Original subtitles

'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.

The Red Arrows 2018 display season

is due to begin in just four weeks' time.

They've deployed to Greece on exercise Spring Hawk, their annual overseas training.'

"And... bank... now."

'The guaranteed good weather is needed to prepare for PDA, the Public Display Authority test...

..which all the Reds must pass to perform displays to the public.'

"And... pulling... up."

'But in the next week,

they must also test and recruit two new pilots for their 2019 team.'

'The pace is relentless.

Following the recent accident, when engineer Jon Bayliss was tragically killed,

the pressure is on for team leader Martin Pert.'

I think objectively we're about six weeks to almost two months behind schedule.

It's entirely possible that we won't be ready for PDA.

If we don't make PDA whilst we're out on Spring Hawk in Greece,

the likelihood is we would have to cancel some of the displays.

'Despite replacement pilot Mike Ling joining only three weeks ago,

they've managed to fly their first full practice display.'

Two, one, pack. 24-zero.

Welcome, gents. We're going to Bravo to our first move of sight out over the sea there.

'But today they face the far greater challenge of practising over the sea.'

..this way, obviously ramping down over this peak here.

Main hazards, really, we've obviously got birds here.

That's definitely a hazard at this sort of flat ground, just rolling into the sea there.

Up to now, I've had the luxury of practising over an airfield,

where we have this big long runway that just orientates me as soon as I look at it.

The challenge when we go somewhere off an airfield is I don't have those features any more.

Probably a bit more difficult to get definition here, just cos the channel is slightly wider.

OK? So it could just be into the blue yonder.

So we will check in, please, at minute zero-six. Have a good one.

'The team safety supervisor, Adam Collins, has headed to the display site.'

The conditions today are extremely challenging.

It's quite hazy. The sea is extremely calm,

so it's almost mirror-like. The sky and sea are almost the same colour.

So certainly for synchro, doing the dynamic diving manoeuvres, it's gonna be a challenging day.

'The synchro pair are the two pilots who execute dynamic head-to-head manoeuvres

at just 100 feet.'

'A glassy sea makes judging their position and height very difficult.'

Today will be the first time really we've both had crossed points

where we've been coming down to 100 feet over the water and judging it.

'It's Toby Keeley's first year as a synchro pilot.'

I've just about grasped the basic manoeuvres down to display height.

And now, having to do that over a sea and the coastline

definitely adds another huge element and step up.

"Loving it."

"And... bank."

One of the things I'm keeping an eye on is how they are levelling out from their manoeuvres.

If there is something that doesn't look like it normally would,

that's when I can come on the radio with a...

a call that would get them to double-check the height they're at.

'The first manoeuvres for the team go well.

But now the synchro pair split off to perform their ultra-low-level routine.'

Normally what we're doing is we're using features on the ground

to line up and make the pass happen right in front of you.

When we fly over the sea, obviously those features are taken away.

You can get this nasty, insidious reduction of height in the jet

just purely because you're unable to judge those normal heights.

'The jets should pass so close it looks like they'll collide.

But in these conditions, they're struggling to align.'

Today there was virtually no wind whatsoever, so there was a very, very flat and glassy sea.

So it's quite difficult to actually judge the horizon.

That combined with it being quite hazy, as well, it all kind of blended into one.

'But they do still manage some perfect crosses.

Displaying over water also makes life tough for the other pilots,

particularly in their most difficult move...

..rollbacks.'

Red 2 flew his rollback, and as he was moving into the slot,

the closure that he had towards me was greater than he'd been used to.

'For safety, Red 2 executes the agreed escape plan,

dropping under the formation.

As Red 5 rolls back in, he can't see Red 2,

so aborts, pulling clear of the formation.'

Whilst it probably looked particularly ugly,

the actual procedure of that error breaking down was entirely correct.

As ever, there's frustrating elements to everything.

I think there was a couple of bits in there that we didn't help ourselves with.

'The team have just three weeks to perfect their performance

before their scheduled public display test.'

Er, it was a bit of a worker. 6, major points?

'If they're not ready, shows will have to be cancelled.'

If you try and follow that coast, you're way off. It does suck you in quite badly.

So I was working pretty hard for that.

It's certainly one to file away under learning sorties.

Cop it all. Right.

'And they've got another ball to juggle,

because eight more top RAF fighter pilots

have just arrived in Greece.

Over the next seven days, they'll undergo an intense selection.'

Welcome. Welcome. Hello. You alright?

Very excited to be here.

This is my third time that I've applied, but the first time that I've got on the shortlist.

So if I'm not selected, I'll be absolutely gutted.

'But only two of them can realise their dream of becoming Red Arrows.'

'Eight crack RAF fighter pilots have arrived in Greece,

hoping to be selected to join the Red Arrows.

They've been shortlisted from 31 applicants.

Over seven intense days, their personalities will be continually assessed by the current team.

They'll face flying tests and interviews.

Only two will be selected.'

OK, I'm just gonna pop my hand in the back of the helmet. If you lean in for me.

'First, candidates have to get kitted out.

These pilots don't have the correct equipment to fly the Reds' Hawk jets

because back in the UK, they fly a very different aircraft.

The state-of-the-art Typhoon Fighter.'

The big one, I think, for me, is gonna be the flying test.

So Hawk handles very differently to Typhoon.

'And some have tried unsuccessfully for selection before.'

So this is the second time I'm going out to the shortlist.

In some ways that's a help, and in some ways it's harder,

in that I know what the pressures are

and how I'm gonna feel at the end of the week.

I applied last year for the first time, I got shortlisted, and that was a bit of a baptism of fire.

This year, yeah, I've got the experience from last year,

but with that comes also a little bit more nerves almost,

because you've been there, you've done it before, so you expect to be perhaps a little bit more polished.

THEY CHAT

'Alongside the selection process,

the Reds still have to prepare for their PDA test.

So the candidates will fly backseat during every practice display.

And at the end of each sortie, one will undergo their flying test.'

It's the battle reference. You're looking to get the wingtip that you can see, you stay there...

'Red 8, Matt Masters, will be their examiner.'

..between there and there, on that position. And that helps with your depth, as well.

So don't use the wing for depth.

They'll be in the back seat of my jet.

We'll do a full display. And then once that's complete,

myself and the team leader will separate,

and we'll go off and begin the flying test.

For the rear, you've got this magic red A.

So we'll do two loops and we'll do two rolls.

The first thing I'm really looking for is we want them to be nice and accurate on those references.

If you go too far this way, it becomes an A with a point.

So it's station keeping, it's smoothness, but also we wanna see a learning curve.

So we want to see an improvement as the test progresses.

..what my head height is. And that's not there.

Is that everyone done?

'On this sortie, it'll be Andy Cornthwaite who faces his flying test.

Corny currently flies the Hawk as an instructor.

It's the first time he's made it onto the shortlist.'

I got told that I was on the shortlist a month ago.

So throughout the last four weeks,

I've been reading up about it so much, so to finally arrive here

and get stuck in has just been mind-blowing.

If I'm not selected, I'll be incredibly disappointed.

Always a daunting moment doing your flying test. Yeah.

I think we all remember it really well, this moment.

But, yeah, I'm sure he'll have a good one.

'During the display practice, Corny gets to see the standard of flying he's aspiring to.

The practice display over, seven jets head home.

Now it's Corny's turn to prove he's got what it takes to be a Red Arrow.'

'Corny must try to maintain this precise position

just six feet from leader Perty.

'It's not perfect, but the loop goes well.

Next, the far more difficult barrel roll.'

It was a pretty intense 45 minutes. Glad to get it done.

But given a second go, I'd look to improve on certain bits, for sure.

On the ground, I will ask them, you know, how do you think it went?

Just to see if they can identify how they can improve.

I'll let them go off to the debriefing room

and that gives myself and Red 1 the opportunity to compare notes and make an overall assessment.

The flying test, if you make the slightest jerk or the slightest sort of mishandle,

you instantly think that's it, "I'm never getting in the team."

And you get no feedback, so you have absolutely no idea how you're doing.

'Flying three nine-aircraft displays every day also makes this a hectic time for Circus,

the engineers trained to fly backseat to service the jets when they travel away from home.'

It's always busy for us. We're always on the move.

Quite a lot of hours. Tireless work.

'And today, they've got a tenth jet to prepare...'

OK. So, we went through all the safety stuff again this morning.

'..because one new Circus member, Rose Buchanan, is about to take her first backseat flight,

known as "the shakedown."

She's flying with team supervisor Cos.'

We'll go down to the aircraft in a few minutes. I'll help strap you in,

make sure you're happy with where the straps go.

And we'll just get used to flying in the aircraft.

I'll do some flying to begin with, and depending on how you're feeling, we'll do some aerobatics.

I've just had my pre-flight brief.

It was with Colin, so really excited.

Very, very nervous, but really excited, as well.

So looking forward to getting out there.

'All new Circus members must have a shakedown

to familiarise them with the extremes of flying in a fast jet.

Rose's was delayed following the recent tragic crash.'

Good luck. Enjoy. Thank you. See you later. Bye, Rose. THEY LAUGH

First time I got in the Hawk with Cos, I was very nervous. I do get quite nervous for new things.

Do you want to jump up?

So, you go right foot first.

Hang onto this handle when you can reach it.

Left into the cubby-hole.

But you think about your training and you think about what you've done.

At the end of the day, it's something new, you're not gonna get many chances in life to do it,

so you've just gotta enjoy every minute that you get.

Helmet on when you're ready.

Once you lifted off the ground, it was kind of like this really surreal feeling

that I'm actually flying in the Red Arrows. It's a bit nuts.

22 years old and I'm flying in the back of a Red Arrow in Greece.

It's not really something you ever think you're ever gonna do.

Feeling the G is a bit weird, but I guess your body gets used to it, and it was really exciting.

'Under Cos's close watch, Rose is allowed a go on the control stick in the back, flying the Hawk herself.'

I got to have a little go. I got to do a roll around. So that was pretty fun.

Flying upside down is very strange, but it is really cool.

Massive relief when I landed. So it was really fun, and just really grateful that I got that chance.

You alright? Yeah. You? SHE LAUGHS

You didn't scare me that much.

Absolutely amazing.

Thanks, sir. My pleasure.

Finally did it. SHE LAUGHS

That was really fun. It was great. Definitely worth the wait.

If you could pay for that, I'd save up for the rest of my life. SHE LAUGHS

SHE SIGHS

'It's the second day of shortlist week.

Today, the candidates face the dreaded formal interview.'

There's just too much waiting.

The last time I had an interview, it was about 12 years ago when I joined the Royal Air Force.

So perhaps a little bit out of interview practice.

I do get tongue-tied and I'm not particularly... articulate.

'His training for PDA over for the day,

team leader Martin Pert sits on the interview board

with Andrew Keith, the big boss of the Red Arrows,

and Fin Monahan, the Commandant of the Central Flying School.'

In the interview, I'm trying to uncover

those little secrets that they've got, I'm trying to find out

more about the individual, because I need to know

that these people really are going to hold the course,

because it really is a very, very challenging job.

Hello, Will. Lucky first. Indeed, sir, yes.

You can relax in probably about 20 minutes.

Right now, Will... Yes, sir. ..please will you tell me,

in one sentence and one sentence only,

why should you be selected to join the Red Arrows over the other candidates?

I have a very strong work ethic, a...

That was it. One sentence. I was using a comma.

Just thinking through some key phrases that I want to get in there

and just trying to minimise the sweat that's pouring out of my palms.

I'm the man for the job, comma,

I am determined, I'm tenacious, reliable,

dynamic, presentable, I'm a solid choice.

As pilots in the Air Force, we do lots of briefings, we stand up in front of people,

we are put on the spot, but there's something very different about a formal interview

and one for a job that you just want so badly.

As jet pilots, we're used to being very good very quickly at something,

and so being in the Red Arrows, I want to do it so much because it is difficult. It's the challenge.

So, Simmo, what are your personal motivations for wanting to join

the Royal Air Force aerobatic team, the Red Arrows?

For me, it goes back a long time.

When I was an eight-year-old boy, I used to go to air shows with my family, watching the Reds,

I looked up and I thought, "Well, I'm gonna give that a go."

My dad wanted me to go into finance and that kind of stuff and I always pushed back

and I'm now sitting in front of you today.

That first display, as you hear that "And pulling up" call, must be absolutely incredible.

And then being able to engage with the public

would be a huge honour.

Thanks very much. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Thank you.

For the first interview I've done in, er, probably 16 years,

erm, I didn't feel it was too bad.

A heck of a day. Really glad that it's over

and, er, time to get a beer.

'Next, the candidates go head-to-head with the Red Arrows.'

Last man standing as far as I'm concerned.

'And Red 6 is forced to make an emergency landing.'

I just saw a bit of a flash of some sort of brown/black bird

and it hit and made a bit of a thud on the canopy.

THEY CHAT

'The candidates hoping to be Red Arrows pilots

are halfway through their selection week,

one by one taking their flying tests.

Are you looking forward to this? Erm... I'm nervous.

'A few have shown real talent.

But many have struggled

with close formation aerobatics.'

A couple of slightly bigger mistakes in there, but, er,

I think I've gotta pinch myself that I tried out for the Reds.

Flying formation in a Red Arrow, that's something that you've gotta look forward to.

It's now just waiting and seeing if I do get to do that again in future.

'The current Red Arrows pilots are also under pressure.'

Er, we were crowd for the typhoon roll...

'Their big test, the Public Display Authority,

is due in just two weeks.'

..coming left in tornado, just cos I needed to get on with it,

I called the coming left while you were sort of hanging back.

'Behind schedule following the accident, they're training flat-out

to avoid having to delay PDA and cancel shows.'

It's really intense because the temperature out in Greece at the moment is in the 30s,

we're wearing these big, heavy suits,

and between the end of the debrief and the start of the next brief,

we've got about 30 to 40 minutes to eat some lunch, drink, cool down.

'The aggressive manoeuvres flown by the synchro pair are particularly draining.'

Flying in synchro, there's a lot of a intense high-G manoeuvres,

particularly when we're braking towards each other.

We also do a sustained turn in our circus manoeuvre,

and that's a sustained 6G turn.

You've really got to work hard to combat the effects of G-force,

so you've gotta tense your lower muscles, your abdomen, your stomach.

And my head is weighing six times what it does normally.

And you've gotta work really hard to move your neck and your body.

On one of the practice sorties, my air-conditioning failed in the aeroplane

and actually got stuck on fully hot. I was sweating profusely

and it was actually coming down my forehead and dripping into my eyes.

So wiping sweat from my face whilst trying to concentrate on flying the perfect show was pretty challenging.

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

Anyone got a swimming pool for 7?

Er, it's weak flow but hot air was on.

I'll get one of the mechs to do a full... Alright.

'Toby's jet is grounded until a part for the air-conditioning arrives from Britain.

Down to nine serviceable jets, they can't afford to lose another.

Then, in the middle of a display practice,

Si Taylor suffers a bird strike.

He breaks off and lands back at base.'

Don't put your hands on it, mate! Ooh!

Yeah, we hit a bird during the first half.

You can probably see it on the canopy there.

It just hit as we were in the back of phoenix,

we were right underneath 2's jet,

and I just saw a bit of a flash of some sort of brown/black bird

and it just hit and made a bit of a thud on the canopy.

Then, obviously, there's a bit of a "Whoa!" from the front and the back seat.

I hit one last year just on the way into Newcastle,

which glanced off the side of the engine intake.

If that then goes in the engine intake, then that's bad.

'Luckily this time, Si's jet is undamaged.'

This thing is brutal. You know, it's built to last, the T1,

so touch wood, it always comes out better of the collision.

'Even when flying ends for the day,

the selection process for the new pilots continues.'

For me as the leader, I think it's crucially important that we try and get to know them

because we've got to work with them for 11 months of the year.

We are in each other's pockets, intensively flying,

trusting each other and living on the road,

so it's really important to get to know those guys.

'On the fourth day of selection,

the shortlisters face the ultimate personality test.'

This week it's my job to come up with an entertainments programme in the evenings.

The karting's a tradition part of shortlist week,

and even if people won't admit it, everyone's got a competitive streak in them,

so you may see some fairly aggressive driving out there.

'Everyone must compete in time trials to win a place in the final.'

They do get quite competitive and that's gonna happen when you get a load of fast jet pilots in go-karts.

So I just push on through after they've all had their little crash.

It's kind of why we do this. A, it's a lot of fun

and gets everyone together and get to know each other,

but someone who's just that little bit too competitive,

it can just bring it out. Plus, if the boss gets run off the track by one of the shortlisters,

it's brilliant fun for all of us. So, yeah, fingers crossed.

It is all-out competition in the go-karting. I'd be disappointed if they weren't out to try and win.

But there's clearly a few tactics and a few little ruses and ploys

to make sure that maybe they aren't going to be right at the top of the tree.

'With the heats over, it's not looking good for the Red Arrows.'

The shortlisters are currently top three and I'm number four,

so, yeah, we might have to change our tactics a little bit.

THEY LAUGH

Is it a good idea to be beating Red 1? Erm...

I might just allow him to overtake right at the finish line in the final race.

'But somehow, the Reds' fortunes are magically transformed.'

Perfect. Thank you.

The Reds are in pole position now.

Yeah, it's funny, that. Yeah. Er...

Whether it's the shortlist actually letting us win or we're actually better than the shortlist.

We'll find out in a minute. We're about to start the grand final.

There was obviously a bit of hustling going on.

You don't wanna start off showing your true talents early on.

Lull them into a false sense of security and then come through winning at the very end.

Unfortunately, I was given the kart that stalled at any opportunity.

Yeah, no doubt I would've won, but unfortunately, in this instance, my tools let me down.

'Despite starting at the back, the shortlisters soon take the lead...

..maybe foolhardily putting the boss, Perty, in last place.

Fighting back...

..Perty spins off.

Then, despite being a lap behind...

..he's given the chequered flag.'

So as far as I'm concerned, I crossed the chequered flag first.

I don't care how many laps I'd done.

The guy raised the flag, I was the first to cross the line, so I'm claiming that as a win.

'Just seconds later, the real winner, shortlister JT,

crosses the line.'

The win. The win.

Quite pleased with that. Cheers.

Let's go and get the trophies.

Yeah, I maintained to JT that I'd won and I don't think he had the balls to actually front up on that.

Alright, then. So, in third place is Lingy.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The runner-up in second place is Grob.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

And the winner of 2018 karting...

It wasn't till he actually got on the podium that I think he realised he was a lap ahead of me.

..is JT. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Aghh! Well done. THEY LAUGH

APPLAUSE

'Shortlist week is almost over.

Will Cambridge is the last candidate to take his flying test.'

The Red Arrows job is something a bit special, something different.

So what the guys are doing, it's all by their own judgement and by their own hand-eye ability.

That sort of pure flying really appeals to me.

If I was asked to join the team, that would just be fantastic.

I've wanted to join the Reds ever since I was a young kid.

'As they're about to taxi, there's a problem.'

'The delay is caused by go-kart champion JT.'

'Loose objects in cockpits are dangerous.

There's a risk they may jam the controls.'

My backseater, he dropped his pin from his ejection seat on the floor, unfortunately.

When you close the canopy, you need to make your seat live by taking the pin out

and housing it, but he unfortunately dropped it.

So we're about ten minutes behind getting airborne.

He will definitely receive a lot of banter from the boys later on.

It might cost him later. But, hey, it's just one of those things.

'The pin retrieved from under the seat,

the sortie can finally begin.

At the end of the practice display, seven jets head home.'

'Leaving Will to begin his test.'

'Almost immediately, Will drops far out of position.

But he manages to recover.'

'He completes the loop successfully.

But now faces the far more difficult barrel roll.'

'Will's jet drifts dangerously close to Perty.'

I had to take control and make sure that that closure didn't result in a midair collision.

The aircraft suffered from slight over-controlling,

which resulted in a higher closure of our aircraft to the lead aircraft.

I took control and we safely moved back out onto the correct reference

and then I handed control back to Will.

Erm, it handles quite different to the Typhoon

and, er, it's tricky manoeuvres, but that's fine.

I'm glad it's over and a nice weekend to enjoy now.

It does happen. For example, in my first shortlist,

the control was taken away from me, and here I am now,

I'm flying in the Red Arrows and I'm in the third year of the team.

So it isn't the end of the world. The biggest thing is just to learn from it on the next flying test

if you're lucky enough to be on another shortlist.

'If they're ready in time, the crucial PDA is scheduled just days away.

But before then, the Red Arrows have another important commitment to carry out.

A royal fly-past.

At the very end of shortlist selection,

there's one final tradition.'

So this is a chance for us to see the display,

cos all week, we've been backseating.

This will be the first time we get to see the full display from where the crowd will see the display.

How are you guys feeling? Are you feeling a bit tired now?

No, not really. I'd quite like to stay out here for another few weeks.

Not tired at all, then? No. Not at all.

I'm knackered.

I'm knackered. I need to get to bed.

All the best. Safe journey home. Well done. Well done. Yeah, it was a pleasure.

I don't think there have been any disasters. There was a slight issue

with delaying the whole display when I dropped the seat pin, but, yeah, these things happen.

It's gonna be a very nervous wait. If I'm selected to get in the team,

I'd struggle to describe what I'd feel. I'd be so excited.

Waiting for the phone to ring,

I'll be dreading it, and at the same time, really looking forward to it.

Cos you just want to find out after everything that's gone on this week and leading up to it.

It just means so much to you.

'After the shortlisters head home, the Reds hole themselves up at their accommodation.'

What I'd like us to be is as objective as possible.

'In this secret discussion, they'll decide which two candidates

they want to join the team.

But the successful pilots will not be told for three weeks.

The all-important public display test is due in only one week.

If the Reds fail, the display season will be postponed.

But today, they've been given special dispensation

to make one public appearance.

An official fly-past.'

We've got the honour of flying over Prince Charles this afternoon

at a marina in Athens, which is great.

It's also the first huge sort of event this year.

It's been keeping me busy for the last couple of days because I've been busy planning it.

And also there's definitely a lot of pressure on the team, and not just the pilots, the ground crew, too,

the engineers who service, the dye team have got to re-dye the jets, as well.

So there's a lot of pressure on them to get it right.

'But the weather forecast is not looking good.'

Morning, all. Obviously, an important day.

It's our first public outing officially. It's gonna be quite challenging weather, as well.

We'll present a great fly-past for later on. Good.

We'll brief at 25 past, please, for the next slot. Thank you.

Between us and Athens, there's some huge thunderstorms.

That's quite challenging, because we've gotta stay below the cloud.

If we go into these big clouds, there's lots of lightning and hazards, so we've gotta stay below.

THUNDER RUMBLES That alongside our TOT, time on target,

we've got 14, 15 and 20 seconds.

So we've gotta be bang on that time this afternoon over His Royal Highness Prince Charles.

'30 miles away in Athens,

Prince Charles has arrived for the fly-past

that will mark his royal tour of Greece.

But... back at the airbase,

a thunderstorm has struck.'

THUNDER RUMBLES

Lo and behold, the weather was shocking that day. We had huge thunderstorms all around the area

within about 10km of the airfield.

THUNDER RUMBLES

'In Athens, the skies are still blue.

The royal party are in position and the scheduled time for the fly-past

is just minutes away.

With just moments to spare,

the Reds have got airborne,

dodging storms en route.'

When we got airborne and I looked southeast and I could see the confines of Athens

and I could see it was clear, that was a really great feeling.

We pulled it out the bag. The skies over Athens were blue,

wide open, and the white and blue smoke went down a storm.

It was a great test of the whole team because in those three short weeks,

from not even having flown a full display, I'm very confident now

we are at a standard where I think we can go for our Public Display Authority.

There's no doubting the talent of Lingy coming back into the Red 3 slot

and his wealth of experience.

But also I think the rest of the guys are just totally focused

because they know what a challenge it is this year,

of any year, to get to PDA status.

'Next time...

the pressure's on for the Reds as they face their vital test.'

Gents, it is the last sortie.

Alright? Let's put an absolute belter out there and we need to make this one really count.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media