# Display Team Videos: Black Arrows Firebirds



## Royzee617 (Jun 14, 2005)

I might end up regretting this but let's give it a try. It would be nice to have a thread with videos of display teams through the years. So what better place to start than a look at two long gone display teams. The Raf has had many teams but amongst the best were the ones in the 1960s. They were frontline aircraft and not trainers. Some think that while the Reds are fantastic their planes are not quite powerful enough for the same kind of spectacle as their US and Russian counterparts.

I have quite a few vids of display teams so I can do this I think. But if anyone else wants to join in then be my guest!

In closing I reckon I saw these Hunters and Lightnings when I was a kid. Yes, I am that old and still go to Clutch gigs! We were messing about on the tennis court and there was the most enormous roar from the sky. Right over our heads came more jet fighters than I had ever seen. I was a fan back then and knew what they were but sadly had no camera. It's a mind movie still though. Then we saw them on the telly and I immediately said - those are the planes we saw!


----------



## cheddar cheese (Jun 14, 2005)

Very very nice! 8)


Do you, by any chance, have any of the Frecce Tricolori, the Italian display team?


----------



## FLYBOYJ (Jun 14, 2005)

Love the Lightnings, "YEA BABY!"


----------



## Nonskimmer (Jun 14, 2005)

Nice!


----------



## Royzee617 (Jun 14, 2005)

FT are brilliant - will look something out soon.


----------



## plan_D (Jun 15, 2005)

Love the Lightnings' too bad they didn't have any taking off vertically.


----------



## Royzee617 (Jun 15, 2005)

Yes, the Lightning was an amazing airshow performer. Off the deck, retract the u/c, then pitchup into the near vertical making sure you don't scrape the tail on the runway. Had commensurately poor accident rate. In a book I read last year it listed all the crashes. The tally must have been not far off that for the F100 and F104.
I have a vid doc somewhere with Lightning take-offs so will see if can get it up here.


----------



## plan_D (Jun 15, 2005)

In the 10 years my dad served with 11 Sqn. two Lightnings were lost one due to an F.3 pilot flying a F.6 and being unable to handle it. The other due to under-carriage lock that forced the pilot to take it over to 'the Wash' and bang out. 

Lightnings were excellent aircraft, the only reason they were stopped talking off vertically (they did it perfectly vertical) was in the late 70s the MOD stopped them due to stress on the old airframes.


----------



## trackend (Jun 15, 2005)

Like the clip Roy I remember an interview with an instructor who said that all the pilots wanted to get there hands on their last two Lightings as they where the only planes left in the RAF that where pure, non gadget/avionics assisted planes "like flying a Spitfire with a big kick up the arse".


----------



## evangilder (Jun 15, 2005)

Even us "Yanks" were impressed with the performance of the Lightning. Here is a shot of a LOW pass that was done in 1986 at the Mildenhall Air Fete. I just caught it. I need to do a better scan of that image after the move and clean it up.


----------



## Nonskimmer (Jun 15, 2005)

Nice shot though.


----------



## plan_D (Jun 15, 2005)

American's knew it as the "All Aluminium Pursuit Ship"


----------



## Royzee617 (Jun 15, 2005)

Great shot from Mildenhall. I remember great airshow routines from Lightning pilots but with a tinge of sadness. I think hi sname was Thompson, the display pilot in the early 80s but later in the season he was killed while performing his awesome show over the sea. I have a video of the Mildenhall show in two forms - the TV coverage and mine own video. The latter being the first ever for me being behind the lens at an airshow. I really must dig them out.


----------



## Royzee617 (Jun 15, 2005)

Another clip from the series this time with the Red Pelicans (who I did see as a kid) and the yellow painted Gnats of the Yellowjacks which I didn't see. But I did see the Reds with their Gnats a few times. 

I have a vid of TV prog they made with John Noakes visits with the red arrows while they flew Gnats.... another one to dig out and bung up here. Oh, so much to do.


----------



## Royzee617 (Jun 17, 2005)

As per the request the Italian AF aerobatic team. Nice intro showing the BBMF too.


----------



## cheddar cheese (Jun 18, 2005)

Very very nice! 8)

Make me proud to be Italian. 8)


----------



## plan_D (Jun 18, 2005)

I'm sure it would, if you were Italian.


----------



## Royzee617 (Jun 21, 2005)

The magnifiicent Patrouille de France.

One of the few things I find to criticise is the Alpha Jet's single engine smoke. It gives an asymetrical appearance. Same for the F18 in the Blue Angels - great team but US teams disfavour coloured smoke. 

I like the way the Euro teams can paint their national flag in the skies.


----------



## Royzee617 (Jun 22, 2005)

I have never seen these guys but I wish I had.

They represent the polar opposite of your TBirds etc., usually with turboprops there is a risk of being too much the same as the representatives from the many other air forces equipped with such planes. Mind you it takes some skill as you will see here. But are they sexy enough to serve as a recruitment ploy?

I like the Polish Orliks and will get a vid clip of them up soon. 

Meanwhile, I must find something a bit more vintage like the Yaks or Moths.... the Breitling Fighters? Argh awesome.


----------



## evangilder (Jun 23, 2005)

Cool stuff. In some ways, this is more of a challenge. Jets give you lots of power to get you out of trouble, but with props, you need to finesse it. Nice clip.


----------



## Royzee617 (Jun 23, 2005)

Here's another of those specialty acts - The Aerostars - some dedicated fellow plane owners got together a few years ago to thrill the crowds. I saw this team a few times and was always impressed.

One time I saw them was while we were at IWM Duxford. They were in the distance heading East. It scared me when they dipped lower and disappeared behind the hills. I waited to see them pull up but they didn't. I feared the worst. But all was well. I suddenly realised they must have been returning to their base, North Weald, a few miles further down the M11 which skirts the edge of IWMD.

I think I have a bit of it on video but I mucked it up and had not pressed the record button. Shows how preoccupied I was!

My worries were well-founded as one of the only times I have nearly seen a crash was at IWM D. And it was a Russian plane. We were waving au revoir to the Yak as it flew by on its way to a show in France. To our consternation, and the pilot's no doubt, it began spewing flame and smoke! Popping and banging the machine ended in the field just over the M11. This is where the Bf-109 and Firefly ended up I think.

As we were leaving the forlorn-looking Yak was being towed down the approach road from the M11 on its wheels. Muddy but intact it was a testament to the ruggedness of this plane. It was soon back flying I recall and probably still is.


----------



## Royzee617 (Jun 25, 2005)

Not really a display 'team' but certainly some nice formation flying in this clip.

It is from a defunct BBC prog 'The Ear Show' I call it that because of the accented bint what introduces this. This poxy pixy obviously knows nowt about planes and was just on her way to sports commentating. Urgh.

I put this up because we will likely never see repeats of this series. It had some good bits and I will post some of them. Too vox pop most of it though.

I think of all the crap they repeat and this is left mouldering in the archives along with tons of other good plane stuff.


----------



## Royzee617 (Jun 26, 2005)

Not had a chopper team on here yet. Not that there are many. I recall seeing the RNAF Grasshoppers and being amazed. Would have loved to see the Hind team. Meanwhile, here is the British Army's contribution to the genre, the Blue eagles. I recall seeing them at the inaugural Middle Wallop show, I think they were called the Silver Eagles back then to commem their anniversary.


----------



## Royzee617 (Jun 29, 2005)

An odd but nice choice for the over-Solent celebrations on the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar was this lot.... good old Sky News giving us the only airshow stuff I have seen love on the telly for yonks.


----------



## Royzee617 (Jul 3, 2005)

Divx zipped file - see my earlier post to go to URL for Divx player. It is worth the download as is this vid clip even tho it is around a minute.


----------



## trackend (Jul 3, 2005)

Great vids The Vamp was my first model build as a youngster Roy always like them
sort of a jet P38


----------



## ollieholmes (Oct 20, 2005)

has anyone any videos of the american display team flying their f-105s? it is proberably the hardest jet 2 imagine being aerobatic.


----------



## Royzee617 (Oct 21, 2005)

I have a video somewhere about the T-Birds but they seldom show the Thud era. When I saw them first they had F4s then later at the same venue - UH - they had F16s. But the Thud is one of my fave planes. Once had the luck to chat to a Wild Weasel pilot.... he was amazed that someone was interested in what he did in Vietnam. Sad to hear that... I was in near religious awe of him and his fellow WW crew.


----------



## Royzee617 (Oct 30, 2005)

Here's another Lightning pic or two.


----------



## Gnomey (Oct 30, 2005)

Nice pic Roy.


----------



## Royzee617 (Oct 31, 2005)

More stuff - different angle.


----------



## Royzee617 (Oct 31, 2005)

An old mag cover.


----------



## Gnomey (Oct 31, 2005)

Nice pic of the Lightning Roy.


----------



## Royzee617 (Nov 11, 2005)

One of the finest teams ever tho I have never seen them 'live' for shame. Great planes and great pilots!


----------



## Royzee617 (Nov 16, 2005)

No thread like this would be complete without the Army Air Corps...


----------



## Gnomey (Nov 17, 2005)

Good videos Roy.


----------



## Royzee617 (Nov 21, 2005)

A sequence from a doc on the Hun.
11 mins so a big file...


----------



## Gnomey (Nov 21, 2005)

Good video Roy.


----------



## Royzee617 (Dec 13, 2005)

Short clip from my early experiments... and local tv prog it came from... too much yakkety yak and not enough planes IMHO.


----------



## Gnomey (Dec 13, 2005)

Good stuff Roy. I agree in the first clip (TV) there is too much chat and too little of the planes.


----------



## Royzee617 (Dec 14, 2005)

'Human interest' - bah!

It wouldn't be so bad if you didn't know how much time they waste filming and then rejecting the footage. A local TV film crew visited my kids' school a while back. There all day for a few minutes of airtime... no wonder it costs so much to make a prog etc. Stupid.


----------



## Royzee617 (Dec 14, 2005)

More old RIAT.


----------



## Gnomey (Dec 14, 2005)

Nice video Roy. A lot more planes in that one and less chat, so it was better than the last one


----------



## Royzee617 (Jan 30, 2006)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4357278030864763264&q=air+display
Indian Air Force's Sarang Helicopter Aerobatics Team
http://www.patricksaviation.com/aerobaticteams/Sarang
more clips here:
http://www.patricksaviation.com/videos.php

Turkish Stars:
http://www.patricksaviation.com/videos.php?action=search&type=team&id=9


----------



## Gnomey (Jan 30, 2006)

Good stuff Roy, I liked the IAF team.


----------



## Royzee617 (Jan 30, 2006)

Me too - I am a little leery of helo teams. Saw the Grasshoppers a few times... impressive. Would have liked to see the Hinds perform.


----------



## Royzee617 (Feb 10, 2006)

Italian air force aerobatic team draw Olympic rings above Turin

Flight has a nice pic of same:
http://www.flightinternational.com/...+aerobatic+team+draw+Olympic+rings+above.html


----------



## Gnomey (Feb 10, 2006)

Good find Roy, that was well done.


----------



## cheddar cheese (Feb 10, 2006)

Hell yeah! 8)


----------



## Royzee617 (Feb 12, 2006)

We should not forget the RAF's 'Vintage Pair'.

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/gloster-meteor-t7.htm

Have not found a vid yet... no mention of the team on Wikipedia and scarce elsewhere on the web as far as Google can find... or not.

MW:
http://www.militaryimages.net/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/3752/sort/1/cat/all

'Just found this on another web site.

From 'Lost to service' by Colin Cummings,

'25-May-1986 XH304 Vampire T11, CFS, RAF Mildenhall.

Mid air collision with Meteor T7 WA669 whilst flying in formation at the annual air show. The Meteor and Vampire were attempting a line astern barrel roll to the left, but because it could not match the Meteor's rate of roll, the Vampire bacame displaced. The Vampire moved forward and collided with the Meteor. The pilot, Squadron Leader David Marchant and a member of the ground maintainance crew who was flying as a passenger; Sgt A Ball, were able to eject.'

The crew of the Meteor were Flight Lieutenant Andrew James Potter, age 38, pilot, and Corporal Kevin Turner, age 24, Ground support tradesman.

[Lucky for us we were not at that show that day that year. But I remember seeing footage of it on the TV news... as always, no coverage except when there's a crash.]

Reformed in civilian hands:
http://www.ukairshows.info/2003/airshows/coventry/photographs/vintagepair.html


----------



## Royzee617 (Apr 7, 2006)

Here is a team I would love to see - the wonderful 'Orliks' from Poland.

Not sure I liked turboprop teams until I saw this video.

Submitted three versions - all the same clip - at low, med and 'high' res for a demo and for low non-b/b folks.

pic
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0985045/M/
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0670087/L/
http://www.zap16.com/mil fact/PZL 130TC-1turbo Orlik.htm
http://www.air.radom.pl/eng/orliken1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PZL-130_Orlik


----------



## Royzee617 (Apr 17, 2006)

Just 4 views in two weeks??????? these are great, please d/l as you will not regret it!


----------



## Royzee617 (Apr 20, 2006)

Should not forget those impeccable Aerostars with their Yaks. One of the few civilian teams, watch them on Google Video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6806363250351322094&q=aircraft&pl=true


----------

