Red 7 - Flight Lieutenant Mike Ling
How did you become a Red Arrows Pilot?
Being a Red Arrow is something I have always wanted to do. I grew up in Kent and would dream about flying with them every time I saw the Red Arrows display at Biggin Hill Air Fair.
Following my A-Levels and a Royal Air Force Flying Scholarship, I joined the Royal Air Force in 1998 and since then have taken part in instructional and operational tours all over the world. To be eligible for selection for the Red Arrows you have to be a fast jet pilot, have a minimum of 1,500 flying hours, completed one front line tour and be assessed as being above average in role. If you meet all of those requirements, you make a shortlist of nine and are examined during a thorough selection week at Royal Air Force Akrotiri in Cyprus during the Red Arrows' Spring training exercise. You go through gruelling flying tests, a formal interview and peer assessments, and at the end, three pilots are chosen to join the team for the next season.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Obviously the flying is really enjoyable as it's what I love doing. However, when you are part of the Red Arrows you get to meet some fantastic people from all over the UK and the world as we promote the Royal Air Force and UK Defence and Industry. I enjoy explaining to people what I do and if that means people understand our role and are encouraged to think about the Royal Air Force as a career or at least have more of an idea of what the RAF is doing in the world, then that's a good thing.
Describe a typical working day for you.
I don't think there is a typical working day when you are part of the Red Arrows. During training we are each flying three times a day and during the display season we are often at more than one different location a day. Whether we are flying practices or displays, each one is briefed and de-briefed, plus we have flight planning, general paperwork and of course the important role of talking to people who come to see us to explain what we do. We also have other responsibilities to make sure the Squadron runs effectively. One of my duties is to arrange presentations for groups and schools that the Pilots attend in the evenings after a very tiring day of flying!
How many flying hours and de-briefs does the Team undertake in order to perfect the final display?
What the public see is the product of seven months hard work behind the scenes during the winter training season. Training begins at Royal Air Force Scampton as soon as the last display of the year is completed. To start with we fly small formations of three or four aircraft as the three new pilots for the year learn the flying references and formation shapes. We each fly three times a day, five days a week. Each sortie is briefed thoroughly before it is flown and is recorded on video from the ground. After we land, the sortie is debriefed in minute detail using the video footage. Slowly and safely we will develop the display sequence. We won't generally fly together as nine aircraft until February, five months after training first begins.
In the Spring we swap the sometimes unreliable weather of Lincolnshire for the guaranteed clear blue skies of Royal Air Force Akrotiri in Cyprus. Our training ends in May when our Commander-in-Chief makes an assessment of our safety and professionalism. If he is content, then he will award Public Display Authority, which means we can display in public and wear our red flying suits for the first time.