VAYU on-the-spot report
We had the pleasure of visiting the famous Red Arrows Aerobatic Team (of the RAF) at Waddington. Having seen the team displaying and aweing all around the world including at airshows and ofcourse having performed in India many years ago, it was a full circle by us visiting them at their new homebase at RAF Waddington. Since flying the first time in 1965, the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team has performed more than 4,900 times across the globe. The Red Arrows are lucky to have both a wonderful history and the support and interest of millions of well-wishers. It was in 1964 when the Royal Air Force amalgamated its display teams into one, premier unit – the Red Arrows. The name was taken from the Black Arrows team and the colour scheme as a tribute to the Red Pelicans, while the aircraft chosen to be flown, the Gnat, had been used by the Yellowjacks. In the first season of 1965, the team – flying seven aircraft in a display and based at RAF Fairford – performed 65 shows. A media event at RAF Little Rissington on 6 May was the team’s first official display, with the first public performance in the UK on 15 May at Biggin Hill Air Fair. The team permanently increased to nine display aircraft in 1968 and the Diamond Nine became the Red Arrows’ trademark formation. The Gnat, which had flown 1,292 displays, was replaced by the BAE Systems Hawk, a modified version of the RAF’s fast jet and weapons trainer, for the 1980 season. Also that year, permission was given for the team to have the motto Eclat – meaning excellence. RAF Scampton – the Lincolnshire station famous for its role in the 1943 Dambusters raid – became the team’s new home in 1983, moving from RAF Kemble – its base since 1966. The Red Arrows temporarily relocated to RAF College Cranwell, also in Lincolnshire, between 1995 and 2000. During the team’s world tour of October 1995 to February 1996, the Red Arrows performed to nearly a million people in Sydney on Australia Day. In 2002, the Red Arrows flew with a British Airways Concorde over London to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s Golden Jubilee. A decade later, the Red Arrows performed another series of flypasts over the capital, for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony – seen by a global television audience in excess of one billion people – and the Athlete’s Parade.
The 4,500th Red Arrows display took place at the RAF Waddington International Air Show in July 2013 – in the team’s 49th season and the year concluded with a highlysuccessful tour of the Middle East. In 2014, the 50th display season was marked as a major milestone with a series of celebrations throughout the year. The Red Arrows were the main feature and theme of the year’s airshows. There were also television and radio documentaries, magazines produced and even a high speed train named after the team. A special, one-off, tailfin was revealed on the team to recognise the anniversary season, with the design incorporating both a Gnat and Hawk jet outline to reflect the two types of aircraft flown by the team in its history. For the 2015 season, instead of returning to the traditional three-stripe tailfin livery used since the 1960s, a fresh new paint scheme was revealed on the jets during a live television broadcast from RAF Scampton. This Union flag-inspired design features flowing red, white and blue lines and emphasises the Red Arrows’ role as national ambassadors for the United Kingdom. In September 2016, after a busy domestic season, the team embarked on its biggest overseas tour in a decade. The nine-week deployment to the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions covered 20,000 miles. The tour took the Red Arrows to 17 countries – including visiting China for the first time in the Squadron’s history. It is estimated the team’s activities were seen by a global audience, in person or through media channels, of up to one billion people. The deployment contributed to the Government’s GREAT campaign, supporting UK interests across business, trade and education and promoting the best of British innovation, technology and creativity. For 2018, the Red Arrows spearheaded celebrations marking the Royal Air Force’s centenary - including providing the colourful finale to a flypast of more than 100 aircraft over central London in July of that year. In 2019, the team carried out its largest-ever tour of North America, spanning 11 weeks, with award-winning, coast-to-coast performances that reached hundreds of millions of people and supported a range of UK businesses, trade and interests.
Red Arrows in action!
All images: Twitter @rafredarrows
A move to a new Lincolnshire home – RAF Waddington – came in late-2022, with the team leaving its celebrated home of RAF Scampton after a near 40-year presence there. The team use the same two-seat training aircraft used for advanced pilot training, at first the Folland Gnat which was replaced in 1979 by the BAE Systems Hawk T1. The Hawks are modified with an uprated engine and a modification to enable smoke to be generated; diesel is mixed with a coloured dye and ejected into the jet exhaust to produce either red, white or blue smoke. All Red Arrows display pilots are fast jet pilots, having previously flown with frontline Royal Air Force squadrons. Once they have finished their tour with the team - usually three years in total - they will return to operational, training, staff duties or other roles in the Royal Air Force.
apply for selection to the Red Arrows: Have a minimum of 1,500 flying hours, have completed a frontline, operational tour and be assessed as being above average in their flying role. A shortlist of up to nine applicants are examined during a thorough selection week, and are put through a gruelling flying test, formal interview, media test and peer assessments. Up to three new pilots are chosen each year to replace the three that have finished their tour. The Team Leader must have completed a three-year tour as a team pilot earlier in their career and is appointed in a separate selection process. It is the hard work of the team’s support personnel that keep the Red Arrows flying. The teamwork shown by the pilots in the air is reflected in the dedication and professionalism of the support staff on the ground. The support team’s success results from their Royal Air Force training, the pride they take in their work, and their determination, motivation, and, very often, sheer hard work. Without them, the Red Arrows could not function. Reds and Blues! (Image @rafredarrows) This team is made up of a Team Manager, a Public Relations Manager, Aircrew Planning Officer, Operations Officers, Engineering Officers, an Adjutant and approximately 85 engineering technicians and other support staff. The latter are known as ‘The Blues’ because they wear distinctive royal blue flying suits during the display season. The Blues represent several of the Royal Air Force’s broad range of professions. Every team member has undergone intensive training in their particular specialisation throughout their Royal Air Force career.
An assortment of Red Arrows
(U.S. Air Force photos by Staff Sgt. Eugene Oliver)
Text: UK MoD/RAF Red Arrows/Vayu
Team Photos: Vayu Team except where mentioned