Just how on earth did you manage to get a blag in the back seat of The Red Arrows you ask …
Well I will tell you about that later but first let me tell you about the experience.
Once it was agreed that I would become a passenger and a provisional date was set, i firstly had to pass a medical.
So one sunny morning off I trotted down to RAF SCAMPTON where I was welcomed by the whole Team, but was going nowhere unless I passed the thorough medical.
The RAF cant have any Tom, Dick or Harry passing out or having a stroke or heart attack whilst on a jolly at 320 mph.
With the successful medical clearing me for take off (excuse the pun), I was then fully kitted out in RAF flying kit, and when i mean ‘fully’, i mean fully …. even down to RAF issue socks and grundies.
Im not saying I looked buff standing there getting dressed, but I swear Kelly McGillis would have had her breath taken away !!
I was given a flying suit , boots and even silk gloves. Then a life jacket (in case we ditched over water) and then the G-Suit which fitted around the waist, thighs and calves.
A very precise helmet fitting was next and we were ready to go …. but even though I was only going to be a passenger … the RAF are very, very strict on safety and a full and detailed briefing was given including how the G-Suit would work … Basically, as the G Force of the manouverers increases, your blood can be pushed away from your brain into your lower torso and limbs, and your heart simply can not force it back up to your brain and hence you pass out even at a fairly low ‘G’ if you are not used to it.
To counter act this, the very clever suit, which is connected to the plane’s computer and accelerometer (measures G Force) and once the G Force increases to a certain level, the suit kicks in and is filled with a very high pressure compressed air.
This is instant and simply treats you as if you are a tube of toothpaste and it is someone jumping on it. …. it literally squeezes your blood back up to your heart and your brain. Now unfortunately, even though the suit was working, the machine that demonstrates how this will feel when it kicks in in the plane itself was broken, so I did not know what to expect.
All throughout the briefing, I cannot count the number of times I was told, that if you hear “EJECT, EJECT , EJECT” …. just pull the big red toggle under the seat ! …. But I also told that if I didnt do it myself then it would be out of my own hands and out I would go.
They did warn you that although Ejecting all sounds very ‘James Bond’ and romantic … the G-Force is about 20 G …. which not only shortens you by about 2 inches, but can cause long lasting serious spinal damage ….. but its better than crashing Im told.
Amazingly, just before we set off after the briefings, I was asked by the Pilot of ‘RED 5’ Mark Zanker “Where do you want to go?”
I said “ Can we just fly near my House ? ” as its not far from Scampton
“Nah, you dont wanna go there” Mark replied “Do you want to go to the Lake District?”
The next minute, helmet on, I climb up and Im helped to get sat in the rear seat of the RAF Hawk T1 and harnesses clipped in and tightened, G-Suit connected and Communications and Oxygen plugged in …. and the important thing … they gave me a Sick Bag … just in case.
The first thing I do recall from the tight mask and a weird smell of the mask and the oxygen was a slight feeling of nausea … maybe i had some butterflies too that added to that.
It was a privilege to taxi onto the runway, listening to the Pilot converse with the Air Tower and after being cleared for take off …. off we went.
Maybe because Ive seen the Red Arrows in full gas with smoke on, but that initial low thrust and very smooth take off was a touch of an anti-climax … but I suppose you that was just daft expectations and preconceived thoughts – after all .. you wouldn’t expect Elfyn Evans to put a car totally sideways into Asda Car Park at 90 miles per hour if you sat in a car with him.
Up we went and Mark had explained that when you fly a Jet like this, you basically fly at a number of different set speeds … we were trapping a long at 320 knots and we alsokept at about 500 ft although he did drop it down a bit but said there were guidelines he needed to stick to.
We were just bobbing along, nice and smooth and with no feeling of real fast speed, when he said to me “Rich, would you like to take control?”
Wow I thought, this is ace ….. I took the joy stick and as Mark ‘felt’ that I was was not going to do anything stupid, his voice came through my helmet “You have control”
At least he trusted me 🙂
To be honest, although I can say I was ‘flying’ a Red Arrow Hawk Jet …. my input here was literally only the joystick and I could basically steer right or left and go up or down ….. I wasn’t using the power which was set and I wasn’t using the rudder … but still … it was awesome and I was flying a Red Arrow.
Mark was simply brilliant and he allowed me to do all the steering all the way up to the Lake District, changing course and direction when told, keeping it straight and level and also reacting to the changes of terrain as we started to move up towards the hills.
As we approached the ‘Lakes’ properly Mark simply told me that he would take over and as soon as he confirmed that ‘He had Control” I just let go and sat back for the ride of my life.
What I didnt realise is that because the Lake District is used quite a lot foradvanced fighter jet training at very high speed and low level flying, it is important that there are no ‘surprises’ for the Pilots so the whole of the valley system in the Lake District are divided up into ONE WAY STREETS.
The other thing that was suddenly noticeable, is that the speed and altitude we were flying at, did not really give much indication or feeling of speed – a bit like driving on a motorway at 70 is totally different to driving 70 down a twisty country lane or on a Rally stage …. suddenly you realise how fast you are going and the skill and control required is totally different.
I know the Red Arrows dont have ‘gears’ but basically Mark knocked it down a cog or two and floored it at the same time as positioning us a lot lower to the ground.
The difference was insane and as he started a tight turn up and around one of the mountainous terrain, the G Force increased and suddenly the G-Suit kicked in …. it was amazing, you were being forced into your seat, almost crushed and then the next minute it was like being hit by a sledgehammer, as it kicked in then squeezed in a giant vice from your toes upwards.
The thrill was immense as we twisted and turned, skimming the ground what was often less than 100 ft below us, hoping the crests of the hills and diving down the next valley. Exhilaration at its best.
And all of a sudden, Mark pulled us up away from the ground, turned us back towards home and again let me ‘fly’ home.
But just when I though that was it and it was going to be just a steady flight back … he asked me if Id like to do some aerobatics !!!
I didnt hesitate and he then took me over towards the East Coast of Lincolnshire.
Mark was brilliant talking me through what I was going to be doing, and instructing me on ‘how’ I was going to execute these moves, but also pointed out that for safety, we would do these at a minimum height of 5000 ft.
My first task was a ‘Barrel Roll’ whereby you simply grab the joystick and quickly shove it sideways which tilts one wing downwards and the other up so it ‘rolls’ along its forward axis. The idea is to be flying along sat upwards and in a flash do a 360 degree roll, going totally upside down and then as you get back to where you started from, you must be quick to stop the roll dead in its tracks and carry on straight.
Mark asked me if I was ready and told me when to go. The sharp twist of the plane was instant and it was a brilliant as you rolled through 360 degrees and as you got to the top, suddenly flick the joystick back the other way and counteract the motion to flying dead straight again …. I tell you when you hear “nice manoeuvre” over the headphones it really makes you day.
Mark allows me another Barrel Roll which I again pulled of perfectly and then he took control and did a 180 and flew us upside down for a bit.
My next move was a full ‘LOOP’ and this is more advanced as the G-Forces are much higher and for a lot longer.
All I had to do was pull the joystick back further and further so the plane rose upwards and then kept going, and going until you were upside down. Then you need to keep pulling and then you are coming off the top of the loop and now starting to head back towards the earth.
Its not all finished at this point, you are only half way there as you need to keep pulling to level back up and finish the 360 degrees.
The G-Force was amazing and even with the G-Suit fully operational pushing blood back to your heart and your brain, the G Force still starves your brain of blood and oxygen and as we started reaching the top of the loop the force on you is unbelievable and your vision starts to close in from the side .. its like two big black curtains closing in slowly from each side … but the fear that if they touch you actually black out.
It was a tough physical challenge to not just keep physically pulling but to also concentrate mentally as your field of vision diminished.
As we came to the bottom …. and levelled out Mark congratulated me on keeping it not just a perfect 360 circle, but more importantly, dead in line as its very easy to pull the stick slightly sideways which causes the Loop to become a huge CorkScrew rather than a clean Loop ending up where you started from …… I was so chuffed !
We headed back for base and to be honest the G-Forces had taken their toll and I felt a little queasy. As we went to land, the Tower told us we had to wait for landing so Mark set us on a huge 2 or 3 mile circle around the airfield awaiting permission to land … this final part of the flight so nearly had more reaching for my sick bag, but I just manage to keep it down as we eventually touched down.
What a day … and Thank you to Mark Zanker and thank you to THE RED ARROWS.
This ‘flight’ all came about after I ‘built’ a Mark 4 Golf GTI Rally Car for the 1993 Network Q RAC RALLY where RED 1 Simon Meade was to drive the Rally in aid of ChildLine co-driven by RallyDrive Rally School owner Howard Paterson.
I used to work as an instructor at RallyDrive and often we would host corporate days where The Red Arrows would come and drive the Rally Cars under our tuition. They wee all great drivers as you can imagine.
We got to know them quite well and Howard would often ring Simon up and ask them to ‘Buzz Us’ at the Rally School (at Blyton Park Airfield only a few miles away from RAF Scampton) when they were going out practicing ….. it was a great sight to see 9 Red Arrows give you a personal display with a low pass, and when we next saw them at a corporate day there would be a fair bit of banter between us Rally Drivers and them as advanced Pilots and we would tell them that they were useless and we could fly lower !! … The next time I swear they were less than 50 foot above our heads !! … great lads, very skilled and great craic.
As part of a Thank You for building a reliable Rally Car to get Simon ‘Red 1’ Meade to the end of the RAC RALLY, I was invited up for a ‘blag’. Howard Paterson the Co-Driver and Rally Schoolowner also got a ride, as did my mate Jason Plato who also used to work with us at RallyDrive.
This is one of the only things that I have not Crashed 🙂
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