All language subtitles for Red.Arrows.Take.America.Series.1.Part.1.1080p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup

These are the elite.

And go!

Fighter pilots, flying
on the edge of what's possible.

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

I feel the need for speed!

Now, they're flying
the flag for Britain...

Stars and stripes, go!

...across the Atlantic.

The biggest tour in a generation.

It's just absolute madness
what we're about to do.

Their journey takes them
over skyscrapers, mountains,

and glaciers...

Icebergs at the end of the runway.
Absolutely epic.

...and involves challenges never
tackled before.

They'll face extreme weather...

It's very hot in here.

Very cold, it's minus 12.

...travel thousands of miles...

Pretty surreal!

Have I actually just done that?

...and entertain millions.

We're spreading the love over
here in America now, it's amazing.

Fly-past colours, go!

These are the Red Arrows...

Wow!

...as they take America.

APPLAUSE

RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire,
the home of the Red Arrows.

The team are spending
every minute preparing,

practising and repairing.

In a few clays' time,
their epic journey will begin.

It's been dubbed as the
biggest tour in a generation.

It's a really big deal.

There's 108 people on this tour.

So, it's huge.

It's a real mammoth task,
which has taken a lot of planning.

Yeah, I'm incredibly excited,
I cannot wait.

There's a real
buzz around the squadron.

We just want to get
there and get going.

Everyone is now just really
digesting what's on the cards

for the shows we're going to,
the landmarks we're going to see.

Reversing left now.

The Reds have been planning their
North American tour for over a year.

It's one of the biggest

and most ambitious trips
ever undertaken by the team.

Over 11 weeks, they'll travel
more than 22,000 miles,

perform 30 flypasts and 21 displays.

I think there's two distinct
camps in the Red Arrows

at the moment about the tour.

There's those who are just
absolutely fizzing with excitement.

I think the other camp are those who
are probably just focusing on the

most pressing task at hand, which is
getting the jets to North America.

A monumental task on its own.

First, they'll head to Lossiemouth
in Scotland, before a 3,000-mile

flight across the Atlantic,
with refuelling stops

in Iceland, Greenland and Goose Bay,

before arriving in Halifax.

After that, it's show time,

with a display route that
takes them across the continent.

Highlights will include
Niagara Falls, Chicago, New York

and Washington.

They'll head south to
St Louis, Dallas and Denver,

and then down the west coast,
finishing in LA.

The schedule is action-packed,

and some of the places we're going
to are truly iconic.

We've got skylines and,
and cityscapes and coastlines.

So, there's some really
dramatic sights.

I think the really big
challenges, the unknowns, are...

going across the Atlantic,

transiting around Canada and
America, and I think that is going

to be the biggest challenge, rather
than the actual display flying.

Martin Pert is team leader -
call sign Red 1.

He took over in 2018,

a year that saw tragedy,
with the death of a colleague...

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

...and triumph, as the Red Arrows
led national celebrations...

INDISTINGUISHABLE VOICE ON RADIO

...marking the centenary of the RAF.

That was amazing.

This season, their high profile
flypasts have continued,

including over France, to mark
the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

Now, it's all about
practising and perfecting

the routines that will be seen
by their biggest ever audience.

If the weather allows us to,
we're going to fly...

And it's Perty who will lead
the Reds across the Atlantic,

to fly the flag for Britain.

So, details, then -
we're on runway zero four.

Surface wind is three
three zero six knots.

The ambassadorial role that
is part and parcel of this job

back at home is just going to
be magnified ten-fold when we

actually take the Red Arrows on tour
to the United States and Canada.

The beauty of our display
is that it is just a pocket flag,

it's red, white and blue that you
can deploy anywhere in the world.

Let's just talk through reversal.

Reversal... Smoke on.

Go. Then it goes... Out.

Reversing left now...

Red 4, Gregor Ogston, is in his
first year as a Red Arrows pilot.

I've always wanted to be
a pilot in the Air Force,

since I was a young boy,
sort of, six, seven years old,

it's all I've ever wanted to do.

As a first year pilot,
massive privilege to be on the team,

it's hugely exciting, but also,
er, incredibly demanding as well.

The first time you turn
the smoke on, you know,

it all lights up in the cockpit
and you start, you know,

doing manoeuvres and loops
and aerobatics,

you look behind you and you
can see yourself trailing smoke,

that's a huge moment
that you don't forget.

Red 2 Damon Green, known as Damo,
is also in his first year.

There's, er, a steep
learning curve but, you,

you really battle through it,
because you want to be the very best

erm, you want perfection when
you put it on to the public.

You've got such a iconic
role that you're filling into,

and the way we like to think
about it is, you're just looking

after the position for the year.

So, I'm Red 2 for this year, but
next year, it'll be somebody else.

But for some, 2019
hasn't gone as planned.

Great to see you.

Congratulations.

Simmo -
Flight Lieutenant David Simmonds -

joined the team in 2018
ready for the 2019 season.

He's due to take over from
Red Arrows veteran Mike Bowden,

known as Bogeye.

Taking one of your replacements
flying, it's just not right!

I'll have to break his legs
when we walk back in, it'll be fine.

But Bogeye's joking
proved prophetic...

...when the Reds suddenly find
themselves a pilot down,

before one of their
biggest ever tours.

The Red Arrows are just clays
away from their North American tour.

But for one of their new pilots,
disaster has struck.

It was unfortunate.

I broke the leg playing football,

just on a seven-a-side,
sort of, Wednesday night league.

When I had the X-ray
and I spoke to the radiologist

and she showed me the picture, erm,

at that moment there, I probably
realised that, for this year,

that wasn't going to happen.

With Simmo out of action for weeks,
the Red Arrows need to find a

skilled and experienced
replacement pilot, and quickly.

And they knew just who to call.

Bogeye.

I'd finished my time on the team
after four years in 2018.

Back in October, on my merry way
to go and be an airline pilot

flying for TUI down in Cardiff,

and was happily bussing
people around on their holidays.

Red Arrows pilots usually spend
three years with the team

and often return to front line
roles.

Bogeye had already done an extra
year, and was settling in to his new

civilian career when he was asked if
he could return to the team - again.

It was a no-brainer and it took me

all of a millisecond
to make my mind up.

I absolutely went and
bit their arm off.

Simmo's broken leg means he missed
out on vital pre-season training.

But he has recovered enough
to stay on the team flying

one of the spare jets.

So my role is, er, fully
a support role now for the tour.

We're planning to
take 12 jets on tour.

Clearly there's nine
that fly in the display, but

moving from each location, we've
still got to move those jets around.

It's brilliant that
he's up and running

and able to come with us on the tour
and fly an aircraft with us.

And he'll be back in a
red suit very soon.

I suppose the big question
I need to ask myself now is,

who am I going to pick on
and break their leg next year?

Yeah, I wonder.

Before the tour can
kick off in Canada,

the team face
a challenge like no other -

flying their jets across more
than 3,000 miles of ocean.

These are 12 aircraft that are not

commercial, passenger-borne
aircraft.

They're getting on a little bit.

So, to now suddenly take them

the other side of the Atlantic
is a huge logistical challenge.

The Hawk jets are now
more than 30 years old,

and they can't be flown long
distances without stopping for fuel.

And because they only have one
engine, there's no backup

if anything goes wrong.

A single engine over
lots of water is, er,

is going to be quite challenging.

We're used to transiting. It's just

the hazard of going over the
sea for such a long sea track,

it is a little bit different for us,

so we need to be
very prepared for it.

Among those looking after
the aircraft on tour will be

an elite team of 11 engineers
known as the Circus.

They're selected every year and
assigned to a pilot for the season.

It's a bit like a car
going in for an MOT.

You land, you refuel it,
quick inspection, and then

quite often we're
hopping back in the jet

and flying to the next destination.

The pilots rely heavily
upon these skilled engineers.

It's a really unique
relationship that I've not seen

anywhere in the military
or the Royal Air Force before.

They are making that aircraft
absolutely airworthy

and you're placing your
absolute trust in them, that it

is airworthy to fly in not
only transits, but the displays.

Lissy Mason, call sign Circus 1,

is the officer leading
the Circus engineers.

In the aircraft hangar,
the whole team has been

working around the clock to get
the jets ready for departure.

It's just...

...absolute madness,
what we're about to do.

There's such a buzz downstairs.

The Red Arrows have
a total of 14 Hawks.

While only nine are used
in their displays,

they want to take three extra,
in case anything goes wrong.

Having 12 in America
is really important.

While the display
is only nine aircraft,

things do go wrong.

But Senior Engineering
Officer Richard Bland is

concerned about one of the aircraft.

We've got XX278 which
has its wing off at the moment

because it had a bird strike,

incurred fairly substantial
damage to the root of the wing,

which caused the lower part of the
skin to detach and slightly rip off.

With just clays to
go before they leave,

it looks like the jet
could be staying at home.

We're now working both day and night
shifts in order to try and do it.

We're working through the weekend.

For everyone now,
it's all hands on deck.

For us, it's very busy, this period.

As you can see pretty
much around the hangar,

there's something going on,
on pretty much every jet.

We've got pretty much all
the engineers in just now.

We know, if we don't get the jets
ready, we won't be going, either.

A skilled team is required
to perfect every aspect of the

Red Arrows displays, including the
iconic red, white and blue smoke.

What's really beautiful
about this team is that it's not

just the guys in the aircraft,
it's people like the dye team.

Dye team leader Phil Wands,

known as Magic, is also working
hard to prepare for the tour.

I've been in the RAF
for over 11 years now

and I've never had
anything like this come my way.

Several barrels of dye
have already been shipped ahead to

locations across North America.

It will be minimum a barrel
per display for each colour.

And that's 110 litres per barrel.

So, it really does add up.

And that's just a small part
of the 36 tonnes of equipment that

has to get across the Atlantic.

Paul Llewelyn, known as Welly,

is the man who's been planning
this for the last 18 months.

I do feel like
I have a huge responsibility.

Almost like a parent waiting
for Christmas, because obviously

you have children
with their expectations,

but it's not until Christmas Day
when they open their presents...

...you know you've achieved.

That's how I'm feeling.

Some equipment has already been
shipped ahead to North America.

Everything else needed for
the tour is being loaded on board

giant military transport aircraft.

Literally everything we need
to operate needs to fit on these

12 pallets.

It's planned, and packed,
with precision.

Meanwhile, in the main hangar,
engineers have been working day

and night to fix the jet
damaged in a bird strike.

Removing a wing is something that
we rarely do here at Scampton.

We're at the point now where
we think this repair is going

to come off and XX278 is going
to be good to go on the tour.

And all the extra work
seems to have paid off.

XX278 is finally fixed,

so 12 Hawks will be heading across
the Atlantic, just as planned.

But they know there are
things that could still go wrong.

Got an allocating aid, have you?

Yeah. Nice one, cheers.

What happens if an aircraft goes
unserviceable in Greenland,

where we're not
planning on staying overnight?

What happens if a transport aircraft
doesn't get into the airport

with us?

What happens if, you know,
we get to somewhere

and they don't have
the correct fuel?

All these little things that
sound so simple on the face of it

but are just separate spinning
plates that any one of which

could bring the whole
procedure to its knees.

It's departure day,

and everyone is
feeling the pressure.

Morning, how are you?

Pretty good.

It's pretty real now, you know,
here we are on Monday morning

and we're about to set off.

It's great to finally
be at this moment,

but slightly nervous and the weather
is not looking too hot just now,

but I'm assured it's
going to clear up.

Hopefully we'll be
in Iceland this evening.

The pilots get kitted up.

A trip like this
requires full survival gear.

We're going to be flying for...

"almost at the limit of our
endurance, over the North Atlantic.

Ultimately, we need to be prepared
for an engine failure, for example.

So, just getting into the
cockpit and, and what we wear,

is very important.

So, an immersion suit...

...it's a bit like a dry suit
if you do any diving,

so it's kind of got rubber seals
all around the neck and the waist.

You zip it up and the idea is it
just keeps you nice and warm.

If, in the unlikely chance
we had to eject anywhere,

it should help us
survive in the water

until someone can come
and rescue us, basically.

All set, just last
minute preparations now.

Circus engineers usually
travel in the back seat of the Hawk

jets between locations.

But for the risky transatlantic
flight, the pilots will be

flying on their own.

It was a big decision to not take

Circus on the
Transatlantic crossing,

and the reason for that is, there's
just no reason to expose them to

that slightly increased risk of some
of those challenges that we face.

The rest of the team
set off in other aircraft.

Two A400M Atlas' transporters
leave from RAF Waddington carrying

staff and equipment.

And two more military aircraft
known as Voyagers

are also joining the journey.

They will play a
crucial role in getting

the Red Arrows across the Atlantic.

The voyager is an airborne
command and control centre.

It takes on that ultra important
responsibility of looking

ahead for us, talking to the
airfields that we're about to

land at, making sure that
the weather is fit, and just

doing some of that communication
that takes the load off my shoulders

as the leader of 12 aircraft
trying to cross the Atlantic.

In typically British weather,
the pilots get into their Hawk jets.

It's an emotional
farewell from their family -

many won't be reunited
for nearly three months.

After more than a year of
planning, the moment has arrived.

Reds...rolling...now.

The Reds finally
take to the skies -

the start of an epic,
3,000-mile adventure in Hawk jets

designed for journeys
of a few hundred miles.

The Red Arrows are
heading to North America

for their biggest tour
in a generation.

It's departure day, and a total
of 17 aircraft are now in the sky.

That includes a search and rescue
jet from the Royal Danish Air Force.

They'll be on hand to provide
emergency help over the Atlantic,

if anything goes wrong.

While the transport planes
head straight for Iceland,

the first call for the 12
Red Arrows is RAF Lossiemouth.

Lossiemouth, in Scotland, will be a
well-trodden path for most of us,

but then,
once we get to Lossiemouth,

it's preparing for
that trip across the sea.

We've all flown across the Atlantic
before on front line aircraft,

but we've had the luxury
of air-to-air refuelling,

a lot more fuel,
and two engines in most cases.

So, it is more of
a challenge in the Hawk.

We have to hop.

It's pretty much, get to
the next petrol station,

fill up with gas.

The Reds touch down on schedule and
make their first refuelling stop.

Stage one complete.

Next, Iceland, more than 700 miles
across the North Atlantic.

To minimise risk, they'll
now be splitting into two teams.

As Red 6, it's my responsibility
to lead the rear section.

So, when we split
down into our two sections,

it's my job to lead six
aeroplanes across the Pond.

So, Red 1 will lead six aeroplanes,
and so will I.

The flight across miles of open
water goes without a hitch.

Less than two hours after
leaving Scotland,

the jets have touched
down at Keflavik airport.

The pilots head straight
for the Voyager aircraft to regroup.

Actually being here in Iceland,
on the way, with 12 aircraft

out there on the pan, you know,

it's real, it's great,
it's fantastic.

It all sort of hits home,
doesn't it, when you get going?

So, we're all certainly up,
it's good to be on our way now

so that's it,
the wheels are in motion.

They've travelled more
than 1,200 miles today,

and they'll be
spending the night here.

So far, so good, but there
are bigger challenges to come.

It's morning.

The pilots are gearing
themselves up for the biggest

and potentially most dangerous part
of their transatlantic journey,

from Iceland to
Narsarsuaq in Greenland

and then on to Goose Bay in Canada.

Having to transit
via Greenland, which is a necessity

because of our fuel
range, brings with it a unique set

of challenges that I've never been
exposed to as a military aviator.

We have one small airfield
in the southern part of Greenland,

which we've got
enough fuel to get to,

but because of the limited
range of these aircraft, we then

wouldn't have enough fuel to divert
to an alternate airfield, which is

a reserve that we would always
hold on most of our domestic flying.

Perty will have until halfway
through the journey to decide

whether to carry on, or turn back.

It's just over 700
miles to Greenland -

the very edge of the
Hawks' maximum range.

At the point of no return,

we have to be absolutely certain
that we're going to be able to get

to the airfield that's
our destination,

that we've got enough
fuel to do that,

that the weather is fit to
allow us to get to that airfield.

Once we cross that line, there is
no turning around, we've got

nowhere else to go.

The weather is
pretty bad in Iceland,

but the big concern is, things
might be even worse over Greenland.

An emergency meeting is called
on the tarmac to assess the options.

The check-in for
three-three-five, decimal 525,

obviously that's
slipped at nine o'clock -

all these timings
have slipped by 30 minutes.

You can't rush decisions
when you're in this game.

It needs to be thought about
and it needs to be measured.

Our driving factor was,

is it sensible to launch with
pretty poor weather conditions

in Iceland, knowing that we've only
got one shot to get into Greenland?

And it was a really
difficult decision.

But time is running out.

Perky has to make a ca“.

It is a go, with
constant re-assessment.

We will just look at the weather
all the way up to that

point of safe return.

Once we're beyond that, we
are committed to landing at that

airport, we have no other options.

Now nearly an hour behind schedule,

he leads the first wave of
Hawks into a threatening sky.

On board the Voyager is
Group Captain Tony Franklin,

the most senior person on the tour.

He'll help track the Reds
on their flight to Greenland.

But something is not right.

This is the aircraft captain,

one of the Reds had a slight
problem after departure

and we're just
assessing the problem,

I'll keep you
updated as quickly as I can.

Moments after taking off,

a problem has been
discovered with one of the jets.

The Voyager now has to take off,

with everyone on board still
wondering what's happened.

We weren't quite aware of
what was going on at the time

so we were just making
best guess scenarios.

They try to catch
sight of the Red Arrows.

Hopefully we'll see them

flying past with a bit of smoke
on to let us know where they are.

Where are they?

At last, they come into sight.

Oh, yep, see - there we go!

Normally, I'm sat in
the back seat with Perty.

So, it was quite a weird situation
to be looking out the window of the

Voyager and seeing my colleagues out
there, you know, on the wing.

But there are only five jets.

Red 10 is missing.

With his jet in trouble,
Red 10 pilot Adam Collins has been

forced to turn back
and land at Keflavik Airport.

Although we train for these things,
you never expect them.

It was definitely way off-piste
as far as what we'd briefed for.

And it's XX278, the jet that was
badly damaged in a bird strike.

Now, it will need repairing again.

That's when it starts
to be a challenge.

"Right, OK, what do we need?

"Do we need to get spares
and parts to that aircraft?

"Do the team stay behind? Do
we bring another team from home?"

Or something like that,
depending on where it is

and how it's going to run, and you
can't foresee that until it happens.

The team on the ground
in Iceland need to find out

the cause of the problem,
and how quickly it can be fixed.

This aircraft has come back, we're
holding the rest of the team.

We're now into continuously planning
of, do we delay everyone?

Is the jet going to be long-term
sick for about a week?

Then we can decide how many
jets to push forward,

so, there's a lot of pressure to
find out what we're going to do.

Meanwhile, 30,000ft
above the Atlantic Ocean,

the first wave of jets
are midway between Iceland

and Greenland -
it's the point of no return.

Perty and the team on the Voyager
must now decide whether to continue.

It was about, is it safe to press
beyond the point of no return?

Which is something I've never dealt
with in my 20-year flying career.

The nerves then come, because
you don't know what could happen.

We're pushing the Hawk right
to the edges of its endurance limit.

Perky and the Reds fly on.

With nowhere to divert to
if there's an emergency,

they're now fully committed to
completing the journey to Greenland.

When I caught sight of that airfield
from about 35-40 miles away,

having just descended through
a very think layer of cloud,

I couldn't have felt relief.

I've never landed
anywhere like that in my life.

The weather hadn't closed in,
we'd got there safely

and the setting was just incredible.

They've made it.

But there's no time to celebrate.

Seven jets are still in Iceland, and
one of them now needs to be fixed.

It's a really tough call

because they've got the Voyager
aircraft running,

also they need to make some really
focused decisions really quickly.

We might end up leaving
a few engineers with that

aircraft in Iceland.

Time is running out if the second
wave of Hawks are to complete

today's journey on schedule.

The delay has also meant the
Danish Search and Rescue team has

had to make an unplanned
landing in Greenland to refuel.

They need to get in the air and back
to Iceland as fast as possible

to shepherd the second wave across.

OK, so, the options as I see
it, is that you depart with

wave one at 15.45
and join in formation with us.

Our problem is that the weather,
as you can see, is starting to

close in a bit here,
and we're running out of time.

So, it is a bit of a race, whilst
doing it safely, to make sure

that we can get those
aircraft not only into here

but then thinking about
the onwards delivery.

I think they've probably got about
an extra two hours beyond their

planned departure time,

otherwise the window starts
to really close down.

In Iceland, the remaining
Reds are told they need to leave.

The broken plane won't
be coming with them.

They're just going to press on
with the six serviceable aircraft

we've got, and we've left
an aircraft back in Iceland.

I'd like to have as many aircraft
as we can, I'd really like to

try to get that 12th aircraft
across to the US if we can.

The second wave of Reds depart.

Pilot Adam Collins has had to
leave his ailing Hawk behind,

so is flying Simmo's
spare jet instead.

I'm expecting
that in about half an hour,

the other six aircraft will join us-.

Getting these 12, now 11, aircraft
across to Canada is a priority.

The weather holds.

The remaining six Hawk jets
touch down safely.

It's one of the few air fields
I've been in where you actually

have to take in
the scenery around you,

and seeing icebergs at the end
of the runway, absolutely epic.

The pilots are
relieved to have arrived.

But they're all too
aware that one of the jets

has been left behind in Iceland.

For Red 10 pilot Adam Collins, it's
been a difficult and dramatic day.

My gear didn't come out properly,
so my nose wheel wasn't properly

locked up - it was an issue with the
centring mechanism, so I tried it

a couple of times then had to just
burn off fuel with the wheels down,

and then land about 45 minutes
after I took off.

So, they had a look at the jet,
unfortunately it can't be

fixed quickly, so we're
going to have to rescue that one

probably in a few days once
it's had the part replaced.

And then hopefully back up to 12
again ready to get to North America.

But the Reds now have to focus
on the next leg of this intense

journey, from Greenland
to Goose Bay in Canada.

A quick splash of fuel
for the jets, then hopefully,

Goose Bay tonight and
then onto Halifax tomorrow.

The engineers get to work
servicing the jets.

It's a tight
turnaround on this stop,

but essential checks
still have to be carried out.

Just putting oxygen in
the jets, so they can breath.

AIR HISSES

They've not used much,
so it's not too bad.

Quick.

That's got nineteen-zero-seven
from Narsarsuaq to Goose Bay.

I'll nav this.

Weather base here at Narsarsuaq
is that it was a nice day.

Although the weather
in Greenland is good,

they're keeping a close eye on
some low cloud near Goose Bay.

The point of safe return
you'll see is Wavepoint 8

and that's based on a 20 knot
headwind throughout.

After a detailed briefing,
once again, Perty will lead

the first wave, with Toby bringing
the second wave behind him.

We're off! We need to get going
and press on to Canada.

But everything
looks pretty good so far,

I hope it's like this in Canada.

It doesn't sound like
the forecast is too good.

But it's good enough to get in.

The first wave takes off.

Two hours later, the second
wave is also airborne.

Ahead is nearly 700 miles of ocean.

Ten minutes to landing, ten minutes.

The end of day two,
and an epic voyage.

With another 1,500 miles
of flying under their belts,

they've finally made it
to Goose Bay in Canada.

You could sense instantly the
relief on every single pilot.

We're now on mainland Canada,
we've done the hard bit,

and I think we really
understood there,

the enormity of what we'd
managed to do in just 48 hours.

After a night's rest, it's
a wet start to day three.

Now, there's just a short hop from
Goose Bay to Halifax in Nova Scotia.

11 Hawk jets break through
the cloud to bright blue skies.

They've flown over icy waters
and some of the most inhospitable

terrain on Earth -
but they've made it to Halifax.

Over a year of planning
has paid off.

The transatlantic
flight is complete.

That was probably the most epic
journey of my career to date.

It is amazing to be here in Halifax,

because this is really the
first bit of the tour proper.

To get across the Atlantic
on time as well, bang on time,

is a phenomenal achievement
from everyone on the team, really.

I think it's hit everyone,
frying pan in the face -

this is the start of it now.

So, yeah, looking
forward to getting stuck in.

It's been an epic journey, but
there are more challenges to come.

Before the team can
perform in the USA,

they need to pass
a strict validation test.

It is a nerve-racking moment.

They could say that
the display is not fit

for the purpose for
which we've designed it.

It's Friday morning.

The Red Arrows have been in
Canada for less than 24 hours.

But they're already
making quite a splash.

At half seven this morning,
we were in the car driving

to a live morning TV show.

Flight lieutenant Damo Green,
also known as Red 2,

is a pilot with the Red Arrows...

Damo Green and Matt Searle,
Red 2 and Circus 2,

are being interviewed on live TV.

It was good experience, actually.

Every so often you'd
just catch a glimpse

of the red and the blue suit,

and then you kind of
get really self-conscious

about, "Where am I looking?
What am I doing with my hands?"

It's just like,

"I'll just go back to
talking about the team."

They've even made front page news.

Yeah, it's not ours.

It's great to
just start the tour off

on this kind of footing, isn't it?

So, we're looking
forward to getting flying.

The team already has
permission to display in Canada.

But they now face a major
hurdle before they're allowed to

perform in the USA.

They need to complete
a strict validation flight,

which will be assessed by America's
Federal Aviation Authority.

Without it, the team
can't display in the US.

It is a nerve-racking moment
because public display authority

is a bit like a driving test,
and you can't get rid of those

driving test nerves, no matter how
many times you've rehearsed for it.

They could say that
the display is not

fit for the purpose
for which we've designed it.

The Red Arrows regularly
practise their display.

But the hectic preparations
for the tour mean they've not had

as much practice as usual, and they
need to be on top of their game.

Get this wrong, and the entire
tour could be in jeopardy.

Obviously we'd just had the Atlantic
crossing the week before,

so I think everyone's
focus was on that.

We hadn't displayed properly,
really, for a couple of weeks.

We experience skill fade,
and we're always striving

to put out the best display we can,

and we always want to achieve
the highest standard possible.

It's been a little while,
it might just go slightly awry.

Don't forget they're used
to big, one-hour-long shows.

It's my job as the leader just
to calm the nerves of the pilots,

that this is just another display.

We're just going to fly it exactly
the same way we always do and then,

hopefully, prove to those inspectors
that it is absolutely appropriate.

Good, it's glorious out there,

I'm really looking forward
to flying over this site.

Don't let any of this distract you.

The Red Arrows take off
for their first major test

on North American soil.

This HAS to go well.

Putting on a good display
is more important than ever,

with the Federal Aviation Authority
inspecting from the ground.

Probably not one of our best, just
an issue with timing on the rejoin.

It's not gone as well as hoped,
and the pilots aren't happy.

That was not our best performance
by any stretch of the imagination.

There was a lot of disappointment
amongst the team on that

day of the validation.

Some of the manoeuvres just
didn't go as planned.

It was a really good wake-up call.

But it's a pass.

While, the Reds want perfection,

the aviation authority
are happy with the display.

It's our chance now to go and put
that right for the rest of the tour.

And they get straight
back in the jets, to do just that.

They're heading to Halifax harbour

for the first fly-past of
the tour, and their first public

appearance in North America
for more than a decade.

It's jam packed, really full
down here at Halifax waterfront.

This is my very first time
seeing them.

I'm very proud to be here
and be able to experience this.

We live in Canada,
we've been living here for a year

and we came down
to see the Red Arrows.

It makes us feel very
proud to be British

and also to be Canadian as well.

Moments later, the jets arrive,
with their iconic red, white

and blue smoke trailing behind them.

We flew what's known
as an enhanced fly-past,

so it's not quite a full display,
but we put on a small show,

and actually, I think we were just
blown away by the turnout

because even from the air you could
see Halifax was absolutely packed.

APPLAUSE

Thanks very much, everyone.

What a brilliant way
to kick this tour off.

And we're here to
inspire and to entertain,

so hopefully we did that today.

Thank you.

APPLAUSE

But with the fly-past in the bag,

the Reds still need
to up their game.

The next leg brings with
it our first public display, full

show, in front of a North American
audience in over a decade.

That sets it off now, we can go
and display around the States

and the rest of Canada and look
forward to all of those shows,

and we'll start to hit the
standards that we're expected to.

Next time...

The Red Arrows!
I think we blew the cobwebs away.

...the Reds take on the Windy City,

and the skyscrapers
of the Big Apple.

That was pretty special.

And what happens
when lightning strikes?

I wondered whether it was
even worth going to the airport,

let alone think about
flying a display that day.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media