RAF Red Arrows 2022

Find out where your favorite performers will be! Be sure to check schedules for updates as they are always subject to change. Also post year-related performer information, such as music lists.
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Flightline Uk
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Post by Flightline Uk » Sun Apr 03, 2022 12:32 pm

And the second international commitment confirmed:

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Adam
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Post by Adam » Thu May 05, 2022 11:38 am

I'm starting to wonder if the Red Arrows are an 8-ship this year?

They don't seem to have flown as a 9-ship this year, which is really odd two weeks into Springhawk. But the display they are practicing doesn't make sense as a loser plan, either. Reds 1-5 are all present. If either 6 or 7 was missing, there'd be no opposition passes - and there are. If 8 or 9 was missing, the first half formations wouldn't be symmetrical and there'd only be one jet flying barrel rolls during Tornado - but they are all symmetrical and there are two jets rolling (see photos linked below). The Gypo Pass, probably the one manoeuvre where it'd be impossible to hide the fact a jet was missing, seems to have been dropped from the routine.

Of course the only people who really know what's going on are the Red Arrows themselves and I'm sure it's all perfectly logical. But clearly there's been some fairly significant restructuring of the display to "hide" a missing aircraft and I'm not sure why they'd bother doing that if they expected to be back to 9 jets before the season starts.




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Post by Adam » Sat May 14, 2022 9:04 am

The Red Arrows will be a 7-ship this year. They've been training as an 8 for weeks, but it was reported today in the Daily Mail that another pilot has been removed from the team and the unit is being investigated over its drinking culture and inappropriate behavior. This morning, the RAF confirmed they are down to just 7 pilots for 2022.

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Post by Flightline Uk » Sat May 14, 2022 9:20 am

The irony is that the team were last a seven ship display during the last Jubilee Year, but in very different circumstances.
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Post by Adam » Sat May 14, 2022 9:50 am

Trying to get my head around this... the 8-ship display was already quite a bit shorter and simpler than previous years and now the displays getting absolutely hammered for a second time, with less than two weeks to rechoreograph and retrain.



Looks from the photos like the latest guy to leave was from Enid. Red 8 doesn't do an awful lot in the new 8-ship display, maybe he can do what Red 9 has already done this year and move to an Enid position for the second half. If there's time to retrain in that configuration then the show could still look okay.
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Post by Flightline Uk » Mon May 16, 2022 7:02 pm

Seems they’ve worked the 7-ship formations in quite quickly

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Post by Adam » Mon May 16, 2022 8:45 pm

So they have, that's good news. And this photo of the Heart sans its usual Spear seems to suggest Red 8 is now flying with Enid for the second half. Impressively quick work.

I wonder what will happen to the Goose? Pretty much the only remaining manoevure they can't do in the current configuration.

Last edited by Adam on Mon May 16, 2022 8:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Adam » Wed May 18, 2022 7:59 pm

We have an answer on this:
Adam wrote: Mon May 16, 2022 8:45 pm I wonder what will happen to the Goose? Pretty much the only remaining manoevure they can't do in the current configuration.
It's the return of the Double Goose, Reds 6 and 7 both flying down the middle.

There must have been some other changes to the show, as in the routine they were rehearsing until last week, Goose followed the Double Rolls, so 6 and 7 would take some time to reform and reposition. I'm quite looking forward to seeing what they come up with - sometimes difficult situations produce interesting results.

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Post by Adam » Mon May 23, 2022 7:39 pm

Red 8 (flying in the 2 or 3 position for the second half, since last week) is still visibly struggling with the rollbacks a little, a botched rollback seemed to trigger an escape manoeuvre and the abandonment of one of Friday's practices. I guess he may not have flown them for a few years, I'm sure it won't take him long! Nonetheless, it sounds like PDA was granted today - it's hard not to be impressed by how quickly they have worked up the new seven-ship display.

2022 display sequence:
Wall arrival to Loop in Seven Arrow (full show) // Wall arrival (rolling/flat show)
Barrel Roll in Seven Arrow (full/rolling show) // Present in Seven Arrow (flat show)
Loop and Present in Flanker (full show) // Reversal and Present in Flanker (rolling/flat show)
Barrel Roll in Phoenix (full/rolling show) // Present in Phoenix (flat show)
Present in Eagle
Tornado
Present in Battle
Detonator
Synchro - Double Rolls
Enid - Python (full/rolling show) // Present in Line Astern and Present in Leader’s Benefit (flat show)
Synchro - Boomerang (full show) // Carousel (rolling/flat show)
Enid - Rollbacks
Synchro - Corkscrew
Enid & Synchro - Double Goose
Synchro - Heart (full show) // Rolling Heart (rolling show)
Synchro - Crossbow (full/rolling show)
Enid - Infinity Break
Last edited by Adam on Mon May 23, 2022 8:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Flightline Uk » Wed May 25, 2022 2:12 pm

PDA achieved.

Last edited by Flightline Uk on Wed May 25, 2022 2:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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