What is the purpose of having the Red Arrows?
The official name of the Team is the ‘Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team’, commonly known as the ‘Red Arrows’. The Red Arrows are a small part of a large organization; the Royal Air Force, much of which is engaged in operations overseas defending UK interests and making the world a safer place.
The Red Arrows are the public face of the Royal Air Force and are acknowledged as one of the world’s premier aerobatic teams. Within the UK, the Red Arrows exist to demonstrate the professional excellence of the Royal Air Force and promote recruitment to the Royal Air Force. The Red Arrows have inspired a significant number of people to join the Royal Air Force, both as officers and airmen in all trades, not just pilots!
The Team also supports wider British interests overseas by contributing to Defence Diplomacy efforts and promoting British industry. The Hawk aircraft flown by the Team and most of its components are all British made. During international tours the Red Arrows demonstrate both British skill and British technology to millions of people.
When were the Red Arrows formed?
The Red Arrows began training in late 1964 to prepare for the 1965 Air Display Season. The squadron was officially constituted on 1 March 1965. The first official display was on 6 May 1965 at Royal Air Force Little Rissington in Gloucestershire. This was a special display to introduce the Team to the media. The first public display was on 9 May 1965 at Clermont Ferrand in France.
Where are the Red Arrows based?
The Team have been based at Royal Air Force Scampton in Lincolnshire since 2001. In the past they have also been based at Royal Air Force Fairford, Royal Air Force Kemble in Gloucestershire, and Royal Air Force College Cranwell in Lincolnshire. The RAF is currently conducting a study to consider the most suitable basing options for the Red Arrows, taking into account the team’s operational requirements and costs involved. A decision is expected by the end of this year.
What aircraft do the Red Arrows fly?
The Red Arrows have always flown whichever aircraft is in service as the Royal Air Force’s advanced fast jet trainer; currently the BAE SYSTEMS Hawk T Mk 1. From 1965 until 1979 the Red Arrows flew the Folland Gnat, the Hawk’s predecessor. The idea of utilising front line operational aircraft for formation aerobatic display teams was dropped in the early 1960s on the grounds of cost.
How much do the Red Arrows cost to run each year?
The Red Arrows have a budget of £5.6 million for the financial year 2008-09, with additional aircraft support costs of around £0.7 million. However the Royal Air Force already has the pilots and the aircraft, and it is felt that the costs that are incurred by the Red Arrows are far outweighed by the advantages accruing from the Team’s appearances.
Why is the Team called the Red Arrows?
By 1965, Royal Air Force training aircraft were predominantly red in colour. The ‘arrows’ part of the title was in recognition of the Black Arrows, a very popular squadron aerobatic team in the late 50s and early 60s.
Is the Red Arrows' flying dangerous?
Red Arrows pilots are amongst the most highly qualified and experienced within the Royal Air Force, and safety is of paramount importance in all their activities. They have all been selected for their above average flying skills and are all proficient at formation flying before they are considered for selection to the Team. All pilots are subject to rigorous annual examination by the Royal Air Force Central Flying School, a standards organisation, and all pilots fly regular sorties in Hawk flight simulators to test emergency handling and procedures. The Red Arrows adhere strictly to military flying and engineering regulations, and every sortie flown by the Red Arrows is videoed by the Team’s safety cameraman for flight safety/debriefing purposes.
All pilots undergo a rigorous winter training programme. In the early part of the training season the pilots fly in small groups of four, five or six aircraft. As the months pass and they gain experience, the number of aircraft in the formation is gradually increased and the base height lowered. Usually by mid-January, British weather permitting, the Team will be practising with nine aircraft at display heights.
The maintenance of the Hawk aircraft is subject to extremely strict controls and set procedures, and all work carried out is thoroughly supervised and independently checked. Furthermore, the Hawk aircraft is designed with comprehensive backup systems which can be employed if the primary system ceases to function
How low do the aircraft fly?
With the exception of their arrival manoeuvre, the Red Arrows do not fly directly over the crowd. Manoeuvres in front of and parallel to the crowd can be flown down to 300 feet. The Synchro Pair are allowed down to 100 feet in straight and level flight in front of and parallel to the crowd line. Inverted flight by the Synchro pilots is not allowed below 150 feet above the ground.
Does the smoke serve any useful purpose or is it just decorative?
The ‘smoke’ produced during displays is actually vapour. The primary reason that the Team use visible vapour trails is that of flight safety. The trails allow the Team Leader to judge the wind speed and direction far more accurately than by any other means. They also allow the Team Leader and Synchro Leader to keep sight of each other when two, and often three sections are often several miles apart. The vapour trails also add impact to the display sequence when viewed by the audience on the ground.
How are the coloured vapour trails made?
The vapour trails begin life as diesel fuel, contained in an extra fuel tank bolted on the underside of the Hawk fuselage. At the rear of the aircraft, immediately above the jet exhaust pipe, there are three small tubes through which the pilot can pump small quantities of this diesel. When the diesel meets the extremely high temperatures found in the jet exhaust (over 500 degrees Celsius), the diesel immediately vaporises creating an intense white cloud. With separate switches on his control column, the pilot can add red or blue dye to the diesel and produce the other two colours. During a 30-minute sortie each aircraft can produce vapour for a maximum duration of seven minutes.
These vapour trails are essential for flight safety, allowing the Team Leader to judge wind speed and direction accurately, as well as allowing the Team Leader and Synchro Leader to keep sight of each other even when they are several miles apart. Trials have found no discernible hazard to health and the emissions are insignificant in terms of local pollutants.
How much ‘g’ do the Team pull during a display?
Gravity is measured in terms of the amount of acceleration that the force gives to an object on the earth. The Red Arrows’ main section uses up to 5 times the force of gravity (5’g’) in their manoeuvres but up to 7’g’ in the Vixen Break. The Synchro Pair use 7g quite frequently and can go up to 8’g’, the aircraft limit, if needed. At 8’g’ everything weighs 8 times its normal weight, arms, legs, bags under the eyes, and so on. Cameramen have to remember that the weight of their equipment increases with increasing ‘g’ and it can be difficult to keep the camera up to eye level. The heart sinks and blood tends to pool towards the legs and away from the brain. If insufficient blood reaches the eyes then the pilots gradually lose vision and this is known as 'blacking out'.
Why do the pilots wear anti-g suits?
The anti-‘g’ suit is an elasticised garment which fits tightly over the lower abdomen and legs and fastens with laces and zips. Attached to the suit is a hose-pipe which feeds pressurised air into a large number of tubes within the suit. When an aircraft pulls 'g', the pilot's blood is forced downwards away from the heart and towards the feet so starving the brain. All pilots learn how to control this by tensing the stomach muscles but it is a physically tiring procedure. If the pilot relaxed his stomach muscles under high ‘g’ conditions, all his blood would rapidly rush away from his brain and he would black-out. When the pilot is wearing an anti-g suit, pressurised air proportional to the g force rushes into the tubes and compresses the pilot’s abdomen and legs, thus saving the pilot considerable physical effort. Without the help of an anti-‘g’ suit the pilots would rapidly get tired and might even black out.
Can the Red Arrows perform their display in poor weather?
As long as the weather is in limits for a formation of nine aircraft, there are three types of display the Leader can fly: the Full Display; the Rolling Display; and the Flat Display. To carry out a full looping display the base of the cloud must be above 4,500 feet to avoid the aircraft entering the cloud at the top of a loop. If the cloud base is less than 4,500 ft but more than 2,500 ft the Team will perform the Rolling Display, substituting wing-overs and rolls for the loops. If the cloud base is less than 2,500 ft the Team will fly the Flat Display, which consists of a series of fly-pasts and steep turns. People often ask why two, three or four aircraft do not give a display when the weather is too bad for all nine. The answer is that the Team has practised a nine-aircraft display all winter. Any variations from that routine could be dangerous due to lack of planning and practice.
Do the pilots fly lower when the weather is bad?
No, the base height of the display is the same irrespective of the weather conditions. There are three types of display the Leader can fly depending on the weather conditions: the Full Display; the Rolling Display; and the Flat Display. However, due to optical and audio illusions, when the weather is bad people on the ground sometimes get the impression that the aircraft are flying lower than normal. Low cloud reflects the aircraft noise downwards and, by adding to the noise coming directly to your ears, makes the display seem noisier than usual. Similarly, a low cloud base acting as a near backdrop to the display, rather than the limitless blue sky, gives the visual impression that they are lower than normal.
What radio frequencies do the Team use?
We get a lot of enquiries asking for the Red Arrows’ air-to-air frequencies so that members of the public can listen in. Unfortunately, for safety reasons we are unable to publicly release this information. There have been instances in the past where individuals have transmitted on our frequencies during air displays, offering advice. The Team Leader can change his pilots to a new frequency at short notice if necessary but nonetheless such interruptions are obviously extremely dangerous, and illegal.
How many display pilots are there?
Since mid-1966 the team’s display has consisted of nine aircraft, and so there are nine display pilots, including the Team Leader.
Why are there sometimes ten Red Arrows flying?
Red 10 is a fully-qualified Hawk pilot of Flight Lieutenant rank who flies the 10th aircraft when the Red Arrows deploy to an airfield site away from base. This gives the Team a reserve aircraft at the display site. Also known as the Road Manager, Red 10’s main duties include display co-ordination and acting as the Team’s dedicated Ground Safety Officer during the display season. In constant radio contact with the Team Leader, he attends every display on the ground to fulfil his primary duty of ensuring that conditions are suitable. The Red Arrows will not display until he is certain that the crowd and the pilots are in a totally safe environment. Red 10 is also the Team Commentator and flies TV cameramen and photographers authorised by MOD to take air-to-air shots of the Red Arrows. It requires a highly skilled pilot to fly a cameraman: not only has he to position the camera aircraft in such a way as to provide the best possible platform for pictures, but he has to be able to follow the nine display aircraft safely and smoothly around all the complicated manoeuvres.
What qualifications are needed to join the Team as a pilot?
All Red Arrows’ display pilots are, and always have been, volunteers. Most will tell you that it is a job they had always wanted to do, sometimes from a very early age. In January of each year the Royal Air Force asks for volunteers from suitably qualified pilots. To be eligible, anyone considering applying must have completed at least one operational tour on a fast jet such as the Typhoon, Tornado, Harrier and Jaguar. Pilots must have been assessed in their annual reports as being above average in their operational role. Helicopter pilots and fixed-wing pilots who currently fly large aircraft such as the C130 Hercules, whilst they may well be assessed as above average in their particular role, can not apply as they are most unlikely to be skilled in close formation and aerobatic flying. These provisos mean that the volunteers are usually Flight Lieutenants in their late twenties or early thirties.
How are the pilots selected?
There are always far more volunteers than places available and so a paper pre-selection board reduces the number to a short list of about nine. These nine pilots are then attached to the Red Arrows for a week to undertake a flying test, meet the present Team, fly in the back seat of the Hawks during display practices, and be interviewed. Meeting the high flying standard is the first consideration. However, once this has been achieved, pilots are chosen on their personal qualities. It is vitally important that the nine display pilots not only trust each other’s skills but get on well together. The current pilots make the final choices at a closed meeting chaired by the Team Leader. No outsiders have ever been admitted to the final selection meeting. Unsuccessful candidates can apply again, if they still meet the selection criteria, and they have not failed the flying test during previous applications. The whole process is very democratic and there is no other selection procedure like it in the Royal Air Force.
How long does each pilot stay with the Team?
Normally each of the display pilots stays with the Team for a three-year tour of duty. The reason for this is that by changing three pilots each year the experience level within the Team is optimised: three first year pilots; three second year pilots; and three in their final year. New pilots usually join in September so that they can fly in the back seats with Team for the last few displays of the season.
What happens to Red Arrows' pilots when they have finished their tour of duty with the Team?
Usually they go back to the "front-line" squadrons to resume their main-stream career. Some of the pilots reach a natural break in their Royal Air Force engagement as they leave the Red Arrows and opt to leave the Royal Air Force.
How is the Team Leader chosen?
The Team Leader (of Squadron Leader rank) will always have completed a three-year tour as a Red Arrows’ team pilot earlier in his career. The number of officers qualified for the position of Leader is, therefore, quite limited. The Royal Air Force Personnel Department will offer the job to the officer they feel is most suited to the wide variety of duties expected of the Team Leader. He has the opportunity to refuse the job if he wants: it is not on record whether or not anyone has refused the post!
How are the Synchro Pair pilots chosen?
The Synchro Leader (Red 6) is a third year pilot and he is allowed to choose his own Number 2. Thus, Synchro 2 in 2008, Flight Lieutenant Ben Murphy, will become Synchro Leader for 2009 and he will be able to choose his Number 2 for 2009 from any of the three first year pilots in 2008 who want the job.
What happens if one of the pilots is unable to fly?
If one of the pilots goes sick during the display season, or for any other reason is not able to fly, the Team is able to fly an eight-ship formation. There are no reserve pilots for safety reasons; one spare pilot could not possibly learn all nine positions to the standard required. The pilots always fly in the same position within the formation and it takes an intensive six-month training programme for each pilot to become thoroughly proficient at flying in his position. If the Team fly with one aircraft missing, the Team Leader will adjust the positions of the other pilots to achieve the most pleasing visual effect. Various ‘missing men’ formations are routinely practised during the winter training season.
What happens if the Leader is unable to fly?
If the Leader is unable to fly then the Red Arrows do not fly. There is no reserve Leader for flying displays.
Why are there no reserve pilots?
The Team spends the six months from October through to April practising for the upcoming Display Season. The pilots always fly in the same position within the formation and it takes all those months for each pilot to become thoroughly proficient at flying in his own position. It is simply not practicable to ask a spare pilot, or even two, to learn all nine positions.
Will there ever be any women pilots in the Red Arrows?
One of the prerequisites for selection for the Red Arrows is that the pilot must have completed at least one operational tour on a fast combat jet such as Tornado, Jaguar or Harrier, and it is relatively recent that female pilots been allowed to do this. There are now suitably qualified female pilots in existence within the Royal Air Force and it should not be long before the Red Arrows gain their first female pilot. The Team already has female personnel in every other role, from engineering technicians to flight planners.
How can I contact former Red Arrows?
Not very easily! To give out addresses of private individuals would be an infringement of that person's privacy. However, if you have a really good reason for wanting to contact a former member of the Team, we will forward messages to their last-known address. If you do this, your letter must be unsealed for security reasons - not because we are nosy! Please bear in mind that we cannot guarantee that the person addressed will reply and we will not act as a go-between. Many ex-Team pilots do not wish to receive correspondence about their time with the Red Arrows.
How do the Red Arrows decide where to give displays?
Decisions on where the Red Arrows are going to display are made in conjunction with the Royal Air Force Events Team, who also decide where all other Royal Air Force display assets will perform.
How many requests are there every year for displays?
The number varies from year to year, but is generally in the region of 400 requests. There are always far more requests than available dates and for some of the most popular dates, for example the weekends in summer, there are usually several conflicting requests.
Can we book a Red Arrows display?
The Royal Air Force Events Team receive more than 300 requests for displays, but only about 80 can be fitted into the team's programme. All bids must be made in writing before the end of September for the following summer. The Red Arrows’ display season generally begins in May and finishes in September each year, and the Team are unable to display outside this period.
A £20 administration charge for all military display activity has been introduced for the 2008 season on a trial basis and will be reviewed at the end of the year.
If you would like to request a Display by the Red Arrows, please send full details in writing to:
RAF Events Team,
Adastral Hall,
PO Box 100,
RAF College Cranwell,
Sleaford,
Lincs,
NG34 9GZ.
Fax: 01400 262220
Email: june.austin@cranwell.raf.mod.uk
What about flypasts by the Red Arrows?
Flypasts, with very rare exceptions, are permitted only when The Red Arrows are already in transit close to where the flypast is required. They are not programmed to do any flypast that involves a considerable deviation from the planned route because this would incur extra fuel and aircraft operating costs.
Flypasts are always subject to cancellation at short notice for operational reasons such as weather conditions and Air Traffic Control restrictions.
A £20 administration charge for all military display activity has been introduced for the 2008 season on a trial basis and will be reviewed at the end of the year.
If you would like to request a flypast from the Red Arrows then please complete the flypast application form and send to:
RAF Events Team,
Adastral Hall,
PO Box 100,
RAF College Cranwell,
Sleaford,
Lincs,
NG34 9GZ.
Fax: 01400 262220
Email: june.austin@cranwell.raf.mod.uk
Is it true you will do flypasts for weddings?
We are not permitted to carry out flypast for weddings or funerals. Sometimes we do so inadvertently but these are never planned.
When are the Red Arrows coming back to ......?
Much as we would like to return to Africa or Australia, or travel to South America, Japan, Korea, China and a whole raft of countries we have not yet visited, we cannot answer this question. It may be that we have not been officially invited by the Government of that particular country, it may be because there is no organisation willing to pay the cost. One country we cannot go to with the Hawk is New Zealand - the aircraft cannot carry enough fuel to get us there!
Do the Red Arrows ever receive any complaints?
In the execution of our training and operations we take safety very seriously and make every effort to minimize inconvenience to the general public. However we are not arrogant enough to believe that everyone likes the Red Arrows. We do not receive many complaints, but those which are directed against the Team are dealt with by the Public Relations Manager in the first instance. She will always then check out the circumstances with the Team Leader and reply to the person making the complaint.
Where can I obtain Red Arrows souvenirs?
The Red Arrows Merchandise Company, an officially licensed source of Red Arrows souvenirs can be found at www.redarrowsshop.com or by telephoning +44 (0) 1252 377 675.
Can I visit the Red Arrows at your home base?
We can host very limited number of visitors to the Red Arrows’ headquarters at Royal Air Force Scampton, Lincolnshire. If you wish to be added to the waiting list then please contact SAC Ann Muldowney on redarrowspra@scampton.raf.mod.uk.
Can I apply for a passenger flight with the Red Arrows?
Several hundred members of the public write in each year asking for trips with the Red Arrows, but all have to be rejected. A couple of years ago we rejected an offer of £10,000 to a charity of our choice in exchange for a trip with the Red Arrows. The main reason for this is that if we set a precedent and gave a trip to one person we would have to fly everyone who asked and there simply would not be enough sorties in the year. On very rare occasions we will fly journalists and high profile personalities when doing so will further the Red Arrows’ mission of keeping the Royal Air Force in the public eye.