_Arrows642_RBA_1.jpg
  • Seen from the cockpit of another Hawk of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team during an In-Season Practice (ISP) training flight near their base at RAF Scampton. Seen through the explosive Plexiglass cockpit of a tenth plane, we see forward into deep blue sky as two sets of aerobatic pilots steer their aircraft before a crossover manoeuvre, their organic white smoke pouring from their jet pipes to emphasize their paths through the air. In front of a local crowd at the airfield the team work their way through a 25-minute series of display manoeuvres that are loved by thousands at summer air shows. After some time off, spare days like this are used to hone their manual aerobatic and piloting skills before re-joining the air show circuit. Since 1965 they've flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.
    Red_Arrows684_RBA.jpg
  • Flight Lieutenant Dave Slow of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, is seated in a BAE Systems Hawk jet aircraft simulator at the fast-jet flying training centre, RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales. Like all fast-jet pilots, Flight Lieutenant Slow is required to complete this emergency drill every six months. The pilot is seated in his ejector seat as if in a real jet using back-projected computer graphics representing a generic landscape below. Each aviator proves they can cope with a series of failures that operators select: Engine, hydraulic failure or bird strike.  Apart from the aircraft fuselage, the high-tech facility loads malfunctions on a pilot that he could experience in reality. The version of Hawk that the Red Arrows fly is actually a primitive piece of equipment, without computers or fly-by-wire technology.
    Red_Arrows043_RBA.jpg
  • Flight Lieutenant Dave Slow of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, is seated in a BAE Systems Hawk jet aircraft simulator at the fast-jet flying training centre, RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales. Like all fast-jet pilots, Flight Lieutenant Slow is required to complete this emergency drill every six months. The pilot is seated in his ejector seat as if in a real jet using back-projected computer graphics representing a generic landscape below. Each aviator proves they can cope with a series of failures that operators select: Engine, hydraulic failure or bird strike.  Apart from the aircraft fuselage, the high-tech facility loads malfunctions on a pilot that he could experience in reality. The version of Hawk that the Red Arrows fly is actually a primitive piece of equipment, without computers or fly-by-wire technology.
    Red_Arrows043_RBA_1.jpg
  • A detail of a Hawk aircraft’s fuselage and canopy opening of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team. Two blue arrows point towards each other to show that the aircraft’s canopy is securely closed and ready for flight. Painted the Squadron’s famous red, we can also see the rivets which can be turned by specially-designed screwdrivers that help gain access to internal technology. The Red Arrows Hawks power the team throughout their calendar of appearances at air shows and fly-pasts across the UK and a few European venues. Since 1965 the squadron have flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries and are an important part of Britain's summer events where aerobatics aircraft perform their manoeuvres in front of massed crowds.
    Red_Arrows765_RBA.jpg
  • Official publicity portrait for the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team in mid-day glare at RAF Akrotiri. In the mid-day heat, all members of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, stand at ease and we see the back of one of the squadron's official photographers head, looking into the viewfinder of his camera to record an official photograph immediately on PDA Day at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. PDA (or 'Public Display Authority'), is when they are allowed by senior RAF officers to perform as a military aerobatic show in front of the public - following a special test flight when their every move and mistake is assessed and graded. Until that day arrives, their training and practicing is done in the privacy of their own airfield at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, UK or here in the glare of Akrotiri.
    Red_Arrows168_RBA.jpg
  • In the mid-day heat, all members of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, stand at ease and we see the back of one of the squadron's official photographers head, looking into the viewfinder of his camera to record an official photograph immediately on PDA Day at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. PDA (or 'Public Display Authority'), is when they are allowed by senior RAF officers to perform as a military aerobatic show in front of the public - following a special test flight when their every move and mistake is assessed and graded. Until that day arrives, their training and practicing is done in the privacy of their own airfield at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, UK or here in the glare of Akrotiri. The pilots are called reds and their ground crew, the Blues after their summer air show uniforms.
    Red_Arrows092_RBA_1.jpg
  • In the mid-day heat, Squadron Leader Spike Jepson, leader of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, informally addresses the team's highly-skilled ground crew at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus after the whole team's success of passing PDA (or 'Public Display Authority'). The Red Arrows are then allowed by senior RAF officers to perform as a military aerobatic show in front of the general public - following a special test flight when their every move and mistake is assessed and graded. Until that day arrives, their training and practicing is done in the privacy of their own airfield at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, UK. Squadron Leader Jepson has gathered his engineers and support crew known as the Blues to congratulate and encourage them. Specialists like these outnumber the pilots 8:1 and without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly.
    Red_Arrows162_RBA_1.jpg
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