Photos of the Red Arrows at Airbourne Airshow in Eastbourne

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Mention aerobatic displays to almost anybody in the UK and the first words that come into most people minds would be the Red Arrows! I remember as a little kid going to see the planes at air displays like RAF Mildenhall and always looking forward to seeing the amazing RAF ( Royal Air Force ) Aerobatic Team called The Red Arrows. I am sure I remember seeing the Red Arrows when they were still using Folland Gnat trainers, but they changed over to BAe Hawk's when I was just five (1979), so I am not sure! The Red Arrows actually started their displays in 1964, ten years before I was born.

The Red Arrows normally fly nine planes during all displays and have a tenth plane as a backup in case of technical problems. There are only nine active RAF pilots, so if one is not well enough to fly then they fly a special display with only eight planes, as some of the photos of Airbourne airshow in Eastbourne below show. Their BAe Hawk planes are easy to spot, all painted bright red with white stripes and RAF markings.

The Red Arrows planes can be seen flying in many different formations during the air displays they put on a air shows like Airbourne in Eastbourne, these are some of the main formations:

Apollo, Big Arrow, Big Battle, Big Big Battle, Big Nine, Big Vixen, Box, Card, Concorde, Delta, Diamond, Eagle, Enid, Feathered Arrow, Flanker, King's Cross, Lancaster, Leader's Benefit, Mange, Pyramid, Rhombus, Shuttle, Spear, Swan, Tango, Viggen, Vixen, Vulcan, Wineglass.

One thing the RAF Red Arrows are very well known at shows like Eastbourne Airbourne air show is Opposing Passes, thats where two BAe Hawk planes fly towards each other at full speed, just missing each other, its a scary thing to see! The BAe Hawk planes pass VERY close! The Red Arrows pilots must have a lot of guts to do those Opposing Passes, the way the Red Arrows manage to do them is by one of the RAF pilots flying their plane perfectly straight, no matter what! The other RAF pilot then flies their plane as close to them as possible.

Red Arrows at Eastbourne Airbourne Photos

More Red Arrows at Eastbourne Airbourne Photos!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my photos of the Red Arrows at Eastbourne Airbourne Airshow. The Air show is very good and normally goes on for four days, taking over practically the whole of Eastbourne sea front. If you fancy a trip down to Eastbourne in East Sussex in August then try to make sure you go to Airbourne, its well worth it. Its nice to watch an airshow from Eastbourne beach, rather than an RAF base.

Constructive comments on these RAF Red Arrows pictures are always very welcome and if you have taken photos of the Red Arrows at Eastbourne Airbourne airshow or anywhere else I would love to see them.