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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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • The Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team, perform their public display over a landscape of the Thames estuary mud.<br />
During the annual Southend Air show on the Thames river estuary, the jets of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team, perform their Corkscrew manoeuvre, a fly-past 100 feet (30m) off the ground. Children playing on the low-tide mud pause from digging holes with a bucket and spade as the aircraft make their way over boating and mudflats. The Red Arrows Hawks perform 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_Arrows179_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
  • Officer pilots of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, lean against a wing of their Hawk jet in a pre-flight briefing while a member of their ground crew positions some wheel chocks. The highly-skilled engineer is known as a 'Blue' but the 'Reds' discuss  flight plans. Eleven trades skills are imported from some sixty that the RAF employs and teaches. It is mid-day and only their flying boots and red legs are seen with the RAF roundel emblem is on the underside of the wing. 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. Some of the team's Hawks are 25 years old and their air frames require constant attention, with increasingly frequent major overhauls due.
    Red_Arrows174_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
  • 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
  • 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
  • A flying helmet belonging to a member of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, is cradled in the highly-polished open Plexiglass  canopy of a team Hawk jet aircraft. With the arrow pointing downwards we see it from below along with the airplane's red fuselage and the words Royal Air Force stencilled in blue lettering on the side within a white stripe. There are strong angles with clear blue space on the top right. The colours that dominate this image are red, white and blue - the colors of the Union Jack, United Kingdom's flag. This scene is at RAF Akrotiri, Cypus where the Red Arrows put the finishing touches to their display sequences before starting the gruelling air show calendar in the UK and Europe. The squadron represents all that is perfect with aerobatic flying, about teamwork and discipline.
    Red_Arrows102_RBA_1.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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Officer pilots of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, lean against a wing of their Hawk jet in a pre-flight briefing while a member of their ground crew positions some wheel chocks. It is mid-day and the officers are deep in conversation with the RAF roundel emblem is on the jet aircraft. 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. Some of the team's Hawks are 25 years old and their air frames require constant attention, with increasingly frequent major overhauls due.
    Red_Arrows177_RBA.jpg
  • Single pilot of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team walks out to his Hawk aircraft before a display flight to Jordan. In the mid-day heat, Flt. Lt. Jez Griggs is a member of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. Here he walks out alone to his aircraft, which is lined up with some of the others jets at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus before flying out to Marka in Jordan for the first display of the year. The Red Arrows arrive each April to fine-tune their air show skills in the clear Mediterranean skies and continue their busy display calendar above the skies of the UK and other European show circuit. We see Griggs carrying his flight bag and life-vest. He paces confidently across the bright 'apron' dressed in his famous red flying suit that the Red Arrows have made famous since 1965. He is alone and striding confidently towards the matching red eight Hawk airplanes.
    Red_Arrows167_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
  • Sergeant David Ablard with a fellow rigger of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team,gets to gripds with an air brake issue  make repairs. They are engineers with the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team and one cleans the part of the team's Mk 1 Hawk after a repair during the Fairford airshow (RIAT). 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.
    Red_Arrows514_RBA.jpg
  • Pilots of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team shelter under Hawk wing during airshow rain shower. Sheltering from a rain shower at the Kemble Air Day, some pilots of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, gather beneath a full-scale model of a Hawk jet aircraft. Dressed in red flying suits, the pilots have been signing PR autographs and distributing team brochures to some of their many fans before the deluge which sent the public undercover to seek shelter. Their leaning curve is steep, even for these accomplished fast-jet aviators who had already accumulated 1,500 hours in fighters but within the team, their main purpose is to forge a link between the RAFand potential recruits plus the general public.
    Red_Arrows203_RBA.jpg
  • BAE System Hawks of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team and airfield signs landscape. Six Hawk jet aircraft of the elite team, taxi in after another training flight past warning boards that are appropriate for armed jet fighters at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus rather than aerobatic planes. From a low angle we see a wide landscape looking over the taxi-way markings that direct military airplanes. The Red Arrows aircraft are a deep red colour that stand out against the horizon in an identical line. It is a wide expanse of road surface, the yellow centre-lines are for the benefit of pilots who need guidance for parking areas after landing, or leaving towards the departing runway on the southern part of the Cypriot Mediterranean island. With the Red Arrows, the  taxiing jets all peel off in unison to and from the parking area and these lines are vital for this technique.
    Red_Arrows126_RBA.jpg
  • Pilots of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team watch other aviators' display flying during airshow. Officer pilots of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, lean against the nose of their Hawk jet before themselves flying their own air display. 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_Arrows670_RBA.jpg
  • Engineering ground staff of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team, rest in the shade before working on their Hawk jets. These are 'line' engineers from the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, and are resting while their precious aircraft are up in the air during training in Cyprus. It is hot for these north Europeans and they use the shade of one spare jet on the ground before again, jumping back to work when the jets return. 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_Arrows296_RBA.jpg
  • Resting Blues ground staff engineers await return of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team. These are 'line' engineers from the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, and are resting while their precious aircraft are up in the air during training in Cyprus. It is hot for these north Europeans and they use the shade of a building before again, jumping back to work when the jets return. 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_Arrows124_RBA.jpg
  • Resting Blues ground staff engineers await return of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team. These are 'line' engineers from the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, and are resting while their precious aircraft are up in the air during training in Cyprus. It is hot for these north Europeans and they use the shade of a building before again, jumping back to work when the jets return. 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_Arrows115_RBA.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
  • During the annual Southend Air show on the Thames river estuary, two jets called the Synchro Pair of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team, perform their most dynamic manoeuvres, a high-speed  crossover called the ‘Cubans to Opposition Barrel Roll’ 100 feet (30m) off the ground at a combined closing speed of 700 knots airspeed. Spectators gather on a coastal groyne for a better view on the low-tide mud. The Red Arrows Hawks perform 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_Arrows184_RBA.jpg
  • During the annual Southend Air show on the Thames river estuary, two jets of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team, perform their Corkscrew manoeuvre, a fly-past 100 feet (30m) off the ground. Children playing on the low-tide mud pause from digging holes with a bucket and spade as the aircraft make their way over boating and mudflats. The Red Arrows Hawks perform 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_Arrows182_RBA.jpg
  • During the annual Southend Air show on the Thames river estuary, elderly ladies listen to the loud roar military jets overhead. Thousands have lined-up along the seaside town’s promenade, awaiting the appearance of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team. The team’s merchandising trailer has been parked among the crowds, selling a range of squadron memorabilia to members of the public and careers advice to wannabe RAF personnel of the future. The Red Arrows Hawks perform 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_Arrows100_RBA.jpg
  • The Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team, perform their public display over a lake and boating landscape. A family stay still below the elite team as they perform their display on one of the UK's most beautiful locations in norhern England. The team are using the lake as a reference point as display datum (centre) during their display, a show-stopping manoeuvre of their 25-minute air show display routine. 'Datum' is an axis on which the Red Arrows focus their displays, from where the whole show is visible at the crowd's centre. The lake is but one of a series of datum points selected by the team leader as a geographical point from which to navigate. 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_Arrows532_RBA.jpg
  • Hawk jets of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team practice display using an old ship wreck as display datum (centre). Looking out to the Mediterranean Sea from the Akrotiri Peninsular, Cyprus, we see the elite team, practising their display, a show-stopping manoeuvre of their 25-minute air show display routine. A rusted and crumbling hulk of a ship lies in the shallow surf and the Hawk jets used by the Red Arrows fan out above it using red, white and blue smoke. The shipwreck's remains provide a sad foreground to the dynamic flying beyond making a graphic landscape. 'Datum' is an axis on which the Red Arrows focus their displays, from where the whole show is visible at the crowd's centre. 'The Wreck' is but one of a series of datum points selected by the team leader at short notice to simulate diverse geographical features and wind directions
    Red_Arrows044_RBA.jpg
  • Hawk jets of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team practice display using an old ship wreck as display datum (centre). Looking out to the Mediterranean Sea from the Akrotiri Peninsular, Cyprus, we see the elite team, practising their display, a show-stopping manoeuvre of their 25-minute air show display routine. A rusted and crumbling hulk of a ship lies in the shallow surf and the Hawk jets used by the Red Arrows fan out above it using red, white and blue smoke. The shipwreck's remains provide a sad foreground to the dynamic flying beyond making a graphic landscape. 'Datum' is an axis on which the Red Arrows focus their displays, from where the whole show is visible at the crowd's centre. 'The Wreck' is but one of a series of datum points selected by the team leader at short notice to simulate diverse geographical features and wind directions
    Red_Arrows317_RBA.jpg
  • Hawk jets of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team practice display using an old ship wreck as display datum (centre). Looking out to the Mediterranean Sea from the Akrotiri Peninsular, Cyprus, we see the elite team, practising their display, a show-stopping manoeuvre of their 25-minute air show display routine. A rusted and crumbling hulk of a ship lies in the shallow surf and the Hawk jets used by the Red Arrows fan out above it using red, white and blue smoke. The shipwreck's remains provide a sad foreground to the dynamic flying beyond making a graphic landscape. 'Datum' is an axis on which the Red Arrows focus their displays, from where the whole show is visible at the crowd's centre. 'The Wreck' is but one of a series of datum points selected by the team leader at short notice to simulate diverse geographical features and wind directions
    Red_Arrows283_RBA.jpg
  • In the mid-day heat, Squadron Leader John Green is a member of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. Here he walks out alone to his aircraft, which is lined up with some of the others jets at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus before flying out to Marka in Jordan for the first display of the year. The Red Arrows arrive each April to fine-tune their air show skills in the clear Mediterranean skies and continue their busy display calendar above the skies of the UK and other European show circuit. We see John Green carrying his flight bag and life-vest over his shoulder. He paces confidently across the bright 'apron' dressed in his famous red flying suit that the Red Arrows have made famous since 1965. He is alone and striding confidently towards the matching red eight Hawk airplanes.
    Red_Arrows093_RBA_1.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 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
  • 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
  • The Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team, perform their public display over a landscape of darkening skies and danger sign. Beachcombers walk along the beach as the jet aircraft fly their display overhead on a rather dull summer day on the English Channel near Bristol. 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_Arrows521_RBA.jpg
  • Spectators at the The Princess Margaret Hospital (TPMH) on the Akrotiri peninsula, about 4 kilometres from the RAF Station at Akrotiri, admire the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, as they perform one of their first public shows of the year. RAF staff and patients are allowed on to the grass outside the hospital building for this free show, given in honour of local charity fund-raisers of the Cyprus-based RAF Association whose guests form one of the smallest crowds to watch a Red Arrows display. Here, the team perform The Twizzle manoeuvre in front of the small crowd who stand by a green fence, matching tree and palm tree stumps. The bare earth is baked hard by the lack of rain and it almost looks like a desert scene as five of the nine jets speed overhead.
    Red_Arrows136_RBA_1.jpg
  • Flight Lieutenant Dan Simmons of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, zips up his g-pants before climbing into his Hawk jet. G-pants counteract the effects of high gravity stresses that jet-fighters impose on the human body, automatically inflating and squeezing blood back to the thorax and head when blood drains towards the legs. As he attaches the zipper, he rests his straight right leg on a retractable step which helps him and his ground crew engineers to gain access to the cockpit, high above the ground. Hanging from another part of his airplane is his life-vest which he will wear around his neck, whilst in flight. Flight Lieutenant Simmons wears heavy-duty black boots which are regulation footwear for flying personnel and dressed in his red flying suit that is famous around the world.
    Red_Arrows173_RBA_1.jpg
  • Hawk jets of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team practice display using an old ship wreck as display datum (centre). Looking out to the Mediterranean Sea from the Akrotiri Peninsular, Cyprus, we see the elite team, practising their display, a show-stopping manoeuvre of their 25-minute air show display routine. A rusted and crumbling hulk of a ship lies in the shallow surf and the Hawk jets used by the Red Arrows fan out above it using red, white and blue smoke. The shipwreck's remains provide a sad foreground to the dynamic flying beyond making a graphic landscape. 'Datum' is an axis on which the Red Arrows focus their displays, from where the whole show is visible at the crowd's centre. 'The Wreck' is but one of a series of datum points selected by the team leader at short notice to simulate diverse geographical features and wind directions
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  • 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.
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  • Hawk jets of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team display over beach using quad bikes as display datum (centre). Passing overhead, there are two beach guards sitting just 100 feet below the passing jets who perform in front of an unseen crowd behind the sands. The team are using this coastal reference point as display datum (centre) during their display, a show-stopping manoeuvre of their 25-minute air show display routine. 'Datum' is an axis on which the Red Arrows focus their displays, from where the whole show is visible at the crowd's centre. The bikes are but one of a series of datum points selected by the team leader as a geographical point from which to navigate. Since 1965 the squadron has flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries an important part of Britain's summer events where they perform their manoeuvres in front of massed crowds.
    Red_Arrows636_RBA.jpg
  • Hawk jets of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team practice display using an old ship wreck as display datum (centre). Looking out to the Mediterranean Sea from the Akrotiri Peninsular, Cyprus, we see the elite team, practising their display, a show-stopping manoeuvre of their 25-minute air show display routine. A rusted and crumbling hulk of a ship lies in the shallow surf and the Hawk jets used by the Red Arrows fan out above it using red, white and blue smoke. The shipwreck's remains provide a sad foreground to the dynamic flying beyond making a graphic landscape. 'Datum' is an axis on which the Red Arrows focus their displays, from where the whole show is visible at the crowd's centre. 'The Wreck' is but one of a series of datum points selected by the team leader at short notice to simulate diverse geographical features and wind directions
    Red_Arrows318_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.
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  • Specialist Corporal Mal Faulder is an armourer engineer (qualified to handle ejection seats and weaponry on military jets) but here in the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team he is seen polishing the aircraft's flying surfaces using wool and cleaning fluid on the morning of the team's PDA Day. PDA (or 'Public Display Authority'), is a special test flight when their every move and mistake is assessed and graded. Corporal Faulder is to buff up the airplane for an extra special shine on such an important day and we see the UK's Union Jack flag on the side of the diagonal stripes of the tail fin. The Red Arrows ground crew take enormous pride in their role as supporting the aviators whose air displays are known around the world. Blues like Mal outnumber the pilots 8:1. Without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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
  • A tailor cuts red material for flying suits for the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. The man is a bespoke tailor at Dale Techniche, Nelson, Lancashire. Every Winter, the Red Arrows place about 40 pilot suit orders and 180 blue (support ground crew) suits. The man cuts the material while the suit is complete on his work bench. The clothing factory also designs the Red Arrows badges, each requiring 15,000 stitches. All suits are made from Nomex by the Du Pont corporation, containing 5% Kevlar. Flame-retardant, they fit exactly each team member. Fouteen different measurements are taken before the first suit is cut, each one requiring approximately three metres of dyed cloth. When a suit is complete, each one is signed inside by the machinist.
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  • 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.
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  • Anonymous chef prepares BBQ burgers and sausages as a pilot of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team walks past. AN arm of an unseen cook places an uncooked burger onto the griddle in mid-day heat. While the team are operating out of this British-run base in southern Cyprus, every Friday lunchtime is dry-up time for the ground crews who support the aircraft and their pilots to maintain their airworthiness before the summer air show season.
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  • 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.
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  • Ground commentator pilot of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team readies himself before a public display. A bin of brolleys are provided in case rain interrupts the forthcoming air display at this RAF airfield in Linolnshire where RAF pilot officers are first trained for airmanship. The team's red Hawk jets are lined-up in readiness too and Flt. Lt. Steve Underwood who acts as commentator and ground safety manager briefs himself before the crowds arrive.
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  • Members of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team gaze out of respective windows during helicopter ride. The crew are travelling between Guernsey and Jersey in the Channel Islands where the team are about to perform another of the air shows they appear at. 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.
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  • Hawk jets of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team practice display over a pilot officer who sits in his cool car on the cliff edge at RAF Akrotiri, a British-run RAF air base in southern Cyprus, using this coastal cliff as display datum (centre). Looking out to the Mediterranean Sea from the Akrotiri Peninsular, Cyprus, we see the elite team, practising their display, a show-stopping manoeuvre of their 25-minute air show display routine. 'Datum' is an axis on which the Red Arrows focus their displays, from where the whole show is visible at the crowd's centre. The cliffs are but one of a series of datum points selected by the team leader at short notice to simulate diverse geographical features and wind directions
    Red_Arrows045_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
  • Pilot of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team relaxes in hotel after their Bastille Day flypast over Paris. After arriving back on the ground and their Paris hotel, the British officer and his team has ended France's Bastille Day parade. They were chosen by the French authorities to close the fly-pasts. British armed forces paraded in the historic parade for the first time. Under blue skies on a perfect summer day, the squadron lined up in their classic fly-past 'V-shape' called 'Big Battle', following the straight line of the Champs Elysees then eastwards over the Parisian suburbs. Personnel from four British military units were present and French Air Force jets performed their own fly-past to open the parade, while the British Hawk jets of the Red Arrows had the honour of completing it.
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  • Pilots of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team gather in hotel after their Bastille Day flypast over Paris. After arriving back on the ground and their Paris hotel, the British officers meet wives and girlfriends after ending France's Bastille Day parade. They were chosen by the French authorities to close the fly-pasts. British armed forces paraded in the historic parade for the first time. Under blue skies on a perfect summer day, the squadron lined up in their classic fly-past 'V-shape' called 'Big Battle', following the straight line of the Champs Elysees then eastwards over the Parisian suburbs. Personnel from four British military units were present and French Air Force jets performed their own fly-past to open the parade, while the British Hawk jets of the Red Arrows had the honour of completing it.
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  • Engineering ground staff of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team, in the build-up to the Fairford airshow. In the build-up before the show starts, the ground crew organise themselves seen from inside the team coach. 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_Arrows494_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
  • Pilot of the Red Arrows, UK's RAF aerobatic team readies himself before a simulated ditching in the cold sea during exercise. We see the pilot, looking nervous - happier in the air - wearing survival gear, Flt. Lt. Steve Underwood of the elite team, about to plunge into the cold Mediterranean waters for his annual Wet Drill exercise during Spring training in Cyprus. The rehearsal is to practise a helicopter recovery after a fast-jet ejection over the sea. His RAF-issue life vest (containing a vital life-raft) will inflate when in contact with the salt water and helps him stay afloat before the helicopter pick-up. This yearly event is required of all flying personnel to ensure that any accident over water can reach a positive outcome - by the rescuing of an expensively-trained pilot or navigator.
    Red_Arrows271_RBA.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
  • On the day French President Emmanuel Macron visits London to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Charles de Gaulles famous wartime broadcast calling French citizens to arms against Nazi occupiers, the British Royal Air Forces Red Arrows aerobatic team lead their French aviation counterparts, La Patrouille de France, over Nelsons column in Trafalgar Square, on 18th June 2020, in London, England.
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  • On the day French President Emmanuel Macron visits London to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Charles de Gaulles famous wartime broadcast calling French citizens to arms against Nazi occupiers, the British Royal Air Forces Red Arrows aerobatic team lead their French aviation counterparts, La Patrouille de France, over Nelsons column in Trafalgar Square, on 18th June 2020, in London, England.
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  • Spectators watch an air show at North Weald in Cambridgeshire, England. A man films a lone aircraft that banks across the summer sky. The enthusiast's blue denim jacket is almost fully-covered with aeronautical badges which depict various foreign military aerobatic teams, including the Swiss, Norwegian and German squadrons, whose emblems have been stitched into the fabric. Plane spotters form hardcore groups of aviation pilgrims. Logging and photographing flying machines, they follow air displays across their own countries and the calendars of other European festivals that attract hundreds of thousands. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • A lone Tornado jet fighter arcs across a typically overcast sky at Southend-on-Sea on a Bank Holiday Sunday. Well-defined figures of children and adults either play nonchalantly on the beach at low tide, or watch in awe as the aircraft thunders over the Thames Estuary mud. A few stranded yachts stand upright in the low water and a groyne stretches out to sea towards the Kent coast, seen in the distance. It is a bleak and depressingly empty scene and the jet is merely a dot in the grey English sky, traditionally familiar summer weather. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.
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  • Behind railings that honoured American aviator Wilbur Wright at the annual Le Mans air show, France, seven spectators gaze upwards to a clear sky where a lone but unseen aircraft performs in front of the French crowd. Wright made 110 flights at Le Mans and nearby Auvours in 1908 and his legacy for French and global aerospace lives on at events like this where a replica of his Wright Flyer was also exhibited. It is a bright summer's day and the blue sky has vapour trails left by a previous display pilot's jet engine. A prominent British Union Jack flutters on a pole and the words 'invites' (for invited guests only) are printed on to sheets of paper. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.
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  • Brian Lecomber flew as a professional aerobatic pilot for 23 years, during which time his Firebird Aerobatics team completed over 2,800 solo and formation displays in front of an estimated total of 90 million spectators. They gave displays in 15 countries, and had a 100% safety record before closing in 2003. They will be remembered as one of the UK's most successful professional civilian aerobatic display company. Lecomber has been a racing motorcycle mechanic; journalist; wing-walker in a flying circus; chief flying instructor in the Caribbean; crop-spray pilot, and then a best-selling author of aviation novels. We see him in-flight performing a tight turn above southern English fields of Buckinghamshire with flying partner Alan Wade when the team was sponsored by the Rover Group.
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  • RAF fundraisers watch the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team during a private display high above RAF Akrotiri. Spectators at the Princess Margaret Hospital (TPMH) on the Akrotiri peninsula, about 4 kilometres from the RAF Station at Akrotiri, admire the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, as they perform one of their first public shows of the year. RAF staff and patients are allowed on to the grass outside the hospital building for this free show, given in honour of local charity fund-raisers of the Cyprus-based RAF Association whose guests form one of the smallest crowds to watch a Red Arrows display. 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.
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  • Spectators and their dog watch the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team displaying high above their heads during a public airshow at the Kielder Air Show. Here, the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, are to perform and the squadron's commentator - known as Red 10 - will be describing the 25-minute routine performed in front of a few hundred people, probably the smallest of the Red Arrows audiences. The Hawk aircraft will be flying over the borderland between England and Scotland during this display which has attracted a local crowd to this pretty landscape.
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  • An airshow aviation enthusiast adorned with badges enjoy aerobatic activity above their heads at Biggin Hill, Kent, England. As a helicopter banks tightly to the right, other groupies film something else to the left from the public areas during the many varied flying displays  at this small airfield north of London that saw action as an important airfield during the WW2 Battle of Britain, a location for the "Operations Room" for the Operation Crossbow V-1 flying bomb defences.
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  • Enthusiasts watch descending parachutists during the world's largest aviation airshow at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, at Oshkosh Air Venture, the world’s largest air show in Wisconsin USA. Close to a million populate the mass fly-in over the week, a pilgrimage worshipping all aspects of flight. The event annually generates $85 million in revenue over a 25 mile radius from Oshkosh. The event is presented by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), a national/international organization based in Oshkosh. The airshow is seven days long and typically begins on the last Monday in July. The airport's control tower is the busiest control tower in the world during the gathering
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  • 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.
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  • Joining with the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team on the far left, are the smoke trails of forty leading European display aircraft: Spanish Patrulla Aguila; Italian Frecce Tricolori; French Breitling Jet Team and the Swiss Patrouille Suisse. All flew together in the clear, blue alpine skies on a spectacular fly-past at the Payerne Air 04 show, Switzerland. The two-day festival at the Swiss airfield is home of the Swiss Air Force who host the cream of international aerobatic display flying every September to 275,000 spectators over a weekend. European display teams and air forces gathered to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Swiss military aviation. Flying on the far left here, the Red Arrows have performed over 4,000 shows in 52 countries since 1965.
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  • RAF fundraisers watch the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team during a private display high above RAF Akrotiri. Spectators at the Princess Margaret Hospital (TPMH) on the Akrotiri peninsula, about 4 kilometres from the RAF Station at Akrotiri, admire the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, as they perform one of their first public shows of the year. RAF staff and patients are allowed on to the grass outside the hospital building for this free show, given in honour of local charity fund-raisers of the Cyprus-based RAF Association whose guests form one of the smallest crowds to watch a Red Arrows display. 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_Arrows140_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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • Young fans and their parents of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team wave their favourite display act before the display at Jersey air show. On their flag we see the famous Hawk jet aircraft among their emblem – the Diamond Nine formation. Spectators line up along the seaside wall in the Channel Island promenade of St. Helier. The Red Arrows perform 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_Arrows720_RBA.jpg
  • Young fans of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team wave their favourite display act before the display at Jersey air show. O their flag we see the famous Hawk jet aircraft among their emblem – the Diamond Nine formation. In the background are more spectators lined up along the seaside this Channel Island promenade in St. Helier. The Red Arrows perform 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_Arrows644_RBA.jpg
  • Flight Lieutenant Dave Slow is a pilot with the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team and on a hot summer’s day at the RIAT Air Tattoo at Fairford, he meets young RAF Cadet admirers. Slow signs autographs for two girls and a young man who look at this heroic aviator with a mixture of envy and awe. The girls hold Union Jack flags with team information literature and their future RAF careers may take them on to the same path or any number of other jobs within the armed services. The Red Arrows serve as a recruiting tool for young people 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_Arrows497_RBA.jpg
  • During the annual Southend Air show on the Thames river estuary, spectators sit on the top of the Cliffs above where thousands have lined-up along the seaside town’s promenade, awaiting the appearance of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team. Craning their necks to watch military jets as they perform their displays, it is a hot summer’s Bank Holiday weekend and a popular event in a this town’s calendar. The Red Arrows Hawks perform 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.
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  • 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.
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  • A young lad shows interest in Airfix models incl the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team. In the far right corner of the picture, we see the boy’s hand reaching into a box of toys on sale at a stall at Fairford air show (RIAT). Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby and was founded in 1939 by a Hungarian businessman Nicholas Kove, initially manufacturing rubber inflatable toys. 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.
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  • A group portrait is taken by local media of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. With the photographer on some high steps, accompanied by the team’s PR manager, the nine pilots stand in their famous stance with their leader, Squadron Leader Spike Jepson in the very centre and a Hawk jet aircraft in the background. To the right are members of the Blues, the squadron’s ground support crew who out number the pilots (the Reds) by 8 to 1. The team are at RAF Kemble during one event during a busy 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.
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  • As an RAF crewman watches through open door his Sea King helicopter, the Wing Commander of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team rides in the back of the aircraft. They crew are travelling between Guernsey and Jersey in the Channel Islands  where the team are about to perform another of the air shows they appear at. 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.
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  • 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.
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  • Two RAF fighter pilots listen to a pre-flight-briefing by the leader of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team whose elite ranks these two men want to join. The candidates are with others and are in Cyprus during the team’s training programme to be tested though only three new members are selected each year. They will have accumulated over 1,500 flying hours in fast jets with experience in theatres of war. If successful, they will spend three years in the Red Arrows then 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.
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  • Ten jets of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, fly over the Victoria Memorial opposite Buckingham Palace in London, on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's 100th birthday. Tourists watch as the ten aircraft leave a trail of patriotic red, white and blue smoke in honour of the monarch's elderly mother whose centenary was celebrated  in lavish style with cultural events and church services. The memorial to Queen Victoria was built by the sculptor Sir Thomas Brock, in 1911. The surround was constructed by the architect Sir Aston Webb, from 2,300 tons of white marble and is a Grade I listed building. Picture from the 'Plane Pictures' project, a celebration of aviation aesthetics and flying culture, 100 years after the Wright brothers first 12 seconds/120 feet powered flight at Kitty Hawk,1903.
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  • An old fashioned pair of public address speakers have been attached to a scaffolding pole overlooking the Northumberland countryside at the Kielder Air Show. Here, the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team are to perform and the squadron's commentator - known as Red 10 - will be describing the 25-minute routine performed in front of a few hundred people, probably the smallest of the Red Arrows audiences. The Hawk aircraft will be flying over the borderland between England and Scotland during this display which has attracted a local crowd to this pretty landscape. This primitive method of amplification makes for it charmingly quirky. We see a low-tech and makeshift apparatus, vastly different to other shows where digital sound quality reproduces audio to many of thousands of spectators.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • A 40th anniversary celebration cake has been baked for the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team who are soon to appear. Displayed in a hospitality tent at the Kemble Air Show, the iced gateau has a red ribbon and an image of nine aircraft in mid-flight. A bouquet of flowers and assorted cutlery for the forthcoming lunch is alongside. Blue paper is draped over the top adding to the patriotic red, white and blue colours. After several identities, the Red Arrows started life near this location in 1964 at RAF Little Rissington in Gloucestershire. Their name originates from the French 'Fleches Noirs', or Black Arrows, so in England, a new team was established flying black Hawker Hunters in the colour of their Squadron 111. As the Red Arrows display team, they have since flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.
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  • Flight Lieutenants Steve Underwood and Anthony Parkinson and Wing Commander Bill Ramsey of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, discuss logistics beneath the emblems of long-disbanded fighter squadrons which decorate the squadron building at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. They sit in faded pink armchairs supplied by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) that are seen in many RAF stations and airfields with the same drab blue paint on the walls. Painted by hand are circular badges  with bold colours (colors) and illustrations of birds of prey, fighter-jets, swords and shields which all symbolise  warfare. The three pilots are relaxed wearing their red flying suits with their sunglasses dangling in the regulation loop, they are holding a bottle of mineral water and a coffee cup.
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