RAF Red Arrows 2024

[Adam]

I travelled up to Waddington today for a season launch event coinciding with the Red Arrows' 2024 schedule release. The highlight was a heritage flypast with a very rarely-seen Folland Gnat!

Later in the day, the team performed a full run-through of their 2024 display sequence for, I believe, the first time (albeit only as a 6-ship).

I'd hoped to get some videos online tonight but as if by magic every road heading home seemed to close just I drove on to it, meaning a 3.5hr drive home became 6hrs. So more details to follow tomorrow. In the mean time, here's a screenshot of today's action.

Screenshot (555).png (1.57 MiB) Viewed 416 times

[Adam]

The 2024 display sequence, as performed yesterday. This is the high show routine:

• Short Diamond arrival (last featured in the Red Arrows' display in 2005)
• Loop in Short Diamond, changing to Nine Arrow
• Present in Big Vixen
• Barrel roll in Spitfire
• Loop in Concorde, changing to Cygnet; present in Cygnet
• Present in Phoenix
• Barrel roll in Chevron
• Tornado
• Flat 5-4 Split (last featured in the Red Arrows' display in 1993)
• 5-4 Cross (also a 1990s move, I think)
• Lots and lots of repositioning (this bit takes quite a while, unfortunately)
• Reds 6-9: Hanna Break
• Reds 6-9: Hanna Pass
• Reds 6-7: Slingshot
• Reds 1-5 & 8: Goose
• Reds 6-8: Heart
• Reds 6-7: Opposition Barrel Rolls
• Reds 1-5 & 8-9: Vertical Break (replaced with a new 7-ship version of Corkscrew in the flat/rolling show)
• Reds 6-7: Boomerang (replaced with the Carousel in the flat show)
• Reds 1-5: Python (modified for 2024; now one barrel roll in Leader's Benefit, then a present in Line Abreast)
• Reds 6-9: Mirror Flat
• Reds 1-5: Rollbacks
• Reds 6-9: Anniversary Break (new manoeuvre! Seems to be an on-crowd opposition break with Reds 8-9 drawing the number '60' with smoke)
• Reds 6-7: Double Rolls
• Reds 1-5 & 8-9: Vixen Break

Some favourite clips from yesterday's training flights:


And finally, the Hawk/Gnat heritage formation:

[dzirzow]

Anyone know if they will have to change their demo for the Canadian shows? When they were in the US last a few years ago they had to change some maneuvers due to the American FAA.

[Adam]

Anyone know if they will have to change their demo for the Canadian shows? When they were in the US last a few years ago they had to change some maneuvers due to the American FAA.

Hopefully not. In 2019 they only performed the simplified show for tour stops in the USA. In Canada, they mostly reverted to the full European-style routine.

[Flightline Uk]

https://www.air-shows.org.uk/2024/03/ai ... ates-2024/

Additional Display Date added

May
21st - Battle of Crete Commemoration, Souda Bay, Greece
25th - Meeting Aérien International Du Grand Est, Chambley, France
31st - Midlands Air Festival, Ragley Hall, Warwickshire

June
1st-2nd - Midlands Air Festival, Ragley Hall, Warwickshire
1st - English Riviera Airshow, Paighton, Devon
2nd - IWM Duxford Summer Airshow, Cambridgeshire
5th - D-Day 80th National Commemorative Event Flypast, Portsmouth, Hampshire
6th - D-Day 80th National Commemorative Event Flypast, Normandy, France
7th - Isle of Man TT Races, Douglas, Isle of Man
9th - RAF Cosford Air Show, Shropshire
13th - Guernsey Battle of Britain Air Display, Channel Islands
15th - HM The King’s Birthday Flypast, London (flypast-only)
16th - Sola Airshow, Norway
22nd - The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival, Portsoy, Scotland
22nd - Northern Ireland Armed Forces Day, Jordanstown, Newtownabbey, 
23rd - Sywell Airshow 2024, Northamptonshire
29th - North East Lincolnshire Armed Forces Weekend, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire
29th - Shuttleworth Festival of Flight, Old Warden, Bedfordshire
30th - Folkestone Armed Forces’ Day, Kent

July
5th - Battle of Britain Airshow, Headcorn, Kent
6th - Teignmouth Airshow, Devon
6th - Somerset Armed Forces Day Flypast, Taunton, Somerset
6th - Wales Airshow, Swansea, South Wales
7th - British Grand Prix, Silverstone, Northamptonshire
11th-12th - Goodwood Festival of Speed, West Sussex
13th-14th - Southport Airshow, Lancashire
19th-21st - Royal International Air Tattoo, RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire
27th - Farnborough International Airshow, Hampshire (Flypast)

August
10th - Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo – (flypast-only)
10th-11th - Blackpool Airshow, Lancashire
15th - Airbourne, Eastbourne International Airshow, East Sussex
24th-25th - Air Show Atlantic, Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, Nova Scotia, Canada
28th - Niagara Falls Flypast,  Ontario, Canada
31st - Canadian International Air Show, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

September
1st - Canadian International Air Show, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
4th - Ottawa Flypast, Ontario, Canada
6th-8th - Aero Gatineau-Ottawa, Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport, Quebec, Canada
13th-15th - Airshow London, London International Airport, Ontario, Canada
18th - Montreal Flypast, Quebec, Canada

October
5th - IWM Duxford Flying Finale, Cambridgeshire