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  • 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
  • RAF Flight Lieutenant Jez Griggs, exerts his last, tough repetition of sit-ups to reach his target during his annual basic fitness test. Griggs is a member of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, and each member has to pass fitness exams like this in order to maintain their military pilots' licence. Held in the gym at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, it forms part of the team's Spring training month. The fatigued pilot is straining to sit upright once more while an RAF instructor shouts encouragement while holding down his feet at the ankles to ensure the sit-ups are performed perfectly. The picture is blurred to show movement during the exercise and the man's face is red with effort. Another instructor is seen in the background holding down another pilot's feet and the floor of the gymnasium is marked for indoor sport.
    Red_Arrows040_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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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, 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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.
    Red_Arrows155_RBA_1.jpg
  • Darren Budziszewski is a Junior Technician engineer in the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. He is seen carefully standing in the cockpit of a Hawk jet closely inspecting the Plexiglass canopy for smears and scratches. Stooping at the open surface while keeping back flat and his knees bent, its posture that the RAF teaches its employees. Darren polishes the aircraft before its pilot emerges from the building at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. The Red Arrows ground crew take enormous pride in their role as supporting the team whose air displays are known around the world, cleaning the red airplanes on their day off, so particular are they. The image is backlit and both canopy and man are bottom-weighted to allow us to see space and sky. Specialists like Darren outnumber the pilots 8:1 and without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly.
    Red_Arrows099_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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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 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
  • 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
  • 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.
    Red_Arrows299_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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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.
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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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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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.
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  • 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_Arrows047_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
  • 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
  • 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.
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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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  • 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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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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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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  • 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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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • In a red helmet, Squadron Leader Spike Jepson, team leader of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, plunges into the blue  Mediterranean waters for his annual Wet Drill exercise during Spring training in Cyprus. We see the pilot, small in the picture surrounded by frothing, blue water that engulfs his small body making him look vulnerable. There are lines attaching him to a boat ensuring his safety. 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) has inflated when in  contact with the salt water and helps him stay afloat in the cold water. 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.
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  • 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.
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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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  • Two Hawk jets from the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, almost touch in mid-air at an altitude of approximately 4,100 feet in the Mediterranean skies above Cyprus. The texture of mottled cirrus cloud provides a soft background for the  aircraft which approach each other at a combined air speed of approximately 800 miles per hour (1,200 kph). The Opposition Loop is flown by the two pilot partners known as the Synchro Pair who fly independently of the other seven in the second-half of their 25-minute show. The two jets have vegetable dye and derv (diesel fuel) smoke mixture coloured red, blue or white. Here it traces the paths of both airplanes which curve from the edges of the frame to the centre (center). To the crowds far below, both look as if they are on collision course but will safely pass within feet of each other.
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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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  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and after a march andflypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, foreign service oficers walk past an RAF recruiting hoarding, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
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  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and before a march andflypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, service personnel prepare by A RAF recruiting hoarding, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
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  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and before an historic flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, a guard of the RAF regiment lines the Mall, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
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  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and following a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, a patriotic man wearing a Union Jack suit and carrying a flag walks down the Mall, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
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  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and following a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, guardsmen march up steps between the Foreign Office and the Churchills War Rooms, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
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  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and following a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, two officers walk past playing boys, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
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  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and following a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, a serviceman kisses a lady, 10th July 2018, in London, England.
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  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and following a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, guardsmen march up steps between the Foreign Office and the Churchills War Rooms, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
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  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and following a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, a serviceman holds his child next to the memorial to those killed in the 2002 Bali bombing, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
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  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and following a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, a senior officer shows his pass to enter Horseguards, next to the memorial to those killed in the 2002 Bali bombing, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
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  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and following a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, women service personnel leave Horseguards, passing the memorial to those killed in the 2002 Bali bombing, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
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  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and following a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, a serviceman leaves Horseguards, passing the memorial to those killed in the 2002 Bali bombing, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
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  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and following a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, Colonel Augusto D Dela Pena left and Lt. Gen. Galileo Gerard Kintanar Jr. right of the Phillipines Air Force PAF leave Horseguards, passing the London memorial to those killed in the 2002 Bali bombing, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
    RAF_100-23-10-07-2018.jpg
  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and following a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, two members of the public gain extra height on Santander rental bikes, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
    RAF_100-13-10-07-2018.jpg
  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and following a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, women service personnel leave Horseguards, passing the memorial to those killed in the 2002 Bali bombing, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
    RAF_100-18-10-07-2018.jpg
  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and following a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, a servieman leaves Horseguards, passing the memorial to those killed in the 2002 Bali bombing, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
    RAF_100-15-10-07-2018.jpg
  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and following a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, a Kenyan officer leaves Horseguards, passing the memorial to those killed in the 2002 Bali bombing, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
    RAF_100-16-10-07-2018.jpg
  • The public look upwards on the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and during a flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
    RAF_100-08-10-07-2018.jpg
  • On the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force RAF and before an historic flypast of 100 aircraft formations representing Britains air defence history which flew over central London, the public watch a march past of service personnel, on 10th July 2018, in London, England.
    RAF_100-03-10-07-2018.jpg
  • 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
  • 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_Arrows137_RBA.jpg
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