New pilots at the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, RAF Scampton start getting to grips this week with their new role as display pilots for the world-famous Red Arrows.
The pilots go through hundreds of hours of training to hone their skills to be at the standard expected of one of the world’s premier aerobatic teams, the Red Arrows.
Officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows showcase the excellence of the RAF and represent the United Kingdom both at home and overseas.
The team consists of 11 pilots, nine of whom fly in the display, and more than 100 support personnel and technicians.
Each of the pilots has previous fast-jet, operational experience flying the Tornado, Typhoon or Harrier, enabling the RAF to secure the skies and protect the nation and its interests, 365-days a year.
Pilots must have completed one or more operational tours on a fast jet with at least 1,500 flying hours and have been assessed as above average in their operational role to be eligible.
Three pilots are changed every year, such that normally three first-year pilots, three second-year pilots, and three in their final year are on the team. The team leader also spends three years with the team. The ‘Boss’, as he is known to the rest of the team, is always a pilot who has previously completed a three-year tour with the Red Arrows, often (although not always) including a season as the leader of the Synchro Pair.
During the second half of each display, the Red Arrows split into two sections. Reds 1 to 5 are known as ‘Enid’ (named after the famous author Enid Blyton) and Reds 6 to 9 are known as ‘Gypo’ (the nickname of one of the team’s pilots back in the 1960s).
Enid continue to perform close-formation aerobatics, while Gypo perform more dynamic manoeuvres.
Red 6 (Syncro Leader) and Red 7 (Synchro 2) make up the Synchro Pair and they perform a series of opposition passes during this second half.
At the end of each season, one of that year’s new pilots will be chosen to be Red 7 for the following season, with that year’s Red 7 taking over as Red 6.
The Red Arrows have no reserve pilots, as spare pilots would not perform often enough to fly to the standard required, nor would they be able to learn the intricacies of each position in the formation. If one of the pilots is not able to fly, the team flies an eight-plane formation. However, if the Team Leader, ‘Red 1’, is unable to fly, then the team does not display at all.
During an aerobatics display, Red Arrows pilots experience forces up to five times that of gravity (1g), and when performing the aerobatic manoeuvre ‘Vixen Break’, forces up to 7g can be reached, close to the 8g structural limit of the aircraft.
One of the world’s premier aerobatic teams, the Red Arrows had completed nearly 5,000 displays, in 57 countries, by the beginning of 2019.
Flying Hawk T1 jets, the team is based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire
The magnificent Red Arrows Its good to be British!