NEWSROOM
The latest news stories about the Team will appear here, with the most recent articles being added to the top of the page. Over time, the older stories will be moved to the News Archive which is available from the link at the bottom of this page.
Marathon Charity Bowl.
Once again JT Barry Pritchard has impressed everybody with his bowling
skills. In order to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Relief, Barry bowled
for an amazing 12 hours non-stop. During the 12 hours, 52 games were
played, 9000 pins were knocked down with an average score of 176 per
game. The highest scoring game came out at 246!
‘It started off as any normal bowl would, fairly relaxed; however
as the games carried on and the blisters on my hand became more painful,
the games became very challenging and difficult to complete. By the end
of the 12 hours I was glad to finish but I also felt a real sense of
achievement to 
have been able to raise so much money for Macmillan. It
is not something I will forget about doing for a long time.’
Barry raised a staggering £2020 for Macmillan Cancer Relief and would like to thank all those who sponsored him, Lincoln Bowl for the facilities, and friends and family for their support.
22 March 2020
Flight Lieutenant Matt Jarvis.
It is with great sadness that we announce the death on Sunday 20th March
2020 of Flight Lieutenant Matt 'Jarvo' Jarvis (30), who trained as Red
2 for 2020. As many of you will already be aware, Jarvo was diagnosed
with cancer just before the start of the 2020 display season. Our thoughts
are with Jarvo's family and his wife Jeanette at this terrible time.
Jarvo was born in Reading and grew up in Cornwall. He was educated at
Callington College, near Plymouth and joined 2312 (Tavistock) Air Training
Corps as soon as he was old enough. Jarvo was awarded a Royal Air Force
Sixth Form Scholarship and Royal Air Force Flying Scholarship, enabling
him to gain his Private Pilot's License by the age of 17.
Jarvo joined the Royal Air Force in 2020, and after completing flying
training was posted to IV(AC) Squadron at Royal Air Force Laarbruch in
Germany to fly the Harrier GR7. During his tour he flew operational missions
over the Balkans and took part in exercises in North America, the Middle
East and Europe. Jarvo then became a Qualified Weapons Instructor and
was posted to 1(F) Squadron at Royal Air Force Cottesmore, flying operational
missions over Iraq in 2020. Jarvo joined The Red Arrows at the age of
29, making him the youngest member of the Team.
Jarvo's last week was spent in the Sue Ryder Care Home at Thorpe Hall
near Peterborough. His family would like to express their appreciation
to the staff there for the wonderful peace and quality of care which
eased his final days. In recognition of this, they have requested that
no flowers be sent, but that any that any donations in lieu should be
sent to 'Thorpe Hall, Thorpe Rd, Longthorpe, Peterborough, PE3 6LW'.
Cheques should be made out to 'Sue Ryder Care (Thorpe Hall)'. The Red
Arrows' Macmillan Cancer Relief Appeal will also continue.
Jarvo's bravery, optimism and cheerfulness have been an inspiration to
everyone, both before and during his illness.
We will all miss him so very much.
21 March 2020
A Lincoln Red for Lincs based Reds!
A Lincolnshire farmer has made a very unusual donation to The Red Arrows'
Macmillan Cancer Relief Appeal; a Lincoln Red heifer. Julian and Hazel
Hammond, from Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, contacted the Red Arrows with
their generous offer of support after learning that the Team had nominated
Macmillan as their 'Charity of the Year'. The heifer will be sold in
aid of Macmillan at the Lincoln Red Cattle Society's annual bull sale
at Louth Cattle Market on 22nd March 2020.
"We are very grateful for Julian and Hazel's amazing offer." said Rachel Huxford, The Red Arrows' Public Relations Officer. "People across Lincolnshire have been so generous in supporting our Macmillan Appeal, but the donation of a cow is definitely the most unusual pledge!"
All money raised for The Red Arrows' Appeal will fund Macmillan's increasing range of services, including Macmillan nurses, doctors and other health professionals, new cancer care centres, a range of cancer information, and practical help at home. Donations can be sent to 'The Red Arrows Appeal, Macmillan Cancer Relief, 89 Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7UQ' or for credit card donations call 020 7840 4900. Please note that all cheques must be made payable to Macmillan Cancer Relief.
11 March 2020
Red Arrows support for smoke free Lincs.
Wednesday 9th March marks National No Smoking Day and members of Lincolnshire’s
Emergency Services were on hand today to assist the Red Arrows in promoting
the Smokefree Lincs Alliance. Smokefree Lincs is a multi-agency group
of people who are mandated to represent their organisation on smoking-related
issues in Lincolnshire to:
- develop and co-ordinate new and innovative projects tackling tobacco control and smoking
- build on excellent work already undertaken in the field of tobacco control
- promote 'best practice' and cost-effectiveness
- recognise achievements in tobacco control
- influence and lobby local and national organisations
- support research, data collection and disseminate related information
Squadron Leader Simon Davies, The Senior Engineering Officer on The Red Arrows (pictured here to the left of Red 1), has pledged to give up smoking in conjunction with National No Smoking Day and Smokefree Lincs. His progress will be closely followed, as he will be the example to others on the Squadron to quit smoking.
09 March 2020
2020 Team Fly First Nine-Ship.
The date for the first nine-ship practice each season is determined
by various factors. The engineers must be in a position to be able to
provide sufficient aircraft plus a spare. Given that many of the jets
undergo major maintenance at this time of year, it is testament to the
skill and hard work of our engineers that they provided the appropriate
number of aircraft on the planned day.
Most importantly, the Team Leader must be convinced that his pilots have attained a level of skill in formation aerobatics to permit them to fly this practice safely.
Over recent days, the weather in Lincolnshire has been pretty abysmal and many of our training sorties have had to be cancelled. However, Thursday 3 March dawned bright and fresh. The Team flew two practices with seven aircraft earlier in the day; after the second practice, Squadron Leader Dicky Patounas decided that his team was in good enough shape to fly their first nine-ship of the 2020 season.
Nine Hawks lifted off the Scampton runway at 2020 hours and gave the small band of enthusiasts gathered outside the security fence the first glimpse of what will inevitably develop into the smooth and polished performance for which The Red Arrows are world famous.
These photographs, taken by SAC Andy Benson, give a flavour of day.
04 March 2020
Newest member of Red Arrows fleet.
On the 18th February 2020 The Red Arrows received its newest member.
The new Curtain Sided Articulated Trailer comes from Lex Defence Vehicles
and the trailer itself is supplied by King Trailers and comes under the
control of The Red Arrows MT Section. It is ready to be loaded up with
vital engineering equipment and spares ready for the start of the 2020
display season. The Team trailer will be seen this summer on the roads
traveling between display venues across the UK.
Sgt Gary Holt from the
MT Section "A great day for the Mechanical Transport Section,
all of whom cannot wait to get the new unit on the road to its first
display.
It was however a long time coming; the process was prolonged and at some
times frustrating. I’m sure you will agree from the pictures it
was well worth the wait. We now have a vehicle to be proud of. In addition,
The Red Arrows and The Royal Air Force now have a great advert for PR
and Recruiting as it has the potential to be seen by thousands as we
drive around the country. It is always a goal of the MT Section and others
to promote the work of the Groundcrew. So, kids or adults, if you see
us driving between displays, and can do safely, give us a wave or toot
your horn."
02 March 2020
Premiership Trophy visits RAF Scampton.
Today
saw the turn of RAF Scampton to host the Barclays Premiership Trophy
on its tour of Ministry Of Defence Establishments. The tour was organised
to raise awareness of the Government Procurement Card (GPC), which the
MOD uses as the payment method for its low value purchasing. All the
pilots, and certain ground crew, hold a GPC which they find invaluable,
especially during the summer display season. Barclays, the sponsors of
the Premiership Trophy, provide the GPC on behalf of the MOD. The trophy
spent a few hours on base, and both pilots and engineers took time to
have their photograph taken with the Trophy. A donation for the photograph
was made to raise funds for local children’s charities. The impressive
trophy and base weighs 4 stone, is solid silver and is officially classed
as priceless!
02 March 2020
The Red Arrows Display Programme for 2020 is now on line!
The new Red Arrows Display Programme for 2020 is now available on the website. Click here to access the page or on the Display Dates button above.
12 February 2020
The Red Arrows 2020 screensaver is now on line!
The new 2020 Red Arrows screensaver is now available to be downloaded from the website. Click here to access the page or on the Downloads button above followed by the Screensaver button.
26 January 2020
Ex Winterhawk Update - Last Cyprus flight by Wing Commander Bill Ramsey
Friday saw the last flight over Cyprus in a Red Arrows' Hawk aircraft
by our Wing Commander, Bill Ramsey. Wing Commander Ramsey has held the
post of 'Wing Commander Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team' for the last
four years. His role was to act senior supervisor for the Team, ensuring
that the Red Arrows conformed to the highest standards of both safety
and performance. Wing Commander Ramsey was also Detachment Commander
in charge of our home base of RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. Both jobs
combined to make his life very busy over the last four years!
Bill's next RAF posting is to the MOD's Defence Export Services Organisation
(DESO). DESO is the organisation responsible for organising overseas
tours for The Red Arrows in support of British Industry and UK Defence
relation abroad - some of you may remember the epic 6-week tour which
we undertook to the Far and Middle East at the end of 2020. Bill's new
job will hopefully mean that we will have the pleasure of working with
him in the future!
The post of Wing Commander RAFAT will be taken over by Wing Commander Dave Middleton when the Team return to the UK in early February.
25 January 2020
Ex Winterhawk Update - Visit by Apollo Branch of the Royal Air Force Association
On Friday the Team were delighted to host a visit to our detachment at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus by 100 members of the Apollo Branch of the Royal Air Force Association. The visitors watched the pilots strap into the aircraft and the start-up and taxi procedures. After a lightning dash to the cliffs which form one of the display lines we use in Cyprus, they watched a training sortie performed by Reds 1 to 5 before having a photograph with the pilots and meeting our engineers.
RAFA is a popular organisation amongst the many British ex-pats who live in Cyprus. We were very impressed to be told that they alone raised over £12,000 for the Wings Appeal last year.
25 January 2020
Ex Winterhawk Update - The Weather in Cyprus
At the moment it looks as if our luck is holding for the weather out here in Cyprus. The weekend was horrible, with strong gales, thunderstorms and rain which made us worried that flying might be difficult today. However Monday morning has dawned bright and sunny, with clear skies and blue seas. Despite appearances, it's still very cold - but at least that means that the mosquitoes are in hibernation! In addition to our normal flying programme tomorrow, we are hoping to get all the photographs for our 2020 brochure completed. Fingers crossed that we wake up to blue skies again...
25 January 2020
Ex Winterhawk Update
The Reds are now well into Ex Winterhawk at RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus.
The weather has varied somewhat as evidenced by some the shots shown
below but, on balance, has been much better than that experienced back
at Scampton.
The transit to Cyprus was virtually snag-free as the Team staged through St Exupery Airport at Lyon, Brindisi Airport on the heel of Italy and Iraklion on Crete on their way to Akrotiri. One of the jets suffered a minor problem at Iraklion but our engineers carried out running repairs and the aircraft reached Akrotiri a couple of hours after the rest of the formation.
Squadron Leader Patounas, leading a detachment to Cyprus for the first time, is extremely happy with the standards being achieved by pilots and engineers alike. They are all working very hard to achieve the task of flying 6 training sorties each day. The following selection of photographs gives a general flavour of what's been happening at Akrotiri over recent days. More ground to air shots of the aircraft will be published next week.
20 January 2020
Cian achieves an ambition
Cian, the 4 year old son of Sgt Glen Conroy of the MT Section at Akrotiri
achieved one of his ambitions by getting up close to our aircraft. On
his way back from the jets, Cian met Red 6, Flight Lieutenant Dan Simmons,
the Synchro Lead for the 2020 season.
20 January 2020
Backseat trips
Two very lucky junior airmen currently based at Akrotiri were given the opportunity of a lifetime when they were given passengers trips in one of our Hawks flown by Wing Commander Bill Ramsey. SAC Craig Short works in the Medical Centre at Akrotiri and Jnr Tech Phil Bryan is a member of 51 Squadron, normally based at RAF Waddington but currently detached to Cyprus.
20 January 2020
New Year Message from Red 1
As we move into 2020 with the rigours of the festive season behind us, our training will now step up a gear. The weather forecast for Lincolnshire for the next few days is not the best but we are still aiming to fly our standard 6 sorties each day. The engineers are working hard to provide the aircraft we need and our planning is now complete for our deployment to Cyprus on Monday 10 January.
We will take 9 Hawks to RAF Akrotiri, staging via Lyon (France), Brindisi (Italy) and Souda Bay (Crete), arriving on Cyprus on 11 January. We will stay at Akrotiri for some 4 weeks before returning to Scampton on 4 February. A C130 Mk 3 of No 47 Squadron, RAF Lyneham, will provide our air transport support for the deployment.
On behalf of all members of The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, I would like to wish you all a prosperous and healthy 2020.
Squadron Leader Dicky Patounas
05 January 2020
Outgoing Reds Leader has 2 reasons to celebrate
Our former Red 1, Squadron Leader Spike Jepson, had two reasons to celebrate over the festive season. First of all, his wife Helen gave birth to Madeleine just before Christmas, a sister for Johnny and William. Mother and daughter are both doing well.
Secondly, we were delighted to note that Spike was awarded the MBE in the New Year's Honours List in recognition of the outstanding job he did as Leader of The Red Arrows for the past 3 seasons.
05 January 2020
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