Well there goes the Red Arrows...

[Simpo Two]

According to the BBC presenter, the RAF has an 'acrobatic team'

I guess a few sets of lycra trousers are cheaper to run...

[sherman]

They run around the gym holding their arms out to their sides humming the dambusters tune loudly at all times

[Simpo Two]

sherman said:

They run around the gym holding their arms out to their sides humming the dambusters tune loudly at all times

Very good!

You could also strap red, white and blue smoke canisters to their legs...

Edited by Simpo Two on Saturday 6th May 14:49

[anonymous-user]

To be fair, the cloud base was a bit low!

[DickyC]

It's not as bad as you feared. They are at least still using planes.

[Simpo Two]

JB99 said:

To be fair, the cloud base was a bit low!

Agreed.

Why didn't they hold the whole flypast at the same height as the Arrows? Not all ULEZ compliant? 'What's that you say? All aircraft must be electric?'

[Simpo Two]

And they've finally got the Dambusters. Just heard it on the TV. Gibson's dog is now overdubbed 'Trigger'. That actually offends me more than of the imaginary offence of the true name which I can't mention because it might offend someone

[zsdom]

People these days are so easily offended, snowflakes

[limpsfield]

zsdom said:

People these days are so easily offended, snowflakes

Exactly. Poor Simpo.

[MBBlat]

Simpo Two said:

Agreed.

Why didn't they hold the whole flypast at the same height as the Arrows? Not all ULEZ compliant? 'What's that you say? All aircraft must be electric?'

Safety and visibility rules, nobody wants a F35 crashing into the Mall after ingesting a stray seagull. The reds have special permission to fly low in adverse conditions.

[droopsnoot]

Simpo Two said:

And they've finally got the Dambusters. Just heard it on the TV. Gibson's dog is now overdubbed 'Trigger'. That actually offends me more than of the imaginary offence of the true name which I can't mention because it might offend someone

Is it over-dubbed in the same way that the "Got a flat roof?" advert was? (For those not familiar, it was akin to the Harry Enfield version of "Good Fellas").

[stevemcs]

MBBlat said:

Safety and visibility rules, nobody wants a F35 crashing into the Mall after ingesting a stray seagull. The reds have special permission to fly low in adverse conditions.

You would have thought the RAF would be capable of doing that ......

Sorry we cannot go to war today as the cloud is a bit low.

[Easternlight]

DickyC said:

It's not as bad as you feared. They are at least still using planes.

There were a few flying around in circles off Gt Yarmouth and Lowestoft from 2 0'clock.
They then flew off heading west at 2:25 when they were cancelled

[shouldbworking]

stevemcs said:

MBBlat said:

Safety and visibility rules, nobody wants a F35 crashing into the Mall after ingesting a stray seagull. The reds have special permission to fly low in adverse conditions.

You would have thought the RAF would be capable of doing that ......

Sorry we cannot go to war today as the cloud is a bit low.

That's how it came across to me. The way it was presented it sounded like a combination of the only pilots trained in low flying are the reds, and that despite 40 years of technological advancements since the hawk T1 was introduced, none of that tech has done enough to mitigate the risks involved in flying on a rainy day.

I understand the reality is a bit more nuanced than that, why expose people to risk if you don't have to, but still, it didn't send a good message.

[Mazinbrum]

stevemcs said:

MBBlat said:

Safety and visibility rules, nobody wants a F35 crashing into the Mall after ingesting a stray seagull. The reds have special permission to fly low in adverse conditions.

You would have thought the RAF would be capable of doing that ......

Sorry we cannot go to war today as the cloud is a bit low.

I’m sure they would take the risk if we were at war.

[Simpo Two]

limpsfield said:

zsdom said:

People these days are so easily offended, snowflakes

Exactly. Poor Simpo.

It's the changing of historical facts simply to appease a transient generation unable to cope with reality that I object to.

[Simpo Two]

MBBlat said:

Safety and visibility rules, nobody wants a F35 crashing into the Mall after ingesting a stray seagull. The reds have special permission to fly low in adverse conditions.

Thanks - I suppose the fewer the aeroplanes, the lower the risk. No aeroplanes at all would be even safer.

[Hill92]

Simpo Two said:

Agreed.

Why didn't they hold the whole flypast at the same height as the Arrows? Not all ULEZ compliant? 'What's that you say? All aircraft must be electric?'

Wake turbulence and vertical separation.

In these types of formation flypasts the helicopters at the front are doing 90 knots while the jets at the back are doing 300 knots. They start out from different points/times over the East Coast with routes that them overhead Buckingham palace at their allocated Time on Target. This compresses them to 30 seconds spacing overhead Buckingham Palace and thus they need to disperse in different directions also immediately after Buckingham Palace so as to avoid traffic in front/behind.

The minimum height is defined by skyscrapers (the Shard is close enough) while the maximum height will be set in reference to the cloud base.

Each element of the flypast would normally have their own assigned height between the minimum/maximums. This reduces the impact of wake turbulence from aircraft in front (especially the larger transport jets on the fast jets that follow) and also provides some vertical separation in the event that they get too close to the element in front. If you watch the onboard footage from the Red Arrows closely at Trooping the Colour you'll often see them being thrown around a bit as they fly through the wake of everyone in front of them, almost like the horses on parade.

Everyone but the Red Arrows are just normal frontline pilots. They'll rarely do any close formation flying (transport fleet) or large formations (fast jets). Everyone practices the flypast (usually with RAF Cranwell standing in for Buckingham Palace). Given the limited practice time and complexity, the overall Display Authorisation will have strict weather requirements.

The helicopters will have slightly more flexible Display Authorisation given their slower speeds and somewhat looser formations. The Red Arrows will their own Display Authorisation. The Red Arrows also the element that non-enthusiasts expect to see and their smoke makes for the best visual hence they'll always be the last element to be cancelled.

You can see how marginal conditions were for visual flying today from the onboard footage:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr6HeaIo6I1/

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr6FHwzuNLx/

[zsdom]

Not to mention exit routes if something went wrong with an aircraft, if they’re at 5000ft they’ve enough time to divert the aircraft & say ditch it in the Thames

Visibility was less than 2000ft today, if an F-35 or Texan lost an engine at that height its only going one place

[Simpo Two]

Sound replies, many thanks.

My only other thought is this: D-Day was far bigger than the Coronation and needed far more organisation or far more people, yet the day was chosen for better weather. Perhaps when 'KWV' is crowned they might factor in the weather forecast...!