All language subtitles for The Red Arrows Kings of the Sky Series 1 1of6 1080p

They are the elite.

Daring combat veterans

flying on the edge
of what's possible.

They're called the best aerobatic
display team in the world.

On reflection, what we're doing
is extraordinary.

But it just feels
absolutely normal now.

For the first time, they've allowed
cameras to follow them

for an entire year...

...as a new leader takes charge in
one of the most challenging periods

in the squadron's history.

It's a year of triumphs...

...of tragedy...

On Tuesday, one of the squadron's
aircraft crashed at RAF Valley.

...and of courage.

We have to move on, and the best way
to do that is to get

on with our jobs.

But, ultimately, it's a year
of breathtaking...

...awe-inspiring...

"flying-

These are the Red Arrows.

Athens flying week, Greece...

A good manoeuvre!

...first stop on a four-week
international tour

for the Red Arrows, which marks the
end of their 2017 display season.

A support team of 45 engineers,
along with 40 tonnes of equipment,

has come out ahead of them.

The Red Arrows arrive
in typical style.

Current team leader, call sign
Red One, is David Montenegro.

He's about to hang up his red flying
suit after three years in charge.

The new squadron leader will take
over in just a few weeks.

I feel enormously grateful
to have had the opportunity

to lead this team.

It's an awesome team to work on.

It's that dynamic, it's that part of
the job that I'll really miss.

\ Thank you! I

There's no doubt I'll go
through a grieving process at some

point when I leave this team.

Thank you very much.
No worries, see you later.

Are you coming in?
I'll come down here.

Cool, no probs, see you later.

One part of it for us is the display
itself

and, actually, doing the best
display we can,

but on the other hand, it's a case
of inspiring the next generation

and we're already proud to do that.

You going to watch our show later?
Going to see us fly?

We hope we actually break
down the stereotype and they don't

all regard us as nine robotic team
pilots that are completely morphed

into each other, because we're not.

We're a complete mix
of personalities.

They've been signing autographs and
meeting people for hours already,

and that's before they do their
show. It's really impressive.

Showtime's approaching.

The Hawk jets, with a top speed
of 620mph,

are being prepared by an elite
team of ten engineers,

known as Circus.

Selected every year and assigned
to one pilot for the whole season,

each Circus engineer flies
to displays in the back seat

of a jet.

Every time the jets
have been in the air, we have to do

certain checks on the jets.
So, open the cockpit,

just make sure all the switches
are there, canopy's clean,

windscreen's clean.

Making sure he's got
oxygen inside his jet,

because he needs that. So do I when
I'm sitting in the back!

Circus engineers don't fly
in the show itself but carry out

critical pre-flight safety checks.

Known as the see-off, it's performed
with choreographed precision.

As the nine display pilots taxi out,
one pilot stays on the ground.

Mike Ling, Red 10.

Thank you very much.

And a very good afternoon,
ladies and gentlemen...

Six years ago, Lingy WAS one
of the display pilots.

Now he gives the display commentary

and monitors safety on the ground.

My favourite manoeuvre this year is
the new Tornado manoeuvre we have,

with Reds 1 to 5, 6 and 7
at the front

in a what we call seven arrow, and
then Reds 8 and 9 roll around them.

It's a really visually appealing
manoeuvre,

so I'm glad we've got it
in the routine.

Next, please, have a big round of
applause!

Here they are, it's the Red Arrows!

The jets have now collapsed
to be around two metres

away from each other as they form
the shape of one big red arrow

in the skies.

Now get ready for my favourite
manoeuvre of this year's routine.

Get your cameras ready.

This is Tornado!

Reds 8 and 9, with the blue
and red smoke,

are now rolling around the other
seven aircraft.

The Reds perform the dramatic
and technically demanding Tornado

flawlessly.

To the right now, we have three
aircraft moving forward to form

our trademark shape,
the Diamond Quarter-Clover.

This manoeuvre showcases
the Reds' extreme precision,

the nine jets looping as one
just six feet apart.

But, halfway through,
Lingy spots a problem.

Red 5 and, more seriously, Red 7

have dropped far behind.

As I'm falling off the back of
that manoeuvre, I'm just thinking,

"This crowd must..." Well...

I don't know, what was I thinking?

I don't think I can broadcast that.

I just saw the other eight aircraft
going away from me.

It was pretty embarrassing
at the time, and it felt

like an eternity, being away
from the formation.

Yeah, there was some swear
words in the cockpit.

Unfortunately, that day, the weather
was quite warm and because the air's

less dense, the jet's got less
performance

and the engine's obviously
producing less thrust.

Clearly, that was quite
a high-profile mistake.

This eclat, this word here
means excellence.

So, we're striving for that,

and when it doesn't go exactly
as we want it to go, then, yeah,

we'll debrief it and work out why
and then put it right for next time.

Fortunately, the Reds
are displaying twice at Athens,

so, tomorrow, they've a chance
to put things right.

Right, gents, welcome to Tanagra
day two.

The Red Arrows are in Greece,
at Athens Flying Week.

They're preparing
for their second display.

Yesterday's was marred
by a rare mistake.

I just saw the other eight
aircraft going away from me.

The questions then get asked
as to why that's happened,

and then it's, how do we not
make that happen again?

There are improvements
to be made, especially

with temperature jet handling. OK?

It's definitely a culture where,
if you front up your mistakes

then you can learn from them.

For me, it was just a case
of that experience of knowing

what I need to do to make
it not happen again.

Subsequent to that, you'll just see
I am sitting pretty much

right underneath 6, so we did
learn from that and, thankfully,

it didn't happen again.

We then went on to some really hot
locations in Kuwait,

which was up in the high 40s.

And we did the same manoeuvre a few
times, and it actually helped us

gain that experience and then
make it not re-occur.

Mid-October, and the Reds are back
home in Lincolnshire.

Their 2017 season is almost over.

The team now face a period
of massive change,

ahead of the momentous 2018 season,

when they'll be leading the RAF's
100th anniversary celebrations.

The bane of our lives is timing.

For example, when I call,
"Come in left now,"

just a fraction of a second,
the tolerance is so small...

Most years, three of the ten
pilots are replaced.

But, this year,
four new pilots are joining,

including a new man
at the top, a new team leader.

...just the finesse phase
as you get into the slots.

Martin Pert - Perty -
is a former Red Arrow.

He spent the last three years flying
Typhoon fighters, including

operations over Syria.

Can we just talk about some
of the high-profile flypasts,

and your sort of decision-making
process, both before and on the clay?

Becoming Red 1 is a hugely
privileged moment in my career.

I feel it's a really big ask for me
to be Red 1 in the 100th anniversary

of the Air Force, because not only
have I got to get used to my trade,

I'm doing it in such a public year,
when we really are on show

across the world.

It then looks massively
all-consuming.

You'lljust feel, "We're not
going to crack it."

That is a natural feeling to have.

I think probably the biggest
difference you'll notice,

coming from team member into leader,

is really when to be a part
of the team

and then when to separate from them.
Yeah.

You'll get a feel for times
when they need you around.

And this is socially as well.

How much do I offer them
from old Monty

to now team leader Monty?

Conscious decision as well.
Yeah, and that is conscious.

Red 10, Lingy, is also leaving
after a record-breaking ten years

with the team.

It'll be a sad time when I actually
shut the door for the last time,

I think, and move on.

And people started to find out that
it was my last year,

and I get lots of cards, a bottle of
champagne

that came from somewhere in Norwich,

and a mug that was made
for me with "Red 10".

So, it's really nice and warming
from a personal point of view.

I've been really grateful
for the support I've had,

certainly this year, as it's been
coming towards the end of my time.

I put this map up when we were
planning last year's tour.

Then I thought, why don't I put
a little red sticker

about where I visited in a red jet?

You see, I've been all the way over
to China, so in 2016,

we went to China for a display.

But, in my first year, we went
all the way to New York

and we displayed
in New York harbour. So...

In total, there are
46 red dots on that.

So, I've taken a red jet to
46 countries.

I've spent an awful lot of time away
from home,

and I've a two-year-old daughter
who, I'll be honest,

I haven't really seen a lot of her
growing up for the last two years,

so I'm really looking forward
to a relatively nine-to-five,

Monday-to-Friday job,
where I can spend time

with her and my other half.

Lingy and Monty share a special bond
born of a training accident in 2010.

The interesting part
of any activity, it doesn't matter

if it's flying, if you're driving,
anything,

can carry a degradation
of human performance,

as Lingy and I experienced
in Kastelli in 2010.

Then they were the synchro pair,
flying the two jets that performed

dynamic close-precision manoeuvres.

They were practising
the Opposition Barrel Roll.

In this manoeuvre, they flew
head-to-head

100 feet above the ground,

with a closing speed
of 800mph.

Then they rolled their jets
around one another.

It required split-second timing.

There's a slow-motion piece
of my brain that can still see

the start of the manoeuvre,
the sudden realisation

that this is not the normal
picture I see,

and I think, "We're going to collide
here."

I'll never forget what the noise
feels like when metal hits metal.

His tail fin hit my canopy probably
about 18 inches above my head.

Big bang, lots of glass
in the cockpit, lots of noise,

because of course you go
from a very quiet cockpit

then over 300mph,
and it was very noisy.

Ducking my head and closing my eyes
and thinking,

"OK, that did not work out well,
that could be it,"

is, in essence, how it felt.

Opened my eyes pretty much going
straight down towards the ground

to then realise,
"I'm here, this is fine."

There have been better times.

And then to understand what happened
to my opposition partner.

It was a very quick decision to pull
the ejection seat handle

because I knew the last manoeuvre
I'd made was to push lower

towards the ground.

I was only at 100 feet
in the first place.

We were doing over
300mph.

I just pulled the handle,
there was nothing keeping me back

in that cockpit at that point.

I was knocked out by the force
of the ejection, so I then came to

as I hit the ground,
having been in my parachute.

Looked over and I could see
that my watch was a lot further away

than it normally would be, probably
by about seven or eight inches.

So, my initial thought was,
"My arm's come off."

Not a very pleasant
thought at the time.

I then sat up, my arm came with me,
so then I realised

I could move my fingers
and then realised it was actually

a dislocated shoulder.

I remember talking out loud
to myself in the cockpit, saying,

"You just have to land this plane,

"put the jet down safely,"
all done on condition

of the subconscious, really.

Came to understand that I'd lost
a bit of the rudder.

The rudder fell off
as soon as I landed.

But the Hawk is an incredible
aircraft and it looked after me,

in that respect.

Not once after ejecting did I
consider hanging up my flying boots

and never doing it again.
In fact, quite the opposite.

I just wanted to get back
in a cockpit as soon

as I possibly could.

We were both incredibly fortunate.

We don't often have a nearly 800
mile an hour collision

and live to tell the tale.

We'll go through the main
points in the debrief...

As the new leader, Perty's
top priority

will be to keep his pilots safe.

Being responsible for the rest
of the team pilots is probably

the biggest weight on my shoulders.

The guys in my wing,
my team, are purely focused

on formatting on me.

And that's where it befalls me,
as Red 1, to make sure

that I'm in the right place
at the right time at every stage

of a Red Arrows flight.

Are you going round onto
a manoeuvre,

are you going to reverse back?

Red 1 always leads the formation,
with the other eight pilots

concentrating on him and precisely
following his manoeuvres.

45, come in left now...

All of the team pilots
will be formatting on my aircraft,

and they'll be flying their aircraft
to a rhythm that I set,

mainly by voice.

Practising holding the bank now.

Voice commands are essential,
because if the other pilots simply

move once they see Red 1 moving,
their reaction time will cause

the formation to bend.

So, the leader uses rhythmic voice
commands

to warn them of everything
he's about to do.

Yeah? Yeah, let's do a sortie.

These voice commands
are unique to Red 1,

so Monty has to teach Perty
the tricky technique.

When you say you're going to come
left or come right or pull up...

...there's a rhythmic
process that comes to it.

You call it a metronomic cadence.

The "coming" announces that we're
about to do something.

The "left" tells them which we're
going

and then on the N of "now",

they are going to need to make
an input to their aircraft.

For the guys who are 150 feet away,
they might have had to put

that input before the N of "now".

Even for an elite pilot like Perty,
perfectly timing the right words

with the right manoeuvre isn't easy.

As soon as I had to start talking
whilst I was flying,

pretty much basic technique started
going out of the window.

I've got 17 years' experience
of flying,

but it's much more nerve-racking
than any sortie I think I've done

in an aeroplane before.

Perty only has a few clays
to perfect his technique

before he takes over
from Monty for good.

It is quite nerve-racking
having someone's who's done

this for three years,
this is their bread and butter,

and after Monty's gone and I don't
have that safety blanket any more,

it'll become even more real.

It's going to be a matter of weeks
before we got the guys on the wing.

Loading reversals.

It's a really interesting time
as a team leader now

because you run the schizophrenic
life that you want as much

information as you can, especially
from the previous team leader,

yet you just want them
to get out of the way

so you can now develop
your own style.

He will always be positive,
he'll always smile,

but there will be some mornings
when he wakes up and thinks,

"Oh, I'm just not cracking this tiny
aspect of what I need to do,"

yet he has no-one to communicate
with on the squadron.

And that's quite a difficult.

Right, I'm going to debrief,
I think.

It's the last day of
the Red Arrows' 2017 season.

It's a big day for Circus,

the ten engineers selected each year

to fly in the back seats of the jets

when they travel away from home.

You get your own personal seat,
you've got your own personal pilot.

It's a little tight, I'm not going
to lie, cos I'm slightly bigger

than some other people,
but I'm still not that big

that I can't fit in!

Today's jay and the other
engineers' last day

as members of Circus.

The 2018 team will
soon be announced.

As a reward, the leavers
for the first time being allowed

to back-seat in part a display.

F-'FUD- Ey-up, Chuck.

Pull a chair up.

Why do I get the crap seat?

This last flight is actually quite
special to all the Circus members.

It's quite an honour for us
to be told we can actually fly

in the back seat in the display.

Scott Mackie, the team sergeant,
leads the pre-flight brief.

Yes, this is the culmination
of the whole season now.

You've done all the hard work,
you've had a lot of fun going away

but you've certainly put the hours
in.

This is our reward now,
so it should be the best part

of the year, hopefully.

It'll be your last flight
with your pilot.

Try not get too emotional!
No crying, Jay!

But, yeah, it certainly...

Don't forget it's an opportunity
that most people will never get

in their life,
so enjoy it, you've earned it,

but stay safe. Finish on a high.
Thank you.

Leggies, gloves, helmet, sick bag.

It's going to be good.
It's going to be awesome!

Because of the pilots they fly with,

this is going to be a particularly
thrilling flight for Scott...

Enjoy!

...and Jordan Thorburn.

I'm quite lucky the position I'm in,
to be flying right in the back,

particularly the Tornado.

I've been waiting all year
for this manoeuvre, so it's...

...finally here.

Two sick bags, just in case.

Won't be time for that!

OK? Have a good one.

It's incredible how much trust
they must have in each other to fly

that close to them at those speeds.

I was shaking constantly
through the entire flight.

All that was coursing through my
veins was pure adrenaline.

Might have been a little
bit of fear as well,

cos I still really don't like
flying!

Now it's time for the manoeuvre
that'll turn Jordan and Scott's

worlds upside down.

The Tornado.

Incredible, absolutely incredible.

It's the one manoeuvre I was looking
forward to,

and it was everything I wanted it to
be.

The clouds are too low
for the full formation to make

any loops or rolls.

But then leader Monty spots a gap.

To do an actual roll with all the
jets in close formations, amazing.

You feel yourself lifting
out of the seat, for definite!

A dramatic return to the field
ends this circus' stint,

flying shotgun in a Red Arrow.

That display is the best thing
I've done in my life.

I don't think I'll ever be able
to compete to do anything

like that ever again.

When we landed, I knew
that was my last flight

with Dan Lowes as my pilot.

It was bittersweet,
it was definitely the highlight

of my career now, we're no longer
circus and pilots any more.

That was awesome!

\ No sick bags! I

It was great. That was awesome,
actually, to be able to do that

and give them something back,
having given us so much this season.

Yeah, it was a real honour.

How was that? How was Tornado?

So different. Just the G,
I noticed was a bit more constant

rather than the sharp brake
to land that we're used to.

I said to Lizzie,
what I'm so pleased about

is we got the gap.

We got airborne and thought,
"Oh, it'll just be flat."

But once we got that gap and got
those two rolls in, it was...

Yeah. Come on, big man, breathe in.

Come on, then. Come on!

Thanks. Well done, mate. Cheers.
Awesome. Thanks again.

Been epic. Smashing.

Before the new pilots step
into their positions,

there's a final flight
for this year's pilots.

A photoshoot to mark the handover.

Hannah Smoker,
the team photographer,

will be flying photo chase
with Lingy.

All right? Feeling good?
Feeling good.

Ready. Perfect, excellent.

Well, today we're gonna go and do
your first display photo chase.

What I'd quite like is
a canopy-on shot of Spitfire.

It's quite a fleeting shot
you're gonna get. OK.

Looking down through the left-hand
side of the aircraft, and the idea

there is not being too close
because... You need all of it.

...you need to be able to zoom out
to get the...

It'll be Lingy's last flight
after his record-breaking

ten years as a team pilot.

Secret plans are being made
to mark the occasion.

There's a little bit
in me that's sad.

I think hanging up my red suit
is going to be a big deal,

without a doubt.

Lingy must fly close enough
for Hannah to take the perfect shot.

But avoid getting in the
way or blocking escape paths

the other pilots may take
in an emergency.

There aren't many people that get
the opportunity to see

a Red Arrows display from that
frontage point, so, by far,

from my flying perspective,
as Red 10,

it's definitely the most challenging
and the most enjoyable.

It was really good for my partner
and our daughter

to be on the ground
watching that final flight.

They'd come up to watch it, knowing
it was going to be my last time

flying a jet in a red flying suit.

When I landed, I could see two fire
engines positioned on the taxiway.

And, as we got towards them...

...the fire engine sprayed
a guard of honour of water

across my aircraft.

It was very moving.

That is the end of what, for me,

has been a very big chapter
of my life.

Thanks very much.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

\Daddy!I

Hello, trouble! How you doing?

\Daddy!I

Yeah!

\ Big smiles! I

It's an RAF tradition for pilots
to suffer a hazing

after their last flight
with the squadron.

THEY LAUGH

Someone else want a go? Yep!

Thank you, everyone.

Thank you.

Thanks, buddy. Cheers. Thank you.

Each year, in honour of those
leaving the Reds

and to mark the start of a
new season, there's a formal dinner.

It's held in College Hall
at RAF Cranwell...

...where Air Force officers have
been trained for nearly 100 years.

Being a Red Arrow isn't all
low-level loops and glamour.

Can you just grab the other box
and give me a hand to take it...?
Yeah.

The pilots themselves are
the very hands-on event organisers.

Mike Bowden is putting the
finishing touches to the tables.

They're very personalised
to the individual,

so they're dedicated to the
person who hosts the table.

So, that's Tom Bould, so, Red 6.

So, he's one of the levers,
so it's plaqued and personalised

to him. So, yeah, it's
a fantastic memento of the year.

I'm gonna rush
and get these finished.

We haven't got long to get ready.

Dan Lowes and Matt Masters are
in charge of the squadron albums.

These are, essentially, photo books,
of the history of the team.

So I'll just show you this one
I've got it in my hand.

It's just every team that has
gone through has taken pictures

of what they've done throughout
the year, places they've been,

places they've displayed at.

It's a bit of a family photo album,
and a bit of a laugh, really.

Obviously, this one wasn't as funny
cos things may have happened

during this display season,
this was when they actually clipped

a yacht that got into the
display area, the mast was too tall.

Here, Steve clipped the top
of the mast with his wing.

It actually destroyed
part of his wing.

There's some dramatic pictures
here of the aircraft going to sea.

You can just see him
leaving the aircraft there

before it hits the sea
just by Brighton pier there.

You can see him landing
in the water in his parachute.

That was the same day.
He's got some burns on his face

from the actual ejection itself.

But, as I say,
that kind of family thing.

"Hey, Steve, do you see
the yacht with the big mast?"

That was a bit of banter just to get
people through everything.

It's really good.
It's really good to see.

Look at that!

We were water-skiing
behind the style that these guys

had in the '80s.
I mean, look at that.

That's... That's a good looking
bunch.

HE LAUGHS

At 7pm, the guests arrive,
welcomed by the Reds,

who've swapped their flying suits
for something a little smarter.

In his very final role as Red 1,
Monty's hosting the boss

of the entire Royal Air Force,

Air Chief Marshal
Sir Stephen Hillier.

It's a really defining
point in the year.

The guys are still calling me boss.

I have three hours and,
at midnight, that is it.

It's like Cinderella
going to the ball.

At 1am, I am definitely
not their boss any more.

Perty will be their boss,
no matter what.

And it draws a good line
in the sand, so...

One big, big speech to do...

which...

I've done a lot of public dinner
speaking, and it's quite apt

that my last speech, I'm sat
between the chief of the air staff

and Ranulph Fiennes.

As ever, I'm absolutely bricking it.

Guests include retired Reds
and people who have helped the team

over the last season.

Lingy's replacement,
Adam Cos Collins,

gets his first taste of the
glamorous side of the job,

hosting Carol Vorderman.

The handover to the new leader
begins, with a speech from

the head of the RAF.

The Red Arrows will be absolutely
the pinnacle of our own activities

during the RAF 100 celebrations.

And it's a fantastic opportunity,
and I'm sure that the new leader

is going to be absolutely
at the centre of that.

So, no pressure there, Perry.

LAUGHTER

The Red Arrows mean
a huge amount to me.

They mean a lot
to the nation overall.

So, I'm proud and I know the
nation's proud of

what you do, as well.
So, thank you very much indeed.

By tradition, the actual handover
takes place at midnight...

in the bar.

All good? Any beers?
I might have a beer, actually, yeah.

Do you want a beer? I'm all right.
Can I have a lager, please?

\ Thank you. I

Lingy passes the Red 10 role to Cos.

Happy times. Yeah.
That's it. Well done.

Thank you. You are gonna
have the best time.

Really, really enjoy it.
I'm excited.

I'll be ready to listen
to you at the Ayrshires

as they come up. All the best.
You're gonna have a wicked time.

No pressure.
Thanks for a great handover.

Can't wait. Excellent.

And the leadership of the Red Arrows
is handed over Perty.

All the best.

I do wish you all the best.

You're going to have
an amazing centenary year.

\ There we go. I

Appreciate it.
Number 23.

Good luck, mate. All the best.

A new era for the Red Arrows begins.

It's the first day of training
for the Red Arrows'

historic 2018 season.

The pilots are back
in green flying suits.

They only fly in their famous red
suits once their new display

has been approved after six months
of intense training.

We don't have air traffic,
they're currently green...

For the first time,
Perty is in the hot seat as Red 1.

And two new display pilots,
Jon Bond and David Stark,

have joined the team.

Both are hugely experienced
RAF fighter pilots.

Bondy last flying
state-of-the-art Typhoon fighters.

It's a completely different flying
discipline to what we've been doing.

I haven't done a lot of formation
in the last four years,

and the formation that
I've done has been on a

very modern and advanced jet, so
the handling characteristics are...

They're a lot different.

You find yourself getting excited
one moment and then it dawns

on you the realisation that
it's not going to be as simple

as it might appear to some people.
So...

You have moments
of trepidation, as well.

It's probably a healthy mix
of excitement and trepidation.

For the past two months, Bondy
and Starky have been flying

back seat to experience
what's in store for them.

Now they'll take
the controls themselves.

I think one of the big differences
is how public this is gonna be.

You know, this time next summer,
there could be 50,000 people,

many of whom will be knowledgeable,
and they'll be able

to spot our errors.

First, though, they're issued
their official Red Arrow mugs.

It's a bit of a tradition
and a rite of passage

to have your own mug,
let alone a Red Arrows one.

It's pretty cool.

It's quite nice to have it
in this traditional shape

of the Red Arrows.

Today, the new pilots
six months of training begins.

They'll attempt ultra-close
formation aerobatics

for the first time.

Good afternoon, gentlemen.

The moment you've been waiting for,
slot one, this is it, this marks

the first part of your career
for the next three years.

Weather-wise, we're looking
at slightly improved conditions.

We've waited around all day
for it to pick up now.

I'm now in the Red Arrows, I'm going
to do my first training flight

with Red 1 and start putting
smoke out the back of a red jet,

so this is going
to be huge for me.

It's as if my career's been building
up to this point.

Just don't overdo it,
don't bite off too much.

Fly it by eye, but just get used
to what that flying by eye

versus my cadence is.
OK?

Pre-brief yourself, coming left now,
holding the bank now.

Pretty terrified, actually.

First time flying a Red Arrows jet
in formation, not really knowing

whether you can do it,

how you'd cope with it
physically and mentally.

30 minutes is what
I've touted us for.

Perty starts with gentle turns.

He won't attempt any aerobatics
unless the new pilots prove

they can hold a solid, safe position
just eight feet away.

Even this requires
incredible skill and concentration.

A job made even harder
under turbulent, low cloud.

You're almost not thinking about it,
you're just trying to blank out

everything around you, blank out
the horizon, try and blank out

the sun, if you can,
just focusing on that aeroplane

that you're following
and what your hands, feet

and throttle are doing
at the same time.

Easier said than done.

The new recruits do so well,

Perty decides they're ready
for something more challenging.

When he said down for a loop,
it was all a bit of a blur.

I think my whole body tensed up.

Definitely raise the hairs
on the back of my neck a bit,

I probably switched on a little bit
more than I had done previously,

if that was possible.

The first call of smoke on,
trying to find the button to get

the right smoke was probably
the most challenging bit.

And, then, actually going up
for the loop, smoke on...

...that was just a thrill.

It was brilliant, absolutely
brilliant, and to loop a Red Arrow

for the first time
was a milestone for me.

A wonderful experience,
to be honest.

Been waiting a long time
to do this, so it was great.

We expected to do some wing overs
and some turns under G,

but when the boss
called down for the loop...

the dread came over us,
the fear.

It's, like,
first day at school again.

It was excitement and nerves
all in one because it's a completely

new skill that we're going
to have to try and learn,

so I guess it's sort of natural to
want to be really good

at it straight away,
and when you find out you're not...

But, no, I feel really good.

\ Buzzing. I

It was awesome.

The hard work begins now.

The weather did open up beautifully.

If you can't go upside down on day
one of being a Red Arrow,

then surely you must be
in the wrong job, right?

That's about it, training done.

We are ready for 2018.

5l

Next time...

in his first tense weeks in command,
Perty must battle the weather...

Trying to formate in that
turbulence is just adding

to their complications.

INDISTINCT SHOUTS FROM PILOT

...every pilot has to learn
challenging, new manoeuvres,

pushing them to the limit...

It's just excitement, adrenaline,
ground rush, speed rush.

It's awesome.

...as the Red Arrows prepare
for their biggest year ever.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media