The remarkable fuel efficiency of the Hawk brought a new dimension to the way the team could operate. No longer did they need to operate from a base close to the display site and performing at two displays in the in flight could now be accomplished. The downside, quoted by Flt Lt Bob Lewis, the team’s Engineering Officer 1977-1980, was that the were fewer ‘back seat’ rides and overnight stays!
The team’s Hawk aircraft were painted in a distinctive Signal Red, a brighter red to that of the Post Office Red used on the earlier Gnat Red Arrows and Jet Provosts of the Red Pelicans. Mirroring the MOD changes insisted on for the Gnats in 1979, the Hawks were also painted with a white centre-line flash bearing the CFS badge and Royal Air Force title on the forward fuselage.
In May 1983, the Red Arrows relocated from RAF Kemble in Gloucestershire, their base since 1966, to RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire where, despite occasional attempts to suspend the team, they remain to represent the very best the RAF and UK aerospace industry, and is acknowledged as one of the world’s premier aerobatic teams.
In July 2010, now 30 years old, XX322 received its call up to the Red Arrows at RAF Scampton, having moved from their original base at RAF Kemble in 1983 (I remember flying Chipmunks out of RAF Kemble in the early 1980s with the Air Cadets and having to land PDQ to clear the airspace for the incoming Red Arrows! My claim to fame - flying a Chipmunk with the Red Arrows!!).
It is testament to the quality of this aircraft that now, at over 40 years old, it is still being put through some of the most rigorous manoeuvres required of any aircraft; serving its pilots 3-4 times as long as its Gnat predecessor, how amazing is that!
Interestingly, during the North American Tour, August – October 2019, XX322 was flown by Squadron Leader Martin Pert, in his final year leading the team as Red #1. This was the first time the Red Arrows had been to North America since 2008 and was the team’s largest ever visit to Canada and the United States. As part of the Hornby enterprise, Corgi have also produced a diecast model, Ref AA36017, of Red Arrows Hawk XX322 in the U.S. Tour 2019 Scheme, available on Summer 2021 pre-order for princely cost of £49.99!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.