Aeroplane Magazine Red Arrows Special Issue

2024 is the 60th display season for the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team. When the Red Arrows were established, The Beatles were at their peak, the Mini was new, and Goldfinger was the latest James Bond film. Colour TV, the Moon landings, and Concorde, were still a few years away.

This special publication charts the history of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team. There are recollections from former team pilots of ultra-low level flying in the 1960s, of experiences performing in the Synchro Pair in the 1980s, of flying alongside Concorde and touring the world in the 1990s, of crossing the Atlantic in the 2000s. We hear, too, from those who worked on the team as engineers. We also talk to the latest Red 1, Squadron Leader Jon Bond, as the team prepares for its historic Diamond Season, and find out what goes into the team’s precision flying.

With its 60 years of history, the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team is a great British icon, and part of the national furniture. Even if people might not especially know much about aeroplanes, as several former team members said during the making of this special: “Everybody knows the Red Arrows.”