Display Flying Handbook

DISPLAY FLYING

HANDBOOK

01 NOVEMBER 2010

MAA DISPLAY FLYING HANDBOOK

MILITARY AVIATION AUTHORITY

DISPLAY FLYING HANDBOOK Preface Table of Contents Foreword Authors Note

Part 1 – Display Organisation and Administration Section 1 Definitions and Types of Event Section 2 Approvals and Authorisation Section 3 The Display Organiser Section 4 Risk Assessment

Attachment 1 – Example RA Section 5 Event Planning and Organisation

Attachment 1 – Example Support Manual (Frecce Tricolori) Section 6 Static Displays Section 7 The Flying Display Director

Attachment 1 – Example Display Brief Attachment 2 – Example Aircrew Brief (RNAS Yeovilton Air Day)

Section 8 The Flying Control Committee Attachment 1- FCC Terms of Reference

Section 9 The Ground Plan Section 10 BATSIM and Pyrotechnics Section 11 Air Traffic Control Section 12 Airspace

Attachment 1 – Example Statutory Instrument - Military Airshow Attachment 2 – Example ACN for a Military Airshow Attachment 3 – Example AIC for a Military Airshow Attachment 4 – Example NOTAM for a Military Airshow Attachment 5 - Example NOTAM for RAFAT (RA(T)

Section 13 Emergency, Medical and Security Section 14 Post Crash Management Part 1 - Annexes Annex A Financial Administration Annex B Accommodation Annex C Media Operations Annex D Souvenir Programmes Annex E Sponsorship Annex F Transport Annex G Commercial Traders and Stalls Annex H Catering Annex I VIP Guests

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Annex J Cadets and Volunteer Personnel Annex K Insurance, Liability and Wider Markets Part 2 – Display Flying Section 1 Supervision Section 2 A Personal Overview of Display Supervision Section 3 Notes for Display Crews and Low Level Aerobatics Section 4 I Learnt About Display Flying From That! Section 5 Tutor Section 6 Tucano Section 7 Hawk Section 8 Harrier Section 9 Tornado Section 10 Typhoon Section 11 Heavies Section 12 Helicopters Section 13 Spitfire and Hurricane

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FOREWORD Next to operations, display flying is perhaps one of the most demanding roles for any pilot or crew. No one will embark upon a season of displays unless they have already demonstrated high standards of character and flying skill. But success demands more than these qualities, as many people have learnt to their cost. A fair amount of mystique about display flying has also built up over the years and many who are new to the art are reluctant to ask questions. The MAA Display Flying Handbook aims not only to unveil the mystique and answer at least some of the questions, but it is also designed to provide guiding advice to everyone involved in flying displays. From display pilots, crews, supervisors, authorisers, operating authorities, display directors, control committees, air traffic control, ground staff and not least to the event organisers themselves. The handbook has two key parts; event organisation and the pure mechanics and supervision of display flying. Organising a safe and successful air display can be as demanding in its own way as flying a good sequence and there can be a great temptation to concentrate on the administrative and financial aspects at the expense of the operational and flight safety issues. For display organisers Part 1 contains a host of information that will be useful as guidance and direction in organising your event, particularly if the organiser has no previous experience. Part 2 is essential reading for all display crews and supervisors. Section 2 is loosely based on an article on display flying by Sqn Ldr A J R Doyle AFC RAF (retd) from a 1966 issue of Air Clues. The article was a classic of its type and its content has been updated with experience from recent display pilots and supervisors (to whom I am indebted) so that the information remains as valid and fresh now as it was in 1966. The wealth of experience and information contained in this handbook was hard won. Read it all and then study in detail the sections that are relevant to you. For those of you chosen to represent us in the coming seasons, time spent reading the relevant pages will not be wasted. Remember, that success demands thorough preparation and it applies equally to organisers and aircrew. Inevitably the general public will judge the Services partly by your performance at air displays. How you act and display will reflect directly on our reputation and be viewed against the wider operational context. I strongly recommend this document, not only for your information and guidance, but also to provide feedback to MAA so the content may be improved. It is in the main through such feedback that we continue to keep it up-to-date and relevant. The handbook is also published on the MAA internet and intranet website. Of course, new articles are always welcome! Rear Admiral Simon Charlier FRAeS Director Operations Division Military Aviation Authority 1 April 2010

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AUTHORS NOTE No publication can be a complete “how-to” guide. Whilst this handbook presents a wealth of guidance, advice and references that can be utilised to enable both, large or small flying displays, it is by no means exhaustive. The document format allows reproduction of checklists from key sections for use by organisational and planning teams. Where referenced, definitions and regulations are supplemented with examples and scenarios to assist and clarify. Caveat - you should not expect to just implement the guidance presented and produce a jaw dropping show. Circumstances will vary widely based on the specifics of; your mission, your Commanders intent, your resources and more. This handbook is merely a starting point and no publication can guarantee the success or total safety of your show. Good military judgement, best practice, common sense, careful planning and hard work, are all important factors for ultimate success. Lt Col JD Wright AAC SO1 Regulation Army Flt Ops Div MAA 01 Apr 10

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PART 1 SECTION 1 – DEFINITIONS AND TYPES OF EVENT References:

A. JSP 550 R335 P335.000.1 and R335.100.3 B. CAP 403 Chapter 1.3.1 DEFINITIONS 1.1.1 Flying Displays are defined as “a demonstration of aircraft, parachutists or any flying activity performed to a set programme before spectators on a public occasion, including tactical manoeuvres and demonstration of weapons delivery or attack techniques outside a recognized danger area.” Duty Holders (DH) / Aircraft Operating Authorities (AOA) are to ensure that aircrew participating in Flying Displays and Special Events are appropriately trained, rehearsed and authorized”. Cosford, Waddington, Leuchars, Yeovilton and RIAT are examples of military flying displays that are open to the general public. 1.1.2 A Special Event is defined as “any flying activity that is not a Flying Display, and not open to the general public, but could involve Display Flying”. RAF at Home Days or JHC Families Day are examples of medium scale Special Events. They are attended by serving personnel, staff, dependants, immediate family and invited guests (e.g. local dignitaries, farmers). A special event also includes Ships displays, open days, school visits and service recruiting Public Relations (PR) events. Service or civilian charity events, fetes and school visits may involve flypasts or static aircraft displays. Participation in these smaller special events must be approved and appropriately authorised. 1.1.3 A Role Demonstration is defined as “manoeuvres and procedures which are used in day-to day operational flying, such as Search and Rescue (SAR) procedures”. Troop insertion/ extraction, winching, abseil, fast roping, underslung loads and tactical Air Transport (AT) landings are examples of operational flying techniques and procedures. Commands and Groups are to approve manoeuvres for Role Demonstrations. For clarity, a Role Demonstration is what you do with the aircraft at either a special event or a public display. For the latter, a public display authorisation (PDA) will be required 1.1.4 Air / Aviation Firepower Demonstrations within a Danger Area or Segregated Airspace involving aircraft are effectively special events and will be organised by the sponsor (e.g. Navy Command (NC), HQ JHC LAND, LWC, AWC) and run under JSP 550, Defence Estates regulations and orders for the site or range. Whilst, this type of activity falls outside the scope of this handbook, for large scale demonstrations, the organisational aspects contained within may be useful to the sponsor for planning purposes. 1.1.5 Display Flying is defined as “any flying activity designed to demonstrate an aircraft’s performance within the Release To Service (RTS), but beyond that normally carried out during routine operations and training, whether or not it is performed in front of the public”. A Display Flying Clearance Form or PDA is required. Unique or one off

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display manoeuvres may fall outside the RTS and will require specific approved deviations (e.g. Lynx AH7 back flip). 1.1.6 Whilst not technically a type of event, aerobatic manoeuvres are defined as “Intentionally performed manoeuvres which involve angles of pitch or bank greater than 90º to the horizon or yawing through angles greater than 20º”. Exceptions to this definition are:

• Stalling and spinning. • Operational training manoeuvres stipulated by NC COS (A&C), Comd JHC or Deputy Command in Chief Operations HQ Air. • Yawing turns in helicopters and V/STOL aircraft.

Display sequences or routines that contain aerobatic manoeuvres are subject to more stringent regulation in terms of height and lateral separation distances from the crowd line. Therefore aerobatic displays will determine organisational aspects of your event. 1.1.7 “A Fly Past involves aircraft flying, either singly or in formation, past a reviewing stand or any specific point along a pre-planned route without manoeuvring, other than when necessary for safe and accurate navigation”. Display Clearance Forms or PDA are only required when performed as part of a Flying Display”. 1.1.8 Flypasts can be executed by singleton or formations of aircraft. “Aircraft are considered as being in formation when 2 or more aircraft are flying in company under the command of a leader”. Commands / Groups should detail processes for the training, authorisation and approval of; close, mixed fixed wing and rotary and mixed military / civil formations. Graduations are good examples of formation and flypast activity. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) should be consulted where civil aircraft are planning to fly in company with military aircraft. TYPES OF EVENT 1.1.9 What type of event am I organising? If you are using this handbook you are likely to be organising either a special event or a public display at your station or unit. 1.1.10 Where the event is open to the general public, paying or not, or the event is advertised with an expectation that the public will gather to witness the event, it is to be considered as a public flying display. For example, where aircraft conduct role demonstrations in support of a ships visit to a port and the visit is advertised, there is an expectation that the general public will gather to witness the event. A public display authorisation will be required. 1.1.11 Understanding the type of event and activity it contains is important as it will determine approvals, authorisations, liabilities and ultimately your organisational plan. Points of contact for clarifying your planned activity are: Military Aviation Authority Operations Division Flight Operations RAF Northolt Ruislip


HA4 6NG Tel: Mil 95233 8092 Civ 0208 833 8092 Civil Aviation Authority Safety Regulation Group Flight Operations Inspectorate Aviation House Gatwick W. Sussex RH6 0YR Tel: 01293 573510 / 573540

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PART1 SECTION 2 – APPROVALS AND AUTHORISATION References:

A. JSP 550 Regulations 301 and 335. B. CAP 393 Air Navigation Order (ANO) Article 162.

SITES 1.2.1 Approval for military displays and flypasts is delegated to the DH/AOAs by the Service chiefs. They may take place over MOD aerodromes and property or at a site approved by the DH/AOA. This includes aerodromes occupied by visiting forces, e.g. Lakenheath or Fairford and overseas Crown airfields for example, Gibraltar and Akrotiri Sovereign Base Areas. 1.2.2 At non MOD sites where the CAA has not granted an ANO Article 162 (Flying Displays) approval, DH/AOAs are to establish an approvals process for participating aircraft under command. For example, a charity event organised by civilians at a private site but not open to the general public. 1.2.3 Events over MOD property, but organised by civilians, are exempt the provisions of Article 162. Civilian pilots participating at such an event are required to comply with any display limits set down by the approving military authority. Also note that a civil venue with only military items displaying will be notified to the CAA but run under military regulations. 1.2.4 Where an event is planned to take place on or over MOD property that is not an aerodrome, approval and sponsorship will be required through the unit chain of command responsible for the site. For example, NCHQ for a Naval Dockyard or HQ LAND for an Army Barracks. If the activity is over non MOD or private property, agreement between the legal land owner or authority (e.g. Port Authority, Local Government) and the MOD will be required. This is normally relevant for unique or national events for example Armed Forces Day or similar. In this instance and for efficiency the MAA may act as the authority on behalf of the DH/AOA and MOD, in agreement with the CAA. 1.2.5 Civil registered aircraft operators are required to obtain an exception to the ANO Rules of the Air Rule 5 – 500ft Low Flying, when displaying at a military event (.e.g. 22 Group Tutor and The Blades performing at your Station Open day). The MAA applies annually for and holds this exception for displays at all government aerodromes. It is also valid for displays at MOD sites other than aerodromes in agreement with the CAA. DISPLAY FLYING AUTHORISATION 1.2.6 At a MOD establishment, approval for display flying must be given by the DH/AOA but may be delegated to subordinate formations. For example, Comdr JHC may delegate approval to Commander Wattisham Station for an Apache crew to display

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at Wattisham Families Day (a Special Event). However, the JHC FOB must contain display flying approval and authorisation mechanisms. 1.2.7 At non MOD sites, participation in a flying display must be by approved the DH/AOA. However, Role Demonstrations and flypasts may be delegated as per 1.2.5 above. For example, AOC 1 Group may delegate participation of a Typhoon for a flypast at a local RAFA event to Station Commander Coningsby and AOC 2 Group may delegate to Gp Capt SAR for a Sea King HAR 3 winch demonstration at a RNLI open day. Each example will require appropriate flight authorisation. 1.2.8 Flypasts - A flypast at Yeovilton Station Families Day requires a standard authorisation, but the specific details and minimum heights are to be clearly defined in the flight authorisation. This may be delegated by NC (COS A&C) to CO Yeovilton or CO of the NAS providing the asset. A one off flypast at a public flying display (e.g. Biggin Hill) will require a single display authorisation. Again this may be delegated by Commands / Groups to the unit or station. However, a series of flypasts at public flying displays over a season or set period will require a PDA. 1.2.9 Lists of those officers, specified by appointment, empowered to authorize Display Flying is to be included in Command/Group Orders. Where powers of authorisation for display flying is further delegated or granted to subordinate personnel (e.g. the display pilot, supervising officer), this is to be promulgated on unit routine or special orders. Limitations and constraints on the authorisation should be clearly defined. 1.2.10 Where standard or coded authorisations are utilised for display flying and associated missions, Commands/Groups should ensure that an auditable explanation of the code is available and retained with the authorisation sheet. It is strongly recommended that, the display participation or tasking order, a description of the routine and copy of the PDA are also retained.

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PART 1 SECTION 3 - THE DISPLAY ORGANISER 1.3.1 Commanding Officers or DH/ AOAs are responsible for the administration, organisation and safety management of Flying Displays. A project officer must be delegated to assume overall responsibility for organisation. DH/AOAs or Commands / Groups should delegate in writing the appointments of both, the event organiser and Flying Display Director (FDD), with terms of reference and / or principle responsibilities. 1.3.2 When you’re first given the job of organising the station airshow for the next year you probably feel a little excited and prepared to rise to the occasion. After all, it’s just a question of superior organisation and you are going to make it the most spectacular air display ever seen! You pick up this handbook and realise you will need to consider and make arrangements for the key areas below;

• Notification of the event. • Site assessment and suitability. • Site of and control of public enclosures and car parks. • Parking of aircraft (display items, static display and visitors). • Appointment of officials (e.g. FDD, FCC). • Air Traffic Management. • Determination of display lines and axis. • Weather criteria and minima. • Civil participation. • NATO and / or Foreign Military participation. • Formulation and distribution of; Operation Order, Admin Order, Sub-ordinate

regulations for the control of flying on the day(s), flying programme and aircrew / groundcrew briefs.

• Scrutiny of civil pilots Display Authorisations, Aircraft CofA / Permits and insurance.

• Agreeing pilots planned sequence for Full, Rolling, Flat and Basic (bad weather) manoeuvres.

• Risk Assessment. • Fire Rescue and Post Crash Management Plan. • Medical Plan. • Liaison with local authorities and Police. • Integration of pleasure flights. • Accommodation, administration and media aspects.

1.3.3 The above list appears daunting and reality sets in, but do not worry, all the areas will be expanded upon in detail throughout the handbook and checklists provided to guide you through! In addition, the FDD has some overlapping responsibilities that will reduce your perceived workload. PLANNING TEAMS 1.3.4 The biggest point to hoist aboard is that display organisation is not a one man show. There are many key players essential to the safe and effective running of an


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air display. For example the FDD, who is responsible for the safe conduct of an air display, supported by his Flying Control Committee (FCC) he is probably the most important person during the air display and Sections 7 and 8 outline their responsibilities. 1.3.5 Strategic planners - dependant upon the scale of your event, the following minimum grouping is suggested:

• Display Organiser – you! • Flight Operations Manager (normally acts as your deputy) • FDD. • SATCO / Commander Flying. • OC Engineering / Ground Support / Workshop. • Admin / Finance Officer. • OC Media Ops / Liaison Officer. • Unit Medical Officer. • OIC Defence Fire and Rescue. • Unit Security Officer / OIC Service Police or Military Guard Service (MGS). • Catering Officer or Contract Manager. • Post Crash Management Incident Officer (PCMIO).

1.3.6 Tactical Working Groups. As the event plan develops, additional personnel will require co-option into the organisational process. The strategic team will of course delegate troops to tasks in their chain of command or management stream and co-ordinate activity through sub meetings. Additional vital personnel may include:

a. OIC Flight Planning / Station Operations. b. FCC Members. c. Met Officer. d. OIC Visiting Aircraft Servicing Section / Line Crew. e. Unit Photographer / Graphics Department. f. Mess PMCs / Mess Managers. g. Unit Supply / Quartermaster staffs.

1.3.7 Frequency of WG meetings should be dictated by the organiser against the scale and timing of the event. It is strongly recommended that robust records of decisions and actions are maintained for audit purposes.


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PART 1 SECTION 4 – RISK MANAGEMENT AND RISK ASSESSMENT A. JSP 550 Regulation 445.

B. JSP 551 Vol 3. C. JSP 375 Vol 2 Leaflets 55 & 57. D. HSG195 Chapter 1.

1.4.1 Risk Management (RM), as a process, is a method of identifying and understanding what can go wrong within a plan or activity, and putting in place appropriate measures to control the risks arising from them. RM helps make a plan or activity work by focussing on what could go wrong in the future, it is not about encouraging risk aversion but about seeking an appropriate balance between the demands of imperatives and safety. RM is an essential planning tool of Defence Aviation (DA) and flying displays or special events are DA. 1.4.2 Flying displays and special events are termed “unique and public interaction” activities that directly involve staff, dependents and / or members of the public, either as passengers or as spectators. As a legal minimum, the risks to Aviation safety from these activities are to be assessed and reduced as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP). 1.4.3 A risk assessment (RA) is the method for deriving risk control measures. The RA should be conducted by the organization conducting the activity. 1.4.4 Whilst owning the overall risk, the approving authority will delegate RM and RA processes to the appointed Event Organiser and Display Director. They should:

• Recognise that JSP550 R335 provides Display Flying regulations, which can be considered as strategic RM.

• Ensure that event Terms of Reference (TOR) clearly articulate their safety responsibilities.

• Familiarise themselves with Military Aviation Risk Management processes and procedures set out in JSP 551 Vol 3 and conduct deliberate RM. Of note is that a RA (as commonly used today) is only one element of the 5 step RM process.

• Consider using the What If? process under the 1st step Hazard ID Process. Hazard ID is the most important and fundamental step in RM. In particular, it is the risks which are unique to a particular site which must be identified. Unique considerations include crowd size and density, proximity of other populations to aircraft operating areas including holding areas, risk exposure, and the availability of civilian emergency response organizations.

• Avoid using Hazard ID tools suited for equipment Safety Case development, which require professional input - such as Fault Tree Analysis.

• In conducting 2nd step Risk Assessment avoid ascribing mathematical figures to human performance.

• Under the 3rd step control measure analysis process, transfer financial risk through insurance.

• Ensure that insurers are apprised of RM documentation. • Provide an event emergency and disaster response plan.


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• Conduct both “Table Top” (CPX) and live emergency and incident response exercises (FTX).

• At 4th step Risk Control Decision and Implementation, report upwards through the chain of command to the approving authority where risks cannot be adequately controlled.

• Manage change by maintaining RM documentation and keep records of decision making.

1.4.5 Attached below is an exemplary Risk Assessment for a Naval Air Station Air Day. It is offered for guidance and template purposes.


ATTACHMENT 1 TO SECTION 4 PART 1 EXAMPLE – AIR DISPLAY RISK ASSESSMENT

A XXX 28 Jun XX See Distribution

RNAS XXXXXXXXX AIR DAY 20XX - AIR DISPLAY RISK ASSESSMENT (EDITION 1/XX) A. JSP 550 Reg 335. B. BR 767 Order N 335. C. STANAG 3533 (6th Edition) Safety Rules for Flying and Static Displays. D. JSP 375 MOD Health and Safety Handbook. E. DCI JS 93/01 - Coordination of MOD supported Air shows - Medical Support. F. COMNA’s W244/23 dated 5 Feb 02 – Risk Management in Unusual Aviation

Activity. G. MAA Risk Management Framework Document. H. CSO’s Chap 2 – AIR, Section 29, Emergencies. I. JSP 551, Vol 2 – Aircraft Post Crash Management. J. CSO’s Chap 2, Section 33 – XXXXXX Post-Crash Management Plan. K. CAP 403 Flying Displays and Special Events. L. CAP 403, Ch 16 and CAP 658 – Model Aircraft as Part of a Flying Display INTRODUCTION 1. Authority For Event. The Commanding Officer RNAS XXXXXX, Captain XX XXXX Royal Navy, has overall authority in the conduct of the event. 2. Responsibility For Event. The Commanding Officer RNAS XXXXX and the Display Director, Commander X XXXX Royal Navy, are responsible for the safe and efficient management of the event. 3. Purpose (Mission). The objectives of Air Day are:

a. Safely conduct public entertainment. b. Increase public awareness of the Naval Service, its personnel, activities, achievements and future developments.

c. Attract recruitment target groups and their advisors, and to raise awareness of the Royal Navy as a good, equal opportunities employer, offering relevant and attractive careers and training for young people.

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d. Provide an opportunity for naval families to see something of our working lives. e. Demonstrate modern RN assets, equipment, and the qualities, skills and professionalism of all our people. f. Foster good relations with local communities. g. Help raise money for naval charities. h. Show RN’s commitment to promoting respect for the natural environment.

4. Description of event. RNAS XXXXX Air Day 20XX (ADXX) is an international flying and static aircraft display, which will take place this year on 01 Aug. 5. Key personnel.

Captain (OIC) Cdr (A&T) (Display Director) PMO (Medical services) Lt Cdr (Flying) (Display co-ordinator) SATCO (ATC services) SMETO (Meteorological services) Fire Officer (Crash and Rescue services)

6. Supporting units.

Salvage (A/C Accident/Incident Recovery) Security (Site Security) MOD Police (Incident Response) XXX Police (Police Operations, Planning and Incident Control) West Country Ambulance Service (Crash and Rescue services) Local Area Fire Brigade (Crash and Rescue services) XXXXXl County Council (Emergency Planning Unit) Event Medicine Company (Medical Support)

7. Estimated crowd. Up to 25000.

HAZARD IDENTIFICATION 8. Risk ID Team.

Display Co-ordinator (Lt Cdr F) SATCO ATC USMO Fire Officer SHEO ATC DUSMO

9. Hazard ID Meeting Date. The Hazard ID Meeting took place on 24 Apr XX.

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10. Key Events. The key events associated with ADXX are as detailed below:

Date Time (local) Event Key participants Resources Action Officer

31 Jul – 0830 - 1700 Aircraft Arrivals SATCO, Ops, Disp Aircrews, OIC SFDO

A/R SATCO

31 Jul – 1330-1700 Press and Spotters Day

CBM, 1st Lt, MOD Police, MOD Guard Service, DATCO

Station 1st Lt, DATCO

31Jul – 0830-1200 Aircraft Arrivals (Static/Active Park)

SATCO, Ops, Disp Aircrews, OIC SFDO

A/R SATCO

01 Aug – 0845 Morning Display Brief

SATCO, Lt Cdr (flying) IT SATCO

01 Aug – 1000-1100 Main Display Brief SATCO, Lt Cdr (flying) IT SATCO

01 Aug – A/R Crowd control barrier check

Security Team MT 1st Lt

01 Aug – 1030-1130 and 1330-1700

Flying Displays Cdr (AIR), Lt Cdr (flying), SATCO, Display crews

SATCO, Lt Cdr (Flying)

01 Aug – 1730 – A/R Aircraft Departures (Static/Active Park)

SATCO, Ops, Disp Aircrews, OIC SFDO

A/R SATCO

02 Aug – 0745 Station FOD Plod All available personnel DATCO

02 Aug – 0830 - 1700 Aircraft Departures

SATCO, Disp aircrews SATCO

RISK ASSESSMENT 11. NC requires the Commanding Officer RNAS XXXXXX to conduct a Risk Assessment (RA) for the air display element of AD XX: references D, E and F have been used to provide a system that is suitable for the purpose. This system together with elements from Reference G has been combined to provide the format adopted for the RA process at XXXXX. This has been audited by the MAA, which is satisfied that current guidance is being followed. 12. The aim of this paper is to identify, quantify and mitigate the fundamental risks attributed to the air display element of AD XX. A matrix at Annex C lists specific detailed areas of Risk, identifies Actions taken to mitigate these risks, and the Result in terms of risk reduction. This RA is a living document, which will be revisited during the air display planning process right up to the display itself. Each edition will create an audit trail of decision-making and ensure that actions are captured in the complex process of running a Public Military Event (PME). RISK RATING 13. To help quantify flying display risks the matrix at Annex A has been used. By quantifying the Likelihood of an Occurrence, its Severity and the likely Population (or number and type of casualties) a Risk Rating is established through the following calculation:

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Likelihood x Severity x Population = Risk Rating By using this matrix before and after risk mitigation, an overall assessment can be made of the risk reduction achieved through the RA and planning process. UASSUMPTIONS 14. The airfield meets the statutory air display requirements of JSP 550. The RA therefore originates from the point at which the airfield is at its legal minimum standard to host an air display. 15. This RA only deals with those hazards that fall within the terms of reference of the Display Director; as such it is a "stand alone" document generated in support of the role of the Flying Control Committee (FCC). Therefore only the flying display risk (and supporting practices, rehearsals & validations) is analysed in this RA. Routine flying and ground operations are accounted for and concurrent aircraft activity will be integrated with the flying display; otherwise they are supervised under normal XXXXXX Air Orders. 16. While no more than 20,000 people are expected to attend, for the purposes of this RA it is assumed that the maximum number of people attending the event is 25,000. This has ensured a wide safety margin and allows fine-tuning of the RA for subsequent years. 17. AD is not a new activity, having taken place for many years. Much use has been made of previous experience and corporate knowledge combined with advice from other major displays throughout the country.

UDESCRIPTION OF RISK 18. UMajor RiskU. The major risk at AD XX is a crash of an aircraft or a number of aircraft into the crowd whilst carrying out a flying display, practice or validation flight. 19. ULikelihood of an AccidentU. The latest information from the MAA shows that the average military flying accident rate is about 0.21 per 10k flying hrs and it is widely accepted that display flying carries an even greater risk. While this risk is reduced through good supervision, management and planning, the possibility of a major accident at any air display is likely to remain above the normal operating rate. 20. The highest risk of injury or death is the crash of an aircraft into the crowd area and the Ramstein accident has been used as a benchmark. This multi aircraft accident into the crowd resulted in 73 killed and 500 injured, where the crowd density was assessed as 50 people per 10m2. The XX spectator area is xxxm by xxxm with a maximum crowd of 25,000. The theoretical crowd density (CD) would therefore be 0.33 persons per 1m2 or 3.3 per 10m2. However, experience shows that the majority of the crowd will be compressed towards the display line during the flying display, so the spectator area has been re-assessed as XXXm by XXXm with a theoretical CD of 0.6 persons per 1m2 or 6.0 per 10m2. In the absence of any useable casualty prediction data the following calculation was made:

• Ramstein CD = 50 people per 10m2


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• XX CD = 6.0 people per 10m2. • XX CD = 12% of Ramstein density. • 12% of 73 fatalities = 8.8 fatalities. • 12% of 500 casualties = 60 casualties.

21. UWorst Case U. The above assessment assumes uniform crowd distribution, which is obviously not the case. At XXXX the crowd is at its densest in the xxxx area, which covers an area of XXm by Xm (XXX m2). With a capacity of XXX this gives a crowd density of 2.25 persons per 1m2 or 22.5 persons per 10m2. This gives a worst-case casualty figure of:

• 33 fatalities/225 casualties (55% reduction on Ramstein) 22. UCasualty MitigationU. To militate against any increase in casualties brought about by a crowd stampede after an accident and/or not being able to escape from any subsequent fire, the spectator enclosure has been designed to ensure escape routes behind and to each side of the crowd line. The barriers at the crowd line are sufficiently robust to stop the crowd pushing into the display area but easily moved to afford easy access to emergency vehicles or escape towards the display line if necessary. Particular attention has been given to ensure that escape routes are not constrained by fencing or vendors’ stalls so that Crash and Rescue vehicles can readily gain access to the spectator site. 7BSUMMARY 23. With existing regulatory and statutory measures in place and a management team who are taking a safety first approach to the planning and execution of AD XX every effort is being made to identify risks and mitigate against them. This includes a detailed and integrated ADXX Incident Contingency Plan and local airspace management combined with the FCC pre-auditing, validating where required and vigorously controlling the display flying in accordance with best practice, good airmanship and the Regulations. 24. Every step has, and will continue to be taken to mitigate the likelihood of an accident happening and reduce the predicted number of casualties should an accident occur. All measures implemented reflect regulations and directives contained within JSP 550 with regard to spectator safety both on and off the airfield. Furthermore, they encompass best practice detailed by the CAA in CAP 403 and demonstrate that RNAS XXXXX places paramount importance for the safety of the public. However, the possibility of a major accident will remain much the same for any air display that includes fast jets, display teams and helicopters and a large public gathering. Future steps to mitigate the risk further will include close liaison with RNFSAIC, MAA and other air display organisers to continue to capture best practice. 25. Having considered the mitigated risk ratings, it is clear that nearly all of the assessed hazards fall within the Minimal Risk category for which control measures are in place. For the one area that is at Low Risk, the team will continue to look for further risk mitigation as final planning matures. Accordingly, the RA for ADXX is assessed as UAcceptable. U


Original signed XX XXXXXX Cdr Display Director Annexes:

A. Risk Ratings. B. Aircraft Operations - Action and Control Measures. C. Hazard Analysis. Distribution: 1st Lt Lt Cdr F OPS SATCO Copy to: CAPT CDR PMO MAA – Flt Ops Reg ARMY SO1 NCHQ -N7 CSAV SMA S01 RNAS XXXXXX CDR(AIR) ATC USMO FSO S, H, E AIR DAY CO-ORD

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ANNEX A TO A 570 DATED 28 JUN XX

RISK RATINGS Likelihood: 1. Most Unlikely.

2. Unlikely. 3. Likely. 4. Most Likely.

Severity: 1 Trivial injury/ies.

2. Slight injury/ies. 3. Serious injury/ies. 4. Major injury/ies or death.

Population: 1. Zero.

2. Less than 5. 3. More than 5 less than 10. 4. More than 10, less than 20. 5. More than 20 less than 50. 6. More than 50.

Risk Rating: Likelihood x Severity x Population

Risk Rating Rating Band Action Required 1 - 24 Minimal Risk Maintain Control Measures 25 - 48 Low Risk Review Control Measures 49 - 72 Medium Risk Improve Control Measures 73 - 96 High Risk Improve Control Measures

Immediately/Stop Display

01 NOVEMBER 2010 20


ANNEX B TO

A 570 DATED XX JUN XX

AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS Action & Control Measures

Serial No:

HAZARD & ACTION TAKEN TO CONTROL OR MITIGATE Initial Risk Rating

Revised Risk Rating

1. OVER RUN OF LANDING / TAKE OFF RWY XX

Risk: Aircraft over runs on landing / takeoff and collides with bus or other vehicles on AXXX. Comment: Barrier exists at end of Rwy XX but not suitable for all fixed wing a/c. No over run retard bed. End of runway 157m from public road (AXXX). Action/Control Measure: a. Extensive soft grass over run area will reduce aircraft speed. b. Visiting aircrew provided with ADXX brief containing airfield parameters (rwy length, barriers etc). It is the aircraft captain’s responsibility to ensure that his aircraft type is able to operate safely at RNAS XXXX within these parameters. c. Local Police will place ‘No Parking’ cones along the perimeter fence boundary with AXXX. Result: Likelihood 1 remains 1 Severity 4 reduced to 3 Population 5 remains at 5

20

15 2. OVER RUN OF LANDING / TAKE OFF RWY XX

Risk: Aircraft over runs on landing / takeoff. Comment: Barrier exists at end of Rwy XX but not suitable for all fixed wing a/c and no over run retard bed. End of runway is 150m from perimeter road. Action/Control Measure: a. No other complications due to extensive soft grass over run area. Perimeter road not accessed by public and under traffic light control of ATC. b. Visiting aircrew provided with ADXX brief containing airfield parameters (rwy length, barriers etc). It is the aircraft captain’s responsibility to ensure that his aircraft type is able to operate safely at XXXXX within these parameters. Result: Likelihood 1 remains 1 Severity 4 reduced to 1

Population 3 reduced to 1

12

1

01 NOVEMBER 2010 21


3. UNDERSHOOT ON LANDING ON RWY XX

Risk: Landing short during an approach to land, roll or overshoot, and colliding with vehicle/personnel. Comment: Airfield perimeter road is 150m from runway threshold. Action/Control Measure: a. Perimeter road not accessed by public and under traffic light control of ATC. Action – ATC. Result: Likelihood 2 reduced to 1

Severity 4 reduced to 2 Population 3 reduced to 1

24

2 4. UNDERSHOOT ON LANDING ON RWY XX

Risk: Landing short during an approach to land, roll or overshoot. A/C could conceivably collide with a vehicle/personnel on AXXX. Comment: Threshold of Rwy XX is 157m from the public road Action/Control Measure: a. Visiting aircrew to be warned of vehicles crossing approach, and therefore a pilot conducting a visual approach would be expected to be visual with any vehicles crossing and manoeuvre to avoid if necessary. Action – ATC. b. local Police will place ‘No Parking’ cones along the perimeter fence boundary with AXXX. Result: Likelihood 2 reduced to 1 Severity 4 remains 4 Population 5 remains 5

40

20 5. CRASH ON AIRFIELD (MAJOR)

Risk: Major crash on airfield not impacting crowd or personnel. Specific risk is from high energy low level manoeuvres on t/o or landing. Action/Control Measure: a. All display sequences will be pre-audited by the Display Director and validated with the requirement to fly within that validation. In turn, FCC will observe all displays and any tendency to change or elaborate will be either debriefed or compulsorily terminated. Action – Display Director. b. Displays are to be conducted iaw JSP 550 D 335.130, CAP 403 and STANAG 3533, which will be reiterated at aircrew briefing. Action – SATCO. c. Crash and rescue facilities at Mil Crash Cat 4A (plus helicopter fireball) adequate to attend crash site and (if required / practical)

12

01 NOVEMBER 2010 22


continue with the display to occupy the attention of the crowd, for crowd control.

d. Current airfield crash procedures detailed in References H, I and J considered to be satisfactory when augmented by XXXXX Incident Contingency Plan.

e. Relevant airfield procedures briefed at the flying display brief. Action – SATCO. f. Major accident exercises planned for the run up to AD07. Result: Likelihood 3 reduced to 1 Severity 2 remains at 2 Population 2 remains at 2

4 6. CRASH ON AIRFIELD (MINOR)

Risk: Minor crash on airfield not impacting crowd or personnel. Action/Control Measure: As at serial 5. Result: Likelihood 2 reduced to 1

Severity 1 remains at 1 Population 1 remains at 1

2

1 7. CRASH ON AIRFIELD INTO CROWD (MAJOR)

Risk: Crash on airfield with primary wreckage into the crowd. Action/Control Measure: Actions as at 5. a. All display sequences will be pre-audited by the Display Director and validated with the requirement to fly within that validation. In turn, FCC will observe all displays and any tendency to change or elaborate will be either debriefed or compulsorily terminated. Action – Display Director. b. Displays are to be conducted iaw JSP 550 D 335.130, CAP 403 and STANAG 3533, which will be reiterated at aircrew briefing. Action – SATCO. c. Crash and rescue facilities at Mil Crash Cat 4A (plus helicopter fireball) adequate to attend crash site and (if required / practical) continue with the display to occupy the attention of the crowd for crowd control. d. Comprehensive contingency arrangements centred on Station Command Centre under control of Station C2 Organisation including MOD and civilian police, medical and local rescue & emergency services including helicopter MEDEVAC. e. Major accident exercise planned for the run up to ADXX. Relevant airfield procedures briefed at flying display brief. f. Spectator area designed to ensure escape routes to rear and side clear of obstructions / vendors etc with display side barriers which

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afford emergency access / escape if required. Action – XXXX. Result: Likelihood 3 reduced to 1


24

8. CRASH ON AIRFIELD INTO CROWD (MINOR)

Risk: Crash on airfield with secondary wreckage into the crowd (e.g. wheels up or heavy landing) Action/Control Measure: Action as at Serial 5, 6 & 7. a. Minimum separation of helos from crowd line exceeds required standards by a factor of 2. Result: Likelihood 2 reduced to 1


18

9 9.

CRASH OFF AIRFIELD INTO POPULATED AREA Risk: Crash off the airfield with primary wreckage falling on a populated area. Action/Control Measure: a. Over flight of local built up areas is prohibited (town of Hxxx, Fxxxx, Public Viewing Enclosure (PVE) to be specifically briefed at flying display brief). Relevant airfield procedures also to briefed at flying display brief. Action – SATCO. b. Owners of adjacent land where a gathering of the public is anticipated will be advised of the potential danger of such a gathering. Action – XXXXX. c. All display sequences will be pre-audited by the Display Director and validated with the requirement to fly within that validation. In turn, the FCC will observe all displays and any tendency to change or elaborate will be either debriefed or compulsorily terminated. Action – Display Director. d. Displays are to be conducted iaw JSP 550 D 335.130, CAP 403 and STANAG 3533, which will be reiterated at aircrew briefing. Action – SATCO. e. Crash and rescue facilities at Mil Crash Cat 4A (plus helicopter fireball) adequate to attend crash site and (if required / practical) continue with the display to occupy the attention of the crowd for crowd control. f. Comprehensive contingency arrangements centred on Station Command Centre under control of Station C2 Organisation including MOD and civilian police, medical and local rescue & emergency services including helicopter MEDEVAC. Major accident exercise planned for the run up to ADXX.

48

01 NOVEMBER 2010 24


Result: Likelihood 2 reduced to 1


24

10. CRASH OFF AIRFIELD INTO NON POPULATED AREA Risk: Crash off airfield with primary wreckage falling on a non-populated area. Action/Control Measure: Action as at Serial 9. Result: Likelihood 2 reduced to 1 Severity 2 remains at 2 Population 2 remains at 2

8

4 11.

AIRCRAFT RUNS OFF RUNWAY TO SOUTH

Risk: Aircraft runs off runway to the south, conceivably entering spectator area. Action/Control Measure: Mitigation as at serial 5 to 8 and Paragraph 22. Result: Likelihood 2 reduced to 1

Severity 4 remains 4 Population 5 reduces to 4

40

16 12.

IN FLIGHT COLLISION – WRECKAGE ENTERING CROWD AREA

Risk: Mid-air collision between aircraft (display team a specific scenario), wreckage on airfield entering crowd. Action/Control Measure: a. XX ATC control the local airspace under an Airspace Classification Notice, notifying the aviation community of the event. Action – ATC. b. All display sequences will be pre-audited by the Display Director and validated with the requirement to fly within that validation. Action – Display Director. c. Holding areas established for participating aircraft well clear of display area and non-participating a/c. Relevant Airfield procedures briefed at flying display brief. Action – SATCO. d. All displays will be observed by the FCC and any tendency to change or elaborate will be either debriefed or compulsorily terminated. Action –Display Director. e. Displays are to be conducted iaw JSP 550 D 335.130, CAP 403 and STANAG 3533, which will be reiterated at aircrew briefing. Action – SATCO.

48

01 NOVEMBER 2010 25


f. Crash and rescue facilities at Mil Crash Cat 4A (plus helicopter fireball) adequate to attend crash site and (if required / practical) continue with the display to control crowd. g. Comprehensive contingency arrangements centred on Station Command Centre under control of Station C2 organisation including MOD and civilian police, medical and local rescue & emergency services including helicopter MEDEVAC. Major accident exercise planned for the run up to ADXX. Result: Likelihood 2 reduced to 1


24 13.

IN FLIGHT COLLISION – WRECKAGE ON AIRFIELD

Risk: Mid-air collision between aircraft (display team a specific scenario) wreckage on airfield but not in crowd. Action/Control Measure: Mitigation as at Serials 6, 8 and 12. Result: Likelihood 2 reduced to 1


12

6 14.

IN FLIGHT COLLISION OFF AIRFIELD – WRECKAGE IN POPULATED AREA

Risk: Mid-air collision between aircraft (display team scenario) off the airfield, wreckage lands in populated area. Action/Control Measure: a. NOTAM action, RA(T) in force and standard ATC procedures in place. b. Aircraft arrivals and departures are segregated from flying displays. Action – ATC/OPS c. Mitigation as at serial 9. Result: Likelihood 2 reduced to 1


48

24 15.

IN FLIGHT COLLISION OFF AIRFIELD – WRECKAGE IN NON-POPULATED AREA

Risk: Mid-air collision between two aircraft off the airfield, wreckage lands in non-populated area. Action/Control Measure: Mitigation as at Serials 10 and 14.

18

01 NOVEMBER 2010 26


Result: Likelihood 2 reduced to 1 Severity 3 remains at 3 Population 3 remains at 3

9 16. PLEASURE FLIGHT HELO COLLIDES WITH DISPLAY AIRCRAFT

OR CRASHES ON ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE

Risk: Pleasure flight helo infringes display line/area conflicting with or colliding with display aircraft. Pleasure flight helo crashes on arrival or departure at its operating area. Action/Control Measure: a. Pleasure flights will be stopped during formation displays. b. Pleasure flight aircrew will be briefed at the aircrew brief on operating areas/hazards and will be segregated from display areas under positive ATC control. c. Pleasure flights will be flown in compliance with CAA Regulations and flight paths will be away from crowd areas.

d. Traffic lights in operation to control vehicles crossing runway 36 threshold. Result: Likelihood 3 reduced to 1 Severity 4 remains at 4 Population 6 reduced to 4

72

16 17. SPECTATOR SUFFERING INJURY FROM AIRCRAFT ON AIRFIELD

OR IN ACTIVE/STATIC PARK

Risk: A spectator crosses a barrier and/or enters a prohibited area and suffers death or injury from an aircraft. Action/Control Measure: a. Barriers will be placed iaw JSP 550 D335.120.2a to stop spectators from entering aircraft manoeuvring and parking areas and these will be patrolled by security teams briefed to apprehend any person on wrong side of barrier. Action – XX. b. Marshallers and aircrew will also be briefed on their actions in the event of unauthorised access. Action – XX. c. Static Display conducted iaw STANAG 3533. Result: Likelihood 2 reduced to 1

Severity 4 reduced to 2 Population 2 remains at 2

16

4

18. FUEL/LOX/CHEMICAL SPILLAGE OR MINOR FIRE

Risk: Fuel leak from aircraft or spillage during re-fuelling or LOX/ other chemical spillage. Minor aircraft fire or fire in ground equipment. Action/Control Measure:

27

01 NOVEMBER 2010 27


a. Crash crews placed at strategic positions around airfield to respond to spillages/leaks/fires rapidly. b. Crowd control measures in place to stop members of the public gaining access to any incident site. Action – XX. c. Re-fuelling of unfamiliar types of aircraft to be supervised by competent personnel. d. A prominently displayed ban on smoking within 15m of aircraft, refuelling areas and refuelling trucks. Action – XX. e. Fuel/Oil spill kits to be readily available. Result: Likelihood 3 remains at 3

Severity 3 reduced to 2 Population 3 reduced to 2

12 19.

ACTIVATION OF AIRCRAFT OPERATING SYSTEMS

Risk: An ejection seat, canopy MDC or other aircraft operating system is inadvertently operated on a static aircraft open to the public injuring people in the vicinity. Action/Control Measure: a. Explosive charges in jettison and ejection systems removed if public have access to cockpit. b. Aircrew to ensure aircraft made safe iaw SOPs. c. Posting of correctly briefed aircraft guards. No aircraft are to be left unattended. Action – XX. d. Any person accessing an aircraft to be supervised by a competent person. e. Where possible disconnection of aircraft batteries or electrics unless these are essential for display of electrically operated equipment. Result: Likelihood 2 reduced to 1 Severity 3 remains at 3 Population 2 remains at 2

12

6 20.

MODEL A/C CRASHES INTO CROWD LINE Risk: A light model aircraft display loses control of one of the a/c and it crashes into the crowd-line. Action/Control Measure: a. The minimum separation distance of the display from the crowd

18

01 NOVEMBER 2010 28


line is increased from 30 to 45 metres. b. Number of a/c in display limited to three only and to operate only North of 45m display line from crowd. Model a/c to be of less than 7kg in weight. c. Model a/c launch and recovery area supervised by XXX in direct R/T contact with Tower. Result: Likelihood 2 reduced to 1 Severity 3 remains at 3 Population 3 remains at 3

9

01 NOVEMBER 2010 29


ANNEX C TO XXX

DATED 28 JUN XX

HAZARD ANALYSIS - XXXXXX AIRDAY

Serial DESCRIPTION OF HAZARD Likelihood Severity Population Risk Rating

7 Crash on Airfield into crowd (major) 3 (1) 4 (4) 6 (6) 72 (24) 9 Crash off Airfield into populated area 2 (1) 4 (4) 6 (6) 48 (24)

12 In-flight collision, wreckage entering crowd area 2 (1) 4 (4) 6 (6) 48 (24) 14 In-flight collision off airfield, wreckage in

populated area 2 (1) 4 (4) 6 (6) 48 (24)

4 Under shoot on landing RWY XX

2 (1) 4 (4) 5 (5) 40 (20)

16 Pleasure flight Helo collides with display aircraft or crashes on arrival/departure

3 (1) 4 (4) 6 (4) 72 (16)

11 Aircraft runs off runway side to South 2 (1) 4 (4) 5 (4) 40 (16) 1 Over run on landing/Take off RWY XX 1 (1) 4 (3) 5 (5) 20 (15)

18 Fuel/LOX/Chemical spillage or minor fire 3 (3) 3 (2) 3 (2) 27 (12) 20 Model a/c crashes into crowd 2 (1) 3 (3) 3 (3) 18 (9) 8 Crash on Airfield into crowd (minor) 2 (1) 3 (3) 3 (3) 18 (9)

15 In-flight collision off airfield, wreckage in non-populated area

2 (1) 3 (2) 3 (3) 18 (9)

13 In-flight collision wreckage on airfield 2 (1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 12 (6) 19 Activation of aircraft operating systems 2 (1) 3 (3) 2 (2) 12 (6) 5 Crash on Airfield (major) 3 (1) 2 (2) 2 (2) 12 (4)

10 Crash off Airfield into unpopulated area 2 (1) 2 (2) 2 (2) 8 (4) 17 Spectator suffering injury from aircraft activity on

airfield or in active/static park 2 (1) 4 (2) 2 (2) 16 (4)

3 Under shoot on landing RWY XX

2 (1) 4 (2) 3 (1) 24 (2)

2 Over run on landing /take off RWY XX 1 (1) 4 (1) 3 (1) 12 (1) 6 Crash on Airfield (minor) 2 (1) 1 (1) 1 (1) 2 (1) Total Before Mitigation

(Total After Mitigation) Percentage reduction

42 (22)

47.5%

567 (230) 59.5%

01 NOVEMBER 2010 30


01 NOVEMBER 2010 31

PART 1 SECTION 5 – PLANNING AND PARTICIPATION 1.5.1 So you have undertaken your risk assessment (RA) with your team and have just held your initial working group meeting. After a few days, the realisation of the enormity of the task begins to sink-in and you wonder whether there is going to be enough time to complete all of the tasks before the big day. Where do you start and which essential documents do you need to read and understand? You will of course ask for advice and are likely to be told, “Operate your show as a business and always plan for the unexpected”! Easy - or is it? Remember that every event and every location is unique. If possible, visit other air shows to garner ideas and best practice. Contact and talk to personnel who have undertaken a similar task recently for ‘top tips’. In addition to this document, read all other material available; MARDS, CAPs, Command Instructions and previous event Operation Orders. Get on the web and keep abreast of general activities and trends in display flying. 1.5.2 Above all, don’t despair; there are many flying displays organised each year and there is a wealth of experience willing to give you a helping hand, both military and civil. The At Home Days at Leuchars, Cosford, Fairford and Waddington IAS have permanent managers who know a great deal about airshow organisation. Royal Navy Air Days at Yeovilton and Culdrose are also popular, successful events and extremely well organised by a mix of serving personnel and contract staff. Major civil venues, for example Biggin Hill, Eastbourne and Southport have dedicated companies or consultants that undertake management and organisation. In addition, there are collective forums that represent the airshow industry e.g. ADAE and EAC. Finally, the MAA and CAA regulate and inspect many air displays in the UK throughout the year and reports are available with lessons learnt. Remember – there are no stupid questions, so do not be afraid to ask any of the above agencies for their advice. THE PLAN 1.5.3 A strategic, chronological plan to organising an air display from the onset will provide key milestones. The following example has been provided by the Airshow Manager at Leuchars, a major event held annually in September:

• 12 Month point: Outline Risk Assessment. Bid to single service authorities for military assets. Bid to individual pilots or managers for civil assets.

• 5 Months:

Work out provisional static display, ground and car parking plans. Gain confirmation of bids – provisional flying programme. Make initial bids for accommodation and transport.

• 4 Months:

Construct the Emergency Plan. Medical Support Plan.


01 NOVEMBER 2010 32

Distribute flying display pilot / team administrative questionnaires. Liaise with DAP AU & OR reference RA (T) and NOTAM action. Construct your souvenir programme.

• 3 Months:

Get arrival times and admin requirements for VIPs. Compile initial flying programme. Ramp up your media plan. Distribute static display questionnaires.

• 2 Months:

Draft display, administration and air operation orders. Firm up your accommodation plan. Finalise the display order. Check condition of display markers. Arrange repair a/r.

• 1 Month:

Contact HMRC if you have overseas participants. Distribute static display and ground orders. Finalise hire cars / transportation. Send arrival times to flying and static crews. Coordinate display slots with take off and landing slots. Confirm participants and prepare their briefing packs. Confirm insurance requirements. Stop accepting last minute participants. Confirm and distribute display order. Carry out a table top exercise (CPX) of the disaster plan.

• 2 Weeks:

Update of accommodation and transport requirement. Finalise ground plan. Put out token display lines. Prepare a list of emergency contact numbers for display crews. Exercise the emergency plan (FTX).

• 1 Week:

Publish practice times. Final accommodation and transport requirement. Prepare commentary information and check communications. Confirm that insurance has been paid. Lay the final display lines. Confirm parking arrangements.

1.5.4 This is obviously not an exhaustive plan; however, it does provide a skeleton framework with timescales, around which you can tailor your own needs.


01 NOVEMBER 2010 33

PARTICIPATION AND DISPLAY TASKING AUTHORITIES 1.5.5 There is no air display without aircraft. In an average year, there are about 2000 requests for display assets throughout the UK of which approximately a half are approved. The task of collating requests and allocating resources falls on the PC or tasking authorities for each service. Currently these are;

• Navy Command: JSATO Room 22 Cormorant House RNAS Yeovilton Somerset BA22 8HL Tel: Mil 93510 5332 Civ 01935 45 5332

• LAND (AAC & JHC):

HQ JHC J3 Tasking ARMY HQ LAND Erskine Barracks Wilton Salisbury Wiltshire SP2 0AG Tel: Mil 94331 3934 Civ 01722 43 3934/6983

• AIR:

RAF Events Team Air Effects Adastral Hall RAF Cranwell Sleaford Lincolnshire NG34 8GZ Tel: Mil 95751 6809/6328 Civ 01400 26 6809/6328

• MOD Contractors Aircraft (Regulated by Flight Test Division MAA):

Aircraft participation - via PT Leader or owner of the aircraft (e.g. BAE Systems) Flight Test Division

MAA Ops Div MOD Boscombe Down Salisbury

Wiltshire SP4 OJE Tel: Mil 9214087 3017/3016 Civ 01980 663017/3016


01 NOVEMBER 2010 34

1.5.6 Getting your asset requires forward planning so bid early. However, avoid direct contact with display teams or individual pilots / crews and contact the organisations above who will co-ordinate resources far better than you can arrange on an ad hoc basis. Assets for special events and unit families days may be allocated by Commands / Groups, but always check with the PC / tasking authorities in the first instance. All resources require approval. The key to success and the whole process of display asset allocation for the next year begins before the end of the previous years display season. Chronologically, the basic format of planning is:

• Before the end of September, airshow organisers submit their requests for display aircraft for the next season. The PC / tasking authority responds by sending the organisers details of display teams, conditions for their use, information on aircraft projected availability and insurance requirements.

• In the late autumn, service PR organisations look at the last season’s achievements and set the objectives in terms of PR and recruitment areas that should be targeted for the next season.

• At the end of October, the PC / tasking authorities meet for the first time to discuss the objectives set and agree the way forward in terms of allocating display assets for the next season. Normally a first draft of the display programme is produced from the objectives and bids.

• Between Jan and Mar, PC / tasking authorities normally meet once again, with the team leaders / managers and agree the programme. Display organisers are then informed of their allocation and are given a breakdown of the costs which includes; participation fee, any fuel costs and display insurance. For unique or special events (e.g. Families Days, Regimental Open Days) elements of these costs may be waived by the MOD –see Annex K.

• Throughout the season the PC / tasking authority deals with fast balls and changes to the programme. Note that display aircraft may become available at short notice, so keep in touch with the PC / tasking staff.

1.5.7 So with an insight into the big picture, how does this affect your organisation of an Air Display? Well, remember, there is no air display without aircraft, so bid early and use the correct staffing processes. Get buy in from higher formation and alert your chain of command PR staff to recruiting benefits. Consider; operational pull on aircraft and other events taking place on the same day. Be prepared to lose or accept a replacement display item at short notice. Is my proposed flying programme a tad ambitious? What is my budget? Who are my audience? Hopefully the following sections will answer some of these questions! 1.5.8 If you intend to use Civilian display items, they will require a direct approach to the individual or team management. Regulations and guidance on civilian items at military shows can be found at Section 7. NATO AND NON NATO FOREIGN MILITARY DISPLAY ITEMS References:

A. JSP 550 R335 120.2 B. STANAG 3533 C. CAP 403 Chapter 2. 3.3


01 NOVEMBER 2010 35

1.5.9 Foreign NATO display items can add tremendous variety and value to your display in addition to fostering good relations and cementing coalition ethos. Non NATO European, Middle Eastern and Asian display items are increasingly regular visitors to the UK display circuit and are popular with the public, e.g. Royal Jordanian Falcons, Finnish Air Force, Indian Air Force and the Patrouille Suisse. Remember that Australian and New Zealand items are treated as foreign military. NATO singletons and teams will display in accordance with STANAG 3533 and / or to their national authorisations. Other military items display to their force or national authorisations and require approval before appearing at both, military or civil displays or special events. The following checklist provides guidance:

• Single service tasking authorities and PCs normally correspond with NATO Defence Attaché annually requesting support for UK military displays. It is recommended that any bids for NATO items are initiated through them in the first instance.

• Non NATO items require formal invitation, security and diplomatic clearances through your chain of command and MOD.

• Once the display item is confirmed as allocated, then start to liaise direct for detailed administration and requirements.

• Read and adhere to the team support manual or display instruction supplied – see example at Attachment 1 below. It clearly delineates all aspects of hosting the team’s operation. Team advance coordinators will provide an outline of requirements. These individuals must be met and hosted.

• Study the support manuals and ensure that your unit can comply. Resolve any problem immediately with the team coordinator or designated contact officer. An example jet display team support manual is linked to this handbook.

• Determine non NATO standard ground support equipment (GSE) requirements. • Some NATO display items are cleared to dispense IRCM (flares) during their display. UK

regulations on use of flares at displays are subject to a stringent Risk Assessment at selected venues. The operating authority and FDD are ultimately responsible for safety at the event, so careful consideration is required before allowing this activity.

• Initiate a list of all foreign military aircraft that will perform at your show. Update this list as required and distribute it to all appropriate agencies (e.g. FDD/FCC) and planning groups. Copy all ribbon diagrams and / or display sequence criteria received to the FDD or designated FCC member.

• Determine and arrange for supply of unique POL. Determine means of payment by non UK military participants (credit card, voucher, etc). The display is required to provide government contract POL or civil equivalent. Ground support teams generally accompany display items and carry nonstandard first line POL.

• Obtain size and weight-bearing specifications of each aircraft expected to participate to facilitate apron / static positioning. They are likely to be totally different from unit or UK types.

• Arrange for supplies of stanchions, ropes, barricades and/or fencing for display areas and aircraft. US and FSU aircraft in particular may well have restricted access and security issues. Arrange and properly brief 24-hour security and crowd control. Static crews will normally assist your contract or unit staff in crowd control.

• Tow bars, tugs, and NATO-type adapters are generally in short supply. Make sure you have arranged for them well in advance. Loan from other units and stations as required.

• Coordinate all arrivals and parking with VASS, ATC, and your Static Display Team. In planning, keep in mind weight-bearing capacity, turn radius and jet blast of military aircraft that do not normally operate from your unit. Remain cognisant of non standard IFR,


01 NOVEMBER 2010 36

instrument or operating procedures. Language! • Consider any unusual safety procedures regarding refuelling, starting of engines, taxiing and

towing. Coordinate briefing or training on non standard emergency egress / access procedures with unit crash/fire crews.

• Keep a log of support personnel and servicing requirements of each aircraft. • Arrange for an adequate supply of smoke oil. Make sure it is the type specified, especially by

the multi aircraft jet display teams. • Leave space on the apron to handle late support aircraft arrivals. Large jet or turbo prop

aircraft may be used to move support staff to/from venues. They may also need to park close to the display item or team.

• Coordinate transportation and accommodation requirements with the appropriate planning group member. Foreign military personnel may have special or unique requirements and there is always scope for misunderstanding!


ATTACHMENT 1 TO SECTION 5 PART 1 EXAMPLE – SUPPORT MANUAL (FRECCE TRICOLORI)

01 NOVEMBER 2010 37


01 NOVEMBER 2010 38

PART 1 SECTION 6 – STATIC DISPLAY AND FLY IN AIRCRAFT 1.6.1 Air displays invariably have some form of static display which may consist of deliberate bids from PCs or a composite display made up of unit and visiting aircraft. Static’s vary in scale, for example RIAT, Waddington and Farnborough have extensive display areas with around 200 items, whilst special events may have just several aircraft. 1.6.2 Air shows also have the potential to attract numerous fly-in crews and transient guests. Flying to an air show can be enjoyable if proper accommodation and services are provided. But if your unit or station is ill equipped to receive and park static aircraft, what could have been an enjoyable experience could degenerate into something much less! The event, ultimately, is the loser. 1.6.3 You must determine early in the planning stage whether the airfield or location can adequately and safely receive the planned number of static aircraft. When determining available space, keep in mind that in many cases, resident aircraft must be moved to other locations on the airfield to generate space for crowd viewing and static display areas. 1.6.4 Therefore your first concern is to ensure proper parking for all aircraft normally based at the host airfield, as operations may need to continue, for example, AT bases supporting current operations and your flying display aircraft will need to get airborne! Then determine space available for your static display area. Lastly, work out whether there is enough remaining space to properly accommodate fly-in guests. If there’s insufficient space to host fly in aircraft, inform the aircraft commanders of parking restrictions or alternate locations. The following guidance may be helpful in organising a static display and visiting aircraft parking area:

• Static display aircraft require participation approval and appropriate insurance. Ensure you staff bids to the service participation and tasking agencies highlighted in this Section. At the very least, you should request resources through Commands / Groups for special events / unit families’ days. Avoid direct contact with “mates” to secure static items on an ad hoc basis. Remember that JSP 360 applies if you invite civil aircraft. If an aircraft is damaged or there is an occurrence without the chain of command aware of the activity – it will all end in red faces!

• Nominate a dedicated team to your static display. Consider a theme or grouping scheme for aesthetic purposes. For example; all rotary together, transport section, ISTAR display or celebration display (XXth Anniversary of Naval, Army or Air Force Flying). Some static displays have additional sideshows, tents, vehicles or equipment – drill munitions, sensors or interactive items (inert ejection seats). These will all need space, planning and crew attendance.

• Liaise closely with unit ops, air traffic control and your teams to develop arrival, taxiing, parking and departure procedures.

• Do not develop your static or fly in plan with a parking area that requires taxiing aircraft through a spectator area. During all ground operations, including refuelling, servicing and at any time when engines or rotors are running, a minimum separation of 15 m must be maintained between spectator areas and the nearest point of the aircraft concerned. This limit applies to aircraft taxiing or hover-taxiing, except when such taxiing is away from a


01 NOVEMBER 2010 39

marked taxiway and without the assistance of a marshaller, when the minimum clearance is increased to 65 m.

• Inspect all potential parking areas for suitability and safety. All parking areas should be free of pot holes, rocks or other debris that could cause damage to taxiing aircraft. Grass areas should be mowed to prevent long grass from hiding any potential hazards.

• Be extra careful with helicopters – the downwash hazard can be significant. Those with wheels can ground taxi into position. Skidded types will need to hover- taxi (increased downwash!) or be ground handled into your display area. So ensure they bring wheels and tow bars if required. Parked or static aircraft can be seriously damaged by downwash. Watch out for tail rotor hazard when personnel are marshalling helicopters into position.

• FOD – fast jet and helicopter engines are susceptible to digesting discarded rubbish! Cut the grass early, as helicopters will generate an impressive “green” cloud of new cuttings and you risk contamination of the crowd’s lunches! Avoid allowing helicopters to arrive or depart low level over personnel or the crowd enclosures. Panels have been known to fall off the aircraft post static duty and claims for damaged tentage are common.

• Develop a preliminary static plan to determine the numbers required to adequately staff the parking team (VASS, marshallers etc).

• Staff selected to park aircraft should have ground marshalling qualifications and experience. Likely sources for parking crew staff are VASS, contractors and visiting crews themselves – they know the aircraft! Brief on ground weights, turn radius, wing / rotor spans and unusual start / shut down procedures. Watch out for GSE / GPUs and loose items – don’t manoeuvre aircraft into them! Ensure you have enough chocks and blocks. Have fuel in place and staff instructed on how each aircraft will pay or sign for services.

• Finalise the static / parking plan and brief all personnel of their respective roles to implement it. Pay careful attention to clearing runways, taxi way and aprons as quickly but safely as possible. Keep the public out of harms way if aircraft arrive to park or join the static display on the day.

• If HMRC service is necessary, make early contact and coordinate closely with officials. • If access to and from the fly-in parking area requires people to cross active runways or enter

unit secure areas, provide regular transport to and from the parking area. If evening activities are planned, keep this service in operation until after completion of the last activity.

• If regulations require that the fly-in parking area be clear of spectators during the display performance, provide proper security to enforce the requirement. Therefore attempt to park transient aircraft outside the live side.

• If fly in aircraft will remain overnight, provide security. • Ensure that any agreed landing or display fees are collected / invoiced and tickets issued to

fly in guests. • Coordinate with VASS to meet static aircraft servicing requirements. • If special arrival, departure, or taxiing procedures are required, include that information when

distributing your operation order. • Check liability insurance for proper coverage of static and fly in aircraft (JSP 360 for civil).

Historically, bent props, damaged wingtips, etc. result in claims filed against event organisers.


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PART 1 SECTION 7– THE FLYING DISPLAY DIRECTOR (FDD) References: A. JSP 550 Regulation 335.115.1 B. CAP 393 Article 162. C. CAP 403 Chapter 2. 1.7.1 The DH/AOA is to appoint a FDD to be in charge of flying at military Flying Displays. The FDD is to be responsible for the co-ordination, control and safety of all flying activities. He is to issue a programme and specific regulations for the display including orders for post-crash management. FDDs are to appoint a Flying Control Committee (FCC) to ensure adequate assessment and scrutiny of participants. 1.7.2 The FDD is to be an officer or suitably qualified and experienced person (SQEP) of relevant and required experience, commensurate with the task. Where appropriate, he may scrutinize any display prior to a performance before spectators. He is also responsible for notification of the Flying Display in accordance with JSP 550 D335.140.1. The FDD is to arrange for the briefing of participants. All military and civil participants are to attend a display briefing or receive a telephone brief prior to their display. Where circumstances dictate, more than one briefing may be necessary to cater for all participants. 1.7.3 The role of the FDD at both military and civil displays is vital. The ANO, supported by CAP 403, proscribes legal and regulatory imperatives for a FDD at civil events. JSP 550 regulates the responsibilities of the military Display Director and states he is to be responsible for the coordination, control and safety of all flying activities. To satisfy these criteria it is not sufficient to just arrive in the tower on the day and enjoy the show! There are three words that we believe encapsulates the role of an FDD – oversight, direction and control. He or she is without doubt the event organiser’s right hand person. The FDD should be in control of flying during Press and / or rehearsal days and not distracted with interviews or hosting. There is potentially more scope for an occurrence on the non public days and firm control of activity is essential. 1.7.4 There is also a danger that the FDD becomes the catch all for the event and his or her portfolio increases as ground or organisational issues unfold. This “mission creep” is to be avoided. The FDD must be off-loaded wherever possible to retain clarity over flying aspects. As a rule and subject to the scale of the event the FDD will be expected to address the following key areas:

• Location / site assessment. • Crowd enclosures – determine criteria for exceptional overflight and note those

formation teams with crowd rear arrival exceptions. • Display lines and markers. • Setting of minimum vertical and lateral separations (if more stringent than extant

regulations). • Setting of maximum speeds. • Setting of weather minima (if more stringent than extant regulations).


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• Aircraft ground manoeuvre and static parking. • BATSIM and related safety aspects. • Communications including utility and allocation of approved frequencies. • Compilation of the Display Programme. • Display Brief. • Participant / Aircrew Brief Pack. • Display crew DA / PDA check. • Parachuting Display team checks. • Compilation and publishing event flying orders. • Model aircraft, balloons – as part of a display.

1.7.5 The additional areas below fall under the remit of the FDD, but may be undertaken by the event organiser or delegated team:

• Event Risk Assessment and Emergency Plan. • Notification of the event to local authorities and CAA. • Booking Airspace with DAP UAS. • Car parking – with due regard to their proximity to display lines. • Civil display aircraft document checks (e.g. Insurance, CofA) • Co-ordination and control of pleasure flights.

1.7.6 Many of the above areas are covered in detail in the relevant annexes and the signposted references. Remember, where a task area is delegated - retain oversight, direct as required and control the activity! DISPLAY SCHEDULE 1.7.7 The flying portion of your display will only be successful after hours of planning, coordination and cooperation. The display must, at all times, be safe for spectators and display crews. 1.7.8 The construct of a display programme will depend entirely on the scale of the event and type and number of items attending. A major international airshow may contain up to 50 items running over an tight 8 hour programme, but a unit families day may compose of just 6 items gapped over a couple of hours. Try not to make the display slots too tight and as a guide try to leave at least 1-2 minutes between events for a small show. This gap will certainly reduce to 30 seconds for major events. Try to make it easy for participants: take-off, display, land is easiest from an organiser’s point of view. Run the show yourself and keep an oversight of whole thing. If possible co-opt good air traffic controllers to do the actual asset marshalling work. Finally, after praying for good weather, the final “production” of your programme will be dependant upon a variety of factors, some of which are highlighted below.

• Display window may be constrained by local authority, environmental and other planning permissions. For example, no fast jet (reheat) displays before 1000 hrs or after 1800 hrs. The event permission itself may include some restrictive “only between times”.

• Geography – seaside, harbours, lake side, river / valley and small airfield / agricultural sites will constrain or negate high energy, high radius turn items. You may therefore be limited to Warbirds, flypasts and helicopters. Remember nearby conurbation may also prohibit or constrain some displays.


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• Airspace – commercial / military ATM may impinge upon the height and times available for your display.

• Traffic and crowd ingress / egress will also dictate your start and stop timings. Allow time to get your paying audience on site before you start!

• Runway availability – if you plan to have vehicle parades in front of the crowd. This will restrict flying traffic for the period. Aim to do this activity as a first item.

• Some items will have fixed display times as teams and popular items may have several shows to attend on the day.

• Aircraft may either; take off – display – land, display and depart off slot or fly in – display – depart or land off slot. Many aircraft may be required to hold or wish to hold (possibly to attain safe display weight) before their display slot. Generally, display crews will try to be flexible and accommodate your plan. Obtain accurate display sequence timings from your participants. Military items are relatively easy to programme with their fixed PDA routines.

• Bear in mind that take offs and landings and fly in / out, generate activity and interest. Consider this in your overall plan.

• Never refuse a flypast if it is authorised and can be accommodated in your production. It is likely to be gratis and adds interest to your event. But do not pressure or distract other display items to facilitate the flypast. Especially during rehearsal or press days.

• Determine your audience and priorities. Is my event aimed at the general public, industry, VIPs or dependants / staff? This will steer where you place certain items in the programme. Reheat during a VVIP lunch or meet & greet might not be a good idea. Anoraks and spotters will generally stay for the unique item or popular display team. Place them strategically in the programme to pre-empt crowd departure.

• Avoid placing slow recovery items ahead of teams with restrictive criteria (e.g. fast jet display and parachute teams). For example flypasts, off slot departures or helicopter displays ahead of RAFAT are good ideas.

• Royal Flight or VVIP arrivals and departures will require careful planning and co-ordination. • Parachute displays can restrict flying, ground movements and aircraft starts. They also take

time to execute (e.g. woody drop, salutes and drop aircraft flyby). Plan to have something in the hold ready to run in and display once all chutes are on the ground. Especially if your programme is tight.

• Glider displays – remember to allow time for the tow to launch height and airframe recovery post landing.

• Hot Air Balloons are useful attractions. They can be inflated and tethered as a form of static display or launched subject to met conditions. If launched ensure you allow plenty of time for the balloon to clear the display area. Ideally, tethered balloons must be deflated or partially deflated (unable to launch) before other display activity commences. Where concurrent flying does take place, a max tethered height must be imposed. If Free Flight is planned ensure the airspace is free of manned systems before the Balloon Master approves flight. Separation criteria for manned balloons can be obtained from the British Balloon and Airship Club (BBAC).

• Large scale model aircraft are gaining popularity at venues. Treat them as normal display items with defined slot times.

• UAVS are also emerging display items. Like parachutes and gliders they require plenty of time for launch and recovery. They are useful platforms for crowd estimation and photography.

• Role Demonstrations. Winching, fast roping, tactical landings, heliborne assault and simulated ground attacks are popular with the public. They require sufficient time and detailed co-ordination. If they are your centrepiece, clever timing in the programming will be essential to success.


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• There are some unique display items that can prove a challenge to programme. For example, glider and tug combinations, multi aircraft formation dog fights and even a micro light and bird formation!

• Subject to your RA, the use of flares during displays must be carefully planned and controlled – see Section 10.

• Remember - at all times, maintain safety as your first consideration, followed by variety and entertainment.

• Remember also – if you are planning to continue normal and / or commercial operations at your site, de-conflict the display flying schedule with ops / commercial schedules.

1.7.9 A successful display will be a blend of the above and other key ingredients. For example, try and adopt a theme or celebration. Balance fast jet with slow movers and rotary. Capture crowd centre but do not forget the whole of the crowd line – at some venues this may be some distance! Consider utility of a display producer, working with the FDD who can focus and advise upon aesthetic aspects. Use your commentator! THE DISPLAY BRIEFING 1.7.10 One of the most important responsibilities for any FDD is the production and delivery of a comprehensive, professional and clear display brief. Its effectiveness will be evident in the conduct of the displays crews and a safe, seamless (less unforeseen eventualities), incident free execution of the display programme. 1.7.11 The scale and detail of the brief will be directly related to the scale of the event. However it must cover minimum fundamental areas and a representative military display brief format is given after the following checklist. It must also be coherent with any issued aircrew display information pack and operational orders that have been published (an exemplary Aircrew Brief is linked to this document). Any amendments to those documents must be briefed at the main brief. The checklist below can be modified to suit:

• Prepare the individual briefing sheets if necessary. • Time the briefing(s) to allow performers to get meals and travel from

accommodation. An early special briefing may be required for BATSIM staff, early display items and / or those who require travel to remote mounting bases.

• Major events tend to hold two mass briefings. • Have primary media ready and checked – PC, Laptop, Projector. Visual aids are

important and Powerpoint briefs are now common place. As a minimum, include the items at the example military brief given below.

• Have backup media to hand: blackboard, chalk, pointers, paper, etc. • Arrange briefing room seating. Have desk or table at hand. • Conduct your display TIME CHECK – normally BT speaking clock or the FDD’s

watch! Remember – by convention display slots are LOCAL, the rest of your timings may be in ZULU.

• It is mandatory for display crews, team leaders or designated representatives to have attended the mass brief or received at least a telephone brief if flying into the event. They should also sign a display brief attendance sheet. “No brief; no fly!” – have one ready for signature.

• Ensure as minimum; Air Traffic Control (if employed at the venue), FCC, Met


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Office representatives, commentator are at the briefing and ready to provide input. Consider additional personnel; Ops Staff, Admin and Support.

• Allow time for the FCC and / or MAA inspectors to scrutinise civil DAs if required. Note: this is normally done ahead of the event by Flt Ops / FDD.

• Review Airspace Reservations, NOTAMs, holds, IFR procedures, alternates and diversions. Other air activity in the vicinity.

• Briefing should include mobile telephone POC for key staff. • Provide Actual and TAF weather forecasts for the event and diversion airfields.

Forecast winds are normally used to determine the duty or display runway. Include the method of communicating changes if actual weather conditions change.

• Make a detailed explanation of any additional limits or minima at the briefing. Identify any obstacles, special procedures, no over fly locations and / or prohibited areas.

• Present the final programme along with the latest version in print and ensure each display crew has a copy. It is useful to colour code final versions.

• Highlight procedures to be used in the event of various emergencies, including weather, security and aircraft accidents (airborne or on the ground).

• Brief frequencies and communication plan. • Advise all crews to be ready to display at least 1 event prior to their scheduled

slot on the program. Nominate a (“Ground”) frequency to check in when ready. • Cover administrative issues; items including times, places for social events,

transportation, etc. • Finally, allow ample opportunity for crews to make comments or ask specific

questions. This is the time to resolve slot, programme, holding and recovery issues. The FDD, AT Controller and crews can usually identify and agree areas that can improve efficiency in the raw programme. For example, subject to agreement, slow moving formation teams, rotary or aging aircraft may be able to hold closer to the field when a fast jet is displaying, thereby reducing run in times.

• Hold any special event briefings after the general briefing. These would include ceremonial fly-bys after the main display has ended.

• Brief departure procedures separately – this normally results in huge debate and negotiation!

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE 1.7.12 The FDD must also ensure all pertinent regulations, orders and directives are followed from, the parking of display items, static and fly-in aircraft through to the actual display itself. If the organiser and his task teams are not conversant with JSP 550, CAP 403 or STANAG 3533 regulations, it may be prudent for the FDD to consult an SQEP with expertise in this area to provision advice. Working with the MAA display desk and CAA inspectors are courses of action recommended to ensure an awareness of and compliance with all regulations, especially if civil or unique items are attending. Additional factors for the FDD to consider are highlighted below:

• Ensure that all military display crews are PDA, authorised and current. Verify that participation is approved and that their routines are designed in compliance with current regulations. Where MAA / CAA waivers for crowd rear arrival or crowd over flight are granted these must be indicated in either the PDA or Team SOP.

• Ensure that all civil display crews hold; appropriate licence, valid insurance, any required


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exceptions, an aircraft CofA and current medical. Also that their declared manoeuvres (standard, intermediate, advanced or unlimited) are compliant with their current DA. Note that formation flying also requires a CAA DA.

• Civil registered aircraft are required to obtain an exception to the ANO Rules of the Air Rule 5 – 500ft Low Flying, when displaying at a military event. The MAA applies annually and holds this exception for all government aerodromes. It is also valid for displays at sites other than aerodromes.

• Ensure that all parachute display teams hold; ANO Article 130 and 131 permission and exceptions, valid insurance, drop aircraft Cof A and will be jumping under a recognised and approved Parachute Operations Manual (e.g. CGOs, Air Staff Instructions or BPA). Note that teams may be approved to dispatch from either military or civil aircraft.

• Check any regulations and appropriate licence requirements for balloons and model aircraft displays if they are participating.

• Ensure that pleasure flights are; fully contracted, have an AOC and the crews hold licences. • Where an ANO Article 162 exception is required, submit an application for waiver to the CAA

in time to permit complete review of all the necessary regulations. 90 to 120 days is not too early to submit the application.

• Check any exceptions and special provisions to DA’s and determine any conflictions with event orders or minima.

• Ensure that all operational personnel, FCC, ATC and inspectors are aware of any exceptions. THE FDD AND EMERGENCIES 1.7.13 Recall that the FDD is also responsible for contingency plans to cover the eventuality of an aircraft accident on or near the airfield during the period of the display. Section 13 gives the detailed guidance on the emergency plan, however, if the FDD is not convinced that he has the resources to maintain the right level Duty of Care, then it his responsibility to cancel the display. In the unlikely event of a crash during the display, then a checklist for the FDD is essential. This will form part of the emergency plan and operational order.


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ATTACHMENT 1 TO SECTION 7 PART 1 EXAMPLE - MILITARY AIR DISPLAY BRIEF

• Time Check (based on BT Speaking Clock or FDD’s watch). • Nominal Roll Attendance check. • Unit Commander’s Address • The Mission / Aim of the Event. (Slide) • Met Brief. (Slide or other media).

ATC Brief:

• Duty or Display Runway Details. (Slide) • Taxy Routings. • Display Lines and Markers. • Sterile and Closed areas. • Frequencies – (e.g. ATIS, Ground, Tower, App and Display). (Slide) • Holds and IFR details. (Slide) • Diversion Details. (Slide) • Local Area Brief – Avoids and Sensitive areas. (Slide if required). • Airspace (RA(T)) and NOTAMs. (Slide if required)

Rules and Regulations Brief:

• Military and Civil (If applicable) Flying Regulations. (Slide) • Conventional Fixed Wing Aircraft. (Slide) • VSTOL Aircraft. (Slide) • Helicopters. (Slide) • Minimum Heights. (Slide) • Weather Minima. (Slide)

Flying Programme Brief:

• Gant / bar type or suitable chronological chart. (Slide) • Refer to issued colour or numbered coded final programmes.

Flight Safety Statement

Questions / Individual Briefings / De-confliction / Negotiations / Departures


ATTACHMENT 2 TO SECTION 7 PART 1 EXAMPLE - AIRCREW BRIEF

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PART 1 SECTION 8 - FLYING CONTROL COMMITTEES A. JSP 550 R335. B. CAP 403. 1.8.1 Flying Control Committee (FCC). Each FCC will consist of the FDD, who may act as Chairman of the committee, and additional members co-opted from nominated military or approved civilian individuals who have the requisite expertise of Display Flying and/or organization. The members of the FCC will, in particular:

• Assist the FDD with the monitoring and controlling of the standard and safety of all flying, and advise where restrictions or additional limitations are required.

• Scrutinize participation by foreign aircrews.

BACKGROUND 1.8.2 Display Flying Notes 1997 carried an article on FCCs which had been a feature of the Farnborough International and Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) airshows for a number of years. FCCs were introduced formally for the major RAF airshows in 1996 through the medium of JSP 318. For those unfamiliar with FCCs, they are composed of up to 4 suitably qualified and experienced people (SQEPs) and headed by the FDD. Specialists, for example a civilian display pilot or an ATC adviser, may be co-opted. ROLE OF THE FCC 1.8.3 Not only do FDDs have an equally demanding task in co-ordinating the display programme to provide a safe environment for participants and onlookers alike, but are responsible for the safe conduct and control of flying activity. FDDs are to appoint an FCC to undertake adequate assessment and scrutiny of participants, ensuring that safety standards are maintained throughout the display. TORs may be issued. 1.8.4 The number and composition of the FCC will depend on the number of items displaying at the event. Where there are less than 6 items, an FCC need not be constituted and a pilot of one of the displaying items may act as the FDD. For more than 6 items it is essential to appoint an FDD. Again the numbers and types of display items will dictate the numbers make up of a supporting FCC. For a major event with a FCC of 4 SQEPs the composition and example expertise could be;

• FCC Chair (if not the FDD – normally at large scale events). • FCC 1 - Fast Jet (Singleton / Team). • FCC 2 - Light Fixed Wing / Warbird / Multi Engine (Singleton / Team). • FCC 3 - Rotary (Singleton / Team). • FCC 4 - Civil / Glider/ Parachuting.


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1.8.5 The members of a particular FCC should be selected well before the display. In assembling their FCC, the FDD may well find that there are insufficient appropriately experienced candidates at home base to provide a properly balanced team. Thus, they may need to look further a field, either to people they know or to the MAA or CAA where a database of approved SQEPs is maintained. The members of the FCC will need to keep tabs on the display programme as it develops, although it is not essential for them to attend pre-display meetings. 1.8.6 The FCC normally assembles a day or two before the show and disperses when show activity and the FCC report complete. Just prior to the show, they will need to be present to;

• Familiarise themselves with the arrangements and local regulations and to ensure that the display area is properly marked.

• Approve individual or team displays. • They must attend the Display Brief. It is good protocol to introduce the members

to the display crews. • Check the currency and availability of regulatory documents. • Assist participants and attend briefings and they will monitor each individual

display for safety and compliance with regulations. • If breaches of regulations or other matters of concern do arise, they may be

involved in debriefing the pilot and deciding on further action. 1.8.7 On the day, the FCC will position themselves at FDD designated vantage points in order to observe, monitor and scrutinise display flying activity. This may be;

• On the ATC balcony (remember visibility directly above the field from inside ATC is not possible!).

• A grandstand platform – with or near to the commentator. Ideally at Crowd Centre (CC).

• A segregated enclosure at or near CC. • A purpose designed Portakabin at or near CC. • On the minimum lateral display line at the marked CC. Normally located only at

large events where the FCC may be split. Note that personnel will be live side during display activity – indicate this is your RA.

1.8.8 It is imperative that the FCC have good communications with the FDD, ATC (if utilised) and the displaying aircraft. It is strongly recommended that FCC members are mandated by the FDD, on his behalf, to communicate directly on the display frequency to stop the displaying aircraft for flight safety reasons. Also consider a communication link from the FCC to SILVER or event control as members are likely to be the first to predicate or witness an aircraft crash. 1.8.9 So what’s in it for you? To prepare for each season, a training day will be organised by the MAA. Normally in March, for existing and potential FCC members and others with an interest. If you have suitable experience and an interest or inclination for the job, membership of an FCC offers you a few days away, inevitably over a weekend, the chance to make an invaluable contribution to the success of a flying display, and enhances your experience into the bargain. And you get to watch the show, usually from the best seat in the house, for free with lunch provided!


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DISPLAY SCRUTINY 1.8.10 How do you decide that a particular display is safe? Firstly, you will have your own and the collective experience, knowledge and expertise of the FCC to draw upon. Secondly, your experience in display flying will also give you a good feel for what the display pilot is striving to achieve with his type of aircraft in the prevailing conditions. Finally, you should seek out and exploit knowledge and provenance from the display fraternity (e.g. organisers, FDDs, FCC members, display pilots and supervisors) regarding the individual and his aircraft or team. 1.8.11 For military aircraft, the display will have been approved by the DH/AOA, so this should give you a more comfortable feeling. The crew will have been subject to a taut approved training plan, mentoring, periodic supervisor checks and scrutiny of performance by his approving officer. The PDA is the resultant and assurance document of this process. 1.8.12 Any British Military formation team will be operating to an approved SOP and / or a PDA. It is the FDDs responsibility to ensure that he has read and accepted the SOP or PDA prior to the display. For NATO military display teams their display has to be approved by the service that are responsible for the event. For foreign military display teams their display has to be cleared by the MAA who can either agree them or not allow the team to display at UK military or civil shows. 1.8.13 For civilian aircraft, the display pilot must have an authorisation form the CAA known as the Display Authorisation (DA), clearing him to display. The display sequence needs to be looked at closely to ensure that individual manoeuvres are in accord with the DAF

1F. It is also essential that the FDD has some indication from the

civilian display pilot of the number of times he has flown the display sequence he intends to fly at this airshow. 1.8.14 The following checklist, not exhaustive, provides guidance and tips for FCC members;

• For all aircraft you must have sight or knowledge of the display routine. • Determine provenance and / or track record of the team or item. • Investigate safety record and identify any historical issues. • Obtain copy of; SOP, PDA, Ribbon Diagram, routine brief. • Exploit You Tube and the web for video of recent displays. • Contact FDD / FCC of shows that the item has recently appeared. • Be cognisant of, but do not be swayed, by anecdotal comments on individual

performances – it may just have been the prevailing conditions on the day! • If in doubt request a scrutiny slot through the FDD. • Note any handling quirks – “tends to dish out of a Derry to the left” or “energy

appears a little low at stall turn gate entry”.

1There are various types of DA dependent on the type of display to be flown. The display pilot has to satisfy the CAA that he is competent to perform manoeuvres up to the requirement for that DA. Once he has a DA, the pilot can organise his sequence in any manner he wishes provided he does not perform manoeuvres of the type that are not covered in his DA. Therefore, he can legally change his sequence at any time without further approval from the CAA.


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• Satisfy yourself (and the FDD) that there are no manoeuvres that are potentially dangerous at your show.

• Consideration should be given for airfield topography and crowd areas etc. 1.8.15 It is important that the FDD prescribes and informs the FCC of the criteria by which a display item is cautioned or stopped. The following are offered for consideration:

• A display item may be stopped for any flight safety reason not directly related to the routine or handling itself (e.g. ground incident, RA(T) penetration by unknown or conflicting traffic).

• Singular and minor penetrations of lateral and vertical minima (display lines) may be due to challenging weather conditions. If corrected, it is normal to allow the item to continue. If not, a short advisory message may be transmitted on the display frequency.

• Obvious poor handling and / or failure to capture gates may also be cautioned. However, if they are not corrected or develop to extremes, it may require a stop call to the pilot.

• Obvious violations of crowd lines and lateral / vertical limits may require immediate action.

• Remain mindful that a pilot may elect for crowd / car park over flight rather than jeopardise the aircraft, crew or other team members, for flight safety reasons. Knowledge of the routine, conditions and experience will generally give you a feel if this is the case. If in doubt verify – that is what the display frequency is for.

• If there is any doubt whether a display item is safe to continue, there is no doubt – call it!

1.8.16 FCC’s have been used most effectively in the past and it is an invaluable tool for the larger displays in the effective supervision and control of flying. It is strongly recommended that they are utilised in some form at your event, especially where display flying will take place.


ATTACHMENT 1 TO SECTION 8 PART 1 EXAMPLE - TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR FCC MEMBERS FOR XXXXX AIR SHOW XX AUG 20XX References: A. JSP 550. B. XXX Air Show Air Operation Order dated XX Jul XX 1. The XXX Air Show 20XX FCC is a committee comprising of up to 4 suitably qualified and experienced personnel as laid down in JSP 550. The FCC is not in the direct organisational chain for XXXX Air Show and will be formed in order to; assist the FDD with oversight, assessment and scrutiny of participants to ensure that safety standards are maintained throughout the display. 2. Members are to offer advice and opinions to the FDD pertaining to the safe conduct of any flying display routine. 3. Those co-opted on to the FCC are to:

a. At least 4-6 weeks prior to the display, and through the FDD, ensure that they are made aware of the display programme and, subsequently, any changes.

b. Satisfy themselves that display sequences are properly cleared and authorised and accord with national rules and regulations and do not conflict with any local rules and regulations. There may be a need to view certain displays. MAA, CAA and Command display staff may need to be consulted.

c. Satisfy themselves, in consultation with the FDD, that the display programme is sensible and reasonable and that there are no flight safety conflictions.

d. Advise the FDD to notify the relevant authorities of any concerns, clearances needed, or further information required. Participation at an air display is not to be cleared until the FDD has been satisfied that all relevant clearances have been given.

e. Be available prior to the display (1-2 days) for consultation with display crews/organisers as necessary.

2. On the display day(s) the FCC is to:

a. Be present at the display briefing and introduced to display participants.

b. View the display from a position designated by the FDD, to ensure immediate contact can be maintained with the display controlling authorities. One member of the FCC may need to be positioned near to the display crowd line.

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c. Ensure that all rules and regulations are adhered to throughout the display, and that any infringements are properly reported and/or dealt with.

d. Debrief display crews and authorities as deemed necessary.

e. The Chairman of the FCC is to assist the FDD in the submission of a post display report in accordance with the directions issued by the approving authority.

f. In the event of an unplanned or flight safety occurrence, the Chairman of the FCC is to assist the FDD in submission of a Defence Flight Safety Occurrence Report (DFSOR) report within 2 working days of the event. Where required this should be in concert with the aircraft commander.

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PART 1 SECTION 9 – GROUND PLAN References:

A. JSP 375 Leaflet 57. B. HSG 195 – The Purple Guide. C. HSE HS (G) 81 – Fairgrounds and Amusement Parks.

1.9.1 At any time hundreds or perhaps thousands of people will gather at your event. There is a massive requirement for good grounds and facilities management. Your planning teams must work closely with each other to ensure a smooth event operation. This area of responsibility overlaps and affects every aspect of the show. Careful consideration must be given to leadership of the ground team as he/she will be required to devote a tremendous amount of work, time and attention to detail! 1.9.2 Traffic management is likely to be your biggest problem area. Keeping the traffic flowing, with follow on expeditious parking is the aim. A sound plan coupled with good co-operation between Police and your own stewards will be required. Consider separate colour coded routing for public, staff, contractors and above all participants. No sense in having the display crew in the traffic tail back when he should be wowing the crowds! Exclusive entry gates are also good options. 1.9.3 You must ensure that all regulations pertaining to safety at public events on MOD property are implemented. In addition, you should take into account and demonstrate reasonable equivalency of the Purple Guide. The references above give detailed guidance for event organisers and participants. The following key areas should be considered:

• Coordinate with airfield and/or site staff and have regular meetings to keep them updated of developments and requirements. Get your HSAW advisor on your planning team who will also be your RIDDOR point of contact.

• Remain alert to the requirements for disabled facilities, lost children, animals on site (not advised at air displays unless controlled, e.g. Police, Search and Display Teams) and other welfare gotcha’s.

• Think environmental issues, e.g. water table, rubbish disposal, noise management, traffic management, fuel spillage measures etc.

• Arrange for any construction, tentage, signage and installation of utility supplies if needed. Consider illumination, emergency lighting, cable clearance (over and under ground)

• Arrange for necessary barricades, fencing, ropes, stanchions and other crowd-control devices to be purchased, leased or borrowed, delivered and installed in a timely manner. Obtain a good airfield or site layout diagram.

• Work with appropriate teams to determine location of all static displays and provide for necessary security and crowd control.

• Work with stalls and catering teams to establish a plan for the location of stalls. Make sure required electrical power is available where and when needed.

• Consider military equipment, such as tanks, heavy trucks and other weapons displays that often have unusual weight requirements. Coordinate with airfield and ATC personnel to make sure no damage occurs to aprons, taxi ways and access roads.

• Set up and clearly mark parking areas and traffic routes on site. You may elect to utilise a


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shuttle bus systems to move the public or staff. Keep a route clear if you do. • Arrange for hire of portable lavatories. The contract must include provisions to pump and re-

supply with chemicals and toilet paper for each day of use. • Most displays are in the summer months - drinking water is essential and supplies must be

readily available on site. Ensure you supply staff and display crews with bottled water, either collected or delivered (VASS and display items may be some distance away from hospitality tents). Arrange secondary transport of sufficient quantities of water to the event if required. If possible, arrange for a gratis supply of bottled water for the public in the event of extremely hot weather.

• Arrange for conveniently-located waste bins for spectators’ use. Sufficient numbers will reduce post-show clean up. (Prompt and thorough cleaning of the site will be required to return airfield back to operational status – FOD plod!).

• Arrange for emptying of bins and skips throughout the day and for removal from the site at the end of each day.

• Coordinate with entrance and gate tickets sales team to make sure traffic cones, lane dividers, and entrance locations are properly set up.

• Provide personnel to meet and direct arriving staff, stall holders, static display crews and exhibitors and provide each with a diagram / admin instruction that shows the location of their designated site.

• Coordinate with security staff to properly mark and secure any areas that are off limits to spectators.

• Arrange for the best possible PA system – it will make or break your commentary! Coordinate power requirements, location of speakers and cable laying. Make sure sound covers all spectator viewing areas including VIP and private party chalets. Engage a contractor or your media ops staff to set up the system.

• Provide for a commentator’s platform that allows good visibility for the announcer and assistants. It is recommended that this platform or cabin is at crowd centre and as near to event control as possible. This will ensure promptness and coherency in communicating, admin, security or emergency messages.

• Plan entrance and exits for emergency vehicles and emergency aircraft (Fireball helicopter with water bucket).

• Plan alternate entrances and exits for emergency vehicles in the event primary routes are blocked – co-ordinate with your emergency planning team.

• Plan a route for participating aircraft to get from hangars to the flight line or apron area that minimises impact upon stalls and stands.

• Locate VIP tents on the flight line, but leave room for the paying public to enjoy clear viewing areas.

• Designate a central location (event or show control) for resolving problems. Staff it with a decision maker who has the authority to take action. Ensure both the commentator and event control has communications with, FDD, ATC and SILVER / BRONZE command as a minimum.


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PART 1 SECTION 10 – GROUND EFFECTS, PYROTECHNICS, IRCM (FLARES) AND BATTLE SIMULATION References:

A. JSP 550 Regulation 335. B. HSG 195 Chapter 17. C. JSP 403 Volume 5 Chapter 1 Battle Simulation. D. AC71685 Military Engineering Vol II Pam 4A.

1.10.1 If you are contemplating adding further excitement to your display – consider the utility of pyrotechnics very carefully. A detailed RA will be essential. The field of pyrotechnics, fireworks and battle simulation (BATSIM - simulated explosions and shell bursts) is complex, especially in the areas of licensing and the transport of hazardous materials (HAZMAT). The following common-sense suggestions may help you experience the excitement of “bangs” while reducing some of the dangers inherent in explosives. You must seek expert advice from single service ammunition, explosive and ordinance disposal (EOD) technical staff and the Royal Engineers (RE). Do not under any circumstances attempt to locally manufacture your own BATSIM “exploding fuel air devices”! 1.10.2 You should only engage an approved contractor or utilise RE personnel to arrange ground effects or BATSIM. Consider the following:

• Know all legal and regulatory requirements. • Get references on your contractor before engaging – who must be authorised

under the HSE. This is serious business for professionals only. • Contact the HAZMAT coordinator at your unit (QM, Logistics Officer) or DFS for

assistance. • Establish a secure, remote area for storage and staging of all materials. • Arrange for fire coverage whenever activity occurs in your BATSIM area. • Do not let ground BATSIM for “bombing” or “gun” runs to be laid on the display

line. Offset BATSIM to the live side. • Clearly mark ground BATSIM areas with hi-vis markers so that vehicles, gliders

and possible emergency operations know what areas to avoid. • Some areas may need to be pre-burned to avoid stopping your show to

extinguish a grass fire on the airport. Seek the advice of your RE staff / contractor and Defence Fire Service.

• Make sure your event and your contractor have insurance cover for the pyro activities you plan to execute.

• Include your BATSIM staff / contractor in your briefing and fully brief all participants on the planned BATSIM activities and emergency procedures.

• Eliminate any risk of unexploded BATSIM remaining after the show. • Make sure your BATSIM poses no potential problems to civil facilities that may

be located at the air show site. • Develop a dependable communications link with your BATSIM staff / contractor

so that you can stop the activities at any time. `


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• Do not allow organisational staff handle or use any materials they are not licensed and trained to use.

• Insist that BATSIM materials are stored at a secure, remote site at the event location.

• Inform all teams when transporting HAZMAT material so they can prepare for its arrival and store it properly.

1.10.3 UK military display regulations allow the use of IRCM (Flares) during selected displays subject to a robust RA. The following points are for consideration by display crews in respect of ground operations:

• Do not fly over the crowd when you have a load of IRCM on board (not withstanding wing-tip smoke).

• IRCM should be released in the vertical and at sufficient height to ensure full flare burn out.

• Ensure the IRCM firing system remains electrically isolated until airborne. • Make sure the firing system can be shut down in flight in the event of an

emergency. • Ground (earth) your aircraft during IRCM up / down load. • Load and set up IRCM in a remote area away from spectators. Arrange this

location with the FDD. Include a misfire parking location. • Fuel your aircraft before going to the remote IRCM area to load and set up. Do

not fuel in the remote area. • Unload your IRCM in the remote area immediately after your performance. • Consider the effect of winds and altitude on the fallout and residue of burning

IRCM – see Part 2 Display Flying • Consider whether electrical storms or radio frequencies (RF RADHAZ) can

conflict with your firing mechanisms.


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PART 1 SECTION 11 – AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL References: A. JSP 552. B. CAP 403 Chapter 5. 1.11.1 Where an ATC service is established at a display site (flying station or airfield), it is normal practice that ATC staff assist the appointed FDD in his responsibility in ensuring the safe conduct of the display. It must therefore be recognised by ATC staff that the FDD has primacy in all flying control matters directly associated with the display during the prescribed display window. 1.11.2 Where no ATC service exists at an approved display site, ATC personnel may be co-opted or detached to provide a basic air to ground service. 1.11.3 Orchestration and execution of a display requires aircraft and crews to undertake many non standard manoeuvres and procedures. All of this unusual activity can be both an education and exciting challenge for controllers. A flexible and efficient ATC team is a therefore a valuable key asset for the FDD. 1.11.3 It is worth noting that; neither military nor civil air traffic regulations have any mandated phraseology directly related to display flying. For example the term “clear to display” has no definitive meaning other than that of convention within the display fraternity. One interpretation of this convention might be “The RA (T) is yours, at your discretion proceed as authorised by your DH/AOA and the FDD, or until told to stop by the FDD or his representative, or until you have declared that your non standard activity is complete. We will endeavour to protect you from other traffic during this period and only talk to you if safety is likely to be compromised”. However, it is accepted that standard phraseology is extant when advising, directing and controlling displaying aircraft pre and post display slots. 1.11.4 The following checklist provides guidance on ATC issues:

• Consideration should be given to the protection of aircraft during their display, positioning for that display and departing en-route. It is highly probable that additional procedures such as holds and entry/exit lanes will have to be established for the duration of the event, including any periods of display practice or approval. NOTAM notification will be required see Section 12.

• Traffic to and from your display may be conducted as Operational or General Air Traffic (OAT /GAT). Sensitive or unusual aircraft may require escort through UK airspace – plan ahead!

• Remember that foreign aircraft may require pressure in inches. • Be prepared for formation aircraft arrivals and non standard runway procedures. It may be

prudent to; set minimum Run in and Break heights and maximum speeds and mandate circuit direction to avoid over flight of the crowd enclosures.

• For major shows with numerous participants unit ATC may be required to liaise with ATM controlling authorities for Traffic Flow Management.


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• Be prepared to have a team member in ATC to interpret where fluency in the English

language may be problematic. Especially for non NATO foreign items. • Planning should take into account weather minimums and the difficulties that might be

encountered should the weather deteriorate and holds become un-useable. Negotiate diversion airfields.

• Display planning should include all aspects of vehicular movement on the airfield, including display flying periods. Ideally, vehicles will avoid crossing the main runway but this may be impractical so consideration needs to be given to how and when crossings can be made. Additional briefing will be needed for visiting drivers including emergency service vehicles.

• Additional aircraft ground movements will require careful planning to ensure an effective flow of traffic. The ground handing plan should consider the use of ‘follow-me’ vehicles. Aircraft ground support teams will need appropriate briefing and guidance.

• At off base sites, tactical man-pack, vehicle borne or hand held communications will be required and application made for allocated frequencies. Utility of published base frequencies may be an option.

• The communications plan will vary to scale of the event, but could include ground, taxy, tower and approach (holding) frequencies. Above all, keep a discreet display frequency. The FDD should determine procedures and optimum utility during display flying and who is authorised to transmit safety messages on this frequency. Remember the FCC should always have full visibility of the displaying aircraft and will best placed to contact the pilot for immediate safety reasons.

• ATC manning levels and experience should be taken into account to ensure that there is sufficient flexibility to deal with non-standard and unforeseen event. Consideration should be given to the use of additional Supervisors or support controllers who can maintain an overview of the traffic situation without being distracted by the control task.

• ATC staff should be briefed on all aspects of the display and its organisation. Controllers should be briefed on the procedures to be used if it is necessary to terminate an aircraft display and under what circumstances such instructions can be given.

• The comms plan should cover all aspects of air to ground, ground to ground and air to air communications. This should include the phraseology to be used to commence and to stop a display and circumstances where transmissions may be made during a display. As JSP 552 provides no guidance regarding air display procedures and phraseology, it is essential that all those involved understand the meaning of the words that will be used.

• Under no circumstances should display timings be corrected by asking a pilot to extend or shorten a display. The alteration of a practiced display routine can result in ad-hoc or non-approved manoeuvres being flown.


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PART 1 SECTION 12 – AIRSPACE References: A. JSP 552 Section 215. B. CAP 403 Chapter 5. C. STANAG 3533. 1.12.1 A flying display is an event which could adversely affect the normal operations of other airspace users and is designated Unusual Aerial Activity (UAA). At your display or special event there is likely to be one or more of the following unusual activities;

• An abnormal concentration of events in time or airspace. • An inability of participants to observe or comply with Military Flying

Regulations, provisions of the ANO or normal navigation conventions, e.g. Right of Way, Rules of the Air or VFR / IFR.

• Dropping of articles or parachutists. • Flypasts, low level formations, weapons or attack demonstrations.

1.12.2 A display could therefore present a hazard to military and civil crews of non-participating aircraft if they are not aware that it is taking place. It is vital that your activity is appropriately approved and afforded the protection of notified and publicised airspace. DISPLAY NOTIFICATION - OUTLINE 1.12.3 Directorate of Airspace Policy, Airspace Utilisation and Off Route Airspace (DAP AUS & OR) is a joint military and civil organisation responsible for the efficient and equitable use of UK airspace. For a display the AU will negotiate the use of appropriate airspace and co-ordinate with affected and interested ATC agencies. The AU will then promulgate details through Airspace Co-ordination Notices (ACN) and NOTAM. AU will also de=conflict your display with all the other known UAA in the vicinity. Major displays are often afforded the extra protection of Restricted Area (Temporary) (RA (T)). AU will also advise on whether or not a RA(T) is justified for a particular display and its associated rehearsals etc. 1.12.4 The timescales for notification of the event to AU will depend on the nature of the event:

• If a RA(T) is required then 90 days notice should to be given to AU as they will need to prepare the legal documentation and have it signed off by the Department of Transport. The details of the RA(T) also need to be promulgated as an Aeronautical Information Circular (AIC) (Mauve). The lead time for the printing of these publications is 6 weeks, which as they are published on a monthly basis, can mean the information has to be at the Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) 10 weeks before the date of the event.


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• If an ACN is required then 42 days notice should be given as AU are required to publish ACN to the affected ATC agencies 28 days prior to the event

• If only a NOTAM is required, then 14 days notice should be given to AU in order that they can publish the NOTAM 7 days before the event.

Whilst the above timescales are ideal, AU should be advised of an event at the earliest opportunity, even if it is within the timescales. In the event of a late notification, AU will always try and achieve whatever is possible within the time available. However, if you do not tell them in good time you may not get all you need to cover the event. 1.12.5 As the event organiser (and/ or the FDD), you are responsible for the airspace notification aspects. Aircraft commanders or formation leaders are responsible for ensuring that they have clearances, authorisation and bookings for LF activity. You of course will need to be assured of the latter, as LF complaints will in the first instance be directed to you! The following checklists provide guidance to enable your event:

• If your event is at a government aerodrome you are likely to have an ATZ / MATZ established, but NOTAM, RA(T) and airspace co-ordination may also be required. Remember that the MATZ is only recognised by military aviation and there is no legal requirement for a civilian aircraft to observe it. Only the ATZ is legally protected.

• At any other MOD approved site, you will need to either establish temporary restricted airspace (RA (T)), NOTAM and co-ordinate the activity. Contact AU who will determine the optimum media and notification.

• If RAFAT or other jet formation teams are displaying at your event, notify AU who will promulgate a RA (T), with supporting statutory documents and NOTAM for Jet Formation Displays – example attached below. Note that a Jet Formation RA(T) will only be activated for the actual display slot times +/- a few minutes.

• A RA(T) may be established to cover the actual display days and in some circumstances may also cover the ancillary days (e.g. press days, rehearsals and arrival /departure periods. Make sure you inform AUS of your needs. As a minimum they require; dates, timings (specify local or Zulu), heights, radius and activities (e.g. parachute, balloon release and jet formation items). Subject to negotiations the notified airspace may also vary in dimensions over the period. Indicate this to participants in your air operation order and briefing packs.

• Remain cognisant of the types and volumes of airspace near or above your site. Adjacent busy controlled airspace may rule out full displays and constrain participants to rolling or flat, despite clear blue skies on the day! Your unit Ops and ATC staff are the SME’ s, who will normally take on liaison with AU on your behalf.

• It is worth ensuring visibility of and coherency between military LF Y series and civil NOTAMS promulgated for your event. If transiting or holding outside the RA (T) low level, crews often overlook that a pre-notification LFS booking is required regardless that you have a type H & J series NOTAMs (Nav Warning & RA(T))in place. Ask the crew if they have booked in with LF Ops!


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LOW FLYING ACTVITY ASSOCIATED WITH DISPLAYS OR FLYPASTS References: A. JSP 550 Regulation 330. B. MIL AIP Volume 3 UK Low Flying Handbook. 1.12.6 For weather, routing and holding reasons, display aircraft might transit low level to and from event sites. In addition, PC / tasking organisations approve numerous requests for flypasts every year. The latter can include ceremonial or unique occasions where aircraft may be unable to comply with or require exceptions to; low flying (LF) regulations (e.g. flypasts in the TVAA, Prohibited Areas or over built up areas) and minimum heights. With a majority of this non operational LF occurring at weekends and public holidays it is essential to approve, co-ordinate and notify the activity. CAS Air Staff Lower Airspace (AS LA) and associated Low Flying Operations Sqn (LF Ops) at RAF Wittering are the authority and co-ordination organisations respectively. 1.12.7 The following is offered to organisers and crews for planning and guidance:

• Flypasts during the Low Flying Booking Cell (LFBC) system operating hours - standard booking procedures and LF regulations apply. Where exceptions to regulations are required, AS LA approval will be required. The approval and supporting authorisation will be required by the LFBC before a booking number is allocated.

• Flypasts at weekends and public holidays (PH) – AS LA approval is required and this will be required by the LFBC before a booking number is allocated.

• LFBC are alerted to display activity where notified through ACN and H series NOTAMS. They will not issue a Y series (LF) NOTAM for those UK military aircraft approved to participate and will undertake LF in the immediate vicinity of the venue or within the RA(T). However, crews who deliberately plan to transit low level to / from the event are required to book into the LFS. At weekends and PH this will be by pre notification of retrospective booking, with AS LA approval of course!

• When forced to LF by weather or for tactical ATM reasons (e.g. holding or delay routing pre display slot) a retrospective booking will be required IAW reference B above.

• Where a flypast or display is taking place inside a Dedicated User Area (DUA) the controlling authority must be notified. Out of Hours, control of the DUA is transferred to LFBC.

• AS LA approve standing clearances for UK national display teams and singletons who will display throughout the season (e.g. RNHDT (Black Cats) and Typhoon). DH/AOAs should obtain standing clearances for display assets under command. The standing clearance should detail all required and approved exceptions to LF regulations with any constraints. However, normal LFS booking procedures remain extant, especially to alert other military airspace users through the issue of a Y series NOTAM for formation transits and activity at display sites where wider ACN is not appropriate (e.g. small charity event at a field site).

• Flypasts and formation transits are not considered as an UAA unless 4, or more, aircraft are involved. However, AU & ORA will produce an H series NOTAM, if requested, for any flypast or transit. Remember that the LFBC only inform the military of your activity and that you need to inform AU & ORA if you require other airspace users to be informed.

• Where NATO and foreign military aircraft are displaying at your venue, the Commands / Groups responsible for the event are to sponsor their planned or likely use of the UKLFS. Full


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details of the activity should be sent to AS LA at least 30 days ahead of the event. • Where civil registered aircraft are displaying at a military site an annual exception to Rule 5 –

Low Flying (500ft rule) of the ANO is required. The MAA Ops Div apply for and hold this exception on behalf of the MOD.

• Display crews are to ensure that pre notified and retrospective LF is closed by 1200hrs next or following working day.

• Where SAR crews undertake a flying display (i.e. a winch role demo in front of the public) at weekends or PH, they should; obtain a display authorisation and ensure pre notification of retrospective booking with LFBC. As this activity is not covered under reference B above.

• Remain cognisant to the environmental issues in respect of non operational low flying especially at weekends and PH. Not all of the general public are in favour of airshows. Ensure that all low flying in support of flypast and display activity is to be appropriately approved, authorised and supervised.

1.12.8 Points of Contact for display or flypast activity low flying in relation to: Airspace Utilisation Section and Off Route Airspace (Attn Airspace Specialist 1) Directorate of Airspace Policy CAA House K6 45-49 Kingsway London EC2B 6TE Tel: Airspace Specialist 1 Mil 96453 6581 Civ 020 7453 6581 AU Ops Mil 96453 6599 Civ 020 7453 6599 E-mail: [email protected] MOD CAS - Air Staff Lower Airspace Main Building Horse Guards Whitehall London SW1A 2HB Tel: Mil 9261 83461 Civ 020 7218 3461 Low Flying Operations Squadron RAF Wittering Peterborough Northamptonshire PE8 6HB Tel: Mil 95351 5002 Civ 01780 783838 5002 ATTACHMENTS: 1. Example – Statutory Instrument for a Military Airshow. 2. Example – ACN Military Airshow. 3. Example – AIC Military Airshow. 4. Example – NOTAM N Proposal Military Airshow. 5. Example – NOTAM N RAFAT RA(T).


S T A T U T O R Y I N S T R U M E N T S

2009 No

CIVIL AVIATION

The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Royal Air Force Leuchars) Regulations 2009

Made - - - -

Coming into force - - 11th September 2009

The Secretary of State deems it necessary in the public interest to restrict flying in the vicinity of Royal Air Force Leuchars by reason of the holding of a flying display that is scheduled to take place during the period 11th to 12th September 2009.

The Secretary of State, in exercise of powers conferred under Article 96 of the Air Navigation Order 2005(2), makes the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Royal Air Force Leuchars) Regulations 2009 and come into force on 11th September 2009.

2. In regulation 3 all times referred to are Co-ordinated Universal Time.

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), between 0900 hours and 1600 hours on 11th and 12th September 2009, no aircraft is to fly below 7,000 feet above mean sea level within the area of a circle having a radius of 5 nautical miles whose centre is at 562228N 0025159W.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to any aircraft flying in accordance with a clearance issued by the air traffic control unit at Royal Air Force Leuchars.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport Head of Airports Policy Division (2) S.I. 2005/1970 to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

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Date Department for Transport EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations impose restrictions on flying in the airspace and at the times specified in regulation 3. On 11th and 12th September 2009, Royal Air Force Leuchars will hold “At Home Days” for the general public that will include flying displays. A large number of aircraft will be involved in high-energy manoeuvres during the airshows. The Ministry of Defence consider that Restrictions of Flying should be established in the vicinity of Royal Air Force Leuchars for reasons of public safety; this has been endorsed by the Directorate of Airspace Policy (DAP). Full details of the Statutory Instrument will be promulgated by Aeronautical Information Circular and NOTAM.

Further enquiries of the Civil Aviation Authority can be made of Mr M M Lee, DAP Airspace Specialist 7, Telephone 020 7453 6587.

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ATTACHMENT 2 TO PART 12 PART 1 EXAMPLE – ACN FOR A MILITARY AIRSHOW

DIRECTORATE OF AIRSPACE POLICY

AIRSPACE UTILISATION SECTION ACTIVITY NO: 2009-09-0095 26 August 2009 See Distribution

AIRSPACE CO-ORDINATION NOTICE

RAF LEUCHARS AIRSHOW

11 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2009 ALL TIMES UTC INTRODUCTION 1. The following measures have been agreed by AUS with the organiser and airspace controlling authorities to accommodate the subject Unusual Aerial Activity. ACTIVITY 2. A major international airshow sponsored by RAF Leuchars. The airshow will include participation by many civil and military fixed and rotary wing aircraft, a freefall parachute team display by the RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team, a jet aerobatic team display by the RAF Red Arrows. Intense activity will take place on the 11 Sep during the rehearsal and aircraft arrival phase. DATES AND TIMES 3. 11 Sep Rehearsals/Arrivals a. Start 0900 hrs b. Finish 1600 hrs

12 Sep Display c. Start 0900 hrs

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d. RAF Falcons 0930 –1030 hrs (drop time 1000 hrs)

e. Red Arrows 1255 – 1335 hrs f. Finish 1600 hrs

VERTICAL LIMITS 4. a. Top Level 7,000ft amsl

(Extension to 8,100ft amsl for Red Arrows and FL120 for the RAF Falcons and zoom climbs)

b. Base Level Surface. CO-ORDINATES OF AREA OR EVENT 5. Within 5nm radius of 562228N 0025159W (RAF Leuchars, Fife), but note para 8b for RA(T) distances for the Red Arrows. OPERATING AUTHORITY 6. a. Display Co-ordinator: Flt Lt P XXXXXX b. Airshow Office: 1 Tutor Road, Leuchars, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 0JW c. Telephone: 01334 839000 Option 6

d. Display Director: Wg Cdr XXXXX e. On the day telephone: Contact through RAF Leuchars ATC

CONTROLLING AGENCY 7. a. RAF Leuchars Air Traffic Control. b. Telephone: 01334 839471 ext 7282 or DFTS (9) 5151 7282 AIRSPACE RESERVATIONS 8. a. Restricted Airspace (Temporary ) (RA(T)) has been established under

Article 96 of the Air Navigation Order 2005 (Mil ac should comply with JSP 552.201.135.9) on the 11 and 12 September 2009 between 0900 hrs and 1600 hrs daily within 5nm radius of 562228N 0025159W (RAF Leuchars) from surface to 7,000ft amsl. AIC M 073/2009 dated 13 August 2009 refers. (attached)

b. Restricted Airspace (Temporary) (RA(T)) will be established in accordance with Article 96 of the Air Navigation Order 2005 (Mil ac should comply with JSP 552.201.135.9) for the Red Arrows display on 12 September 2009 between 1255 -1335 hrs within 6nm radius 562228N 0025159W (RAF Leuchars) up to 8,100ft amsl. AIC M 061/2009 dated 16 July 09 refers.

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Freefone information giving details of the RA(T)s can be obtained on 0500 354802

CO-ORDINATION ARRANGEMENTS 9. Operating Authority

a. The Display Director is required to provide a written brief detailing ATC, emergency and display procedures to all pilots taking part in the event. This brief must be supplemented by a mandatory telephone or verbal brief prior to any aircraft taking part in the display.

10. ATC Authorities

a. The display airspace is controlled by RAF Leuchars ATC and is adjacent to AWY B226 (Base FL085, becoming FL105 north of 5622N). All display participants are to remain clear of controlled airspace unless cleared to enter by the appropriate ATC agency.

b. All ATC Supervisors are to note that aircraft not taking part in the display are not cleared to penetrate the Airshow Display RA(T) without clearance by RAF Leuchars ATC. ATC Supervisors are also to note that other aircraft are not to penetrate the Red Arrows RA(T) during the display. The airspace must remain sterile until the end of the each display.

c. Wind conditions may require the RAF Falcons support ac to enter AWY B226 at up to FL 120. Should this be necessary, ScACC clearance will be subject to GAT traffic flows at the time of the request by RAF Leuchars ATC; therefore, the RAF Falcons support ac captain is requested to contact RAF Leuchars ATC before departure to discuss his requirements. d. Any extensions to the notified display airspace may infringe AWY B226. This airway is only established at weekends, and is therefore not effective during the rehearsal/arrival period on 11 Sep 09. However the Airway is active on 12 Sep 09. ScACC Area Ops have agreed to tactically coordinate requests for display participants to penetrate AWY B226 on an opportunity basis, subject to a minimum of 30 minutes notice of any such request. Dedicated control procedures have been established between RAF Leuchars ATC and ScACC Area Ops to de-conflict air display traffic with traffic using AWY B226. e. The RAF Falcons support aircraft may flypast the display site after the team has landed. During any such flypast the aircraft is to comply with the appropriate display line. f. In the event that a Police, or emergency services helicopter requires access to the RA(T) this is to be co-ordinated without any delay, if necessary halting the airshow to accommodate the request.

11. Holding Points

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a. The display IP is a point 5nm on the extended centreline of Runway 27. The display holding areas are as follows:

(1) Initial Approach Fix – Pt Alpha. The IAF (Point Alpha) (0890(M)/18nm) RAF Leuchars, not below 1,000 ft agl, with an associated right hand racetrack hold, height as directed. (2) Tentsmuir Forest. For use by light aircraft and helicopters in a right hand orbit within the boundaries of Tentsmuir Forest (5624N 00250W). Height as directed, not below 500ft agl. (3) Mugdrum Island. A left-hand racetrack orientated 2700/0900 (M) over Mugdrum Island (N56 21.17 W003 16.09) not below 2,000ft agl (VMC) and not above FL080.

b. All holds are to be flown on RAF Leuchars QFE as directed by Leuchars Director. Aircraft are not to enter a hold unless cleared by ATC.

12. Frequency Allocation

a. All aircraft are to call Leuchars Approach on an initial contact frequency of 308.875 MHz or 123.30 MHz at a range of 40nm range. b. Aircraft instructed to enter a hold will be transferred to RAF Leuchars Director on 389.525 MHz or 130.675 MHz as directed. c. The dedicated display frequency briefed to all participants.

13. Adjacent Airspace Users

a. The SATCO at Dundee Airport has agreed to the establishment of the Red Arrows RA(T) within part of the Dundee ATZ. SATCO Leuchars has undertaken to ensure that, with the exception of the Red Arrows display, all other display traffic will be contained within the display RA(T) (see para 8(a) above). Close co-ordination will be maintained between Dundee ATC and Leuchars ATC to de-conflict their respective arrival, departure and display aircraft. b. The operators at Errol Aerodrome parachuting site have agreed to operate under the control of RAF Leuchars during the period of the Airshow. SATCO Leuchars and the operators of the Paragon Skydive School at Errol have arranged discrete operating procedures which will allow parachuting to continue, but under the control of Leuchars ATC. Paragon support aircraft pilots will contact Leuchars ATC on RT immediately after take-off and will operate in accordance with instructions from Leuchars ATC as required. c. The Range Control Officer for the Barry Buddon Range (EG D604) has confirmed that the range will be active during the period 11 - 12 Sep 09 to a height of 2000ft amsl. In the event that a display participant should require entry into the Range this should be co-ordinated through RAF Leuchars ATC.

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d. RAF Leuchars SATCO is requested to inform any adjacent airfields, not included on the distribution list, of this activity if considered necessary.

RESTRICTIONS 14. The Display Director must take note of the following points regarding the conduct of the display:

a. The dedicated display radio frequency should not be used for anything other than essential emergency messages during an aircraft’s display period. The frequency should not be used for passing administrative messages, regardless of their urgency, until the aircraft captain has acknowledged completion of his display. a. b. Unmanned balloons or kites are not to be flown during the period of any airborne activity. Should a balloon or kite be part of a display then it must be securely tethered and must be on the ground and/or deflated once airborne activity has commenced. Note: This restriction does not apply to small balloons, kites etc on vendors stalls, provided that they are properly secured and are not flown at a height exceeding 10m.

c. Other aircraft are not to penetrate the Red Arrows RA(T) during the display. The airspace must remain sterile until the end of the display.

d. There must be no rotors or propellers turning at the site during the period of the parachute descents. f. In the event that a Police, or emergency services helicopter requires access to the RA(T) this is to be co-ordinated without any delay, if necessary halting the airshow to accommodate the request.

AERONAUTICAL PUBLICATIONS 15. a. AUS will arrange for the issue of NOTAMs to cover this event.

b. The Display Co-ordinator is requested to promulgate this ACN to all participants, other than those on this distribution list, prior to their display as required.

AMENDMENT ACTION 16. Proposed changes to this ACN should be sent by the quickest means to AUS for the attention of AS1 (020 7453 6581) quoting the Activity Number at the top of page 1.

J Gavin Turnbull

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Sqn Ldr For Head of AUS Distribution: (* by e-mail) Action: RAF Leuchars *Airshow Manager (for distribution to RAF Leuchars units and participants)* RAF Leuchars *SATCO, Dundee Airport *SATCO Errol Aerodrome Paragon Skydiving Club RAF Display Crews *as appropriate RAF Boulmer *No 202 Sqn A Flt RAF Brize Norton *RAF Falcons Display Team (please forward to support aircraft captain) RAF Coningsby *OC BBMF RAF Scampton *Red Arrows RNAS Yeovilton *RNHF ScACC (Civ) *ATC Ops ScACC (Mil) *S Ops O* Information: MOD *CAS ASLF RAF Henlow *DFCIT RAF Wittering *LF Ops Sqn NATS AIS *MAISO, Team Leader RAF Syerston *Air Cadet FSO RAF Cranwell *RAF Events Team No 661 VGS *CGI No 662 VGS *CGI Barry Buddon Trg Camp Range Control Officer Edinburgh Airport *Mgr ATS Glenrothes Airfield Mgr ATS Kingsmuir Airfield ATC Manager Perth Airfield *Mgr ATS Portmoak Airfield CFI Scottish Gliding Union Scottish Parachute Club Chief Instructor Skymasters Para Team Chief Instructor

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ATTACHMENT 3 TO PART 12 PART 1 EXAMPLE – AIC FOR A MILITARY AIRSHOW SHOW

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ATTACHMENT 4 TO PART 12 PART EXAMPLE – NOTAM N PROPOSAL FOR A MILITARY AIRSHOW NOTAMN PROPOSAL EGGN A) EGQL B) 0909121301 C) 0909121341 E) Q EGPX/QRTCA////5622N00252W006 RESTRICTED AREA (TEMPORARY) AT RAF LEUCHARS, FIFE FOR A RED ARROWS DISPLAY WI 6NM RADIUS 562228N 0025159W. AREA ESTABLISHED UNDER ARTICLE 96 OF THE ANO 2005 (MIL ACFT SHOULD COMPLY WITH JSP552.201.135.9). AIC M 61/2009 DATED 16 JUL 09 REFERS. AUS 09-09-0095/AS1 F)SFC G)8100FT AMSL

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ATTACHMENT 5 TO PART 12 PART EXAMPLE – NOTAM N RAFAT RA(T) FOR A MILITARY AIRSHOW NOTAMN PROPOSAL EGGN A) EGQL B) 0909110900 C) 0909121600 D) 0900-1600 E) Q EGPX/QRTLW//////5622N 00252W005 RESTRICTED AREA (TEMPORARY) AT LEUCHARS. RESTRICTION OF FLYING REGULATIONS MADE UNDER ARTICLE 96 OF ANO 2005 (MIL ACFT SHOULD COMPLY WITH JSP552 201.135.9). AIC M073/2009 REFERS. NO ACFT IS TO FLY WI CIRCLE RAD 5NM CENTRED AT 562228N 00255159W EXCEPT AUTHORISED BY ATC LEUCHARS. SEE SEPARATE NOTAM FOR RED ARROWS DISPLAY ON 12 SEP. AUS 09-09-0022/AS7 F)SFC G)7000FT AMSL

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PART 1 SECTION 13 – EMERGENCY, MEDICAL AND SECURITY References:

A. JSP 440 Defence Manual of Security Part 7 Section 1 Chapter 6. B. HSG 195 The Event Safety Guide – “The Purple Book”. C. Surgeon Generals Policy Letter 15/06 – Medical Support for Air Shows. D. JSP 551 Vol 3 – Aviation Risk Management. E. JSP 375 Vol 2 Leaflet 57 – Safety at Public Events on MOD Property. F. Civil Contingencies Act 2004.

1.13.1 A comprehensive, integrated and practical emergency plan is essential for any event and the MOD’s Duty of Care responsibilities. In addition, the FDD is responsible for the safe conduct of the display and will require a sensible, robust and practical emergency plan. The scale and extent of the plan will vary but will inevitably fall out of the risk assessment (RA) (see Section 4). At first sight, putting together the emergency plan may appear a daunting and worrying task – do not panic. A sensible and thorough RA will serve to signpost your needs. Follow the requirements and guidance in the above references and above all, consult, communicate and co-opt suitably qualified and experienced personnel in each field to assist. Your strategic planning team should include emergency service and local planning representatives – remember Section 3! 1.13.2 There are four key emergency planning areas and agencies; local authorities (control of public services and traffic), security (police both service and civilian), fire and rescue (DFS and civil) and medical (Defence Medical Services and NHS). For a seaside venue do not forget to include the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the RNLI. Contact agencies early; as a rule of thumb consider 10 months for a large public event and 2-6 months for a special event / unit at home day. 1.13.3 Post Crash Management is considered as a stand alone subject area and is covered at Section 14. The Surgeon Generals policy on airshow support and additional guidance found at Chapter 20 of reference B (The Purple Book – Resource Requirement Tables) are fundamental in determination of required medical cover. 1.13.4 The following checklist is by no means exhaustive and must be used in conjunction with the above references:

• Obtain detailed layout drawings of airfield / site and surrounding areas. Include spotter Campsites and Car Parks. Top tip – have some reserve car parks stood by in case of crowd surge!

• Develop a security plan with detailed drawings. Show all locations clearly. Include; event control / SILVER or BRONZE control, all security posts, displays, medical triage posts, air ambulance HLS, commentator position, CCTV remote units etc.

• Scrutinise any single service or command security instructions for subordinate requirements. Your service police commander can advise. Remember to coordinate with airfield unit manager, MGS and MGPS if on unit strength.

• Consider utility of portable radio equipment by staff, contractors and stall holders. Approvals


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may be required. In addition, public use of air ground transmitter could be a possible issue. Consider back up frequencies.

• Meet and coordinate with local Police, Fire and Rescue, Red Cross, St John Ambulance and any contract medical services (e.g. The Event Medicine Company). Unit crash/fire/rescue (DFS) are key players as is the unit MRS. They will have knowledge of local area NHS hospitals (e.g. the closest burns unit) and specialist rescue units (e.g. diving teams, foam tenders and supplemental fire appliances).

• Subject to event scale it is recommended that SILVER / BRONZE or event control team meet at regular intervals (2-3 hours) to allow agencies to report on and deal with current issues (e.g. traffic back log, minor security incidents, ad hoc BBQs, minor casualties etc). At Home or unit events may only require a single co-ordinating briefing prior to gates open. An “all informed” net is vital to smooth operations, so get the best communications you can. Maintain a detailed event log.

• Obtain a copy of the standing unit emergency/disaster plan and just augment it with your event emergency plan. If you are off base or at a green field site – modify the base plan.

• Circulate your completed emergency plan to all agencies within a reasonable geographic radius that might, in the event of a large-scale disaster, be called upon to assist.

• Arrange for notification of appropriate agencies in the event of an accident. These will include; the AOA, aircraft parent unit (remember you may have NATO and foreign mil aircraft), MOD DSCDO (for UK PCM if required), MAA, CAA & AAIB for civil items.

• Include weather disaster in your planning. Flooding, high winds and storms are likely to cause issues.

• Ensure that there is a policy in place regarding notification of spectators of severe weather forecasts. Travelling public are best alerted by national and local radio – consider a show frequency? Inform AA and RAC – they may be able to assist. Your best possible communications plan and PA system will pay off in the event of a weather issue!

• Arrange for sensible levels of emergency transport. The Purple Book and your plan will determine the scale of ambulances, fire appliances etc. Include emergency triage locations and vehicle access in your plan. Incorporate any helicopters at the show, they can assist in MEDEVAC, even if they can move sitting casualties and walking wounded.

• Plan alternate entrance and exit locations for emergency vehicles in the event primary routes are blocked.

• Make certain an HLS is available at local NHS hospitals. If not, arrange for a nearby site with ambulance transfer to the hospital facilities.

• Arrange for military doctors and medical technicians to be on duty at the show. NHS, Red Cross, St Johns and specialist contractors may be required to supplement unit staff. Consider Mobile Response Teams (MRT) to roam the crowd line.

• Arrange on site triage stations and for signs directing spectators. • Coordinate with Media staff to have triage and security locations published on the site

diagram in the show’s program. • Arrange robust communications between event / SILVER / BRONZE control and all

emergency facilities. • Publish a list of key phone contacts and radio call signs. • Coordinate with all ground staff and teams the locations of emergency vehicle staging areas,

triage stations, etc. • Coordinate ropes, stanchions, barricades and no smoking signs for the aircraft static displays

and other secured areas. • Arrange security for money transfers and deposit runs with the gate ticket sales and stalls. • Coordinate with local authority, Highways Agency, AA, RAC and Police for traffic control.

Police supervised contract traffic management stewards may be used. Negotiate costs, if


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any, and work with finance staff to ensure any contract payment or local authority fees. • Coordinate with your teams to ensure that only authorized personnel are issued passes to

cross crowd- control lines to performing aircraft parking/staging areas; and station security volunteers at strategic points to monitor credentials.

• Work with your teams to compile a list of all personnel authorized to access the site via discreet entrances and the access points each is assigned to use. Post staff or contract security personnel at each access point to check passes.

• Coordinate with visiting UK / NATO military teams and foreign military participants to provide their security and safety requirements. Be wary of any conflicting security protocols that may lead to diplomatic or legal issues in the UK! Check Status of Forces Agreements.

• Review emergency procedures and brief all participating volunteer staff and professional security/safety/emergency personnel of emergency plan, evacuation routes, crash & rescue lane locations; and locations of doctors, triage stations, ambulances, air ambulance and co-opted MEDEVAC aircraft.

• Produce a detailed after-action report to inform next year’s planning.


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PART 1 SECTION 14 – POST CRASH MANAGEMENT Reference:

A. JSP 551 Vol 2 - Post-Crash Management. 1.14.1 A flying accident, aircraft incident, or an incident in the crowd area during the airshow might constitute a disaster. The display organiser needs to produce an emergency plan to detail how it will react to meet a disaster on base, or in the immediate local area. Early and close liaison with local service units and civilian police, fire and ambulance services will be an essential part of this process. The local Emergency Planning Department and NHS Executive Health Emergency Planning Department should also be involved as early as possible. Utilise your local RAF Liaison Officer or other service military liaison officer. 1.14.2 Officers from the local Police, Fire & Rescue and Ambulance Services should be on site during the display and integrated with any service or contracted support to deal with any incident. A Primary Response Team (PRT) under the direction of the designated Incident Officer (MOD IO) should constitute the primary response and aim to achieve the following:

• A quick appreciation that an accident/incident has indeed taken place and an accurate and reasonable assessment of its consequences.

• Effective initial command and control (C2). • Establishment of a transient Incident / Command Post. • Deployment of manpower to: save life, contain damage, cordon the area, control

the crowd, muster survivors and evacuate casualties. • Securing access and egress routes for the Emergency Services. • Effective liaison and working relationship with the civilian emergency services. • Documenting of casualties. • Establishment of BRONZE C2.

1.14.3 Subsequent and follow on C2:

• Overall Control - In the event of an incident involving injury or loss of life, the Senior (civilian) Police Officer on scene should co-ordinate the response, whether the incident occurs on or off base.

• Event Organiser – Has overall responsibility for emergency service liaison. • Display Director – The FDD should ideally delegate control of any aircraft related

incident or accident to the designated IO. Subject to the display orders and type of incident, the FDD may aim to continue with the display or worst case stop all flying, in which case his responsibilities turn to supporting the emergency (e.g. MEDEVAC, FIREBALL – water bucket aircraft).

• MOD Incident Officer – can be appointed to exercise command and control over the personnel of the Primary Response Team (PRT). He may be established at SILVER command, but may deploy to the incident site with good comms. He / she may be a trained PCMIO. If deployed they should liaise with the Senior Police Officer on site.


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• PRT- can be collocated with representatives from the local Fire, Police and Ambulance services in a pre-determined location, together with all the equipment necessary to fulfil its role. Defence Fire Services will normally respond to incidents on site or the immediate vicinity of the event (5nm rule of thumb). With local authority services responding further away (e.g. display aircraft incident in the hold at 10nm). If on site assets are deployed, this may lower crash state thresholds to allow the safe continuation of the display!

1.14.4 Outline Reaction to the Incident:

• Philosophy - The fundamental philosophy is to avoid alarming the public unnecessarily. Leaving aside those directly affected by any incident, it must be recognized that the public potentially represent the most significant obstacle to the swift and successful reaction to an incident. The flying display may continue as a means of diverting the attention of the crowd as the situation is assessed, and it may be prudent to restrict public address announcements referring to the incident. The use of certain emotive words such as ‘crash’ or ‘bomb’ should be avoided and the word ‘incident’ used in all public address, Tannoy or radio broadcasts (event FM?).

• Alerting Procedures - The alerting procedures should be decided in advance and detailed in the emergency plan. Rehearse them in any table top exercise.

• Non Flying Incident - If a serious non-aircraft-related incident occurs during the flying display, the Senior Civilian Police Officer should consult with the Display Director to decide whether the display should continue.

• Civilian Emergency Services Rendezvous Point - for extra civilian resources should be determined. This would be activated by the SILVER Commander

• Emergency Entry and Exit Points -should be identified for use by emergency vehicles in the event of a disaster, and clearly marked on the site plan.

• Emergency Assembly Points - There might be a need to cancel the flying display and move the spectators to an emergency assembly point. These areas should be designated on the station map.

1.14.5 Additional Actions if the Disaster Involves an Aircraft Crash. For reasons of geography and ownership the event organiser may exercise local PCM over the normal 5nm radius. In particular if NATO or foreign military aircraft are involved. Specific actions, depending on whether the crash is on or off the site, will be in accordance with JSP 552 Vol 2 and the Emergency Plan. Additional considerations for on display sites:

• No PA broadcast made unless the FDD considers it necessary to inform the public or to restore public confidence.

• The FDD may cancel the flying display. • Standard broadcast messages should be produced in advance so that time is not

wasted trying to compose a suitable message. • Police should ensure that the access roads to the incident site are open for

emergency vehicles and should act to prohibit the approach of non-emergency vehicles.

• Police should ensure that emergency vehicles are allowed unhindered access through the emergency entry and exit points.

• Police should prohibit the entry of non-emergency vehicles onto the site and clear access and egress routes of pedestrians and vehicles.


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1.14.6 Off Site. The response to an aircraft crash off the site will vary, dependent on the location. No PA broadcast should be made unless the FDD considers it necessary to inform the public or to restore public confidence. The FDD should arrange for subsequent flying displays to be amended or cancelled, as necessary. A decision to continue the flying display can only be made in the knowledge that an emergency response to a second incident would not be impeded by the original incident. PCM SUPPORT 1.14.7 Outline guidance for PCM follow on support:

• Cordon Party. The PRT should react to incidents as directed the IO. Reference A provides detailed orders for the follow on MOD IO, OIC crash guards, crash guards, cordons and control of access and crash sites within the UK, which should be followed at all military aircraft accidents. Relevant extracts from Reference A should be readily available and all cordon personnel should familiarize themselves with it prior to the event.

• SILVER command should trigger follow on support for the incident. UK PCM may be invoked with medium to long term additional assistance found by the regional lead PCM unit.

• Medical Services. Defence Medical Services may provide additional resources to NHS, volunteer or contracted services. See section X.

• Press Facilities – the Media Ops Officer should establish a press briefing facility in a suitable location. No statements should be issued without the express authority of the event organiser or unit / site military commander.

• Service Casualty Reporting – procedures should be in accordance with JSP in consultation the JCCRC

• Mortuary Facilities – a temporary mortuary should be established, together with a receiving and recording cell. A secluded hangar or unit gymnasium would be ideal. Remember that the civil police will have primacy and acting on behalf of the Coroner.

• Relatives Reception – set up a reception area for relatives. Utilise your PR staff, Notification Officer and unit padre / chaplain to assist.

• Good communications are essential in the unlikely event of a disaster. Your communications plan should include a discreet frequency or net for post disaster actions. Exercise your COMPLAN before the event. Note any “dark areas” around the site where communication may be difficult. Utilise MOD mobile phone resources.


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PART 1 ANNEX A – FINANCE ADMINISTRATION 1.A.1 The key to a successful event is the control of resources available for the funding of each operational area. Each task group should estimate its expenses, based on its action plan for operations (e.g. fuel, accommodation, catering and transport) and submit them to the Budget Manager for incorporation into the event cost plan. In the main unit or station at home days are not designed for income generation, but must remain within approved budgetary bounds. On the other hand, larger scale charitable events (e.g. RIAT and the International Airshows) are required to generate income to be a “profitable air show”. 1.A.2 It is your responsibility to stay within budget. If it becomes necessary to exceed the budget in any area, approval must first be obtained from the Budget Manager and Command Finance Staff. The following areas are offered for guidance:

• Establish strategic cost centres (expense categories based on task areas) by thoroughly researching and identifying all costs historically associated with and/or anticipated for each area of event operations. Good examples of “centres” will be fuel, catering, insurances and accommodation.

• Meet regularly to review budget progress and review with your strategic and tactical teams all details of cost centre estimates to determine areas of concern or error. Back brief unit chain of command!

• Make every effort to budget for worst-case scenario (e.g. project costs higher than expected and revenues lower than anticipated).

• Establish GPC, credit account, cheque -signing procedures and authorised signatories. • If required, develop special event forms, fuel vouchers, bookkeeping policies, procedures

and records, banking and accounting arrangements. Unit Service Fund Accountant (SFA) and Admin Support staff will hold all regulation and command instructions on these aspects. They will normally open a event specific ledger account and appointment an auditor to scrutinise and advise on your financial activity.

• Coordinate the purchasing functions of the teams to insure that the best prices are obtained and to avoid duplication.

• Begin early planning for methods to be used in collecting, handling, counting and depositing cash / monies at the event. Include the security of all cash receipts.

• Establish methods for paying performers and vendors who require payment during or before the end of the event.

• Arrange for the handling and accounting of cash or credit payments on short notice during the event and out of hours.

• Arrange for deposit or credit of monies from advance sale ticket outlets. • Anticipate all requirements to have change floats available for ticket booths, gate sales, and

any concession stands. • Arrange admission gate layout and gate admission procedures and operations. • Devise a system for seller accountability and cash to bank in gate ticketing operations. • Arrange for radio and telephone communications between gates and central collection. • Arrange for secure, cash pick-up (designated personnel and / or coded system) and

transportation of funds to central bank. • Brief and train staff and sellers in money changing and credit card transactions. Only trained


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people can effect correct transactions under the stress of handling large numbers of people in a short time. This aspect is vital to minimise loss on the day.

• Arrange reporting and “action on” procedures in the event of theft or robbery in all security and emergency plans. Coordinate these actions with service, civil police and/or contract security staff.

• Make certain that relevant theft / money loss insurance is in place. • Report daily gate revenues and estimates of public attendance. (Whether this is a public or

special event requirement is determined by the event organiser) • For continuity, pass along financial records and recommendations to the following year’s

organiser, preferably in the form of a post event report. • Prepare statement of accounts with the SFA after the event to report final profitability or loss.


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PART 1 ANNEX B - ACCOMMODATION 1.B.1 Accommodation is an important part of your event, particularly for the participants, civil teams, NATO military single-ship performers and VIPs. Obtain the best possible accommodation for them; the additional investment will pay dividends when it comes time to consider a return visit to your event in subsequent years. 1.B.2 Task one person from your strategic or tactical planning team to book accommodation and to contract with the lodging providers. Unit Messing or Admin personnel are generally the SMEs in this area. Key factors to consider are;

• Reserve a block of rooms up to a year in advance, depending on local availability. Some events utilise University or College rooms that are vacant during academic recess periods.

• Base initial reservation on your maximum requirements. Easier to down size than to have a short fall nearer to the display time.

• At initial booking, meet with facility management to negotiate special requirements. Document all agreements in writing.

• Agree on “chain of command” issues with your accommodation contacts. Who in your team has the authority to make changes, incur expenses, make reservations, etc.

• Determine last date and time for cancellations without financial penalty. • Determine procedure to guarantee late arrivals. • Determine availability reserved parking if required. • Determine special requirements like meeting or hospitality rooms or special

dining room hours. • Set hours/terms of service for any event-provided hospitality room under a

separate contract. Set hours in the contract. Include sponsored hospitality rooms. • Determine methods of payment. Consider mechanisms where the event pays

room charges less participant’s personal expenses or prepays for room charges only; or you issue each participant vouchers on arrival to cover room and non-sponsored meals.

• Check in method? Keys at show registration on arrival or exclusive / standard check-in facility.

• If you plan to ask the hotel or facility to deliver messages, keys, hire car keys, or other information about the event to the participant on check in, make sure that staff have, the correct information and material that they are distributing on your behalf, available when your guests arrive.

• Update facility management regularly as performers and guests are confirmed. • Determine a process for early or late arrivals. • If appropriate, arrange for placement of welcome gifts in designated rooms. • Where there is a nearby military unit, contact the HQ Admin or Mess staff. They

may be able to provide rooms for military participants at substantial savings for the event.

• Negotiate use of hotel transport for participants when desirable (i.e. to/from your post show parties or briefings).


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PART 1 ANNEX C – MEDIA OPERATIONS References: A. JSP 512 Defence Media Handling. B. 2008DIN03-020 Contact with the Media and Communicating in Public. 1.C.1 Unit or station “at home” days are relatively straight forward events for media ops, where flyers, orders and the wives club “jungle drums” will usually suffice. However, if you have been tasked with organising a larger scale public display, then strong public relations and advertisement effort will certainly be required. Good communication and manipulation of media and press is the most effective tool for ensuring that the general public knows about the event. You are aiming for maximum attendance, so a few adverts and sound bites on the radio, it will be easy? But effective and easy rarely comes your way as an organiser. A lot of planning and hard work is required. So, make best use of all the free media and assistance you can get and walk into your PR effort cognisant that it’s difficult, time-consuming work. 1.C.2 Unit Media Ops and PR personnel are your primary targets to undertake this strategic task. They can liaise with higher formation, single service PR and Defence Media and should have the training and expertise to tackle the following key areas;

• Prepare periodic releases and provide to local/regional radio, TV and newspapers. • Determine who on the news staff of each local media will be assigned to cover your event

and begin liaison with that individual on a regular, relationship-building basis. • Advise all media and assist in preparation of special story opportunities. Negotiate

“exclusives” as appropriate. • Work early with area magazines on cover and story ideas that promote your event. • Notify all calendars of events in magazines and trade publications of dates/location/ticket

prices at least six months in advance of your event. Update regularly. • Submit public service announcement copy to all media, tailored to their particular format and

audience. • Obtain current participant media, press kits. In particular formation teams, unique historic

items and high profile displays. • Provide information packs on participants to media, both before and during the event. • Arrange for press days (see below) and on-site interviews well in advance of performer

arrivals. Provide performers with interview schedule upon arrival. • Arrange for on-site interviews well in advance of display crew arrivals. Provide participants

with interview and press day display schedule upon arrival. • Arrange in advance for media coverage of display crews visits to local hospitals, schools etc.

National display teams are good for this! • Plan on-site media facility and coordinate location and special needs with appropriate task

group. Facility should feature telephones, internet access (if possible) and offer a private lounge/viewing area if possible.

• Distribute media security credentials for access to the site and into the media facility all show days including the press day (practice) show.

• Provide for media briefings, interviews, and photo-taking sessions when participants arrive and during the display.


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• Coordinate media presence at social events social hours for participants, VIPs and air show personnel when appropriate.

• Coordinate with unit chain of command a plan to handle media inquiries in the event of an incident or accident. (It is strongly recommended that PCMIO and Defence Media Ops Centre (DMOC) trained media staff have authority to make statements or give interviews should an accident or incident occur. See media question guide below and Section 14 – PCM)

• During the show, survey the public for preferences in display items and for demographic and market information. Use Command PR staff for this.

• Provide a media / photographic service for performers attending your event. • Compile scrapbook and after-action report for use by next year’s organiser. • Develop media pack for public who mail, or telephone, web request for tickets and

information as result of your good advertisement – see below! • Develop information packs for performers, to include such items as maps of the area,

accommodation arrangements, transportation plans, schedules, parties, local points of interest, scenic and historic sites and scheduled performer briefings. Ask the local Chamber of Commerce for assistance.

• Coordinate military recruiting involvement and make sure an area is set aside for service stands at the event.

• Develop a list of “key” local media and fax them story ideas, “fun facts,” and last minute information the week before the show to encourage additional editorial coverage for the show.

ADVERTISEMENT 1.C.3 If your mission is a public display then strong attendance is the key to success and will depend directly on the effectiveness of your advertising campaign. You may elect to constitute a task team for both PR and advertisement. We have separated them in this handbook to help your teams develop a concentrated and effective effort in each area. Good coordination between the two teams is essential.

• If appropriate, review the previous year’s advertising successes or failures. • Analyze costs and benefits of media available: radio, television, and newspapers, trade

magazines, posters and brochures. • Determine costs of anticipated advertising expenses. • Prepare timeline for ad campaign preparation and execution. • Determine event theme and overall design style. • Arrange for design and production of posters, bumper stickers, street banners, billboards,

flyers. Your unit graphics and photographic section can assist. • Pre-arrange sites and methods for distribution of posters, flyers, etc. Local pubs, shopping

centres, public libraries etc. • Find out what materials participants have available and incorporate them into your campaign. • Coordinate the location of pre-sale outlets with the advance ticket sale team to incorporate

these locations into your advertising program. • Obtain quotes and closing dates for advertising placement. Investigate non-profit rates, trade

outs and other opportunities to maximize exposure while minimizing expense. • Determine who can sign contracts for actual advertising space, times, dates. • Prepare advertising copy/artwork for newspapers and magazines, and audio/video

respectively for radio and TV spots. • Monitor effectiveness of advertising on pre-sales and public response. Web site hits?


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• Prepare after-events reports for use by next year’s chairperson. • Target local radio, television and news papers for event promotions and cross-promotions

with sponsors. • Contact local companies to see if they will include inserts for your show in their regularly

scheduled mailings. PRESS DAYS 1.C.4 Prior to the event you will have devoted a great deal of time and effort to the media for promotion and publicity. Just prior to public day itself, it’s worth considering a final media attack on the public in the form of a Press Day. This also enables your media contacts the chance for more intimate opportunity to engage with the display crews and provide a last minute surge in covering the event. 1.C.5 A carefully planned press day is probably the single most dependable tool available to event organisers for producing strong, positive, memorable media coverage. More astute event organisers have discovered that, when properly conceived and executed, press days can produce more spectators and increased ticket revenue. Sadly the opportunities presented by press days are lost in the face of more pressing operational concerns, a shortage of PR staff or poor planning. Is this just another day of hassle prior to the public days? With 60,000 people about to descend on the unit, who can be bothered with hosting a bunch of television, radio and newspaper reporters? 1.C.6 Waste of effort? Press days can have useful by products; combine it with flying rehearsals to offer photo and filming opportunities. Invite schools and colleges along on the same day to engage with service PR and more importantly service recruiting staff! Use the press as VIPs to prove your car parking, hosting, PA and catering systems - iron out any faults or flaws! In addition, a little hospitality can pay huge dividends in transmission time just before your big day. 1.C.7 If a press day is one of your strategic targets, the following areas are offered for consideration:

• Select some key participants to engage with the press. Does the participant have a reputation for pursuing media coverage? Does the display have something new or different that will capture the imagination of the press. Use PR staff to direct personnel on what or what to say or include in any interview.

• Who do you invite? Radio, television and newspaper? Local or national? For the event organiser, this means judgement calls. Which radio stations are worth inviting? Which television news reporter is most important to secure? The ultimate goal is saturation coverage in the event target area.

• Remain focused. Reporters today are busy. Get their attention with that unique something – a close up and personal air display, meet the worlds best display pilots and free lunch. That may mean multiple calls to the same newspaper or station before finding the right person for a ride or repeated reminder calls.

• Use legitimate and “real” reporters. As much as the local paper’s advertising manager or the junior accountant at the local radio station might like to attend a free lunch they are not appropriate and can do little to generate coverage. What you want is strong, positive media coverage and only a reporter can deliver this.

• Know the media. Read it. Watch it. Listen to it. Know the tastes, interests and


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styles of the reporters you’ll be meeting, so that you’ll be better equipped to pitch them a story. Understand the differences between print, radio and television and how those differences will translate on the press day. This is bread and butter for your Media Ops team.

• Recognize the value and importance of the coverage you receive. Next time your event is considering what kind of resources it should allocate to PR and advertising and, more specifically, arranging the press day, consider this: a half-page advert in a national paper will run to tens of thousands of pounds. A local paper in the hundreds – if you are lucky! But, with strategic use of a press day you can get a photo and story on the front page of a regional paper for nothing! Similarly, a short commercial on your local radio station will set you back a couple of grand. But, with lots of phone calls, professional planning, and the right combination of display pilot and reporter, it is not uncommon for a station to devote two and a half to three minutes on a press day interview taken by one of its reporters. But it’s not just the air time or print space. News coverage is an implicit endorsement. It’s a clear statement by your community’s news organizations that your show is newsworthy, that it’s an important community event. That’s publicity and prestige that the MOD cannot buy at any price. So consider, plan and execute your press day, with a clear focus. A good press day is good public relations with lucrative rewards for those who do it well.

• Start early. Experienced air show organisers know that optimum press coverage is generated on Wednesday and Thursday, not Friday and Saturday. Are there admin burdens and additional problems associated with holding a press day on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before your show opens? Highly likely. But experience shows that early media flights translate directly to stronger pre-show coverage.

• Construct a Media Plan. It’s not enough to put display pilots and reporters on the apron together and wait for them to sort things out. Experienced event organisers will start building their press day schedules a full month in advance of the event, calling the performers and finding out when they’ll be arriving and how many interviews they can give each day. Use that information to develop the schedule, filling in the names of the participants versus contacts within the various members of the media. A full week before the event, participants offering interviews should have a programme of whom and when they need to meet. The list should be updated regularly. And pilots should be informed of all changes to the schedule. If a reporter cancels, find somebody else for the interview. Keep the schedule full, current and well distributed.

• Make it interesting and think creatively. Ultimately, this is the most important thing about a press day. Don’t lose sight of that. The press are expecting to be engaged, be interested, entertained and have fun, so do everything you can to make sure they do. For some, that will mean a deep and meaningful interview with a foreign display pilot, a sit in a high tech cockpit or a sedate aging aircraft flypast. For others, full-blown aerobatics with reheat may be what they’re expecting and looking forward to. Construct your rehearsal programme to suit!

• Remember: everybody involved wants the same thing…an interesting story that creates positive press for the upcoming the event. The reporter you invite to your press day may have covered local council elections yesterday and may cover a bad RTA tomorrow, but he’s got different expectations of his story on the display. They are trying to create community awareness. He’s trying to let his readers know that there is a jaw dropping air show in town and that it is a good place to


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come and have a good time. In effect, he’s trying to do the same thing that you’re trying to do.

PRESS AT THE EVENT 1.C.8 Inform media, in advance, that they can expect special accommodation at the display. Provide passes in advance or provide an admission ticket and instructions for accessing a press reserved location to obtain passes on site. Be savvy and tactically place your media, good post event media is as important as the build up. Consider establishment of a central and exclusive media work area that incorporates the following:

• Volunteer personnel or PR team staff to host and inform the media. • Ensure that only media and other authorized personnel enter the press area.

This must be a focus for the working media and not a viewing area for families and children!

• Can you provision; internet access and telephone communications, photo copy machine, FAX machine, paper products and miscellaneous standard office supplies?

• Ensure you have participant resumes or media packs and aircraft data. • PR releases and event overview. • List of event key staff and VIPs – consider a short interview? • Air show programs for each media representative attending. • Tables, chairs, marquee, coffee, soft drinks, lunch. • Photo, filming locations and highlight any security issues with aircraft! • Airfield / unit layout and site diagram. • Media platform, particularly for video and photo journalists (i.e. scissor lift,

scaffolding, Tower balcony access). • Interview area or meet the crew location. • Written procedures for an emergency situation – on side and well briefed

media will be a huge plus in the unlikely event of! • Clear instructions as to where the media may and may not go. Escorted if

necessary. MEDIA IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT / INCIDENT AT YOUR EVENT 1.C.9 An accident at your event will become a newsworthy item and you can expect to hear from the media very quickly. How you handle or work with the media will have more impact on coverage of the accident than the accident itself. You should only designate a media ops trained spokesperson to deal with the media in the event of a disaster. Ideally the Unit Press Officer who should contact the Defence Press Office as soon as possible – 0207 218 7907. 1.C.10 You must ensure that a consistent and accurate message comes from the unit command and / or organiser and it is important to establish a strong and honest relationship with the media.


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1.C.11 The following are some basic rules in dealing with the media:

• Protect Sensitive Information – That does not mean just classified information but also media sensitive information. Your crash may just be the foreign military developmental fighter at your display. It may have political implications. Pass or bridge the subject.

• Never speak ‘Off the Record’ – You will hear terms like, ‘Off the Record’, ‘Un-attributable Background Brief’, ‘Chatham House Rules’ etc. Don’t be confused. Assume that nothing is off the record and anything you say may be used.

• Only talk at your own level – You are only in a position to talk about what you are responsible for and what you are doing right now. Anything else is not your responsibility.

• Never Speculate – Journalists are masters at encouraging you to ‘guess’ what might be the cause of the accident or what is happening at the off base crash site down the road. They will then use your statement as fact and force other people to ‘give ground’ as they defend your inaccurate guesses. Don’t do it.

• Never Lie – Sometimes when faced by the media you may be tempted to take the ‘line of least resistance’ and be inaccurate. Don’t do it. Being caught in a lie will damage you personally and damage the military. We are generally trusted by the media to tell the truth and that gives us a big advantage. We don’t have to waste time arguing our case over simple things. If you lie you damage that privileged starting position.

• Protect Casualties – Remember, never name the dead until their next of kin have been informed and never name the wounded or injured at all. Don’t identify their unit either or we will have families worried. In display flying this may be difficult, as teams and pilots are well known. Don’t forget the other casualties to protect. For example a young display pilot who has just crashed and injured a member of the public may not be in a fit state to talk to the media. Protect him and the identity of his family.

1.C.12 Below are a few possible answers to common post accident questions. Answers will depend on the specific circumstances of your accident, but it’s worth time and effort with your PR / media staff, brainstorming likely scenarios and your likely answers to the media: Q. Why are there so many accidents at air shows?

A. Any fatal accident is a tragedy and this accident is no exception, but the fact is that air show accidents are relatively infrequent. Because they are often dramatic and are nearly always captured on various media, put onto TV and the web very quickly, the incidents receive widespread publicity.

Q. Isn't it just a matter of time before somebody from the audience is involved in an air show accident?

A. No. Because of the very stringent regulations in place in the UK it is highly unlikely that spectators will ever be involved in an air show aircraft accident. Since current regulations were put into effect in 1953, there has never been a spectator fatality in an UK air show. A safety record that is exemplary to


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all other spectator sports. Q. What safeguards are in place to protect spectators?

A. Spectator safety at air shows depend on four elements of a very effective safety program: • First, every military pilot performing a display is evaluated by experts and

approved by his/her commander. • Second, display crews are prohibited from executing manoeuvres that direct

their aircraft toward the crowd or car park areas in which spectators are sitting. In addition, flight over or near the crowd is very strictly controlled and limited to straight and level flight.

• Third, the military aviation authorities strictly enforce minimum distances and

heights that have been developed to ensure that, in the event of an accident, pieces of the aircraft will not end up in the spectator area.

• Finally, there is a virtual envelope in which all aerobatics must be flown.

Regulations restrict personnel from being in that box. If that airspace envelope falls on top of a road, then the road must be closed during the air show. Equally any building underneath the envelope must be vacated during the show

Q. Shouldn't the military do something to stop pilots from killing themselves? A. There are a very strict range of regulations and mechanisms in place to ensure that our display pilots are trained, qualified and competent to display in front of the public. But despite these rules and the huge attention paid to safety, accidents sometimes happen. Accidents happen in Formula 1 motor racing, horse racing, football games and accidents happen at air displays. Our pilots understand the inherent risks of display flying and I can assure you that they and their commanders do everything they can to minimise that danger. Q. Why did the crash/fire/rescue personnel take so long to respond?

A. (This will depend on whether or not Fire and Rescue did take a long time to respond.) In any accident situation, even road traffic incidents, it's not unusual for people to perceive the emergency services response time as being longer than it actually was. However based on information I have from our Incident Control team, it appears that the emergency response was timely and professional. Q. Was there anything that event organiser could have done differently to avoid this accident? A. Before each show we review and exercise our safety procedures and our emergency plan and make adjustments, additions and changes. Following this accident, there will be a detailed Service Inquiry which will review that process


again. Based upon information that I have from Incident Control, I see no reason to change our emergency plans. Our systems and staff appear to have performed exactly as they were supposed to perform.

Q. Why did the organisers decide to carry on with the show? Or why did show organisers decide to cancel the rest of the display?

A. Unit commanders and organisers met immediately following the accident and, as part of our safety plan process. The advantages and disadvantages of continuing the event were subject to detailed consultation with military and civil regulatory officials, event key staff and the display crews. The unit commander made a decision to go ahead with (or cancel) the remainder of the show. The decision on whether or not to display laid with the individual pilots, along with the commanders and display organisers assurances recognising this as a personal decision that to be made by each individual crew. Q. How many display accidents are there each year? A. As you would expect, this varies around the world. Each year, in the UK there are approximately 60 -70 air displays and a significant number of minor flypasts and smaller charity events. At those shows, military pilots can fly up to 100 individual performances. A very, very small number experience some sort of problem and that may be of a technical nature. Historically, the air display industry can experience one or two accidents per year. Q. What government organisations are responsible for air show regulation? A. The Military Aviation Authority develops and enforces display regulations in concert with the operational commanders of the participating aircraft, Navy, Army or Air Force. The Civil Aviation Authority has responsibility for all civil events and civil display pilots. Add as required - The (MAA/ CAA) had inspectors on-site today to monitor activity. Q. Will you hold the event again next year? A. It's too early to answer that question. This unfortunate incident will be subject to a thorough inquiry to determine the cause and we will have to wait for the findings. However, in parallel to this, Military commanders and event management will be meeting on a number of issues during the coming days and weeks. I am sure the future of the show will be discussed.

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PART 1 ANNEX D – SOUVENIR PROGRAMS 1.D.1 Nearly all air shows produce some type of event program. They can range from a simple booklet to a high end glossy magazine and are usually sold as souvenirs. They contain; photos and articles about featured military and civilian participants and their aircraft, information about and/or diagrams showing the locations of important facilities and spectator services. 1.D.2 Most programs include information about the sponsoring organization, the unit or show site and governmental agencies and staff involved. Programs are often used to recognize sponsoring businesses that help underwrite show expenses. Your command finance staff must be informed if you are going to engage is sponsorship. 1.D.3 A colourful, informative and professionally-produced souvenir program can be a significant income source for the event. There are two primary methods for production, funded by local MOD resources (e.g. Graphics / Photo Section) or by the sale of advertising to local business. One is for the unit to assume all production, advertising sales and publication responsibilities. The second is to contract with an independent publisher. record. LOCAL PRODUCTION 1.D.4 This option can generate additional funds for the event if advertising income exceeds production expense. It also allows maximum control over design and content with your Media Ops and Graphics Departments. Equally, this option involves financial risk: if sales income does not cover production costs, you may be forced to produce at a deficit or go cap in hand to higher command to write off the costs! This option also involves a great deal of time, effort and expertise.

• Establish costs of printing and type of program desired (number of pages, colour versus black and white, type of paper, size). Graphics section will have the expertise to guide you.

• Establish the selling price of program. If advertising is paying publication costs, base selling price on expense and revenue projections.

• Project revenue from advertising sales. Most shows plan for advertising sales to cover or exceed production costs.

• Project revenue from program sales to spectators, drawing on past experiences at your show or past experiences of events with similar scale to yours.

• Plan advertising sales strategy and appoint personnel to solicit advertising well in advance of show date (four to six months).

• Set a firm deadline for receipt of all advertising and editorial copy. • Coordinate with static display, flying events, grounds and facilities and other

appropriate task teams to obtain key photographs and information in time for editorial deadline.

• Request participant media packs for biographies and photos. • Prepare sponsors page(s) to recognize support. • Plan for last-minute inclusion of show-site diagram, possibly as an insert.


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• Consult with MOD or Command printers for (1) typesetting; (2) design and layout; (3) colour separations; and (4) printing/binding.

• Specify delivery location(s) and date(s). • Require final approval at all stages of production. Proof carefully, including

advertising. CONTRACT PRODUCTION 1.D.5 This method allows a contractor to deliver a finished, professional program to you at no cost. The publisher covers expenses and generates a profit through advertising sales. Properly contracted and supervised, this method can guarantee a program without financial risk to you. And it requires significantly less time and effort. Contracts must be structured to allow as much control as possible and must be undertaken by your Command Finance staff. The risk lies in selection of a reputable firm or individual with a proven track record in the field.

• Develop a contract specification that clearly outlines your objectives and defines the areas of design, editorial, research and production responsibilities for both publisher and air show.

• Determine the firms or professional individuals within reasonable geographic area which are capable of fulfilling the contract.

• Devise a tender and invitation with specifications a minimum of six months in advance of your event.

• Carefully review each proposal. Check references and sample materials. Meet with each likely bidder to explore their responsiveness to your requirements, their flexibility, and their genuine interest in the project.

• Develop a contract that: incorporates the original specifications plus the results of any subsequent negotiations and changes, details division of responsibility/labour, includes a delivery deadline, establishes ownership and clearly states it is the publisher’s responsibility to meet the specifications whether or not the publisher’s advertising sales goals are met.

• Develop a production timetable (specify in your contract that this is the publisher’s initial responsibility); a list of planned editorial content; and a clear chain of responsibility. Use your media team and / of staff.

• Provide input and access to photo and materials sources, proof and give approvals at each stage of pre-production.

• Stick to the timetable and require the publisher to do the same. • Establish delivery dates, delivery locations, and method of delivery.

SALES ON THE DAY 1.D.6 Coordinate your program sales with your strategic and tactical task teams. Key considerations are;

• Locations: gate ticket sales areas, VIPs enclosures, show grounds and facilities, merchandising and catering locations.

• Arrange for method of program sales prior to the event and to spectators during the show. Roving sales people or specific program sales booths may be used.

• Put a sales trained team together. Provide communications, cash & change bags and other aids to facilitate the on-site sales operation.


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• Coordinate with task teams if complimentary programs are to be provided to performers, participants, VIPs, media, etc.

• A raffle or draw can boost sales. For example, numbered program or insert slip could win a prize.

• If a raffle or prizes are associated with the program, check with finance staff regarding any regulations or legal aspects.


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PART 1 ANNEX E – SPONSORSHIP Reference: A. JSP 462 Chapter 25. 1.E.1 Unless you are familiar with the mechanics of sponsorship it can be a difficult task area and will require expert advice from service / command finance (wider markets) staff, as contracts and financial agreements will be involved. Unless the event (normally a large scale public display) is dependant upon sponsors to help underwrite its expenses, minimise the use of this medium. That said, for your smaller unit event, local sponsors can provide a variety of services at no cost as well as financial contributions. Your unit personnel are usually active in the community and local businesses are avenues to sponsorship, donations or prizes. The open day and / or families day is generally perceived as a credible event – so take advantage of it. 1.E.2 Consider the following three areas when planning your sponsorship efforts:

• Target companies that offer products or services you would normally buy and encourage “in-kind” trades for as many of your event expenses as possible. Companies that have a retail or corporate customer base in your community can be interested in contributing financially in exchange for on-site sales, recognition and/or “chalets” in which they can entertain or thank their customers. For example, outdoor clothing manufacturers, car dealers, car hire, retail outlets, and insurance companies all have longstanding links with military communities and are obvious target areas.

• Some companies may simply want their names associated with your event. • Contracting with sponsored performers can enhance your marketing efforts.

Military and civil teams all have high profile sponsors who may contribute to your event.

1.E.3 What follows is a checklist for sponsorship marketing, but read reference A and contact your wider markets staff first .

• Create a theme that defines the desired image of your event i.e. family fun, community social, vintage aircraft fly in, meet the unit, commemoration event.

• Determine your key market and focus your marketing/advertising expenditures and message on them.

• Select mediums and media to communicate with your key markets. • Set attainable sales goals and plan a realistic sales strategy. • Prepare a marketing case that is; concise, clearly states benefits for the

sponsor, details the plan to deliver the benefits and sets the price. • Prepare your presentation carefully. Dress for your presentation: it’s an

important first impression. Your confidence is communicable. You may have only minutes to make an impression: poor preparation will lose you that key sponsor!

• Back the promised benefits with measurable statistics like attendance history,


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spectator demographics, media exposure, poster and brochure distribution; and any other form of sponsor exposure such as t-shirt or hat imprinting, courtesy car acknowledgement signs, etc.

• Develop a sponsorship contract that can be easily modified for each sponsor. Wider markets staff should review the standard contract for accuracy.

• Make your benefits package unique. Companies get hundreds of proposals each year. Know your competition and use a combination of fact and imagination to attract the sponsor. Know the company’s goals and its contribution history.

• Identify the decision-maker and make your sales call on the person who can commit the company.

• Document your efforts and successes. They are great future sales tools. Photos, news clips, video footage, aerials of the crowd and survey results tell your story better than words.

SPONSOR CHALETS 1.E.4 Private entertainment chalets are a traditional way to recognize corporate sponsors as well as provide additional income for your event. Their marketing can be a good test for your organisation team, and can be vital to the show’s overall financial success. Considerations for private purchase chalets:

• Determine the number and size of special viewing areas your site can accommodate while leaving good flight-line viewing areas for the general public.

• Determine costs and availability of tents, flooring, carpeting, temporary landscaping, fencing, signage, catering, chairs, umbrellas and tables.

• Set costs on facilities offering varying degrees of amenities. • Prepare an information sales piece for distribution to prospective clients. • Have catering information available for a range of menus. • Develop a marketing strategy and team sales approach. • Prepare detailed diagrams of each chalet’s layout and maintain a detailed list of

each chalet holder’s special requirements. • Provide adequate sanitary facilities for each tent/chalet. • Plan for daily clean-up crews and equipment. • Arrange with your communications team for PA. • Arrange to have souvenir programs available for purchase in these areas. • Arrange special parking and transport to and from these areas or place signage

adequate to allow guests to find their way. • Mail passes or tickets well in advance so that chalet holders have plenty of time

to distribute them to their guests. 1.E.5 A sponsor’s chalet is often used to thank and entertain event sponsors and other VIPs. Additional considerations for sponsor chalets:

• Determine sponsor eligibility. • Get the finance team to develop a sponsor chalet budget. This area should be

consummate in order to attain maximum effect. • Determine number of admissions for different levels of sponsorship activity. • Set policy governing additional admissions for event sponsors.


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• Determine who will have admission and status - unauthorized entry could be disastrous. Overcrowding is a liability: sponsors have paid generously for the luxury of privacy and privilege of your hospitality.

• Have delegated staff close at hand to solve problems.


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PART 1 ANNEX F - TRANSPORT Reference:

A. JSP 800 Volume 5. 1.F.1 Transport will be critical to the event as key staff, display crews and support personnel will need to be in place on time. Where possible obtain command clearance to use service means as it is local and planning is straight forward. However, unit resources are likely to be sparse. Your transport plan for either, a special event or a full public display, are likely to be centred upon utility of contracted or hired / self drive transport or a mix of both. 1.F.2 Economy of effort is your aim, so your strategic and tactical planning teams must have all event information readily available. This includes; layout maps indicating entrances, exits and parking areas; routes to accommodation, social functions and visit sites (e.g. radio stations and schools), information on car hire agencies and bus schedules. Tourist associations, local authorities and Graphics Sections can supply or produce area maps. The transport team must work closely with the accommodation team to coordinate individual arrival and departure times and any special vehicle requirements. 1.F.3 The following considerations are highlighted:

• If using hired in buses or coaches, get quotations early from charter companies. Confirm arrangements by written contract. Publish routes, schedules and locations of stops for distribution to staff, drivers and passengers. Assign staff as necessary and monitor the service regularly throughout the event.

• Working closely with the accommodation team, estimate vehicle requirements as early as possible (six months in advance is not too early). Refine requirements downstream.

• Arrange for hire and courtesy cars from dealers. Negotiate for complimentary vehicles or a special forces rates - consider sponsorship status. Shop for best group rates. Investigate insurance coverage provided and determine need for any liability cover

• Determine early whether dealers will shuttle vehicles to the events distribution point or whether a staff pick-up and return method is required. Ensure that staff drivers meet licensing requirements and dealer’s driver age requirements- don’t forget to shuttle the staff to/from the venue!

• Establish a central distribution point with staff to issue vehicles and brief drivers. • Prepare vehicle allocation matrix. • Use unit fuel for white NC / green vehicles. Arrange credit for refuelling of hire and air show

operational vehicles at a nearby, convenient location. • Explain refuelling procedures to each hire car recipient. Issue chit or other identification that

will authorize credit on the air show’s account. • Clearly explain hire car charges and insurance requirements to drivers as appropriate. • Brief each driver of their responsibility to return the vehicle and keys at a specified time to a

specified location, and to maintain it in good condition. Dealers will be more willing to participate as sponsors of complimentary vehicles if cars are returned in good condition.

• Check that each driver who receives a hire vehicle has proper insurance and licence. If


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foreign participants are expected, bus or chauffeur service may be required. • Provide each driver with contact phone numbers where the transport team can be reached in

case of breakdown or emergency. Work out a simple but robust car pass scheme – vital if the right people are to get to the right location at the right time.

• Prepare checklist of all cars returned. Check for damage. Arrange for cleaning and refuelling of each vehicle prior to its return.

• It is vital to cater for vehicles of military demonstration teams upon their arrival. Check the team support manual for exact numbers and types of vehicles and requirements.

• If helicopters are to be used for VIP transport, liaise with the flight operations manager, FDD, ATC and VASS team to arrange for safe and efficient operations.


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PART 1 ANNEX G - COMMERCIAL TRADERS AND STALLS Reference: A. HSG 195 The Event Planning Guide – The Purple Book Chapter 13. B. JSP 375. 1.G.1 If you are tasked with a full blown public event stalls and traders will be a major task area. Special events are less demanding in scale but the organisational principles remain. Set up a strategic task team who will be responsible for planning and organizing commercial exhibits (booths and aircraft) inside hangars and outside on the apron. It should also be responsible for security and safety of all commercial aircraft and booth displays before, during and after the show – see Section 13. This group must work closely with the aircraft parking, exhibits, facilities, and security teams. 1.G.2 Considerations;

• Negotiate the use of hangar areas with sub units, engineering sections or contract hangar owners as appropriate. Consider utility of taxiway, apron or grassed areas for tented stalls.

• Arrange for cleaning and preparation of any display or stall (in particular catering) areas.

• Arrange for booth dividers, curtains, carpeting (where necessary), lighting, telephones and power for the displays or stalls.

• Note any HMRC requirements if you invite foreign sales! • Arrange for forklift and moving equipment to off load exhibits or displays. • Plan the stalls and ramp space layouts, and distribute copies to all concerned

parties. • Arrange for exhibitor / stall owner passes and badges and send well in advance

of the display dates. Include detailed instructions on display set-up and set-up times, display regulations, special parking areas, electrical requirements, and exhibit removal at conclusion of the event.

• Arrange for manpower to assist exhibitors in setting up booths, one to three days prior to the show (large scale event). Generally, most will stall holder will be self set up.

• Arrange security patrols. • COSHH & HSAW - Check regulations and use your unit HSW representative.

Check on any use of flammable materials or liquids and warn stall holder immediately. Require that gas tanks of vehicles on indoor display be purged.

• Arrange for daily refuse and FOD pick-up. • Arrange for and post signage with information on the opening and closing times

of public access doors. • Advise exhibitors of parking areas for their vehicles, lavatories, amenities and

media facilities. • Have a good supply of mine tape, piquet’s and rope available. • Have all pertinent HSW signs available (e.g. “No Smoking near Aircraft,” etc.) • Have trash receptacles available in good numbers.



• Keep access clear to fire extinguishers, axes, hose outlets, stairways and exits. Review fire procedures with DFS / Unit Fire Officer and make sure exhibitors have written information.

• Arrange with service and local police for occasional foot patrols around displays and ramp area.

• Make daily contact with exhibitors to discuss with them possible complaints, special requirements and suggestions. Keep notes.

• Arrange for final cleanup and unpaid display fee collection prior to departure of exhibitors.

• Work with marketing, Media Ops and PR staff to coordinate invitations to prospective buyers of aircraft and components or of other displayed materials in your area.

• Most commercial displays and stalls will have electrical requirements. If electrical feed or service is not available, make sure that all portable electrical generating equipment is appropriately grounded and compliant with safety / building codes.



PART 1 ANNEX H – CATERING Reference: A. HSG 195 The Event Planning Guide – The Purple Book Chapter 11. 1.H.1 Integral to any display or event will be the food and beverage sales. They are important as a major source of revenue, only when properly executed and adds to the publics overall experience. However, if food and drink is poor, it will cause more complaints than any other element of your event. 1.H.2 Proper attention must be paid to food and beverage provision in your advance planning as it will be a direct reflection of your organisation and concern for your spectators. Some events serve alcohol, others do not, so this is a key decision and should be carefully considered. Clearly there are the legal implications, MOD policies and public attitudes. Remember, a fair portion of your audience will be under the legal age to consume alcohol, but responsible drinking through controlled outlets, can add to the event experience. Proponents of alcohol point out that its availability does not generally cause problems at most air displays, and that most spectators may carry in their own anyway. Those against argue that air shows are family affairs (so remember your mission and event focus!) and that flying and alcohol should not be mixed. Your chain of command will have a policy and this will direct your final decision after careful consultation and consideration. 1.H.3 Because each event will vary in scale and structure, you will need to decide on the optimum catering structure. The following is offered as guidance:

• Determine gate hours – food available from and to. • Arrange for construction/rental of food and beverage stands. • Coordinate catering locations with facilities and smooth public access / egress.

Remember: catering sales are a mix of impulse and planned buys, so stands should be located in areas where crowds gather.

• Coordinate event admission and parking passes for vendors and casual staff. • Determine requirements for utilities – see also Section 9. • Ensure that all catering stands are located in a position to be resupplied during

the event. • Establish menu and pricing parameters. • Research wholesale food & drink sources and determine which distributors will

permit discounted purchase – cash and carry or MOD suppliers? • Order product well in advance and arrange for on-site storage. • Determine catering needs, if any, for VIP chalets and functions. • Coordinate catering area set-up and removal plan with your static display and

other teams. • Determine method of refuse collection and removal at each stand for vendor use

and for spectators. • Establish off site refuse disposal and clean-up procedures. Coordinate dumping

with local authority – see Section 9. • Design road access for catering and refuse collection traffic.



• Establish an accounting and reporting method. • Coordinate requirements for change, money collection and accounting

procedures with finance staff • Investigate; insurance requirements (check all contractor Food Handling

accreditation!) and if required get appropriate policy cover through command staff.



PART 1 ANNEX I – VIP GUESTS 1.I.1 This is a demanding assignment and vital to the image of any event. The VIP team is responsible for planning and implementing all VIP arrangements for the duration of their visit as event guests. Consider the following:

• Confirm with unit chain of command to compile the invitation list and to structure letters of invitation. RSVP is vital.

• Establish early those VIPs whose expenses or any major part thereof are to be borne by the show. Coordinate costing of these expenses with unit finance staff.

• Record all acceptances. • If a formal dinner or lunch is involved, facilities should be planned early. • RSVP should include a response admin form to determine time and date of

arrival, duration of stay, number in party, type of accommodation required and transportation needs.

• Advise VIPs of appropriate dress and any special requirements well in advance. • Arrange for nominated and briefed staff to meet VIPs on arrival to drive or escort

them to their accommodations; provide maps and schedule of events, any necessary passes, etc. In some cases, staff may be assigned to host a VIP throughout their stay.

• Coordinate arrangements for rental or chauffeured vehicles with transport team. • Coordinate arrangements for accommodation – see Annex B. • For social events: arrange menu, wines, reception facilities, protocols, control of

access, order, place and method of assembly; media accommodations, VIP greetings and introductions; table layouts and appointment of table hosts.

• If royalty, ambassadors or heads of state are guests, determine and clear all protocol requirements in advance with Private Secretaries, ADC’s, higher command / MOD or the DA/ Embassy involved.

• Determine if any special security/safety arrangements are required and maintain close liaison with the notified security agency, e.g. Royal Protection or Special Branch.

• Arrange for VIP entry and departure and/or entry into reserved VIP seating area. • Arrange for VIPs to receive a copy of the souvenir program and other selected

event and community materials. • Prepare an alternate platform and public address facilities in the event of

inclement weather. • Keep all appropriate teams informed of all arrangements. • Foreign VIPs may expect or require special foods, beverages or other

considerations for religious or political reasons. Inquire and prepare for this possibility.



PART 1 ANNEX J – CADETS AND VOLUNTEER PERSONNEL 1.J.1 Unit events and major public displays are excellent mediums for service Cadet Forces and other volunteer organisations (e.g. Scouts, Guides, Red Cross, St John Ambulance, Aero Clubs and Societies) to engage with the public. They are generally enthusiastic and keen to support you in the more menial (but no less important) administrative tasks. A token workforce in some respects – but despite their volunteer status, they require special consideration. For example there are legal supervision and duty of care requirements for minors (people in the under 16 and under 18 age groups). 1.J.2 The service sponsored Cadet Forces are voluntary youth organisations and operate under their respective Charters. They aspire to careers in the military so are disciplined and well supervised by serving or ex served members of the regular / reserve Armed Forces. Given a deliberate task or mission they can be expected to execute the duties in a professional manner. However, if used as traffic / car parking stewards they must be directly supervised by an adult at all times. They should not be used as aircraft marshallers. 1.J.3 Your volunteer services team should establish and maintain a volunteer data base. The team then trains and accredits all volunteers and provides identification for their admission to the event. The team coordinates with organisation managers or commanders to gather and disseminate information including numbers of volunteers required for each event area and requirements of each assignment. Additional considerations:

• Contact all Cadet Force commanders and volunteer managers about 4 months before the event.

• Communicate the process for the flow of information and staffing requirements. • Mail volunteer interest and information questionnaires. • Record feedback information into the data base. • Devise volunteer task lists and distribute to the commanders / managers and

OICs of your own planning teams. • Advise volunteers of their assignment, training requirements and reporting date

and time. • Recruit additional volunteers for specific tasks as they arise and establish a

tactical volunteer reserve to fill in where needed on the show days. For example, extra car parking and programme sales teams may be required!

• Recognise volunteers - T-shirts, complimentary pens / tags etc, “air display survivors” party, and similar benefits do wonders to boost incentive and morale. Note: Be careful with parties for the under 18 group where alcohol is provided!

• Prepare and distribute passes / ID for event access. • Brief Cadets and volunteer groups as necessary on their tasks prior to show days

and provision for a Cadet / volunteer information centre. • Provide for meals, water, drinks, meal scheduling and relief as necessary. • Your team should constantly circulate on show days to assist and coordinate

where necessary. • Collect comments and suggestions from volunteers for post-show critique.



PART 1 ANNEX K – INSURANCE, LIABILITY AND WIDER MARKETS References: A. JSP 462 Chapter 42.

B. JSP 360 – Civil Use of Military Airfields. C. 2010DIN08-004 – Activities Not Covered by MOD’s Self-insurance

Arrangements and Non Core Business Activities. D. 2009DIN08-018 – Insurance Arrangements for Open Days, Displays and

Other Functions BACKGROUND 1.K.1 The MOD does not normally purchase commercial insurance policies to cover its legal liabilities as the cost of premiums would likely exceed the cost of paying claims for compensation. Instead, the MOD pays claims for compensation out of its current expenditure. Consequently, the MOD is not governed by the terms of insurance policies but is subject to Departmental financial procedures and the common law to pay compensation for acts of negligence. This means that the MOD is only authorised by Parliament and HM Treasury to make compensation payments for injury or damage that occurs as a result of its core Defence business (i.e. publicly funded events, officially sponsored by MOD using existing resources, in most cases this will mean that the event is wholly funded through the Planning Round (PR) process and identified in the Defence Plan). When other activities outside the scope of core Defence business are undertaken (i.e. those events where funding is not provided through the PR process or where activities are organised privately, but are not in the normal course of MOD’s Defence business) arrangements must be made to transfer the legal liability to pay compensation to another person or organisation by obtaining an indemnity normally backed by commercial insurance. 1.K.2 The activities that may be undertaken by MOD Units and Establishments which are not part of MOD’s core Defence business, and therefore not covered by MOD’s self-insurance arrangements, are many and varied. They often involve the provision of a service or assistance to people or organisations outside of the MOD. Examples include:

• At Home / Unit Open Days. • Air Displays. • Charitable Events. • Civil Use of Military Airfields. • Visits to Units for Community Engagement, Open Days, Displays and Other

Functions.

1.K.3 For all activities that are not part of MOD’s core Defence business, the following arrangements must be put in place. Either:

• Where not otherwise provided for in contract documentation such as a DE licence, the person or organisation that will benefit from MOD’s assistance must



sign the Form of Indemnity attached at Annex A to reference B before any assistance is given, and a copy is to be retained locally;

• If no other beneficiary can be identified, then the MOD personnel organising the activity or event must purchase commercial insurance using non-public funds. Advice should be sought from an insurance broker as to the nature and extent of the risks that are to be entered into and which should be covered by the insurance policy. Due to potential conflicts of interest and Financial Services Authority (FSA) insurance regulations MOD is not able to direct personnel to a particular commercial insurance provider;

• Where commercial insurance cover is required to be placed in respect of an MOD risk, advice and insurance implementation should be via MOD’s appointed insurance Willis Limited (see 2007DIN08-014);

• If the Departmental Insurance Scheme (DIS) is to be utilised refer to 2008DIN08-014

LIABILITY 1.K.4 The MOD requires; “cover for liability for bodily injury or property damage as a result of, or arising out of, any accident at a civilian or military flying display and/or ground display or any public or private function undertaken by MOD fixed wing or rotary wing aircraft either owned or leased and parachute teams (including the aircraft), whilst flying to and from said displays, including take-off and landing at the aircraft’s normal operational field, or the display airfield or area should this take place, and whilst practising/setting up/completing such displays at the venue”. 1.K.5 Coverage shall continue to apply in the event an aircraft is required for emergency evacuation duties due to an incident at the display site. The policy shall also cover legal liability to passengers being carried by such aircraft, excluding aggravation to existing injuries where the MOD is not liable for the injuries arising from the original incident. 1.K.6 Cover includes aircraft from NATO countries taking part in airshows in the United Kingdom and United Kingdom aircraft taking part in airshows in NATO countries covered by the NATO Status of Forces Agreement. Under the SOFA each country waives any claims it may have against another country and the host country deals with and settles claims from third parties arising out of the acts of visiting forces in the territory of the host country. The visiting force’s country then repays the host country 75% of the amount of compensation awarded. INSURANCE 1.K.7 Where admission charges or other charges are raised for any events to which members of the public are admitted, or where any event has all its costs covered by commercial sponsorship, insurance cover must be purchased to cover all additional compensation risks to which the MOD may be exposed as a result of the activity taking place. This should include third party public liability insurance, and where appropriate, employers liability insurance. Consideration should also be given to insuring other risks that may arise. The cost of any insurance premium that is incurred should then be


recovered from the charges raised or other income that is received. This is recovered through insurance charges for participating aircraft determined by each service. 1.K.8 The level of insurance cover required should be determined in consultation with the insurance broker to reflect the degree of risk posed by the event, but in respect of third party public liability it should not be less than a Limit of Indemnity of £5 million per occurrence. Based upon an appropriate risk assessment, in relation to small scale events or those with a low risk profile, a third party public liability Limit of Indemnity of £2 million may be justifiable. Wherever major events are being undertaken, the MOD’s insurance advisers, Willis Limited, will provide assistance with both risk assessment and the purchase of suitable commercial insurance(s). Such services are available either on a fee or brokerage basis depending on the size of the insurance premium, in accordance with 2007DIN08-020: FI 30/07. For smaller scale events, suitable insurance cover can be purchased from a local insurance broker. 1.K.9 Event organisers should also ensure that other parties providing equipment and/or services (e.g. provision of catering facilities, go-cart rides, bouncy castles etc) to the event carry adequate insurance in respect of their risk and incurred legal liabilities. It is recommended that depending upon the scale of the event and nature of the equipment and/or services provided that such parties are required to hold appropriate third party public liability and employers liability insurance. 1.K.10 Where no charges are raised the MOD will deal with any claims for compensation which arise from third parties on the basis of the Department’s legal liability to pay compensation. However, there may be occasions where members of the public, or Service families, are invited to participate in activities which are, or could be regarded as, inherently dangerous (e.g. abseiling, assault courses etc.). Commanding Officers and organisers should consider prior to events taking place whether the increased risk of claims arising from the activity might outweigh the publicity or recruitment value of the event. If this appears to be the case then, regardless as to whether charges are raised during the event or not, the Commanding Officer should ensure either that the activity is not undertaken or that public liability insurance is purchased from non-public funds to cover the risks. 1.K.11 The MOD will stand behind its employees (both Service personnel and civilian staff) present at any of the events covered by this instruction who are acting in the course of their official duties if any claim for compensation is made against them. MOD pays compensation in accordance with its legal liability to do so and claims should be submitted to the address shown in paragraph 1.K.20. Off duty personnel attending such events in a private capacity are not, however covered by MOD’s liability and are responsible for the consequences of their own actions. All MOD personnel whether on or off duty are advised to take out personal accident insurance to cover injuries to themselves caused by an “Act of God” or pure accident. 1.K.12 Insurance charges for military display items can be obtained from the service participation or tasking staff. Certain special events may have charges waived by the service providing the asset. However, commanders must be aware of the guidance at X.9 above when determining the risk versus liability. 1.K.13 Checklist of likely “gotcha’s” for an air display or event:




• Aircraft and aircrew liability – in particular civil participants (check valid insurance certificates).

• General event liability – note any exclusions (or what the insurer will not pay!). • Organisers and executives liability and indemnity. • Cancellation (poor weather) cover. • Accident liability – volunteer staff. • Passenger liability – if flown in service aircraft, except in an emergency. Additional

regulations apply for the carriage of passengers – see JSP 550. • Property Theft/Damage. • Money & Securities. • Selling of Alcohol. • Vehicle and Collision liability. • BATSIM / Pyrotechnics / Fireworks liability. • Civil use of military airfield –check JSP 360. • Military and Civil Sport Parachute Display Team insurance – (BPA policy in place?). • NATO and Foreign Military items – check cover!

WIDER MARKETS INITIATIVE

1.K.14 The aim of the Wider Markets Initiative (WMI) is to align public and private sector interests, extract best value from assets and investments, generate activities which deliver core public services and provide the desired level of public sector control. The WMI encourages public bodies to make use of these assets to increase commercial activity and in turn provide more money for public investment and higher levels of productivity across the UK economy. 1.K.15 MOD business areas are encouraged to exploit spare capacity in their assets on a commercial basis in order to make the best use of MOD's extensive physical (equipment, land, premises) and non-physical (intellectual property, data, skills) asset base. Business areas can use the income generated by this 'Wider Markets' activity, either to support core MOD objectives, or contribute to local 'quality of life' improvements for military and civilian personnel. 1.K.16 Government Accounting provides for departments to take out commercial insurance where they consider it necessary to protect core budgets from possible claims resulting from incidents arising during WMI activities. 1.K.17 In accordance with Government Accounting, MOD does not normally insure its assets nor the activities that its personnel undertake, since the cost of paying premiums would exceed the cost of paying claims for compensation. Income generation activity is an exception to this rule, and it is an important principle that MOD must not be exposed to unnecessary risks in the course of carrying out WMI activities. It is not MOD’s intention to fund claims arising from WMI activities.

1.K.18 Contracts under this section can include one off events/celebrations such as Enthusiasts Day, Veterans Weekend and Falkland Islands commemoration at an HM Naval Base and television/film documentaries.

1.K.19 For all activities that are not part of MOD’s core Defence business, the following arrangements must be put in place.



• The person or organisation that will benefit from MOD’s assistance must sign the

Form of Indemnity attached at Annex A to reference B before any assistance is given, and a signed copy of the Form passed to DBR (CLCP) at the POC address below or

• If no other beneficiary can be identified, then the MOD personnel organising the

activity or event must purchase insurance using non-public funds. Advice should be sought from an insurance broker as to the nature and extent of the risks that are to be entered into and which should be covered by the insurance policy. This is relevant to organisers who “contract” military sports parachute teams who undertake display activity.

1.K.20 Claims and Insurance Point of Contact:

DBR (CLC&P) 1b Zone A 7th Floor St Georges Court 2-12 Bloomsbury Way London WC1A 1SH 96305 3296 / 3201 020 7305 3201 e-mail: DBR-CLCP-Claims 1b


01 NOVEMBER 2010 1

PART 2 SECTION 1 – SUPERVISION 2.1.1 It is not possible to sum up display flying in a short paragraph. The display arena can be stressful and demanding not just upon the time and patience for the crew, but the supervising staff as well. A display supervisor must make every effort to ensure that the display pilot conducts a professional display with safety as the predominant factor. Thorough planning, preparation and supervision will minimize the risk in this inherently dangerous activity. 2.1.2 Display flying of any sort requires impeccable standards of airmanship, flying and supervision. Before a pilot displays their aircraft in front of a crowd at an air display, whether that be an International Air Show or a Families Day, they need training, close supervision and thorough briefing. Authorisation must be taut, pragmatic but without ambiguity. Supervisors, operating and approving authorities must ensure that this is the case. Part 2 of this handbook is designed to guide and help all of you involved in the pure flying and supervisory aspects to meet the exacting standards of the mission. SELECTING THE SUPERVISOR 2.1.3 Ultimately the responsibility for supervising a display crew rests with the approving officer. This is then delegated to the unit or Stn Cdr with responsibility for the display asset, however, due to the continual supervisory process required during the preparation and training of display aircrew it is essential that the unit commander nominates an officer to meet the close supervisory requirements. The nominated supervisor need not necessarily be a senior commander, indeed given the heavy demands on time, particularly during training, it may be better to choose a pilot with a minimum rank of OF3 or suitable appointment. Preferably this individual should have previous display experience and whose primary job allows him the time to meet the demands of the task. Chief Instructor, Flying Standards Officer, Senior Pilots are targets. 2.1.4 The supervisor should be dedicated to all display practices where possible; this is of particular importance during the early practices when continuity, trust and easy communication are so important to the success of the work up. Once the pilot/ crew gains confidence and skills improve, selected practices can be monitored by either the mentor (normally last seasons or a previous display pilot) or a flying standards officer. The unit commander will obviously take a close interest in the work up and will no doubt join the supervisor during some of the practices. Also, he will probably insist on a full record of training, detailing the training carried out and any problems encountered. It is a good idea if this record is scrutinised by the unit commander at least once a month. 2.1.5 The key question – what are the key requirements of a display supervisor? A blend of the following qualities might signpost a suitable individual:

• Previous display experience – highly desirable but not essential. With no display experience then the supervisor should engage with and utilise SMEs – unit QHI/QFI, CI or mentors to advise on manoeuvres and handling.

• A good communicator – a discreet, firm but tactful word in the display pilot’s ear sooner is better than shouting later.


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• Sound interpersonal skills – is he or she likely to engender a safe but disciplined culture.

• Human Factors awareness – is the supervisor cognisant of and sympathetic to those pressures and distractions prevalent in the display arena?

• Is he or she unit culture aware? It is important not lose supervisory situational awareness of the display team or detachment and remain aware of an excessive “can do” culture that can lead to corner cutting for those “urgent” last minute display requests.

• Does the individual understand regulations and orders? A sound working knowledge of the display regulations is essential. However, use your experts to assist and advise!

• Is he or she a good at Staff work? Detailed recording of the display training activity and critique is vital. Time consuming, but essential activity.

• Risk management – Is the supervisor perceptive to inherent risks in display flying? Able to identify issues early and take action? Mitigate, control or eliminate! For example, mandate a mid season leave period for the crew.

• Leadership – above all does the candidate demonstrate moral courage. If the display looks or feels wrong, to low or the crew looks knackered, then it probably is and they probably are! Would the individual exercise moral courage to stop the activity? Remember the supervisor is there to oversee, direct and control.

2.1.5 The above list is by no means exhaustive and the principles of flying supervision can be expanded upon by attendance at the Pre and Post Season Display Symposiums, MAA Display Training Day and the Flying Supervisors Course on the MAA Ops Div courses. SELECTING THE DISPLAY CREW 2.1.6 There are many aspects to the process of selecting the right aircrew for the job whether for solo, 2 seat aerobatics, multi-crew or formation team displays. The DH/AOA will make the final selection, but nominees must demonstrate the following attributes:

• Above average handling skills. • Demonstrate sympathy with the aircraft. Especially for aging types. • Be a bit of a showman without being a poser. • Be totally reliable. • Be trustworthy in all respects. • Demonstration of and acceptance of authority. • Have credibility to deal with situations and people (sometimes quite senior!) who

may not be acting in the best interests of safe display flying. • Display team leaders, solo and 2 seat display pilots must be capable of

supervising and looking after the whole team, spare aircraft’s pilot and all support crew.

• Bachelor may be preferred as he has fewer distractions than a married man. The display commitments may involve many weekends away.

2.1.7 Both aircrew and groundcrew must be volunteers and be made fully aware of the total commitment required to complete a successful season. Unit commanders must also be aware that enabling a successful display, will also require unit


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/ Station commitment and support. Throughout the season aircrew and groundcrew will experience thousands of distractions. They must be capable of rising above these and carry on with a safe performance. So, choosing the right man for the job makes all the difference between anguish and relaxation. With the right crew selected and demonstrating good self-discipline, initiative and common sense, supervision becomes relatively straight forward. However, do not become complacent and withdraw to the office. Keep oversight on the activity and the crew, as the need for some firm direction may arise during the season. BRIEFING 2.1.8 Unit commanders and the nominated display supervisor must ensure that display crews are thoroughly briefed on what is required of them, making clear the huge responsibility and the great commitment that they are accepting. The briefing of display crews both in general terms and for specific sorties, is integral to the supervisory process and as such is the responsibility of the supervisory chain. As a guide to supervisors, experience has shown that briefings are required on the following occasions:

• Unit commander to brief the display crew and the supervisor at the beginning of training.

• Unit commander to brief again following display clearance but before the first public display.

• Supervisor to brief display crew before each practice and prior to detaching for display commitments.

2.1.9 The following bullet points contain some of the guiding topics for inclusion in the briefs:

• Display aircrew must be made aware that they are the public image of the Service and as such must conduct themselves in a thoroughly professional way at all times. To be selected as display aircrew is a great honour, but carries with it a great responsibility.

• Display aircrew must be informed that display flying is a very demanding flying discipline, which requires full knowledge and understanding of the strict orders that control display flying and the need for full compliance with them.

• Emphasise also the need to display the aircraft in accordance with its RTS and any approved manoeuvres. A good display pilot is one who is sympathetic with their aircraft and remains within the flight envelope. Except in an emergency, there is little justification to exceed limitations. Previous experience has governed the need for these rules, stretching or breaking them will almost certainly end in disaster.

• A flying display is to be treated as a mission. The aircraft commander must fully understand the aims of that mission. It requires thorough planning and strict control to be executed in a professional and safe manner. There are no operational imperatives at a flying display that necessitate departure from regulations. Display aircrew must ensure that they are fully conversant with those regulations, orders and any extra restrictions imposed by the FDD.


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• To this end they must read and understand the display operation order and they must attend the display briefing. At the briefing they should clarify any points or issues they have and satisfy themselves that the event is properly organised.

• Before flying display crews must have a good situation awareness of the conduct of the airshow and, in particular, for the period they are airborne they must have the following information at their fingertips. Take off time and landing slot; diversion details including weather; holding points and are they in use; details of aircraft airborne immediately before, during and immediately after your display; the crowd and crowd safety lines and how they are marked; the display quiet and chat frequencies; fuel requirement including any hold off requirement; and, an accurate time check.

• If the display crew have any reason to doubt the conduct or safety at an event, they should inform the FDD and if required cancel even if it means a gap in the show and a huge loss of pride.

SUPERVISING A DISPLAY PILOT 2.1.10 Aircraft Selection. Primary and secondary aircraft must be identified as soon as possible and they must be prepared for the season. With operational pull on most aircraft fleets, dedicated display airframes may be problematic and detailed fleet management may be required. In the case of aerobatic displays choose an aircraft with low fatigue and one which can be reasonably certain of being available for the whole of the display season. Also, remember that the special requirements of the display aircraft may limit its availability for the daily flying programme and aircraft generation on exercises. Also bear in mind that having aircraft in special paint schemes can place a degree of pressure upon display pilots who may feel an obligation to keep it flying for that high profile event and carry unserviceability’s! It is also important to plan early for any re-painting requirements. 2.1.11 Display Sequence. Supervisors must be totally involved in the development of the display sequences – Full, Rolling, Flat and any approved basic manoeuvres to be flown in minimum weather conditions. Use the guidance in Section and, finally, when the display sequence has been agreed, double check (on paper) the heights and speeds required at the top of each vertical manoeuvre as these will form the basis of the all important safety gates, again described in Section 3. Ensure that the crews and / or Team Leader have undertaken a sound RA for all the planned manoeuvres in the routine. Even if some components have been carried over from last season, a fresh assessment of risks will always be required. You must account for the new pilot or team member who might not be familiar! In the 2 crew environment it is useful for the NHP or WSO to have heading details for the start and finish of each manoeuvre, particularly if it is offset, since this ensures that the pilot does actually pull through to the exact angle-off heading. 2.1.12 Learn the Sequences. It is of enormous benefit when you are monitoring the rehearsals to know what is coming next, at what speed, at what height / gate and in what configuration. This is of vital importance in your safety and supervisory role and will be useful during the DH/AOAs public display authorisation sign off as he is likely to ask some demanding questions! When supervising rehearsals, you are required to be in 2-way contact with the display crew; a HiCom type system will allow you to stand at a good vantage point and watch the sequence. You may choose to act as a de-facto FCC member at crowd centre on the “crowd line” or on the ATC balcony, either is a good way


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of meeting this requirement, whilst maintaining a clear view of the whole display. It is essential that you have an agreed call if, for any reason you wish the practice to be curtailed and let the pilot know if you notice a wrong configuration. By convention this is “C/S - Knock it Off”. “Stop, Stop, Stop” is normally a safety critical call. Don’t assume that he knows he has altered the sequence or configuration and is doing it for a good reason, inadvertent selections have happened before and could be absolutely crucial to the display minimum criteria. Make sure that your display pilot / crews do not suffer unnecessary distractions, e.g. do not allow any other transmissions on the display practice frequency. 2.1.13 Work-up. It is worth mapping out the work-up and check-ride rules care-fully and then decide on how many sorties need to be flown at medium altitude. Flying in the back or LH/RH seat (if available) during the any check ride is definitely recommended for three reasons:

• To keep the bull, that always exudes from the display pilot, down. • To confirm in your own mind the practicality and feasibility of each manoeuvre. • To clarify that a safe recovery could be made anywhere in the sequence in the

event of a major failure.

2.1.14 Further check rides should be flown at lower heights at the supervisors discretion or as dictated by higher authority: Aerobatics below 2000’ are entirely different so at least one check ride at the lower altitudes can prove beneficial. As supervisor, you will need to submit a work-up programme to the AOA anyway; it should also serve as a nice guide to match the work-up rate to meet the date on which the AOA finally checks the final display;

• The date of the first display must be established as soon as possible. This is not as easy as it sounds!

• As soon as this date is reasonably firm, the date for the DH/AOA’s PDA sign off must be decided and the work up tailored to that aim.

• For high energy fixed wing displays, experience has shown that the pilot must be practising at 1500 ft six weeks prior to the DH/AOA’s PDA and at 500 ft five weeks prior; this will probably mean starting training in late February or early March when the weather is by no means reliable.

• Avoid placing unrealistic or artificial height and speed gates that are out of the crew’s capability at an early stage. Move on and down only when the crew have demonstrated competency and are comfortable to do so.

• Do not just accept the pilots word that he is happy with heights and gates and can dispense with elements of the work up. Get him to demonstrate!

• Try and arrange work-up and currency rides to match the crew’s daily routine; in other words, the crew do not want to be under any hassle or feel rushed when they go out to practise. For example, aerobatic competitions that are predicated on work up training or decided at DH/AOA sign offs are to be avoided.

• Ideally, a pattern should be established for practising with the sorties being flown before or after normal unit flying; this will help the display aircrew to settle into a routine, prevent practices being disrupted by other aircraft recoveries and minimises impact on the unit flying programme.

• Once practice times are known, let other local flying units know so that the circuit can be kept clear.


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• Once the pilot is proficient in good weather, he must practice the sequences in weather that is close to the lower limits; the first time he encounters a tricky day should not be on his first display.

• When the pilot is proficient at his home base, it is vital that he practices at other bases; it is easy to become over-familiar with ground features, display lines etc at home. The first display at a new site could be demanding!

2.1.15 Record of Practices. Keep a record of each practice (Height flown, Full/Rolling/Flat) plus a remarks column for the odd note to support the all important debrief. Such a record also acts as an indication of any tendency (e.g. always dishes out of a Derry to the left, hover unsteady OGE during high rate yaw pedal turns). As previously mentioned, this record is an ideal tool for keeping your unit commander up to speed. He will require to see it, but in any case, ensure that it is scrutinised at least once a month. The record is also a useful prompt for producing your end of season report or any other report required by higher authority. 2.1.16 Display Season. Supervision must continue throughout the display season although the emphasis naturally changes as your display pilot becomes proficient with more emphasis placed on oversight, direction and control of the display missions rather than training. It is important that, once the season is in full swing, the display pilot and crews are given freedom and the flexibility to operate autonomously.

• Supervision should not be over-zealous, heavy handed and interference should be avoided unless circumstances require actions – remember moral courage is a supervision quality.

• Any signs of overconfidence should not be firmly dealt with and are normally quelled with a quiet word under the nearest tree of knowledge.

• s soon as possible during the season, the supervisor should attend one of the displays, not with the sole intention of checking on his own pilot (remember oversight!), but primarily to see at first hand what problems and pressures there are on the pilot/ crews and his team.

• Ideally, a large display should be chosen as these are generally the most demanding, especially unique geographical event such as seaside shows. How are the crews coping?

• The supervisor must be careful not to be perceived as a “gotcha” or distraction to the display crews. Acting as support staff for the day is an ideal approach.

• A couple more visits to displays should suffice for the remainder of the season making sure to monitor one display towards the end of the season.

• Experience has shown that you will soon hear if your display crew is performing well or badly but don’t rely on this as your only form of feedback. Indeed the display pilot himself must be relied upon to handle the whole spectrum of display flying and be trusted to let his supervisor know if he runs into any real problems – integrity (remember why you had a pilot selection process!).

2.1.17 Rest Periods. Supervisors must insist on the display pilot / crews taking days off mid-week when he is away at weekends. As mentioned already, the squadron must anticipate this burden, in addition to losing him, and probably the spare pilot, on Fridays and Mondays at regular intervals. SUPPORTING THE DISPLAY CREW


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2.1.18 During a busy season the display crew will have enough to deal with during the season without any unnecessary hindrances and distractions. Throughout, he must be fully supported by the unit / command in all areas to help ease the burden. It is your responsibility as supervisor to ensure that this happens. Remember the display is a unit push! 2.1.19 Manager. The pilot of the spare aircraft can take as much of the load away from the display pilot and indeed should be utilised role as display manager. A majority of display teams use a ground based manager who deploys by road ahead of the aircraft.

• He must get involved early in the planning sequence arranging slot times, practice times, arrival and departure times to other displays, turnaround facilities etc.

• During transits, he can plan the routes and if required lead the display pilot around, leaving him with no demands other than simply flying the display.

• On the ground, the manager can deflect admin trivia from the display pilot. On occasion there can be a significant amount. However, better admin planning with event organisers generally negate unwarranted admin issues. In sum,

• The manager is most definitely not someone on a weekend jolly, he must be competent, conscientious and an integral part of the whole team. By the same token, the supervisor must be prepared to allot time without distractions to his task. The briefing, authorising, watching, debriefing, cycle can be 11/4 to 11/2 hours.

• Personnel must also be nominated to record the practices and actual displays on video.

2.1.20 Engineering. Experience shows that a small pool of reliable, competent and resourceful engineers must be established to support the display. They must be competent to service the aircraft safely in some unusual locations during busy weekends. The selection of this support team, in its own way, is just as important as the selection of the display crew. 2.1.21 Administration. The administrative backup by the unit must be good, prompt and flexible. Some unusual requests may well appear which require resolution at short notice; the display crews must be able to rely totally on the back up of the admin staff to minimise distractions. “Displays equals extra work and some of it at weekends – nothing to do with me “, can be an attitude that unit command must manage out! 2.1.22 ATC/Ops. There may well be occasions during the season when the display crews ask for the airfield to be open at strange hours and at weekends for seemingly trivial reasons. However, it must be borne in mind that the pilot loses many weekends throughout the season, thus, what on the surface may appear a thin reason to open up on a Saturday evening, must be measured sympathetically against the number of Saturday nights he is away from his home during the year. Especially compared with the total number of weekends worked by ATC personnel. 2.1.23 Noise. In the early stages, there are undoubtedly going to be a lot of practices flown at low-level overhead the unit. The unit PR staff must, therefore, prepare the ground and let the local population know what is happening. Emphasis should be put


on the care taken by the unit before and during these practices. In 1989 BBC South West produced a half hour documentary on solo aerobatics, stressing the care and supervision taken; this programme may well be of use to units who face criticism from the local population concerning environmental impact. CONCLUSION AND TOP TIPS 2.1.24 We hope the above guidance proves helpful. Remember that all aspects of display supervision can be very satisfying and enjoyable providing you tackle them properly. Even if things are going exceptionally well, it does no harm to talk to the crew firmly now and again, to take stock of the situation, to re-assess heights and speeds, to warn the pilot against complacency or over-confidence. If the pilot declares he finds the sequence easy and he is very happy about it all - watch out. He must keep the concentration going and be constantly reminded that, whilst he or she is the public face of defence aviation they are also the flight safety system goalkeeper! 2.1.25 Finally, both the approving officer and supervisor have huge responsibilities in delivery of a competent and qualified display crew. They must not relax and oversee, direct and control the activity from selection through to the final display of the season.

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PART 2 SECTION 2 A PERSONAL OVERVIEW OF ASPECTS OF DISPLAY PILOT SUPERVISION 2.2.1 The following article is based on the experiences of Wg Cdr M Jenkins who, as OC 20(R) Sqn, was the supervisor for the 2000/2001 Harrier display pilots. His personal views strongly support the opening passages in the previous section. CHOICE OF DISPLAY CREW 2.2.2 Crew Selection should have been based on the balance between skill, experience and attitude. Assuming the volunteers are able, attitudes in the air and on the ground are key elements in preventing overconfidence or poor performance under pressure. Other elements should be considered, family circumstances (babies or pregnancies) previous experience, administration skills (see later) and promotion prospects. There is little point selecting in Oct a crew which will be promoted from the board in the middle of the season, delay acting rank (without their knowledge and consent) or be selected for exchange. PMA are very helpful in this aspect and close consultation will avoid later difficulty; especially as those most suitable for the display season are often those senior enough to be close to promotion. WORK-UP PERIOD 2.2.3 In my view the key for the work-up is not to hurry the pilot; he will be the best judge of when he is fit to practice at lower heights. Putting the emphasis on him also builds the close, friendly relationship of trust, which you will need when the first display infringement occurs. You need to be an umbrella but also the safety valve. Debrief every practice HUD film/video and make notes on all the practices but beware, unless you have done it yourself you could show a complete lack of credibility and lose it; take advice read the MAA Display Handbook, CAP 403 and watch a few videos before jumping in. Above all, use the previous crew as mentor for the new team if they are available. Ensure that the crew practice at different airfields and sites including over the water, we use Holbeach for some events, in a variety of weather conditions and if possible, when it is hot (Cyprus?). 2.2.4 Beware planning too long a sequence and trying to tighten it up into a set time. Agree gates and standards on the ground and ensure the crew firmly adheres to them. Discuss escape manoeuvres at length especially from looping manoeuvres (at what height 90 degrees nose down may be outside seat and flight envelopes!) Be very wary of comments like, “yes it was safe”, though in my experience it is usually accompanied by a change of shorts in private. Before going low-level practice every conceivable failure/emergency in the flight simulator, in the GR7 we experiment with escape manoeuvres without auto flap or with nozzle runaway (we try full power and fwd nozzle as an escape from the blown loop as well). 2.2.5 On the ground the planning of the sequence needs to be completed and submitted for approval early, every staff officer is a display expert when clearance time comes! Don’t change it when it’s approved unless experience shows a safer way, a

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change will make the scrutiny worse (healthily so) as it brings into doubt your judgement at getting it right first time. Ensure that sponsored flying suits, badges and the like are sorted early. Make sure that the crew, and you, goes on the media-handling course at Halton. Approach PMA for a holding officer to assist in the display season planning and admin. Get the publicity photos and publications sorted and audit the display fund. 2.2.6 Once the PR material and Ribbon have been done these can be passed to the display organisers so ensure that they are in a format that all can use. A short Sqn history should also be included and a summary of the aircraft systems for the commentating team at the show. DURING THE SEASON 2.2.7 Try to go on as many display weekends as you can but don’t crowd out the guys. Ensure that you keep a handle on creep, HQ AIR are always facing new requests for flypasts and displays and the season can get out of hand. Limit the crew to 2 base locations a weekend if you can. Beware mates asking for flypasts during transits between shows and clear everything through RAF Events. 2.2.8 Give the crew time off, the display is a burden to all the Sqn as they pick up the additional work, this can cause resentment in the ground and aircrew. Try to get a coach or partner crew who work well with the display crew to look after all the positioning and transit planning etc. Be particularly aware of the crew tightening the display, fatigue and family stress. Work induced stress is easier to manage and keep people off the back of the crew while they are at work. Remember that the display is a Sqn commitment and it will hurt! Remember also that the public is our employer and master so don’t treat them with disdain, they may be a bunch of spotters but their impression of us is very important. 2.2.9 Ensure that the crew gives you a full briefing on the displays, venues contact numbers and all matters before you authorise them. They will always want self auth powers but because the Harrier can amend its displays slightly (venue constraints at some sites) I retain power of auth as the last link in the common sense chain however, I’m on call all of the summer. If you feel comfortable the Gp Capt can delegate self-auth, it does help all concerned but leaves one less check on the system. Ensure that each weekend is debriefed properly and a post display file is run with comments on each venue (example attached). POST SEASON 2.2.10 Make sure the filing system is adequate so that post venue reports are completed and available to the next pilot and supervisor, blacklist any goats and feed up the line to Displays 1. 2.2.11 Don’t forget to pat the bloke on the back if it’s all gone well, write it up in the ACRs of all the Team and reflect some of the associated bits as secondary duties. SUPERVISION 2.2.12 It is essential that a supervisor develop an open, friendly and trusting relationship with the display pilot. While closely monitoring the display and pilot for

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stress, tightening, over aggressive flying or family personal issues, the supervisor must provide top-cover for the inevitable mistakes during the season, be it an airmiss with puddle jumpers in transit between displays or trouble from crusty Flying Control Committee members. A balanced and protective view needs to be maintained but in extremis the crew may need to be cautioned or stopped. Above all you must trust the crew. 2.2.13 A key issue is credibility and, if you have no display experience, don’t be tempted to tell people how best to do something and keep views to ‘the display looked good but you appeared to be tight on XXXX”. Try the sequence yourself at high level and in the Flight Simulator. Go away on at least 3 weekends, beginning middle and end, so that you experience the display admin pressures. If you do go away be useful and don’t expect the guy/gal to look after you! Be cautious about the intake of alcohol by all the team members and be aware of the mentality of the ground crew, if the ground crew is boozy change them. 2.2.14 Try to establish a couple of guys who are prepared to go away and support the display pilot, that means sitting in the tower or spare and acting as DP while the display is on. In addition, the spare can pre-book ATC clearances and brief controllers and display organisers on the needs of your jet in an emergency. It is also possible that both the pilots will have static display duties and be smart and knowledgeable to the public, our employers! 2.2.15 The best thing you can do for your crew is to get a holding officer to manage the phone and venue work during the season. PMA are very helpful in this respect and it allows the display crew to do at least some routine work on the Sqn. Be aware that the ground crew envy the Team Groundcrew and will moan about manpower shortages on shifts yet when it comes around for volunteers there are very few to commit themselves for the season. In addition, be wary of too many venues in a weekend; the duty of care to the engineers travelling all over the country at the weekend can be stretched to the limit. SUMMARY 2.2.16 For what they are worth I have laid out my thoughts on the display and its supervision. You may wish to accuse me of teaching to suck eggs or whatever else but, I know that good supervisors are those who are regarded as such by their charges, not by themselves. It’s worth asking your team what they think of you or your performance every now and then, in the bar on the display circuit perhaps. 2.2.17 Trust, openness, protection and caution are the key words in my experience. Coupled with an understanding of the extra burden the display causes on the air and ground crew, those 4 words will stand you in good stead, 20 Sqn’s motto is ‘deeds not words’ and my display commitment has tested my Sqn to the limit at times. We maintain a role demo pilot to stand in if the display pilot is maxed out however, a cancelled display is better than a poor one or a flight safety incident through overstretch.

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PART 2 SECTION 3 NOTES FOR DISPLAY CREWS AND LOW LEVEL AEROBATICS References:

A. JSP 550 R335. B. AP 3456.

2.3.1 Display flying is a mission that demands a very specialised form of flying that should be approached with great caution. It has cost many people their lives. This article gives some personal advice on the many problems that will face a novice to low-level aerobatics. It highlights some of the difficulties and supplies some solutions in the hope that it will lead to a safe and professional display. It has been gleaned from many years of display experience but is not an alternative for common sense or good airmanship. MOTIVES 2.3.2 Before embarking on a season of solo aerobatics take a serious look at your principal motivation. This will be the mainstay when the gilt has begun to wear off the gingerbread. There are a number of possible motives that lead to the application for that prestigious display slot, but like many things in life, it tends to look a little different when viewed from the inside. Let us examine a few possible motives with a view to seeing whether they will stand up to the wear and tear of reality. 2.3.3 Glamour. Glamour is often a strong motive for applying, but will soon be overhauled by the other pressures by mid-season. No doubt you will have your hand shaken by visiting celebrities and receive thank-you letters from grateful organisers, but if it is your dream to be cheered by an adulating crowd then you are in for disappointment. Not all the British public are air-minded and it is common knowledge among display pilots that one is constantly competing against the attractions of an ice-cream cornet! 2.3.4 Promotion. You know the promotion system as well as the next man. Being selected for the display, perhaps over your peers, will mean you have been assessed as above average. Enduring a display season will show your dedication. However, this is not a back door to the top, but will probably be viewed by the promotion board as the equivalent of a major secondary duty. 2.3.5 Excitement. A popular misconception is that something that looks thrilling from the ground must feel so from the cockpit. If you have anything like a worthwhile routine you will be too busy watching the altimeter, ASI and the ‘g’ meter and you will not have time for anything but hard work. If you crave excitement, buy a motorcycle! 2.3.6 Quality Time. Being a display pilot will certainly mean you are away from home most weekends. If you are married then this will wear thin very quickly. Your partner’s nearest and dearest is defying death every time you display and even if they

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hate the sight of your ugly mug it is a hard diet to swallow 3 or 4 times a week for nearly half a year. Add to this no Saturday shopping and chronic pre-show nerves and you will soon see that this is a motive for giving up the whole idea! 2.3.7 Professional Satisfaction. When your energy flags and things seem to be going against you, this is the one that will carry you through when the others have failed. GETTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT 2.3.8 Your unit and unit commanders will need to assess whether the unit and you can absorb the additional burden before committing to a display season. Will the additional obligations compromise your performance in your basic job? Or disrupt the security of your family unit? You should be harbouring no illusions about the amount of work and commitment that will be involved.

2.3.9 The decision to display rests with unit/Squadron concerned and the AOAs, who decide how many events/displays their crews are going to perform. The service participation and tasking agencies will liaise with the singleton pilots/display teams and between them they will draw up an outline program. These programs are ratified at participation meetings in the first 2 months of the New Year, following which they are distributed to the crews concerned. The applicants are told of the status of their applications by formal letter from the agencies.

2.3.10 Having volunteered yourself into the display business, how do you set about preparing for the season ahead? 2.3.11 Define the Aim. It sounds corny but its not. You must get clear in your own mind what you are setting out to do. Who exactly, are you aiming your routine at? Before you can design a routine you must decide whom you are performing for. It should be the general members of the public (and our taxpayers) who deserve your attention. You need something that will make as much noise and looks impressive to them. There is no need to be terribly skilful as the general public cannot tell the difference between a stall turn and a wing-over. They will be rapturous over a steep turn in full reheat but put their noses right back into the old cornet as soon as the noise stops, ignoring your immaculate 4-point roll. However, beware of completely ignoring technical merit at the expense of artistic impression: air-show enthusiasts are becoming increasingly knowledgeable about the academic quality of a flying display. The professionals, on the other hand, know when you are not really under control and do not want to see the aircraft wheeled around at the edge of its limits. A controlled, professionally flown display is what you should be aiming for. 2.3.12 Know your Boss. This doesn’t mean that you should start asking your OC round to dinner, but that you establish exactly to whom you will be responsible as far as display flying is concerned. 2.3.13 Understand your Supervisor’s problems. In most cases you will find that your OC, CO or unit commander has mixed feelings about having to fulfil an aerobatic commitment. They know from experience that it is going to mean an awful lot of extra work for the whole base, with not a great deal to show for it locally. You, as the performer, have their peace of mind in your hands. So be as understanding as you can.

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As soon as your supervisor realises that your one aim in life is not to rush off and break every rule in the book when their back is turned, the sooner they will trust you. Remember, the regulations have been formulated to protect you from yourself as well as for the protection of the public. Conversely, if something is suggested which you feel uncomfortable about, whether that be due to you capabilities, experience or another reason, you should express your concerns. You will gain more credibility by saying “This is beyond my current capabilities” than pressing a poor situation and getting things wrong. SETTING THE SCENE 2.3.14 Peer Pressure. Whatever routine you decide upon you will not please all of the people all of the time. You alone are the best judge to give a consistent analysis of your display. You will need to have your display practices videoed and watch them time and time again. Of course, many people will have viewpoints and if you are getting consistent comments from colleagues about a particular manoeuvre it may well be in need of review. Any unsafe manoeuvres will need to be discussed and modified even if they look the ‘bee’s knees’. BUILDING UP A ROUTINE 2.3.15 The most important single factor in deciding your routine will be presentation. However good your aerobatics may be, they will not be much use if the crowd cannot see them. Another important implication of the presentation is the time factor. With high-speed, high wing-loading aircraft you have got to have a pretty tight routine, or you are only going to get one or two manoeuvres into your 6mins of show time. Rule number one then is keep it close to the field. Rule number 2 is avoid flying straight and level between manoeuvres. This tip was given by a very experienced aerobateur, and it is surprising how much pruning and compressing is required at the beginning of the season to cut out all those little straight bits where you gather a few extra knots, or make up for a wind effect that you had failed to allow for. 2.3.16 First of all study the Aircraft Document Set, pick the brains of the previous display pilot and, if possible, fly with them or with some other experienced exponent. Get the display limits clearly defined and challenge any anomaly or grey area in any regulations. Remember that you are displaying the aircraft, not performing aesthetic manoeuvres for your own satisfaction. Consider your aircraft’s appeal and its impact on the spectators. Is it noisy/quiet, small/large, fast/slow? Select manoeuvres that show off the aircraft to its best advantage. Assess, query and explore the aircraft handling qualities in various configurations, including with or without stores. 2.3.17 The next step is to see how much leeway you have got in time and space. What you want are facts not dreams, so be prepared to go to a certain amount of trouble. Take a piece of paper and draw a line representing the runway, for, as beginners, this will be our reference for the first few weeks of practice. Mark the centre point. Now measure off the runway line, about the centre, the distance your aircraft travels during a slow roll. Since a really slow roll takes about 10 seconds, this distance will be about 1500 yds for 250kts and 2000 yds for 360kts. Remember that this is only the bit where you are actually rolling. It does not include the time required to settle down from the previous turn or wing-over.

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2.3.18 Now calculate the radius of the best turn that you can make at low level. This information can be obtained from the ODM. Instantaneous turn rates (Max AoA, usually bleeding speed) will differ from Sustained turn rates, which is the graph to be used. Alternatively, conduct a flight trial by flying a few steep turns at about 1000ft and note what ‘g’ the aircraft can sustain for a full 360 at various speeds. To calculate the radius of the turn substitute these values into the formula below: Radius (in ft) = (knots x 1.688)² ÷ (32.2 x load factor (what you see on your ‘g’ meter)) Typical results are: 250kts 4g radius approx 1400ft /diameter ½ mile.

360kts 5g radius approx 2300ft/diameter ¾ mile. 500kts 7g radius approx 3100/diameter one mile. Take this radius and draw two turns at each end of the slow roll line. Make one the absolute minimum for getting back onto the roll heading and the other a full reversed turn, beginning at the end of the slow roll. See Fig 1.

Figure 1. 2.3.19 Now you have something concrete to work with. If your mount is to be a Tucano you will find that you have plenty of room to work in. If you are flying something like the Tornado, you will find to your dismay that even the inner (shown dotted) turns, making up the absolute limit pattern, cover an awful lot of the local countryside, let alone the airfield. 2.3.20 Wing-overs instead of steep turns help to cut down the diameters, but it is disappointing how little difference it makes in the heavier type of aircraft which lose all their performance once the speed gets near the magic back-side-of-the-drag-curve figure. 2.3.21 Now draw out your proposed sequence of manoeuvres making all rolls the appropriate length and all turns not less than the minimum radius. This may seem a

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lot of trouble but it is no good building on dreams, and it is all too easy to draw wing-overs like Fig 2, when they will actually be flown like Fig 3.

Figure 2.

Figure 3. 2.3.22 In the high performance bracket the sequence almost builds itself as there are only a very limited number of combinations that will fit together without taking you into the next parish. Remember, as you fit your jigsaw together, the finishing speed of one manoeuvre must be the entry speed for the next. 2.3.23 Whilst considering the practicalities of your manoeuvres you must bear in mind the following guidelines and principles (these are figures for the Hawk but will work for most fast-jet types):

• Loop will finish ¼ mile beyond the pull-up point. • Half Cuban Eight will base out ½ mile beyond the pull-up point. • Half Horizontal Eight will base out ½ mile behind the pull-up point. • Do not plan on any straight and level bits - the aircraft must be kept moving the

whole time. • Try not to have any fill-in manoeuvres such as aileron rolls at this stage - you will

need these when the wind is blowing.


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• Aim to keep your sequence simple. Before doing a show you must be able to go through your routine every time without making any big mistakes in positioning, entry speeds and heights.

A BALANCED ROUTINE 2.3.24 There are many other secondary factors to bear in mind while constructing a sequence, which will make the difference between a good or bad show. Here are a few of them: 2.3.25 Even distribution of vertical and horizontal manoeuvres. Obviously it would be unbalanced to have all the rolls first, followed by all the loops. Also, try to keep high when far away from the crowd and low when near. The acid test being, can a spectator keep you in sight throughout the display without craning their necks? 2.3.26 Speed and Noise. The distribution of speed can also be important, thus a slow run looks best if preceded by something fast. Noise can be used to good advantage to keep the attention of the spectators when you are furthest from them, just as the sudden silence when throttling back from full power can also be an effective attention-getter. Since you cannot ad-lib these sound effects they must be designed into your sequence from the beginning. 2.3.27 Display Straight from Take-Off or Run-in? An experienced display pilot has said that you should not go straight into your sequence from take-off in your first season. That is probably sound advice but will depend upon the aircraft type. It is a fact that it is much more settling to get airborne, get away from the crowd, and get a measure of the met conditions for the day before running in. This gives you an opportunity for an inverted flight check and triple check the trivial things that could cause a distraction. ‘g’ tolerance would also be assured during a short warm-up routine. However, one significant advantage of taking-off and landing as part of the display is that fuel consumption can be more easily predicted, and timing becomes less critical with the onus being put on the display director’s take-off clearance. WINDAGE! 2.3.28 Wind Effect. The effect of wind on a display is subtler than a cursory examination would suggest, so no apologies for the following detailed examination.

2.3.29 The wind has a vast effect on your show and must be catered for. It is quite complex to write about but much simpler in practice. As a rule of thumb, for the slow movers, one knot of wind can be estimated as two feet per second. So, a 20 knot on-crowd wind will push the aircraft 400 feet in just ten seconds of a vertical maneuver such as a torque roll. The best solution is to make sure that you account for these winds prior to entering any maneuver and moving to a position that will account for the wind. To simplify the problem, divide the wind into two components, one along the display line from left to right, and the other at right angles to it, either on-crowd or off-crowd. Now let us study the effect of these components on the various types of manoeuvre.

2.3.30 When rolling into wind the distance covered will be shortened, so you will have to start a bit later and roll more slowly than normal. If it is downwind then the effect


is reversed and the roll must be started early and hurried slightly. Unfortunately, one aggravates the other, for if you finish the into-wind roll early, which tends to put your wing-over too close to the crowd; you are then faced with a downwind roll which, if anything, you wanted to start further away, not closer. The net result is that your show begins to drift away downwind, and you cannot rescue it once it has gone without an ignominious straight leg while you steam against the current in an effort to make up for lost ground.

Figure 4

The wind continues to affect you in the turns and wing-overs, and since you spend three times as long in a full turnabout as you do in a slow roll it is important to compensate. To illustrate this point, Fig 4 shows the effect of a 30 kt wind on a representative steep turn through 360 at 360 kts.

Note: the drift is equal to a quarter of the diameter, not the sort of thing that can be ignored.

2.3.31 In all cases the technique is the same: ease the back pressure whenever the aircraft is pointing into wind (if you keep the bank on as much as possible the spectators will hardly be aware of what you are doing) and crank round as hard as possible as you turn downwind. The increase in speed that results from easing the turn can be used to get a temporary increase in turning performance as the wind swings round to your rear. It is good practice to over-correct all the time as this puts you in a

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better position for the next manoeuvre. The easiest to deal with is the off-crowd wind as you are playing the turn in the second half when the crowd line is in view. The hardest is the on-crowd component as you have your back to your reference during the vital moments and are committed once you get the crowd back in view again. It is in this situation that over-allowance pays off.

2.3.32 A word of warning here:

NEVER, NEVER BE TEMPTED TO USE GROUND REFERENCE POINTS, OTHER THAN THE CROWD FRONT, IN PRACTICE.

They will do you no good at all when you arrive in the Little Muddlecome circuit for the first time in your life. You must train yourself to work on a crowd front only.

2.3.33 Cases 4a and 4b apply to the looping manoeuvres with the wind blowing in the same plane as the loop. The effect is more pronounced with the wind behind you as the tendency is to gain ground in a loop anyway. Under these circumstances it is almost impossible to make a round loop and the only way to maintain your positioning is to accept this and pull up really early.

The effect of the on-/off-crowd wind component on loops done along the crowd line, i.e. at right angles to the loop, needs special consideration as will be seen from the following analysis (see Fig 5).

Figure 5.

2.3.34 Imagine that you are about to pull up for a loop with the wind blowing from your right. You lay off 10 to the right to keep on the centre line as you pull up. As soon

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as you get past the vertical that 10 is corkscrewing you in the wrong direction, that is, it is increasing the drift effect! By the time you get to the pullout you will be right over the heads of the crowd. The same applies for a loop or half loop begun off the end of a slow roll, in which the drift has been laid off. The only place that you can change that 10 so that it is still acting in your favour is when you are vertical.

2.3.35 The technique, then, for a crosswind loop is this: lay off the drift on the run in to keep you tracking along your line. As you approach the vertical, roll quickly through at least twice the number of degrees that you laid off in the pull-up, towards the direction that the wind is coming from. Continue the loop and, as you come through the vertical again, roll back to the original angle. This will probably be done instinctively as the crowd line will be in view. The bigger your loop, the more trouble you must take over this correction.

2.3.36 Laid out step by step it sounds a bit complicated but once you have tried it out in practice you will find yourself doing it automatically. The usual fault is to make the corrections too small, with the result that on each manoeuvre the downwind drift accumulates until eventually you have to put in a straight leg to recover. The secret is little and often, with a strong bias in favour of overdoing it, for you will never have any difficulty in losing a little ground if you do get too far upwind.

2.3.37 Limit Manoeuvres. In the early days, despite the fact that your calculations show that you should be getting 8 manoeuvres into 6 minutes, your stopwatch will keep proving you wrong. Do not despair, by the end of July you will find that you can reel them off and still have 50secs to spare. The opposite happens with the fuel consumption. As you get familiar with the routine you will fly nearer to the limits, and this means more power to overcome the drag. Beware of the temptation to tighten your display as the season progresses. 2.3.38 Safety Gates. All display crews should determine safety gates using experience gained in practice. You will need to calculate gate points for various manoeuvres, particularly for the inverted pull-through height and the vertical pull-out minimum. Of course, these will vary depending on the display height and your IAS. To calculate the gates find out how much height your loop will take at 5000ft and note the speed over the top. By varying the speed over the top you can work out the variation in pull through height for each advance of speed (typically 100ft extra is required for every extra 10kts increase in speed [within certain parameters], although you will have to experiment with your own aircraft type). Once you have calculated your gate heights you should use pull through heights calculated at 5000ft (added to your base height) when you start practising at 1500ft. Clearly, as the air is now a bit thicker, you will be able to reduce these minima, but by using the 5000ft pull through heights initially you will give yourself opportunity to adjust sensibly as experience is gained. Having refined the figures for 1500ft use these when you descend to 1000ft, and then refine again. Do not refine further when cleared down to 500ft. The difference will be negligible and the extra couple of feet might prove useful one day! However, the situation is further complicated by changes in airfield elevation, temperature and humidity, so don’t shave it to minimums. 2.3.39 As emphasised elsewhere in this Section, by getting the entry parameters right you will make the gate heights over the top and in the vertical. With experience you

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will be able to determine whether you will make the gates by checking at specific places. Therefore, anticipating and loosen or tighten the manoeuvre accordingly. Technique will also have an effect on the pull through height. On the way down, try to get most of the loop completed in the early part of the pull-through so you can be ‘letting-out’ towards base height rather than ‘pulling’ for it (the punters will not notice this). However, do not forget the effect of speed and have a minimum pull-through speed as well as a sensible correction for a speed in excess of the norm. An F4 crashed during a practise for an open-day at RAF Abingdon because the pilot extended into wind over the top of a loop, remaining in reheat and accelerating whilst inverted. Despite achieving his gate height he failed to appreciate the effect this extra speed would have on the pull-through and both crew were tragically killed. 2.3.40 Though it is nice to know that you can get round a loop in 3000ft, it is not advisable to make this the standard for your show. There are many things that can upset the best performance of you or the aircraft, so you need to have something in hand to allow for these. The larger the loop the greater the allowance should be. As a rule-of-thumb add 100ft per 1000ft of loop: if your aircraft can loop in 3000ft aim for a gate height of at least 3300ft above base. The audience will not know how high you are over the top and there is no point shaving the limits. Remember, it is not that these things might happen, in the course of a display season they will happen, so be prepared. 2.3.41 Left Hand, Right Hand. If you are operating a heavy, high-performance aircraft you will find that the tight routine necessary to keep you near the airfield makes it surprisingly difficult to change the direction of the show. Build a sequence that is easily reversible. 2.3.42 S Sequence Card. Do use a sequence card, and have it fixed where you can see it n the instrument panel. The sequence will be firmly engraved on your memory, but for the one (or more!) occasion when your mind suddenly goes blank, you will be glad of it. All the professionals have one. You can also use it to display vital information such as the QFE. 2.3.43 Bad Weather Show. During a European summer there are many days when low cloud prevents vertical manoeuvring. It is not possible just to omit them from your routine as you will not fulfil your slot time, and in many cases you will not have the required energy and position for the subsequent manoeuvre. Therefore, you must design a separate routine for poor weather. JSP 550 R335 allows PDAs to include basic low level manoeuvres in the event of cloud base minima. In some aircraft types it may be possible to plan one routine that caters for both the fine and the bad weather option. If a separate rolling display is required the same rules of construction apply and a number of extra items can be introduced to fill the gaps. A run with undercarriage and flap down, a second 4 or 8-point roll are popular extras. Having as many similarities to your full display as possible will make it easier to learn. Do not neglect this aspect of preparation, as there is every chance that your first show will be in limited conditions. 2.3.44 Choice of Airframe. In consultation with the engineers, choose 2 or 3 airframes that will have sufficient fatigue hours for the whole season and which will not be taken away for a long period for servicing. In addition, negotiate the cleanest configuration that you can use without resorting to excessive role changes for displays. This will pay dividends with availability, particularly if you take the trouble to explain the reasons. Do not carry snags and always inspect the red lines carefully before accepting

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the aircraft. In addition, do not feel pressured into carrying faults if you have the special livery aircraft. It is fundamental to have flown the aircraft before the display to discover any hidden quirks, and it is preferable to do the practice in the same aircraft. Do a careful external and internal inspection paying particular attention to full and free control movement and check for loose articles. 2.3.45 Authorisation. Once display pilots have been given Public Display Authority by their DH/AOA, delegation of authorisation should follow at the earliest opportunity. Supervisors cannot expect to foresee every eventuality that may occur over a 4-day, 10-sortie period and a blanket authorisation would be ineffective. If a number of displays are being flown over a weekend from different airfields, the weather can alter plans, even change operating bases. Self-authorisation greatly increases flexibility and should be considered a must for all display pilots. PRACTICE 2.3.46 Do not under-estimate how early in the year the practice needs to be started. Therefore, diplomatic pressure to start practicing should be applied as early as possible. If able, fly through a sequence with the previous display pilot and learn from their experience. It must be understood by aspiring aerobaters that it is primarily their own responsibility to ensure that they get enough practice. It is another thing to know what is enough? Although it does depend to some extent on how demanding your routine is, you are unlikely to get enough practice in one season to get your sequence as perfect as you would like. What then can you settle for as being reasonable? The yardstick is your performance. You must be able to run through the routine consistently without making mistakes big enough to cause you to throw it away. Loops and Derry turns are particularly unforgiving. The ASI must be obeyed absolutely on this score. When practising or displaying, do not ignore small errors; they have a habit of accumulating in the worst sense. When you get out there in front of the crowd nerves will play their part. If you feel distracted or nerves will have a detrimental effect on your performance, do not be tempted to press on regardless; its one of the most common recipes for doom. You must feel happy in what you are doing and the height at which you are doing it. Once you have got your sequence mapped out on paper you can start flying it at 5000ft. Initially, you will find it difficult to link the manoeuvres together and fly them accurately. 2.3.47 You will probably need regular time-outs in order to practice individual manoeuvres before performing them sequentially. You will need to know the routine backwards before flying it at low-level. At 5000ft, your sequence will take considerably longer than at low-level. Typically, a 6mins display will take over 7mins at 5000ft. This is due to the increased turning and looping radii and lack of practice and experience at this stage. Do not despair if you have difficulty positioning the display at 5000ft; it becomes easier as altitude decreases. You will also find that your techniques for flying the sequence change. You will rely much more on looking out of the window and less on chasing the altimeter. 2.3.48 When you are cleared down to a low-level, the presence of the ground will hold a large part of your attention. It will not be as close as it appears at first, but its proximity does not allow for error. You must therefore plan safety into your display from the start. Try to think of possible problems in advance and plan escape manoeuvres (more about these later). Always remember how much height you require to pull through

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from inverted and vertical attitudes; work out your absolute minimum heights for those manoeuvres and stick to them-irrespective of the pressures to press on. You should also know how to fly an absolute minimum radius turn in your aircraft. However, you should always leave a little in reserve, even when you are practising. The whole sequence should be designed so that it can be flown consistently at just below the aircraft’s ultimate manoeuvre capability. 2.3.49 Once you are at display height, treat every practice session as a full display. Give yourself a time on and a time off, and you will eventually be able to stick to ± 5 seconds, provided you always check the surface wind and assess its effects. Occasionally practise at your maximum permissible fuel weight, which will happen if you have more than one display in an afternoon, or if an airfield cannot provide refuelling. 2.3.50 Continuity is as important as the amount of practice. Today, a laid down minimum number of practices are required before a show. Remember that this is the minimum and make sure they are spread out over a reasonable period, not all done at the last minute to satisfy the book. Do not be brow-beaten into the deception that the abortive 10 minutes you did last Tuesday constituted a full practice. It is your duty to yourself, your Approving Officer, and your Supervisor to make sure that you are properly prepared. 2.3.51 Once you can run through your routine near-perfectly under ideal conditions, the time has come to start simulating a display environment. It is very tempting to continue practising on bright blue days only, up and down your own main runway and feel that you are getting the right sort of preparation. However, it is in your own interest to make sure you get some practice on the limits in the familiar security of your own base environment, happy in the knowledge that you can throw it away if you do not like it. It does not make good sense to practise under the easiest conditions and then go off to perform under more difficult ones. Also, think of all the possibilities when practising. For example, you may not be used to navigating at low-level and, in order to make the exact start time at your display venues, you may need to practise low-level navigation with timings to a specific point. 2.3.52 You will need to consider, and practice, escape manoeuvres. If you are denied visual references by unexpected cloud, do not sit there hoping; recover while there is time. The most sensitive item is the loop. It is all too easy to find yourself suddenly in cloud where you thought there was none. If you are just going over the top and everything is as planned, and you are certain that you will be in the clear again in a few seconds, then it is safe to continue, provided you maintain the pull. If you have any doubts at all, do not continue the loop. Revert to instruments, once you are over the top ease the pull, roll gently the right way up and find out what the score is, under control. The crowd will be quite happy if you reappear later from an unexpected direction and complete the demonstration. If you cannot get out of the cloud by a reasonable height, thank your stars you did not carry on with the loop, and go home. The attitude indicator can be a help in this sort of emergency, but beware, even the most sophisticated instruments have a nasty habit of toppling when subjected to continuous high ‘g’ turns. Practise these escape loops until you can roll the right way up using a combination of main AI/HUD, the standby, and feel.

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2.3.53 So, with all that practice there should be no problem when you arrive at your first display venue. Wrong! There are many additional problems that I have tried to summarise below:

• Pre-show nerves. • Navigating at low-level, especially if this is not part of your normal job. • Operating at a strange airfield. Some do not even have a runway, which can

increase your work-load when adhering to display axes and crowd lines. • Non-standard or cluttered R/T. You do not realise how your local Air Traffic spoil

you until they are not there. Some places operate on a portable radio brought in for the occasion. There are often few aids and half the other participants are operating on a mixture of hand signals and divine intervention.

• Timing. You have to be the star of the show before they will run their programme to fit your navigation. Generally speaking, if you are two minutes late you will lose two minutes of your time.

• Fuel. There are many variables during an air-show so you will find yourself operating very close to your fuel margins. Make sure that you never operate below them. Most displays end up running late so it is worth planning to have sufficient fuel for those few extra minutes that you will spend holding off.

• Weather. Some controlling authorities cancel on the TAF or as soon as the limits are reached. Others like to suck it and see. Do not be tempted to push a display in unfit weather, even if some other participants are. There may well be some pressure to continue from the show organiser, because it is their job to deliver the goods to a fare paying public. They may not argue about half a mile and 800 ft; you must. Performing a flat show in unfit weather, and crashing due to disorientation is far worse than cancelling; blame the weather! If you are already at the hold, an instrument approach and some basic manoeuvres will show them you have made the effort to get there, even if you cannot display!

2.3.54 The above list looks formidable, because it is formidable, and it is up to you to make the most of your training periods to acclimatise yourself to these distractions. Overcome your natural inertia and do as many of your practices as possible with one or more of the above limitations built in: a navigation exercise ending up at base at an exact time; a visit to the nearby airfields in your command, beginning again at an exact time. CRITICISM 2.3.55 Constructive and critical comment is invaluable during your work-up, and if possible during displays too. However, you should insist on having only one mentor and authoriser - with whom you have complete rapport, mutual trust and respect. This is the only way to get consistent criticism based on a proper insight of what you are trying to achieve. Do not be discouraged by criticism though; you must get used to it and learn from it. That said, the most important source of criticism is yourself. CREW CO-ORDINATION 2.3.56 In a 2-seat aircraft you must include your NHP / WSO right from the beginning. They need to trust you just as much as your boss does, and the 2 of you must work together to develop and polish your display. It is very important that you are


firm friends. As for his other qualifications, your NHP/WSO must know the aircraft well, be proficient at low-level navigation, be calm and competent in all situations, and qualified in first-line servicing. Naturally, he must also be prepared to work most weekends in the summer as well as putting in extra effort Mondays to Fridays. You will find that such an individual is invaluable in talking you into position, holding you on stage and providing audio information on aircraft performance. For instance, during inverted runs they can make useful advisory calls such as “up”, “up slowly”, “down fast” which will allow you to correct without looking inside. Teamwork means that you know they will always call airspeed or height at a certain point, will have an eye for your fuel state, or will look after the radio for you. Since the NHP/WSO is there, make use of them, but get them to tell you what you want and when you want it. Finally, you cannot work effectively as a crew unless you have earned their trust: a display NHP/WSO must be absolutely steadfast in their support for the pilot. PHYSICAL FITNESS 2.3.57 Display flying is extremely fatiguing. One 6 to 10min routine can be the equivalent of one normal sortie. Regulations lay down the fatigue limits for display flying but these are the upper limits; you must use both your own and your supervisors sensible judgement to keep within these values. There are no set formulae for how physically fit you need to be, the yardstick is performance. If you can cope with 3 or 4 sessions of 6mins each, at a fairly constant 5g, with a sprinkling of -3g, without losing your precision, then you are fit. The test is to be capable of staying at the top of your form while you are in the air. Remember that it is your neck that you are sticking out and if you are tired you start to make slip-ups that can be fatal. If you are in good physical condition you tire less easily, so do not let fear of ridicule stop you taking exercise if you need it. 2.3.58 Each person must judge for themselves whether they are fit to fly. Do not under-estimate the effect that feeling rotten can have on your ability to do the job properly. In display flying there is little margin for error. The same applies to the effects of alcohol. You must know the limits and stay within them. Do not be tempted to stay up for one for the road because everyone else is; they may have already cancelled or be with the spare aircraft or static display! Never drink on a forecast. 2.3.59 To round this off, do not display or practice if you are tired, unwell or under the effects of alcohol. This is when mistakes can, and do, occur. In the arena of low-level aerobatics even a comparatively simple mistake can be fatal. STRESS 2.3.60 All flying, particularly military flying, imposes a degree of stress upon the crew. How much stress is involved on any given sortie depends on a number of well-known factors such as weather and sortie content. However, there is an extra source of stress which is peculiar to display flying: the distracting effect of the crowd. Even the coolest of operators will probably feel a little nervous when performing in front of a large crowd, and their performance will be affected in relation to the nature of the event and according to their individual temperament and display experience. Nervousness may result in a slightly less polished performance than normal; at worst it could cause an accident. The shame is that it is usually the most elementary mistakes that produce the

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disaster: when an onlooker would say “Fancy pulling through from there” or “How come he flicked off a slow roll”. PREPARATION FOR THE SHOW 2.3.61 Paperwork. As usual, display flying is accompanied by its share of paperwork. Every show that you attend will require information. This ranges from planned arrival time, display length, accommodation requirements, fuel requirements, departure details, personal details about you and your crew, facts and figures about the aircraft and its role and a myriad of other items. A good idea is to produce your own fact sheets covering yourself, the display, the aircraft and its role. Get the paperwork out of the way early to ease the mid-season workload. 2.3.62 Display Literature. Each set of organisers has a different questionnaire format and the list seems endless. Although there are moves to rationalise these forms across the display industry. Send full details of your display to the organisers as soon as possible. Not only does this give them more time to progress any special requests that you may have made, but you are also much more likely to get better coverage for your squadron/aircraft/self in the display brochure. Occasionally the display literature will arrive late. If it has not arrived by 7 days before the event you will be forced to find out the necessary details, perhaps by lengthy phone calls. Some displays will attract an excessive number of written Orders and Instructions and you will find yourself reading perhaps 4 sets of Op Orders for one show. However, do not be lulled into thinking that it is all sheer duplication. There will be the inevitable 2% of conflicting or irreconcilable information that will have to be sorted out. Some pilots find it useful to condense all of the relevant material prior to each display and record it in a personal book. Adding detailed comments after each display will allow an interesting picture to be built up over the season and will help with the end of season report. 2.3.63 Site Photos. Order a set of site photos from JARIC asking for the same format as the RAFAT or consider using a commercial web based mapping and image site. Be careful to specify the LAT/LONG of the display site (you will need to check with the organisers). At some of the unusual sites such as Buchan and Boulmer, it may not be coincident with the radar head or domestic site. Establish the exact display datum and line with the organiser and prepare a 1:50 000 Site Map marked with your different axes and headings. You can then transfer this information to the site photograph. 2.3.64 Public Relations. Plan ahead for PR. Produce a script early in the season that includes a description of the display and aircraft, and a bibliography of yourself. This saves embarrassing misquotes and incorrect publicity. Try to persuade your photo section to produce a host of small pictures of your aircraft. You will always meet enthusiasts who will treasure such a photograph autographed in their presence. Above all, liaise closely command Media Ops to maximise PR opportunities. 2.3.65 Aircraft Servicing. Make sure that you are conversant and qualified to perform aircraft servicing. If possible take supporting ground crew to relieve you of the tiring business of servicing the aircraft on an unfamiliar airfield, especially if it is complicated. This will also ensure that the work is done to the highest possible standard with on-the-spot expertise available to rectify minor snags. This policy is of course expensive but it can contribute quite a lot towards ensuring that you have a trouble-free

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season. It also involves the ground crew in a prestigious activity. Of course, if you are accompanied by a spare aircraft, the crew can help with servicing matters. PRE DISPLAY PREPARATION 2.3.66 Detailed Planning. Detailed preparation for each show must be thorough and should follow a pattern so that nothing is missed. You must plan everything thoroughly including your recovery and transit maps. Prepare maps of the run-in to your start point, marking the time in minutes and seconds at outstanding features to give you an exact on-show time. Choose a convenient holding point about 12 miles along the extended centre-line, something nice and easy to see in poor weather, and plan the rest of your trip to this point (of course the holding point may have been pre-selected by the display organisers). On a gin clear day you will wonder if the planning was all worth it, but come the day of an unexpected front, or a contrary shift in the wind bringing industrial haze, you will be very grateful for that extra half-hour spent the night before. As mentioned earlier, plan a 1:50 000 map with axes and headings and transfer to a site photograph if possible. The Red Arrows can be a useful source of information. The team leader and the synchro leader both do extensive preparation which they will share with you. Additionally a P&SS report, prepared for the RAFAT, contains a great deal of useful information on obstacles and sensitive areas within the vicinity of the show. Advice on these reports can be obtained through RAFAT or P&SS. 2.3.67 Pre-show Visit. If at all possible visit the display airfield before the display. Check suitability of runways, grass areas (if applicable), and other landing surfaces (e.g. Mexe pads). At small sites you will need to ensure that the fire/ambulance cover is adequate and that spectator clearances are correct including aircraft guarding arrangements. Consider the Birdstrike hazard on the airfield and ascertain the RA(T) height of the display. If you have more than one display during a day you will need to liaise with the organisers to establish different slot times with a suitable gap between displays. 2.3.68 Practice. Perform your routine at least once in the week before the display. Tailor your practice to the shape size/layout of the display airfield. Fly the display aircraft if possible. 2.3.69 Met. Make sure you have made arrangements to get met information, especially at weekends. This may be obtained through MEDA stations or UK Met Office “Get Met” Aviation site. 2.3.70 Timing. It is essential that display timings are adequate for your needs. If you are doing two or more shows in one day, ensure that sufficient spare time is built into the transits to cater for the unexpected: tight timings inevitably involve short cuts and changed plans which increase the possibility of mistakes. Plan your fuel and know your hold-off capability. Ensure that you always have some fuel in-hand to cater for last-minute requests to hold. Final flight planning on the day will require an early start. Always check the latest state of the programme with the FDD with a display time check to synchronise with your own. Add all of the variables to the basic plan and check the weather. Remember that in deteriorating weather you will have to allow for a different time en route if you wish to use ATC; moreover, the programme timing may also change. In such conditions it is as well to ask your own ATC to keep in touch with the display so

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that they can pass changes to you direct. Planning forward from your operations room, make up a knee pad with the details shown in Fig 6. Eng Start 1415 C/S TOR 06 Taxi 1419 RT Hold 282.6 T/O 1426 Display 321.4 (Stud 6) En-Route 12 mins Run in Hdg 240° Display On 1438 Local QFE 1005 Off 1444

Figure 6. 2.3.71 Stopwatch. One tip that may ease the airborne calculating process is to take an accurate time check into the cockpit just before a whole hour comes around. Then start the cockpit stopwatch exactly on the hour. However, you must ensure first that no one will subsequently tamper with the watch and that it will run accurately until the time of your cue. One pilot who arrived at datum at the same time as a four-ship discovered that his watch had gained 1 minute 10 seconds in the previous hour! THE SHOW 2.3.72 Planning. An air-show may be counted as a success when you arrive exactly on time, perform your chosen sequence of manoeuvres without error in exactly the right part of the sky, and depart in good order exactly on time. Note that arrival back at base is not included as a necessary ingredient for a good display. If, however, you hope to be anything more than a one-day wonder you had better make some arrangements on that score. Although luck, determination, skill, etc, all play their parts the secret of success is detailed preparation. If you fail to fulfil the requirements listed above because of something that you could have anticipated, then it is your fault. Excuses may or may not satisfy the display committee but they should not satisfy you. The chance to do low-level display aeros should be a highlight in your flying career, so surely it is worth a little extra effort to ensure that each of the displays you fly is as perfect as you can make it. Ask anyone who has done any motor racing or rallying and they will tell you the same thing. It is the well prepared teams that come out on top. 2.3.73 Fuel. The actual fuel state during the display will be dictated by the distance you have to recover afterwards. The lower the fuel weight the better your aircraft will perform and it is well worth investigating the possibilities of only partially fuelling when going straight into a show from take-off. If you run yourself too short you will be distracted by worrying about your safe recovery; on the other hand too much fuel can seriously limit the aircraft’s performance. During the pre-season practices increase the fuel weight on each sortie until you reach the highest weight at which you are happy with the aircraft’s performance and handling. Having done this, never exceed this figure and reduce it in hot weather. Never start a show at a fuel state that you have not previously practised at. Several pilots have received a nasty shock at the bottom of the first heavy weight loop! In a high performance aircraft you will use a lot more fuel on a hot summer afternoon than on a cold spring morning, so be prepared. Fuel may be offered to you from an unmarked bowser. Make sure that it is right for your machine.

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2.3.74 Temperatures. When operating heavy aircraft at low speed and high angles of attack, you are relying very extensively on thrust to keep you flying. At high temperatures your engine power is reduced and this can cause considerable embarrassment if you go into your routine without allowing for it. Particular care should be taken when going to air shows abroad where the afternoon temperatures can reach figures quite uncommon in the UK. 2.3.75 Functional Test. Try to make it a rule never to start a display without first giving your aircraft a quick functional test. The exception will be when you are starting the show from take-off. Climb to a safe height - say 6 or 7 thousand feet, and check the engine acceleration up to full power, and reheat lighting if applicable; pull your maximum permitted ‘g’ and do a short inverted run. 2.3.76 Getting There. Although most displays have some sort of arrangement for giving you an Air Traffic approach to the airfield, it is more reliable to get into the habit of making your own way VMC, visual with the ground. That way you will not be let down suddenly because the system, which can be pretty chaotic at some shows, breaks down. Remember that map reading is a skill and needs regular practice. If the distance from your operating base is too great to manage the whole trip at low-level and the weather prevents you map reading at height, do a let-down at the nearest convenient airfield, with plenty of time in hand, and go VMC from there. If the weather is good enough to do a display then it is good enough to map read at low-level. Remember UK LFS procedures and book in with LF Ops at Wittering for weekend and Public Holiday transits. Better still get Commands to obtain a blanket clearance from CAS AS LF for the season. By the time you arrive in the display area you will be thoroughly accustomed to the look of the ground under the current conditions. This is an important point as it can be dangerously disorientating to pop out of cloud for the first time in 10 minutes and find that you are 20 seconds to pull-up with no horizon, poor visibility and an indeterminate cloud base. However, on transit to the display airfield remember that weekend flying is marked by a profusion of gliders and light aircraft, so give glider sites and minor airfields a wide berth. Plan to fly outside the general aviation dominated height bands; below 1000ft or above 3000ft would be sensible depending on your aircraft type and authorisation. Remain mindful that ATC may route you or position you at local places that might be well known to them, but might as well be in the Ukraine to you! Get them to clarify any reporting points or routes if you are unsure. This is a good opportunity to check the aircraft for serviceability. Make a point of doing an inverted flight check at (a safe height!) some time during the transit. It is advantageous to arrive the day before a display for several reasons. You get to see the display area and are able to think about your display orientation. You can iron out any minor problems with organisers and, last but not least, you actually get there! Nothing is more frustrating than having a CAVOK met report from the show venue when you have 8/8 clag at base, or have to negotiate an active front en route, etc. 2.3.77 The Airfield Itself. If any display airfield is not known to you, have a careful check of the En Route Supplement, 1:50,000 maps, the Op Order and its Annexes. If you are pre-positioning, aim to fly an arrival practice if you can get authorisation and clearance. Even a normal join, circuit and overshoot will allow you to get to know the place and note such things as pylons, wires and tall aerials which may infringe on your safety margins. If your aircraft is one of the types that is capable of operating into small club fields, beware the fact that they are unlike any RAF aerodrome. Plan your arrival cautiously: such runways are normally short, made of various materials,

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have dubious approach and overshoot areas, and sometimes slope dramatically. Special hints appear later in this booklet for helicopter and Harrier pilots who may be called upon to perform displays at such sites. 2.3.78 After You Have Arrived. Make sure that you are absolutely satisfied with the parking and taxiing arrangements at the display airfield. Aircraft are quite likely to be parked closer than normal and adjacent light aircraft are in danger of being blown over when you taxi. So exercise extreme caution, particularly when members of the public are nearby; many seem unaware that jet efflux is hot, fast-moving and may contain stones. Some parking areas at displays are covered in FOD and demand extreme caution. A large crowd also means a large litter problem so if aircraft are parked near the crowd barrier there is a very real danger that litter will get sucked into the engines. For similar reasons you should avoid being parked near to helicopters - unless you are flying one! Balloons sold at displays may also represent a hazard to your aircraft, in which case do not hesitate to make the point to the organisers. 2.3.79 Display Briefing. Ensure you get to the display briefing in plenty of time. If you are too early you can always grab a coffee and wait; if you are late you will miss something. Listen carefully to the entire brief: has your slot time changed and become unworkable? Get the latest winds. Confirm that ATC frequencies have not changed; sometimes the published frequencies for a station are altered for the duration of the flying programme. If it is a civil display the briefing might not be quite what you are used to and you may have to ask for particular facilities, for instance clearance to take-off into wind! Look for potential hazards in timing or positioning and make your views known - for nobody else will. You might find, for example, that a civilian joyride aircraft is planned to fly close to your display. Do not let this happen if you are not absolutely happy about it, as you cannot afford to fly a display with any unnecessary distractions. The Display Director will often ask you to be ready to take the slot ahead of you in case of a fall-out. Therefore, it is useful to chat to the participants who appear on either side of you on the programme. 2.3.80 Brief Your Support Personnel. Once you are satisfied, fully brief your support personnel. Check that they know what time to arrive at the aircraft, again give yourself plenty of time. Do not get in a situation where you have to rush checks and risk missing something. 2.3.81 FOD and Insects. Take care to have the intake and jet pipe covers fitted until shortly before start up. Before flying, take extra time over your pre-flight inspection, particularly if your aircraft has been parked outside or has been in the static display. Make sure that the windscreen is clear before you start. Summer insects and dirt on the windscreen can easily impair forward vision, especially if you’re on the programme late in the afternoon and the sun is low in haze. 2.3.82 Positioning. Having arrived at the right airfield at the right time you now want to be sure that you present the display to the best possible advantage. Do take the trouble to find where the crowd centre is. The public could well be sequestered in a small enclosure at one end of the field and at a sharp angle to the main runway. If the display organisers do not send you a plan of their airfield with all the relevant details marked on it, ring them up and find out. The terminal approach procedure charts give a plan of most of the airfields that you are likely to visit, and photographs are invaluable for giving some idea of what to expect when you arrive at an airfield for the first time.

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2.3.83 Run-In Check List. It is also well worth preparing a personal pre-run-in check list to cover such items as fuel balance, angle of attack gauges, loose articles/pockets, engines, altimeter setting, etc. The content of any such list will be dictated by your aircraft type and style of display, but could save you from omitting something important when the danger of distraction is highest. It is recommended to deselect guard and turn off the radio not in use. Also ensure that your harness is suitably set, especially if your sequence involves negative ‘g’. 2.3.84 Wind. Since the wind can have such a vital effect on your positioning, it is most important to have the latest surface wind at the display airfield interpreted into terms of two components: across and along the display line. Knowing how the surface wind compares to the forecast 2000ft wind may also be of benefit. Consider turbulence if the wind is gusty; it can have a marked effect on all aircraft types particularly on the slow speed and formation manoeuvres. 2.3.85 Air Traffic Control. Air Traffic Control at air shows can be excellent, but can also be less than ideal. Read Part 1 Section 11 and the role of ATC. The only safe moral is to treat all information as highly suspicious until proved reliable. Make a personal telephone call to the operations officer or his civilian counterpart as near to your take-off time as possible. Agree on the plan of action, even if it is only confirming the original schedule, and then inform him that if there is any R/T confusion you will stick to this plan. From then on you treat the R/T as though it was confused, and try and confine your communications to brief unequivocal statements of what you are about to do. If something really important comes up they will soon let you know. This may sound a bit severe, but there is a tendency for both controllers and exhibitors alike to play things off-the-cuff once a show has got under way and one method to avoid ending up in the circuit at the same time as the previous item is to make your own arrival seem as inevitable as possible. 2.3.86 Other Aircraft. However careful the organisers are, there will always be a number of light aircraft swanning about, sometimes without R/T, either in the show or giving joy rides. They have every right to be there and in many ways it is probably more their show than yours. However, it is obvious that some of these pilots do not fully appreciate the implications of 15 tons of screaming aluminium doing better than 600kts at low-level, and their cloth taxis are inclined to swim into your field of vision at the most awkward moments. The only provision you can make is to speak to the organisers beforehand and form a robust de-confliction plan. You may require the circuit to be completely clear from one minute before your display until one minute after. Since private pilots’ airmanship, radio procedures and discipline may not always be as one would expect, the lesson is to fly defensively. 2.3.87 Mental Preparation. Until the process has become second nature to you, you should consciously aim to achieve the best possible mental and physical state prior to your display. The following points are all old chestnuts but are worth repeating:

• Get a good night’s sleep with little or no alcohol the evening before. • Plan to do nothing demanding prior to the display. • Always give yourself more time than you think you need for turn-rounds, pre-flight

preparation or checking.


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• Go out to the aircraft earlier than normal and plan to have an extra 10mins in the cockpit prior to engine start.

• Conduct a “dirt dive” – it is a useful tool to walk through the routine with the calls. • Declare yourself in the mission bubble and start to deflect distractions. • Once in the aircraft, do the full checks methodically. • Start-up in good time so that you can swap aircraft without rushing too much. • Because there are manifold distractions you must exercise exaggerated care

with all checks. • Think the whole display through before take-off.

2.3.88 Learn to control your emotions before, during and after a display. If things do not go smoothly prior to the display you are likely to become irritated. There is always a natural tendency to become keyed up, so avoid being rushed. On the other hand, there can be a tremendous feeling of elation when taxiing in after a good display and this sensation must be controlled because it has caused pilots in the past to make uncharacteristic errors.

2.3.89 Pressures. Ensure that you have the right millibar setting on the altimeter. Flying a display on QNH instead of QFE could have disastrous consequences. Some overseas shows may require QNH to be set due to high elevation. Ensure your preparation is thorough: calculate the gate heights to include elevation and the corresponding increase in turn radius/reduction in turn performance. A USAF F16 from the Thunderbirds crashed in 2003 at Ohio due to a miscalculated gate height; and QNH operations are the norm for them! 2.3.90 The Big Moment. As your display time approaches, re-check all the details. Some of the larger shows, IAT for example, have several hours of flying planned and things can change during the day. It is not unknown for things to change even after take-off so be prepared for anything! Analyse the real wind now that you are flying, look at the crowd line and display line and plan to fly just as you have practised. DO NOT get tempted to modify your display dramatically to adapt to local conditions or inputs, and if you are not happy, land. At worst, no one will know whether you really did or did not have a minor problem, but everyone will know if you press on and muck it up. 2.3.91 Phew! Finally, you have flown your sequence to perfection and the crowd loved it and you are feeling great. Do not relax. Someone else is just starting his run-in and wants you out of the way. Fly your planned departure and be on the lookout for things that have moved since you got airborne. Accidents can, and have happened whilst aircraft (especially helicopters) are taxiing. Once you have shut down you can relax. 2.3.92 Departing for Home Base. On leaving the show site do not be tempted to do anything silly - I know you wouldn’t, but others have! Leave sensibly, get back to base and tell the Boss how great it all was and how much you are looking forward to the next one. If leaving the day after the show, watch out for the day after display syndrome. You may have another display to go to, but yesterday’s show organisers will have lost any sense of urgency they might have had the day before. This last comment applies to everyone, not just engineering support personnel. In 2008 a Typhoon came close to disaster after a spirited and poorly handled departure from a static display mission at RAF Odiham.


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2.3.93 Double Effort and Treble Check. At the end of the day, the great deal of effort that you have put in should have paid off. Do not allow yourself to think that because one show has gone well that the rest are in the bag. Each show has its own problems, and unless you prepare for the worst you could become unstuck. Distraction is possibly the biggest hazard that you will meet. There is no way of being completely undisturbed by the innumerable distractions that are present at an Air-show, so the answer is to evolve a steady routine for displays and stick to it. Treble check everything, because you can rest assured that if your IQ is normally halved whenever you close the canopy, it will be reduced almost to zero on the day of the show. CONCLUSION 2.3.94 All of the advice above may seem daunting, but most of it is common sense. As a military display crew you are a representative of the service, and the general public will to some extent, judge us all on your performance. We would like them to think that we are responsible professional pilots, so act accordingly. 2.3.95 Finally then, do not be satisfied with less than your best. Do not be too quick to take other people’s advice, but never scorn to learn from their experience. Determine to be your own severest critic; then, when you put your trust in your own judgement, it will be well placed. 2.3.96 By way of a summary, a list of dos and don’ts is highlighted below:

• Do get the sequence properly planned before you start - you are wasting valuable time otherwise.

• Do de-brief thoroughly - preferably with the same person and using a display chart.

• Do read all of the rules and limitations produced by the display organiser and attend their briefing, otherwise study a map or photograph of the display area and get a telephone briefing!

• Do try to arrange a practice over the display site if required. • Do know the aeroplane - know exactly what to do if something goes wrong during

a critical period of a manoeuvre. Think out contingencies for all stages of the display to cover engine malfunctions, system failure, instrument malfunctions.

• Do talk to the display organisers and make your requirements clear. • Do get to bed sober and on time - even though everyone wants to host you. • Do check the flying programme carefully for conflictions-Zulu or Alpha time? As a

convention display times are actual / local times. • Do prepare yourself mentally - visualise the whole sequence by studying a large-

scale map. • Do check the wind - it has a considerable effect. • Do remember your PINS. • Do go through your personal check-list before running in and always include a

check of the altimeter setting. • Do fly within your own capability. • Do stick rigidly to your weather minima. • Do perform your display EXACTLY AS PRACTISED WITH NO AD LIBS. It is

very natural to feel rushed - try not to be.


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• Do not be afraid to ask for advice: better to profit from someone else’s experience than to learn the hard way.

• Do not be worried by ‘crewroom criticism’ • Do not fly with a hangover. • Do not deliberately fly into cloud. • Do not overstress the aircraft – display her sympathetically! Do not be tempted to

carry faults and never conceal the fact that you may have overstressed your aircraft. Have it checked – a rudder or air brake change is preferable to total loss of airframe and crew!

• Do not change your sequence. You will be asked to ‘fill in time’ but resist the temptation unless you are PDA or authorised for basic manoeuvres.

• Do be tempted to execute flypasts or touch and go’s if you have only been approved and authorised for a static. This will cross over to display flying and you have no DA!

• Do not be tempted to fly just that little bit nearer to the limits. • Do not fly below your briefed or authorised minimum height. • Do not enter into competition with the other display pilots. • Do not tighten up your display on the day. This can be a temptation especially

over a small display area - succumb and you will disturb your sequence and affect your timing.

• Do not assume the wing over is a routine positioning manoeuvre. It has no gate heights and is potentially as fatal as any aerobatic manoeuvre.

• Do not improvise on your sequence by adding unpractised manoeuvres. This can be tempting if you have time left at the end of your display slot. If your sequence goes wrong, do not take a chance on entering a manoeuvre with insufficient speed.

• Do not attempt your good weather sequence in marginal weather. Stick to your weather limitations.

• Do not squeeze your sequence up too close to the crowd line; spectators prefer to look up at about 45°, not 60° to 90°.

• Do not get sucked in by the Barnstorming atmosphere that you will sense at some shows.

• Do not try to emulate the performance of those who have great skill but set a poor example. You are a professional military pilot, and while you are on display, the reputation of the Service rests on your shoulders.

• Do not fly a farewell beat-up. They are dangerous and the crowd will have gone home anyway.

• When you get back on the ground, do watch the rest of the display and learn from others. Resolve to do it better next time, and expect by mid-season to have got it nearly right!

• Remember that the responsibility you bear to the Service does not end when you land.

2.3.97 This may seem to be a forbidding list of Dos and Do Nots, and indeed there are a considerable number of rules associated with display flying. The degree of control imposed on the individual may appear stifling to any young blood starting the display game, but this close supervision has necessarily evolved from bitter experience over the years. The risks are high but are minimised by full preparation and mature, responsible attitude. Display flying presents a deeply satisfying physical and mental challenge, but you can rest assured that it is also enormous fun.


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PART 2 SECTION 4 - I LEARNT ABOUT DISPLAY FLYING FROM THAT!!! LIGHTNING - PRIDE PRECEDES THAT SINKING FEELING 2.4.1 Some years ago I was a Lightning OCU instructor and about to become one of the unit’s official aerobatic display pilots. This was in the good old days when almost every station had its own resident display pilot. 2.4.2 Shortly before the start of the season one such station decided to give up its display commitment because of a spate of fuel leaks brought on by too much g. This meant that the displays previously allocated to that unit were passed around the rest of the Group’s display pilots. It so happened that I was allocated the first of these commitments - as my first ever show. The display, which was midweek, was for a group of visiting foreign dignitaries and was to be flown at the home base of the unit that had withdrawn. 2.4.3 I arrived on the afternoon preceding the display, having arranged with my supervisor and with the host station that an “arrival display” would be in order; this was to be the only chance I would have to practise at this airfield - which I had never visited before. All went smoothly enough, although I had to cut short because of fuel shortage. When I got to the crewroom, however, I could immediately sense the atmosphere. As plainly as if the words had been spoken aloud, I could hear everyone saying things like:

• “So this is the blue-eyed whiz kid that’s doing our displays for us” and “I wasn’t too impressed with his arrival show, our man was much better than that”

• It seemed that only the Station Commander and OC Ops Wing were pleased to

see me. 2.4.4 Well, worse was to come. The weather the following day prevented looping and I couldn’t even demonstrate the famous Lightning rotation! I took off - on time of course - and ran in for my display on cue. Then the problem started. I didn’t seem to be getting enough power. At that stage in the turn I should have been throttling back the reheat to maintain 350 kts but I barely had 300! Both donks showed full reheat. Agh, the blasted airbrakes were out! With no time to wonder why they had come out I selected in, got my 350 kts just in time, cancelled reheat and went smoothly into a roll for an inverted pass. The nose dropped alarmingly and I had to shove the stick hard forward against the stop to prevent a further descent. You’ve guessed it, the airbrakes had come out again! I completed the inverted pass, rolled upright, selected airbrakes in and decided to cut out any further rolling manoeuvres. That nose-slice had really scared me! That meant no Derry turn and no slow roll. You can well imagine the comments after I landed. 2.4.5 Still, the situation was not beyond redemption. The airbrake solenoid was changed, and I was to operate from this base for a display at a nearby GCI site 2 days later. I had already been authorised for a practice at the GCI on the intervening day, but I felt the need to save face so rang my boss at the OCU and poured out my tale of woe.


He promptly gave me permission for another practice at my host Station under the supervision of their ex-display pilot’s commander. 2.4.6 The following day dawned bright and clear with blue sky, a slight off-wind: in short, perfect display weather. Pre-flight preparation was faultless. I had briefed with my supervisor, cleared the display time with Wing Ops and Air Traffic, and the ground crew had prepared the aircraft to my requirements with the ventral tank empty, wing and flap tanks full giving 2,600 lbs per side. 2.4.7 As I was starting up I noticed a Canberra taxi behind me. No problem, I thought, he will be airborne by the time I get to the take-off point. Wrong! There he was, stuck right in my patch and he wouldn’t budge despite the fact that I’d booked the airfield for my exclusive use! By the time he’d wakened his navigator and lumbered off into the air my precious fuel was down to 1,800 Ibs per side! 2.4.8 I thought that, if I missed out on one of the less spectacular manoeuvres and didn’t do the reheat climb to contrail height at the end of the display, I would probably only be a couple of hundred pounds below minimum touch-down fuel! 2.4.9 With a final check that the canopy was down and locked I roared down the runway and straight into a half loop. The practice went very well indeed and no-one could have noticed that I’d missed out a turn. A final check as I was positioned for my high speed run showed that I was already at minimum touch down fuel! Without giving it a second thought I flashed over the airfield at a great rate of knots, pulled the power back to idle and, popping the airbrakes as I crossed the perimeter fence, positioned for a straight-in approach. As soon as I got 3 greens I chopped the No 2 engine and started transferring what little fuel there was left to the No 1. Apart from the higher than normal pulse rate the landing was uneventful and I even had enough fuel to taxi back in - though goodness knows I deserved the ignominy of a flame out on the taxiway! 2.4.10 That was certainly quite an introduction to the art of display flying. I learnt innumerable lessons from that one experience, and through 3 display seasons I never again allowed myself to fall victim to wounded pride. HARRIER - ANY AIRFIELD WILL DO! 2.4.11 I was displaying the Harrier back in the days when the Bona Jets were based at Wildenrath. 2.4.12 One of the difficulties with Harrier display flying in Germany is that many of the Air Shows are located at small club airfields, which have limited facilities. One day I took a telephone message from Command requesting that I display at a civil airfield called Hexter. A quick glance at the map confirmed that this was near Paderborn, had a small tarmac runway and appeared suitable. I was fairly familiar with the area, time was short, and details of the show were to appear in the mail later, so a letter came from the club giving an outline of the show, some airfield details and a photo of the airfield. All seemed good. 2.4.13 On the Sunday appointed I set off in my Harrier. A quick call on the VHF flying club frequency and then in to land on the strip.... wait a minute, what’s that?

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" Harrier this is Hexter, you may not land, we are not expecting you” “Thanks”?" Hexter, are you having a flying show to-day?” " Harrier, Negative, no flying display here”

2.4.14 Fuel now getting low, no time to argue – let’s land at Gutersloh and sort it out (thanks heavens for Master Divs). Land at Gutersloh find piece of paper with Hexter telephone number. Ring up....

"Why didn’t you let me land, aren’t you having a display today?” "Oh yes we are, but no Harrier has been near here today.” "Oh horror, where was I then suspicion dawns in my mind" "How do you spell your airfield name?” "H-O-X-T-E-R, Hoxter, near Hamlin”

2.4.15 Suspicion now confirmed, I dig out the photo that they’d sent me. Yes, nothing like the place I tried to land at! Another look at the map confirms Hoxter to be some 60 miles away from Hexter! 2.4.16 Red faced, I explain on the telephone that there had been a small administrative error but that I can still make the planned display time if I rush. Usual excellent co-operation from VASS Gutersloh and I’m airborne again this time for Hoxter. Raise them on the radio, dump a bit of fuel all set to land. Request temperature and pressure?

• "89F and 28.50 inches” 2.4.17 Oh hell, what’s that in real terms? No time to convert, got a bit of hover weight in hand, so here we go. Suddenly, while on finals for a rolling vertical landing, there is a 15 second warning staring at me! More adrenalin, overshoot, think again. Must be hotter than I thought. Luckily I took a full water tank, so I stick water on, and try again (low on fuel for the second time). Land, quick refuel, then successful display using the rest of the water. 2.4.18 Why no hover first time? 89 f and 28.50 inches = 32C and 965 mb. Hoxter, as it says on the map, is 932 ft above sea level! I learnt about how to get to your display from that! HARRIER - IS THIS HOW YOU WANTED ME TO POSITION? 2.4.19 I once set off for a display airfield in a Harrier, which slipped on the brakes at 52% (normal hold being 55%) only to block the runway at Biggin Hill for an hour by bursting 3 tyres very gently on landing. The problem had not been slightly worn brakes, as I had thought, but a leaking main oleo on the main undercarriage leg, which allowed the aircraft to effectively land on the outriggers. When I switched off the anti-skid the 2 main wheels slowly burst, and after a short taxi, one outrigger gave up the ghost. Things are never as they seem! PUMA - HELICOPTERS HAVE THEM TOO!


2.4.20 So far as embarrassing experiences go I can mention two. The first was at an Open Day at a Royal Air Force station and involved a car underslung beneath a Puma. This car had supposedly been “illegally” parked, and during its transportation away by helicopter, was to be accidentally dropped: a well-worn trick I know. Fortunately I had decided to have a trial run on the morning of the show. The trouble was that some kind soul, thinking that helicopters could carry nothing more than a verbal message, had removed the car’s engine and gearbox. As a result it was so light as to be almost impossible to carry. At speeds above 40 kts the car swung quite dangerously, and it was worse in turns. Thus I found myself flying away from the airfield at 30 kts, unable to turn back. Eventually I managed to return by coming to the hover, spot turning, and then slowly flying back. The show went off as planned but I was careful when manoeuvring with that car underneath. 2.4.21 he second incident occurred during a winching demonstration at a school fete. It was during a summer’s drought and happened when my “survivor” ran out of the crowd as briefed, waving a Day Night flare. The flare promptly set the grass alight and the downwash from the aircraft fanned the flames. Fortunately there was sufficient water available to douse the fire and the display continued without the aid of a flare. This was a predictable incident, which could have been avoided with a little forethought. TYPE UNKNOWN - COMPLACENCY 2.4.22 I did not suffer any embarrassment in the second year’s flying; however, I learnt two valuable lessons in my previous season. The first was not to get blasé and over-confident over a sequence; through lack of concentration I ruined the entry to an inverted run by applying opposite rudder, with the result that I stopped the roll at about l50° of bank and entered a shallow dive and lost 150 ft. Since I had started at only 300 ft the resultant pullout was quite spectacular. 2.4.23 The second lesson I learnt was that, no matter how pressed for time you are, you must do all the basic checks. I was forced to change aircraft after start up and rushed rapidly through the checks in the new one. On entering the display in time honoured fashion with a 6g turn I was dismayed to note that I was greying out. I realised that the anti-g was still off and I changed hands on the stick, reached down and turned it on. The resultant punch in the guts unsettled me for the following few minutes. 2.4.24 I was practising a rolling display on the fourth sortie of the day when I really learnt about display flying. The manoeuvre that went wrong was a Derry turn with the wheels down, but the problem had its source much earlier in the sequence. I normally flew the preceding manoeuvre by turning away from the crowd through 180° inverted, then rolling upright and lowering the undercarriage whilst decelerating. 2.4.25 On the day in question, the entry speed to the manoeuvre preceding the inverted turn was a little high, so I took off some power. This took effect but I was still about 20 kts fast in the turn. The deceleration was normal, but the extra few knots was exacerbated by a strong on-crowd wind. Things were now getting a bit tight, so the undercarriage was lowered a little later than normal, full power was selected and the Derry begun. 2.4.26 The aircraft stalled inverted half way round. The subsequent pitch down gave a most arresting and detailed view of a small area of grass and a windsock. I

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watched in detachment as a set of hands that did not seem to belong to me applied full aileron, confirmed full power etc. As the world re-appeared the right way up and rather adjacent, I began to think again and set about achieving a minimum radius turn in the approach configuration. I did this and cleared the ground by about 20 ft. That’s when I discovered that the manoeuvre required full power to work properly, and that engine acceleration time has to be taken into account sometimes. I had equated a selection of full throttle with the production of full power. I learnt about display flying from that. HUNTER - THERE I WAS, UPSIDE DOWN, WITH NOTHING 2.4.27 I had done two seasons of low level aerobatics in the Hunter Mk 9 and then switched to the T7 the next year. My show included a fair amount of negative g, so from the outset I had made it my business to learn as much as I could about the fuel system in the Mk 9. For instance, although the Pilots Notes made no mention of it in those day, I had worked out for myself that I should allow an interval of 45 seconds to permit the recuperator bags to refill between negative g manoeuvres. 2.4.28 When it came to working up on the T7 I used my basic Mk 9 routine, but naturally had to make some allowances for the lower thrust in the T7. Equally naturally, I liked to rehearse with as low a fuel weight as possible in order to offset the lower thrust-to-weight ratio in the T7. 2.4.29 After four rehearsals at low level I had adjusted to the slightly lower performance of the Hunter T7 and had got back into the old groove. I normally landed off my last manoeuvre, and knew by now exactly what fuel state to run in with to provide for a touchdown at landing minima. It was therefore slightly annoying to be asked on my fifth practice to hold off for 2 minutes - having started my run-in. I didn’t want to land with 70 Lbs a side less than the stipulated requirements, but on this occasion it would have to do. 2.4.30 The final part of my display was an outside break to downwind, where I would roll out inverted, extend the undercarriage and wait upside-down for 3 greens. I always added 200 ft to the normal downwind height just in case. 2.4.31 Just as well in this case, because no sooner had I selected the undercarriage than the engine flamed out. There was a distinct lack of noise and an excess of red lights - generators, fuel pressure.... plus 2 undercarriage reds. I rolled out from the inverted into the finals turn and hit the relight. That kept both hands fully occupied because the relight switch was pre-mod and had to be held on to keep the igniters running. There was no sign of life from the engine however, and I could see that I would soon have to move my left hand to the RT button to answer Air Traffic’s Check 3 Greens with Finals 1 Green, or get on with pulling the emergency selector in time for the undercarriage to blow down. Not that I could be hasty with the emergency undercarriage though: I Couldn’t afford to increase drag until the last moment. 2.4.32 Fortunately the emergency system worked well and the final clunk was heard very audibly and thankfully in that quiet cockpit 3 Greens were confirmed just before the threshold was crossed for a fairly normal touchdown. The ensuing roll-out was without incident, but the ride back to dispersal behind the tractor was nothing if not embarrassing. So were the subsequent discussions, although to be fair no-one else on the Wing knew until after I had written out my Incident Report that the Hunter T7 was not

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equipped with recuperator bags. Subsequently it became clear that the Pilot’s Notes statement about 15 seconds worth of inverted flight at full power was based on having full negative g fuel traps. In the event, my downwind fuel state had not been quite sufficient to keep the booster pumps covered, so the engine naturally flamed out. 2.4.33 I certainly learnt about display flying from that, but two obvious lessons are worth stressing:

• Always plan to have a sensible amount of fuel in hand. • Just because you have made a special effort to extend your aircraft knowledge

during the work-up, don’t let the process stop there. BEAVER AL1 – NOTHING COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG! 2.4.34 I had formulated a simple routine that put the rotary section (Alouette II, Scout and Sioux) in formation on the B axis to break at CC just short of the A axis or runway. The Auster AOP 9 and Chipmunk T10 depart to respective holds before running in, in turn, post my 3 min limited Role Demonstration in the Beaver. I would execute a scheduled take off on the rotary break, STOL at CC, on the prop, lots of noise and nose over into the low level (200ft MSD) routine. A figure of 8 and 2 racy steep turns and land off the second. Might not set car alarms off and perforate eardrums, but anoraks would appreciate the sight of the aging airframes in the air! 2.4.35 A first, it was Colour Code Blue at Culdrose for the Airday! Brilliant sunshine with only a breath of wind from the SE. Perfect display conditions for all of our aging types. Detailed brief done, dirt dived and all in the bubble. Weather still perfect, nothing could possibly go wrong, it doesn’t get better than this for historic aircraft displays..woo hoo! Wind check - “SE 4kts”. Quick calculation, tiny on crowd component but nothing to worry about and can even dare a downwind departure. Ready, rotary section running in – “Break, Break GO”! Off the brakes, max RPM, 55kts (add 5 for the 2kts downwind component – just in case) and rotate. Nice, hold the high nose up attitude, 250 ft, nose down, power back, balloon to 300ft – top job, clean up flap and turn. Looking for 250ft, accelerate to 65kts…..and ….high sink rate..IAS falling off..what the **** is happening!! 2.4.36 “55 stay alive” - open throttle and nose down - need IAS quickly and roll off bank to assist. That will be the car park ahead with arriving public! DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN TO MAKE THE LINE!! Overfly the car park , b**ger! Airspeed recovered to 65kts, positive rate of climb. Now turn and capture the runway. Avoid sheepish glance at the FCC on the ATC balcony on the way past. Settle down, settle down and complete rest of the routine. Epic finish and rest of the boys do well, top job! 2.4.37 What could possibly have gone wrong? I had thought of everything. 2-3 kts on crowd could not have caused that sink rate? What about the wake turbulence of 3 helicopters breaking at CC just ahead of my take off, drifting gently downwind and on crowd at the same time and point in space as I execute the turn! B**ger, I didn’t think of that! Why didn’t I attempt to tighten the turn to avoid the car park? Firstly, there was no imperative to do so. Why risk worsening the situation and jeopardising the aircraft? If you have to, over fly the crowd and better to do so in controlled rather than uncontrolled flight! Secondly, the only Beaver display pilot to get killed was at Culdrose….possibly


executing a low level steep turn trying to capture the line and avoiding over flight of the crowd. Now I did think of that! THE ART OF COARSE DISPLAY FLYING 2.4.38 When you go to a display, you’ll normally arrive the day before; showing you’re a real ace by arriving last and being in the bar first - this is easy. Most crews park their jet, kick the tyres and put in enough fuel for the following day. Don’t kick your tyres (it might be the last straw which breaks the camel’s back) and don’t bother to refuel. Aeroplanes don’t get thirsty. You do. 2.4.39 Most places put on a welcoming barrel of John Smith’s or similar. If this doesn’t happen, you should get a beer from OC Ops when he comes over for a friendly chat about your arrival. Don’t worry –he’s more embarrassed than you. After all, he used to fly much lower when he was a squadron mate - he’ll tell you about that too! No friendly chat means that you were too high and impressed no one. Or perhaps you were too fast and no-one saw you, or you wired the wrong airfield. So get a grip or you’ll give your aircraft a bad name! 2.4.40 You may find yourself drinking alongside or near to a navigator. Well, unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about that, other than make the best of it and try to persuade them to buy you a drink. At least you can be sure that a navigator will be talking less rubbish than a Harrier pilot. You will notice that the Tornado crew will be taking the most stick as usual. And don’t forget to pay your due respects to the Red Arrows if they arrive for their orange juice! 2.4.41 Remember to console the F3 pilot who will be in the corner crying into his beer. He arrived just after the F15 and over-stressed his aircraft during his run and break to land! Be polite to the helicopter pilot; he will only take about 30 seconds to bore you with his display sequence, at which point you can fob him off on the station educator who will be on his annual visit to the mess for the free beer. Give the man in the flying suit adorned with badges a miss – he’s the SENGO of the local squadron pretending to be one of the boys. Don’t bother to chat up the wee nurse in the corner either - she has no time to talk because she is a busy member of the BUPA medical team, which looks after the old folks of BBMF!! 2.4.42 There may be some chaps missing but do not fret. The Harrier mate has probably been sent back to base to get a clean aircraft, while the Tutor and Tucano pilots will not yet have arrived. They are both QFIs and will still be de-briefing their transit sortie! The Hercules crew will be downtown in the Hilton! 2.4.43 On the day, you must make sure you get to the aircrew feeder before the Red Arrows. They trench like animals and leave nothing for anyone else.... Remember to take along some out-of-date maps and en-route charts to sell to Joe Public in your continuing efforts to boost your squadron fund. 2.4.44 And finally, on no account think about your display sequence. You’ve had the AOC’s approval, so now you can really get stuck in and rattle a few windows with a bit of spur of the moment extemporization! Got the picture?

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PART 2 SECTION 5 - THE TUTOR Reviewed by Flt Lt Howard Carby, 2002 Tutor Display Pilot 2.5.1 Being small and relatively quiet, the Tutor may lack some of the dramatic impact enjoyed by fast jets, but it does have a degree of manoeuvrability which can be exploited to make an impressive aerobatic display. The secrets are to keep it close to the crowd, and to keep the manoeuvres coming; there are few less impressive things than a Tutor flying straight and level. 2.5.2 These notes contain some guidelines on how to design and fly a Tutor sequence, how to avoid some of the pit-falls peculiar to the Tutor, and how to survive the season. PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS 2.5.3 Height and Speed. The engine performance and, therefore, the ability to maintain height during manoeuvres decreases markedly with altitude. It follows that the lower you start, the less height you will consume during the sequence if there are no other variables. During the work down, the start height should be reduced progressively until a minimum for the sequence is found. This may even be as low as the minimum permitted base height. The performance lost by starting higher may itself be the cause of the height consumption throughout the sequence. Remember that your available energy consists of height and speed so that if at any point you are at the right height, but low on speed, you are actually low on energy and may not be able to complete your sequence without going below base height. Your aim should be to trade speed for height and vice-versa with the minimum possible loss of energy. (See ‘Flying the Sequence’ for more about this). You should also start with as much energy stored as possible and as close to base height as possible, so dive to start low and fast. 2.5.4 Temperature. The OAT has a significant effect on the performance available from the Tutor’s engine. An extra 10C may increase your height consumption by as much as 200 ft. On a hot summers day, the cockpit environment of the Tutor with the canopy shut can affect your own performance, as well as your ‘g’ threshold. So, if its hot, remember to open both punkha louvers, keep the canopy open when possible, or better still, plan to land for a breather and a drink before the show - if you can. 2.5.5 Turbulence. Whether caused by convection, or by wind, turbulence can steal your valuable energy in the form of airspeed loss. Beware the hot, bumpy summer afternoon. 2.5.6 Fuel Load. Fuel load makes little difference to the display (I did one once with full fuel), but I’m not sure what the impact might be if flick manoeuvres were included in the sequence. 2.5.7 Aircraft. They should all be the same, but they aren’t. Find one you like, and a spare, and fight to keep them. That way, you will have confidence in your aircraft’s performance and consequently fly a better display. You will also detect problems sooner.

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2.5.8 Transits. The IMC restriction has now been cleared, but be aware lower airspace is busy at weekends and a radar service is recommended. Whenever possible, plan to transit the day before the show, or failing that, as early as possible on the actual day, so that you have a fallback. Remember that a headwind can have a considerable effect on longer transits. Keep a close eye on the long-range met forecast, you may need to go even earlier than planned if you really want to get there. Finally, don’t give up until you have investigated every avenue. With a little ingenuity and careful planning, you can get just about anywhere in a Tutor. But remember, no one will thank you for taking unnecessary chances, and, if it’s that bad, the display will probably be cancelled anyway. CHOOSING AND FLYING A DISPLAY 2.5.9 For the Command competition, you will require a 4 minute aerobatic display sequence. It should contain a good variety of looping, rolling and vertical manoeuvres, which should not be biased to a particular side of the datum. It will be flown to a MSD of 500 ft. The limited performance of the Tutor, however, leads to certain constraints if the aircraft is to be kept low and close to the datum. The following Do's and Do Not’s will help you to avoid most of the pitfalls, but there is no substitute for individual style and lots of practice in the air. DESIGNING A SEQUENCE 2.5.10 Do not be too ambitious; a well presented, accurately flown display is much nicer to look at than a valiant but unsuccessful attempt to do the impossible. The chances are that few, if any, of your spectators would recognise your inverted conical ‘lomcovak’ anyway. It is ESSENTIAL that you feel comfortable and confident with all your manoeuvres at low level when performing in public. So, if in doubt, throw it out. Do plan to run in at 90 degrees to the crowd line, i.e. straight toward the crowd. Even at full speed the Tutor will probably look as though it’s on finals if you run in along the line. Remember though to tell the organiser about your run-in as he will not automatically take it into account when allocating a holding point etc. Do plan to start with a vertical manoeuvre, during which you can regain lots of height from a low, fast arrival in front of the crowd. Beware the wind blowing you onto the crowd line in your first pull up, an error you will not be able to see until it is too late. 2.5.11 Do not include manoeuvres that involve long periods of negative ‘g’. The increased drag and the loss of propeller efficiency leave you with a speed penalty, which can only be regained by height expenditure. Do make sure your sequence is adjustable for wind direction. You must be able to position it centrally, whatever the wind velocity. To allow this, you must change from the A (crowd line) to the B (90°) axis regularly or combine the two (use the 45° axis), using turning manoeuvres which can be flown in either direction. You should be able to turn directly into wind after every two or three manoeuvres. In still air, your sequence should not ‘track’ in one particular direction, or you will not be able to compensate easily for the ‘worst’ wind. FLYING THE SEQUENCE 2.5.12 Do give yourself some flex. Having worked out the start height, add a little so that you are not struggling to maintain base height. Make sure that you always start manoeuvres with the correct energy, i.e. height and speed must be correct or you will

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not make your top gates. Achieving the ‘bottom gate’ is especially important when flying vertical manoeuvres, where you cannot roll out of the top. When flying looping manoeuvres, do relax the pull and allow the aircraft to ‘go ballistic’ over the top - you will gain up to 200 ft by doing this, and as the speed is now very low, i.e. totally traded for height, you will save height on the pull-out which you can now adjust to get the exact entry speed for your next manoeuvre. Do not pull any more ‘g’ than you have to - it kills the speed, and robs you of energy. This is another reason for getting the speed low at the top of your manoeuvres - if you are fast on the way down, you will have to pull harder, which wastes energy. About +3 ½ to +4g is enough. Do practise your rolling and vertical manoeuvres in both directions, so you can always do them into wind when required. Even hesitation and reverse stall turns are quite possible ‘against’ the propeller, and they must be done into wind, or they will ‘bridge’. This not only looks bad, but will spoil your positioning. Do allow the aircraft to gain as much height as possible in vertical manoeuvres. From 120 kt and 500 ft, the Tutor can actually make some height in a plain stall turn finishing at the same speed. If a vertical roll is necessary on the way down, get on with it immediately and do not let excess speed build up. 2.5.13 Do use a sequence card, and have it fixed where you can see it on the instrument panel. The sequence will be firmly engraved on your memory, but for the one (or more!) occasion when your mind suddenly goes blank, you’ll be glad of it. All the professionals do this. You can also use it to display vital information like the QFE. Do think about the wind before you go. In the Tutor, you cannot afford to slip downwind as you will probably never get back to crowd centre. On the ground, work out how you will fly your turns, and where you will extend to compensate for wind. Annotate your sequence card accordingly, but stay flexible in case the 1000 ft wind isn’t what you expected. At air shows, it pays to watch other light aircraft, particularly those which trail smoke, if you have the chance before your slot. Remember that the wind has a particularly marked effect when you are in the vertical and very low speed. The drift here is also less apparent to the pilot. You may need to pull up upwind of the normal position as you cannot entirely compensate for drift in the vertical. Plan ahead! The following guidelines will be useful when considering the effect of wind:

• Whenever possible, start your looping manoeuvres into wind. • Stall turns should be made into any sidewind component. • Rolling manoeuvres look best with the wind behind you, but they travel a long

way, so they may have to be flown into wind for positioning reasons. • With the wind behind you, a steeper pull-up or dive will help you compensate,

and vice-versa, with a headwind. • When rolling with a crosswind, roll into it, and pick an aiming point, which allows

for drift. • When looping with a crosswind, roll into wind on the way up, reverse the roll by

twice the amount over the top, and you will come out with the right drift on. • If in doubt, over-compensate; it is much easier to slip downwind again than to

struggle back against it. • Make sure you know which way each of your manoeuvres would track in still air;

a loop, for example, will track in the direction in which you started. Armed with this knowledge you can make the appropriate corrections more quickly if things do not work out as planned.

SOME SAFETY HINTS


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• Empty the side pockets of anything that can’t be firmly wedged in, otherwise, you

might find yourself forced to read the aircrew manual during the first slow roll. • Check the throttle friction. Its value is debatable in some aircraft, but it may be

wound tighter than you really want. • When strapping in, give your harness lugs a sharp tug to make sure they’re

securely in the QRF before you tighten up. In the same vein, make an extra check of the fire extinguisher security before you get in.

• Double-check the really important things as you run in: QFE, fuel cock, magnetos, flaps, harness and canopy, spring immediately to mind.

• Don’t start anything you can’t finish; make sure you have enough height and speed at the beginning of your manoeuvres.

CONCLUSION 2.5.14 Displaying the Tutor is great fun, but like any other aeroplane, it will bite you if you ask too much, so don’t be tempted to push your limits. Careful energy management will get the most out of the aeroplane. You cannot emulate a Pitts Special, so don’t try. Instead, stick to what you and your Tutor can do well and you will have a safe, enjoyable and successful season. FURTHER READING 2.5.15 There is an excellent book by the late Neil Williams on the subject of aerobatics. Entitled simply ‘AEROBATICS’ it is published by AIRLIFE and is a must for novice light piston display pilots.


PART 2 SECTION 6 - THE TUCANO Complete update by Flt Lt Tom Bould 2010 Display Pilot 2.6.1 The Tucano is a very capable aircraft to display. It has a tight turning circle and enough power, which results in a display that can be kept close to the crowd centre with constant activity. The 2010 season’s display was put together after a crash the previous season; as such the display was designed and implemented to be relatively easy to fly. This worked extremely well as the display was in front of the crowd and had no wings level time. Sequence design 2.6.2 Choose the manoeuvres you want in your display and try to draw up the ground track on a white board. You will need careful planning with the negative g manoeuvres and there should be equal amounts of activity either side of the crowd centre. 2.6.3 After you are happy with the initial sequence design and tried it in the simulator start at 4000’agl to see how the sequence flows. Each manoeuvre should flow into the next without any wings level time or link manoeuvres (aileron rolls) as you will need these to accommodate wind. 2.6.4 As the sequence is brought down to display heights it will get tighter and shorter so aim for a slightly longer display at 4000’. This year the display started at 8mins 30s and reduced to 6mins 40 (7mins 30s with landing) at 500’. 2.6.5 The 2010 display was designed so it could be entered and exited from either crowd right or left. This was very useful as it gave flexibility to arrive from any holding point. 2.6.6 The same ground track for the full, rolling and flat displays is ideal as this make the process of changing from one display to the other reasonably straight forward if required. 2010 Display Sequences

Full Rolling Flat Low Pass Low Pass Low Pass

Canadian Break Canadian Break Canadian Break ¼ Clover Wing Over with Aileron Roll Canadian Break

Hesitation ½ Cuban Derry Turn Derry Turn Slow Roll Slow Roll Slow Roll

½ Horizontal Derry Wing Over Derry Turn 4 Point Roll 4 Point Roll 4 Point Roll

Hesitation Reverse Wing Over

Hesitation Reverse Wing Over MRT

¼ Clover Canadian Break Canadian Break

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Roll off the Top Wing Over MRT/MPRT with A’ron Roll MRT/MPRT with A’ron Roll 225 MRT

Canadian Break Canadian Break Canadian Break Push Up ½ Cuban Wing Over Derry Turn Loop with 90 Turn Oblique Loop 4 Point Roll Noddy Stall Turn Canadian Break

½ Cuban Derry Wing Over Derry Turn Inverted pass with A’ron

Roll Inverted pass with A’ron

Roll Inverted Pass with A’ron

Roll Reverse Wing Over Reverse Wing Over MRT

Offset Roll off the Top Wing Over with Aileron Roll Canadian Break MRT MRT MRT

Stall turn with 60 Turn L or R

Canadian Break Canadian Break

Wing Over Wing Over Derry Turn Low Pass

To depart or break to land

Low Pass To depart or break to land

Low Pass To depart or break to land

Aileron, slow and 4 point rolls as required



Flying the sequences 2.6.7 All the manoeuvres were flown with an entry speed of 180kts apart from the 2 low passes. This allowed gate heights of base + 1500/1600’ for looping manoeuvres and base + 1000’ to pull out from the vertical. These gates always allowed for letting out to base which is a very comfortable feeling. For every 10kts fast on entry an extra 100’ was added to the gate height. 2.6.8 Always leave a safety margin in the display as there will be times during the season you will be very grateful of these. There will be sites that you will first see on the run in and the weather and wind will always cause you to think and be flexible. 2.6.9 Energy management for the full and rolling display is reasonably straight forward but is more problematic in the flat. The flat display does not have a vertical component and if the manoeuvres are too tightly flown the energy will bleed off and there is no excess power to accommodate this. Knowing when to let out and accelerate the aircraft and when to pull harder is key to flying the flat display. Considerations 2.6.10 Wind will affect the display and the manoeuvres can be flown to accommodate this. On looping manoeuvres cross winds can be overcome by pulling up slightly wing low into wind; head and tail winds can be overcome by pulling up either steeper or shallower. On turning manoeuvres letting out into wind and tightening down wind will help to nullify the effect. Even with incorporating these techniques it is still sometimes necessary to leave out manoeuvres or add aileron rolls to put you in the right place for the next manoeuvre.

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2.6.11 I did not take off straight into display; instead I went to hold prior to running in. I found that this gives you time to assess the conditions, gain energy and do a couple of manoeuvres to work up a few ‘g’ before running in. 2.6.12 The Tucano is an excellent aircraft to display and transit round the circuit. Remember that it is a long season and that you are displaying in front of the general public and not the other display pilots. Keep within the aircraft and your own limits. Have a safe and enjoyable season; it will be over all too quickly.

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PART 2 SECTION 7 - THE HAWK 2.7.1 The following notes have been extracted from the end-of season report submitted by Flt Lt Ian Wood after the 1992 display season, and make good reading for all would be aeros pilots. INTRODUCTION 2.7.2 I was selected as the Hawk Display Pilot at the end of the last season and was lucky enough to fly with the previous display pilot on his final display of that season. This was of tremendous benefit. Not only did I witness at first hand the excitement and precision of flying low level aerobatics but I also saw just how much planning and preparation goes into every show. The display was overseas at a very difficult site, in poor weather, with minimal display organisation. It was a classic lesson in the various pressures that can be applied to a display pilot operating on his own a long way from base. I considered this to be an invaluable step in my preparation for the forthcoming season. 2.7.3 There are numerous sources available to the prospective display pilot which can help him design a sequence that will work: previous end of season reports; DASC Flying Display Notes; and the Synchro Pair Finally, by talking to the British Aerospace Hawk Test Pilots, particularly when unusual manoeuvres are planned, he can find out how close he might come to something nasty happening! I have tried to collate the information that I found invaluable to produce an account of how I designed and flew my aerobatic sequence in the Hawk. PREPARATION 2.7.4 Firstly, decide what aspects of the aircraft you wish to present. Remember that ultimately you are displaying the aircraft to the public. Although professional pride will dictate that you include something difficult or unusual for the aviation buffs, most of the punters will be happy to see you flash past making lots of noise. Because the Hawk is a relatively quiet aircraft you will probably want to have full power selected for as long as possible and control speed with airbrake. The attributes I tried to highlight were the excellent roll rate, small turn radius, the high sustained rate of turn and the negative G capability of the aircraft. 2.7.5 The next stage of designing the sequence is like a 3 dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Make a list of the manoeuvres that you can fly in the Hawk and pick about 10 that you wish to use. These are the basic manoeuvres such as a slow roll or half-cuban. By the time you have included your link flying manoeuvres such as Derry turns and wing-overs you will have got about a 6-minute batch of aerobatic material. Six minutes is a good length; it is the required timing for the Wright Jubilee Trophy and it is about the right length for your own G tolerance plus Joe Public’s interest retention span for a singleton Hawk. 2.7.6 I felt that there were 2 ways of starting the sequence, either arriving fast and low or from a standing start; both impressive in their own way. An experienced display pilot told me that you shouldn’t go straight into your sequence from take-off in

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your first season. With hindsight I think that was sound advice. It is much more settling to get airborne, get away from the crowds and get a measure of the met conditions for the day before running in. This gives you a slow time opportunity to do an inverted flight check and triple check the trivial things that can throw you out of your stride. I always had a ‘warm-up’ routine, which included an 8 point roll, an outside turn and a max rate turn. I then knew that I was not going to black out for any reason and that my hands and feet were working at the same speed. I therefore elected, for my display, to run in fast and low from the hold. 2.7.7 My final manoeuvre was easily chosen because I wished to include vertical rolls in the sequence and if you don’t want to waste valuable time coming back down again, you have to put these at the end. 2.7.8 There are other manoeuvres that you will probably have your own ideas about how you wish to present them. In my case I was determined to include an outside turn which went from one 45° line to the other with the canopy glancing the 230m line crowd-centre. This means that you have certain pieces of the jigsaw which are immovable. There are probably other manoeuvres which have similarly fixed positions. 2.7.9 You must now carefully draw to scale your proposed manoeuvres making sure that what you want to do is feasible in still wind conditions. This can be done by drawing 3 abutting circles with a radii of conditions. This can be 1500 ft against a 6000 ft line as shown in Fig 1. This represents the framework within which you should try and stay for a good tight show. 6000 ft is the approximate distance covered during slow rolls and 8-point rolls, after which you should always aim to be turning back or pulling up towards crowd-centre. The 45° axis should be used as well in order to keep the display compact and provide variety. Exploiting a secondary axis in the Hawk is straight forward because of the accuracy of the AHRS (Attitude Heading Reference System). 2.7.10 Whilst considering the practicalities of your manoeuvres you must bear in mind the following rules:

• A loop finish 0.25 mile beyond the pull-up point. • A Half Cuban Eight will base out 0.5 mile beyond the pull-up point. • A Half Horizontal Eight will base out 0.5 mile behind the pull-up point. • Do not plan on any straight and level bits - the aircraft must be kept moving the

whole time. • Try not to have any fill-in manoeuvres such as aileron rolls at this stage - you will

need these when the wind is blowing. • The sequence must be balanced. Ensure that you have an even spread of

vertical manoeuvres crowd-left, right and centre. Vary your rolls to the left and right and do not have all the flat manoeuvres in one half of the show followed by all the vertical manoeuvres.

2.7.11 Once you have got your sequence mapped out on paper you can start flying it at 5000 ft. Initially you will find it difficult to link the manoeuvres together and fly them accurately at the same time. You will probably need regular ‘time out’ in order to practice individual manoeuvres before stringing them all together again. You will need to know the sequence backwards before flying it at low-level. At 5000 ft, your sequence will take considerably longer than at low-level. I reduced mine from 7.5 minutes to 6 minutes


and 10 seconds. This was partly due to the reduced turning and looping radii at low level and partly due to my increased proficiency the more I practised. Do not despair if you have difficulty positioning the display at 5000 ft - it becomes easier as altitude decreases. You will also find that your techniques for flying the sequence change. You will rely much more on looking out of the window and less on chasing the altimeter. 2.7.12 The AHRS is an invaluable aid in the Hawk, particularly at non-airfield display sites. I suggest you dial into the course window the heading of your line and use the yellow bug for one of your 45° axes. If you now select ILS mode and switch the ILS box off you will get a solid bar, which instantly tells you where your line is. The yellow bug will either be at the 12 o’clock position or on the 90° point when you are working the 45° line. This accuracy of heading position is invaluable especially when flying something like an outside turn. Pitch information is also important during the sequence and you will rapidly acquire a feel for how it is going on all the vertical manoeuvres relative to pitch angle. During your pre-season work-up, calibrate your eyes accurately on exact 45° cues for 8-point rolls versus the AHRS. I would strongly suggest that an AHRS unserviceability is a no-go item unless the weather is very good and it is an easy display site. 2.7.13 Gate Heights. How does one define gate heights? I suggest you use 2 separate gate heights. Have a minimum height which is that required to recover from a particular manoeuvre, a ‘never go below’ height. Then set a ‘target’ height which is what you are actually going to aim for every time. In the Hawk, to recover by 500 ft you are going to have a minimum height for your looping manoeuvres of 3600 ft plus 100 ft for every 10 kts in excess of 200 kts. You would therefore set yourself a gate to aim for of 3700 - 3900 ft with the speed below 200 kts. This feels comfortable and can be achieved consistently with practice. Be aware that speed over the top will dramatically alter your looping radius and could catch you out if you extend and accelerate for any reason at the apex of a manoeuvre. At 5000 ft your minima and gates will be much larger - work out what they are, and then apply these when you do your first practice at 1500 ft gradually reduce these during your 1500 ft practices until you have a realistic figure for this height. When you move down to 1000 ft retain the same gates and repeat the process of whittling away gradually. Once down to 500 ft you will slowly arrive at the same gates proven through experience. It is important that you go through the process of learning these and proving them for yourself - only then will you be comfortable in pulling through every time. 2.7.14 Wind. See Section 1 for some good advice on how to deal with wind. I found that you soon become accustomed to how wind affects your particular sequence in different ways, particularly when flying slow-speed manoeuvres. Initially I used to divide the wind into 2 components - on/off-crowd and crowd-left/right - and then consider how this would affect each manoeuvre. Later in the season you will be able to assess the wind effect automatically if you have flown in a variety of conditions. The only manoeuvre I found to be very difficult to control was the slow loop. At near ballistic speed over the top, this manoeuvre is very susceptible to wind. If the wind was on-crowd, the pull-up had to be started a long way off the line and once committed, there was little flex for bending it. Therefore, if the wind is more than 25 kts on-crowd, consider discarding the slow loop and go straight into the next manoeuvre - a wing over. Taking out the wind during the full show is straightforward because you are constantly getting a plan view of how it is going and you can see the line readily. It is also easier taking the wind out in the vertical. The problems are more difficult during the rolling and flat shows

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particularly with an on crowd wind. This is because most of the time you are turning away from the line blind and having to put in ‘a few bananas’ of wind correction. Once you pitch back you are committed and can do nothing more than fly at max performance in order to prevent flying through the line. This is a potential trap whilst flying wingovers back onto the line during a tightening wind. The temptation may be to deepen the wing-over in order to gain more turning room - remember there are no specific gates for wingovers so beware this pitfall. TRAINING 2.7.15 Once you start training at low-level, include the following extra checks before you start every practice or display:

• Double check the security of the rear seat apron - especially the pip pins at the top. I lost one cover completely in the middle of a display!

• Check that both PEC covers are firmly stowed. • Select the ILS off, dial your line into the CSE window and bug the 45 line. • Turn off the radio not in use and deselect guard. • Turn off TCAS. • Tuck your shoulder strap ends back under the harness. During my first outside

turn at 500 ft, the end of the shoulder strap went up under the corner gap in my visor and gave me an instant eye patch.

PLANNING 2.7.16 Once you have finalised your full sequence, start to think about a rolling and flat show. Try to keep the order of manoeuvres the same so that there is a logical progression from one display to the other. There is nothing worse than running in for a full display and suddenly being told you have to go rolling for airspace restrictions. You need to be able to go from one to the other without a complete brain dump. Try and fly some of your vertical manoeuvres in an oblique manner to cope with varying cloud bases and to maintain position in any transition from full to rolling. Thorough preparation will ensure that your first few displays go as smoothly as possible. Once into the season you will be able to decide exactly how much you need to do before. Once you get your list of displays from Command, you can then start planning. It is easier to get as much done early on rather than to suddenly find you are working like a one-armed paper hanger in the middle of July. Order a set of site photos from JARIC asking for the same format as the Red Arrows. Be careful to specify the LAT/LONG of the display site (you will need to check with the organisers) At some of the unusual sites such as Buchan and Boulmer, it may not be coincident with the radar head or domestic site. Establish the exact display datum and line with the organiser and prepare a 50,000 Site Map. 2.7.17 If you are arriving straight into the display from somewhere else you will need to combine this with an IF-to-Target run. To sort out your timing before the season starts, fly at 2000 ft and 360 kts and select full power from a known point on the ground and measure on a 50,000 map your own timing marks. This assumes you plan to arrive as fast as possible. It is easy to accurately measure your 6000 ft line on the 50,000 and plot your different axes and headings. You can then transfer this information to your photograph, which will be a very good briefing aid. If you have more than one display during a day you will need to liaise with the organisers to establish different slot times


and try to give yourself as long as possible between displays. Plan your route on a half mil and have a bad weather back-up planned on a high-level map. I enjoyed transiting at 2000 ft if the weather was good and I was not going through areas of high civvy intensity. Give glider sites and minor airfields a wide berth at weekends and if necessary fly at medium level. I planned to go everywhere at 360 kts for 2 reasons: firstly, 360 kts gives you good speed-up/down capability to make hard TOTs; secondly, because arriving at the correct fuel weight is important, you can adjust fuel weights accurately by using the airbrake. At 360 kts/2000 ft, a clean Hawk uses 15kg fuel per min whereas with airbrake out, full power will maintain 360 kts using 30kg per min. If I had a long transit, then I would take an extra 100 kgs as flex for the all-too-often delays. This could then be burnt off once an accurate display time had been established. The portable telephone was a great aid in getting a last minute check on timings. RULES 2.7.18 Sequence. Before the beginning of the season, one needs to be aware of the rules covering approval of the display sequence. In PTC the Stn Cdr has the authority to approve a display sequence and directly supervise the work-up of his display pilot. Others may be subject to GASOs, which require them to have their sequences approved by their Group. This can cause delays, so start the process early. Additionally if something doesn’t work in a sequence, or looks wrong, it is helpful to be able to change it at Station level. 2.7.19 Authorisation. Delegation of authorisation to display pilots once their AOC has given Public Display Authority is also helpful. Supervisors cannot expect to foresee every eventuality that may occur over a 4-day, 10-sortie period and this makes blanket authorisation meaningless. If a number of displays are being flown over a weekend from different airfields, the weather can drastically alter your plans and force you to operate from bases other than those planned. ORGANISATION 2.7.20 The early appointment of the display pilot gives him ample opportunity to sort our his publicity material. I approached British Aerospace and asked them if they could produce a brochure for me. Obviously this sort of thing takes time to organise and print British Aerospace were also very generous in providing a display flying suit and a good deal of promotional material e.g., stickers, badges, posters and ties. This Sort of support helps tremendously in rounding off the whole display and giving it a professional finish. RAFSC ASIs require you to produce a display brief which you send to Air Show organisers in advance. In addition to this, you should send information about yourself and your sequence with suitable photographs. Obviously, Air Show organisers who have a display in early May are having their brochures printed a few weeks earlier, so have your material ready to send out as soon as displays are allocated. The pre-season MAA symposium provides an excellent forum for meeting people involved in running the display season, particularly your desk officer at Command, and for hearing lectures from people who have done it before. The provision of mobile telephones to display crews in RAFSC helped enormously. On numerous occasions the ability to check on last minute details such as weather and timing proved invaluable. FLYING THE SEQUENCE

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2.7.21 Here are the techniques I used for flying individual manoeuvres during the 1992 display: Half Horizontal Eight with Push-out to Inverted Flight 2.7.22 This was a manoeuvre I saw the Mirage 2000 perform the previous year and thought looked impressive. After some experimentation at 5000 ft, I found it was perfectly feasible in the Hawk. The difficult thing to quantify was a gate height. This varied tremendously with speed so it was particularly important to perform the whole manoeuvre consistently in order to achieve a safe and consistent recovery. I pulled up from a 100 ft high-speed pass at idle with the airbrake selected using +7.5G. This gave an apex of about 4300 ft; the nose was pulled to 60° nose down and then checked, at the same time selecting air-brake in and full power; my gate height of 3 100 ft arrived very soon with a speed of about 270 kts. The stick was then pushed to the front stop; initial recovery is good but then slows as the speed increased to about 380 kts at the inverted position. The negative G increases to -3.5G, but I backed off the push with about 100 to go to the inverted position. This gave me about 300 ft of flex for the unexpected or slightly different entry parameters and also allowed me to ‘feel’ the last bit of the recovery to a nice level inverted attitude. Psychologically this was the hardest manoeuvre to bring down to low-level. It was certainly a real eye-opener for the first time at 500 ft! My pull-up point for a good centred recovery was 300m beyond the end of my 6000 ft line; this was then adjusted for head/tail wind. Derry Wing-overs 2.7.23 These were always a flexible feast adjusted for the wind of the day. Nominally flown to 60° nose up, these were flown flatter with an on-crowd wind to gain greater displacement from the line, and steeper with an off-crowd wind. The danger here is that there is no clearly defined gate height with this type of oblique manoeuvre. Angle of bank versus nose-down attitude has to be carefully monitored to ensure a safe pull-out, particularly when pulling hard for the line with a strong on-crowd wind. The angle off the line (usually 45°) when pulling up for the wingover is also adjusted for the left/right wind component. I flew one of my wingovers as a negative-G manoeuvre with a push-up instead of pull-up just for variety; the principles remain exactly the same. Eight-Point Roll 2.7.24 An extremely satisfying exercise when you fly a good one. You need to ensure that you start any rolling manoeuvre m the Hawk with the nose in the right place and also achieve a good level inverted attitude. Pronounced pushes are required at the 135° and 225° points in order to stay straight and stop the nose dropping. A lot of practice is required to hit 45° on every point - cross referencing of visual attitude versus the AHRS ensures accuracy. Max Rate Turn into Derry 2.7.25 Because I had flown the Eight-Point Roll at full power, I needed airbrake at the entry into the max rate turn to reduce speed from approx 400 kts to 350 kts to avoid overstress. Speed could then be controlled through minor buffet variations. The max rate turn was let out as required for on-crowd winds. In order to Derry the turn, a positive unload was required to avoid a big corkscrew in the smoke. Loaded rolls look

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very untidy. Again, nose position was very important prior to entering the Derry turn. A hesitation Berry at the inverted position was flown to cater for strong off-crowd wind. Half Cuban Eight 2.7.26 Flown on the 45° line, I pulled to 70° nose-up for this manoeuvre +10° depending on the on/off-crowd wind component. Airbrake was used briefly on the pull-up to ensure a speed of less than 200 kts over the top. A hesitation roll was included at the selected nose-up attitude, which required a lot of top rudder to hold the nose up due to the low speed. Minimum height to pull through was 3600 ft + 100 ft for every 10 kts in excess of 200 kts. I therefore elected to have a gate height of 3700 ft to 3900 ft with a speed of less than 200 kts. Outside Turn 2.7.27 Coming out of the Half Cuban, speed was controlled with airbrake in order to enter the outside turn with 330 kts. This meant the stick could be put on the front stops without overstressing and gave about -3.25G. It was important to roll in and select the right AOB in order to make a good level turn. Minor changes in AOB were then used to stay level. At low level, I noticed that the altimeter rapidly unwinds to about 100 ft as you roll in and push due to pressure error, which can be quite disconcerting; you have to look out the front and convince yourself that you are not descending. The other uncomfortable aspect of the outside turn was at sites which had tall obstructions atone end of the line. Even though you knew geographically that you were clear, it was tense turning towards them unsighted. Inevitably these were flown with an increased MSD. Decelerating Half Horizontal Eight 2.7.28 The pull-up for this manoeuvre was flown at idle and airbrake so that as the aircraft came over the top undercarriage and full flap could be selected. This gave a relatively low apex height at approx 3300 ft. The nose was pulled to approx 40° pitch down and checked briefly, before rolling erect. This was a difficult roll to fly without dishing out. The aircraft was then flown towards crowd-centre with a large correction for the wind of the day in order to position accurately for the dirty 360° turn. Dirty 360° Turn 2.7.29 This was entered at 190 kts with full power coming on as I turned away from crowd-centre. It was flown at 300 ft with gear and full flap down. In still wind the turn could be flown at +2G and the speed would sit at the 190kt mark. If this turn was let out for wind, then care had to be taken not to exceed the speed or G limits. The positioning of this turn was critical because it preceded the slow loop, which had to start in the correct place for the wind of the day. It was also imperative to have 190 kts as I rolled out with full power already established. Slow Loop 2.7.30 As I rolled out on the line, I selected the flap up and then gear up, simultaneously pulling up at 200 kts. Care had to be taken not to enter the buffet especially when the flap was travelling those last few degrees. As the aircraft reached the vertical, I used to unload my pull slightly to ensure I got my minimum height of 3000

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ft over the top. Wings level had to be carefully maintained on the AHRS during pull-up. Speed over the top reduced to around 60-70 kts which resulted in more of a flop over with the nose pitching through the horizon quickly. Height loss builds up very quickly and you must keep the pull on throughout the recovery on the very lightest of buffet. Entry parameters were critical to achieving my target height of 3100 ft. If I found I was slightly slow coming out of the dirty 360°, then flap could be selected to mid for the last part of the turn in order to gain a few more kts before pull-up. This does however increase your turning radius so you must have a bit of flex before the 230m line. In emergency, remember that you can always select mid flap during the recovery from any looping manoeuvre. You will undoubtedly overstress the aircraft and have to land, but it may save you from hitting the ground. Careful planning and attention to critical heights will avoid either of these eventualities. Slow Roll 2.7.31 I flew the slow roll to the right and from an inverted to inverted position in order to be unusual. This meant establishing a good inverted attitude prior to commencing the roll and finding that same attitude on the exit. As with all my rolling manoeuvres I tried to fly them at the same cadence and achieve the inverted (or erect in this case) position at crowd-centre by starting from the right place. This was obviously adjusted for crowd-left/right wind. At the end of any rolling manoeuvre which went down the line and then into a hard turn, I would throw in a Canadian Break or roll the long way round into the turn which ensured the jet was always moving. Quarter Clover 2.7.32 The pull-up for this manoeuvre was at 350 kts on the light buffet checking as soon as the aircraft hit the vertical, rolling rapidly through 90° and then straight back into the light buffet. Where the line was a nice long runway, this was a straight forward manoeuvre, rolling the runway to the top of the canopy and then pulling it through the nose. At other sites, you have to pick a feature close to the aircraft at 90° once in the vertical, and roll onto that. As you pull through you can use the rudder to bend it back onto the line if you are slightly out. Gate heights are the same as for the Half Cuban Eight. If you wish to extend into wind you can put a roll-off into this manoeuvre. Beware accelerating and note well the notes on gate heights. Push-up Half Cuban Eight 2.7.33 Exit speed from the Quarter Clover needed to be 330 kts which was achieved with airbrake. As per the outside turn, the sticktop could then be put on the front stop without worrying about overstress. The push was kept on until 80° nose-up, which coincided with about 3000 ft. Airbrake was needed again on the push-up to reduce speed to 200 kts. The pull through was as before; once ensured of capturing 500 ft MSD the pull was slackened to level at 100 ft MSD. Vertical Rolls 2.7.34 A +7.5G pull to the vertical from approx 430 kts meant that vertical rolls could be flown to 10,000 ft. This should ensure that even on a good clear day you will be out of sight to most people. Use the AHRS to achieve the vertical and once rolling, a lot of forward stick is needed to maintain it.

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The following additional manoeuvres were flown during the rolling display: Four-Point Roll 2.7.35 The points to this roll need to be held twice as long as the eight-point roll in order to cover the same ground track. This means they come under longer scrutiny and need a slight fudge factor in order to look right. Imagine you were flying a four-point roll to the left from crowd-left to right. The first point should be at 85° and the third point at 265°. This makes the aircraft appear in plan form from the crowd sight line. Full rudder is required to keep the nose up on the points with a good push at the inverted position. Oblique Loop 2.7.36 This was a useful manoeuvre to make maximum use of the cloudbase on the day. Positioned crowd-centre, it was very much a case of looking at the clear sky available, and pulling hard to a point at 90°, holding the same angle of bank, and varying the pull to suit the wind of the day. The idea being to glance off the cloud opposite crowd centre. On a day with a 3500 ft cloudbase, this would not be far off the vertical; with a 1000 ft cloudbase, it would be not much more than a max-rate turn. The only problem with the manoeuvre is the lack of gate heights. Nose-down attitude must be carefully monitored against height on the pull out. Barrel Roll 2.7.37 A useful manoeuvre which can be flown with care in a 1500 ft cloudbase. When practising always practise for the worst case. The technique I found best was to position parallel off-crowd by 3000 ft. This was done by flying a max-rate turn through 180° at the end of a rolling manoeuvre. Crowd centre was now in the 1.30 position. A pull-up to around 50° was initiated, maintaining the back pressure as roll was fed in, to be pointing at crowd-centre 90° off the line. The roll and pull were then combined to finish close to the line and once again parallel to it. A good safety check is at the halfway point as you are pointing at crowd centre. If the nose is above the horizon, things are looking good. If the nose is below the horizon then alarm bells should start to ring; slacken the pull and keep rolling for the horizon. Once a few have been flown at low-level you will get a feel for back-pressure versus pitch.

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PART 2 SECTION 8 - THE HARRIER 2.8.1 Demonstrating the Harrier GR7 to its best effect calls for attention to all of the details that have already been mentioned in this booklet. However, because of the Harrier’s ability to hover and land at small grass airfields, some problems will be met which are peculiar to the type. THE DISPLAY ROUTINE 2.8.2 As with any aircraft, it is vital, having selected a display routine, to stick to it. Changes should only be made after careful thought, followed by consultation with an authorising officer and then some practice. Four routines will be necessary: the full show, rolling show, flat show and the hovering-only routine for very poor weather. Rather than devise four entirely different routines, it should be possible to produce one basic show with variations to suit the circumstances. However, a Harrier pilot is at an advantage over most others when it comes to weather minima; so long as the spectators can see the aircraft, a Harrier can be displayed, albeit in jetborne fashion, in poor weather. This makes every weekend a challenging experience. Again, in front of the spectators, the Harrier makes a lot of noise at 100 ft, so there is no need to hover low in the wingborne part of the display in order to impress the crowd. 2.8.3 The first essential is to note the position of the display line, which should normally be parallel to, and must be at a safe distance from, the line of spectators. This line should not be crossed except in dire circumstances - running out of performance and crashing at the display line is not as safe as translating away, albeit over the crowd! Particular care must then be taken when planning maximum performance turns towards this line, such as low speed/high ‘g’, as any misjudgement results in the crowd line being infringed in a big way! Note that your display lines change as you accelerate from jetborne to wingborne flight. 2.8.4 Clearly, all planned manoeuvres must be safe and within the Release to Service; however, some limits are more hazard than others. In a slow speed aileron roll, the Harrier will dish out quite markedly, often throwing it off the crowd line. Moreover, the pilot must take great care during a hard decelerating turn with nozzles and STOL flap selected; a high power setting will avoid the nasty pitchdown when the flaps schedule at 165 kts, or select them as you pass through 120 kts. Partially jetborne turns made in the 30 kt to 120 kt regime add great interest to the display; however, pilots should be careful to keep the AOA and side slip under control otherwise the GR7 will depart. If the ac is in 3-pylon fit, take extra care to ensure that 15 AOA is not exceeded. During these turns the SAS bleeds a lot of thrust, and this combined with the loss of lift due to vectoring in turns, can combine to produce a very nasty sinking feeling, especially if coupled with hot-air re-ingestion in a down wind manoeuvre. 2.8.5 Steep decelerating transitions are exciting, but care should be taken during the flare. The flare at the bottom of the descent should be made whilst still wingborne - do not rely on jet-lift to arrest the descent - the use of water should be avoided, as steep attitudes can blow the water pump. Steep accelerations from the hover (when permitted) require extra care. An over-enthusiastic nozzle movement can result in the nozzles going fully aft before wingborne speeds are achieved, giving a

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tremendous pitch-down. One Harrier pilot resorted to ejection after experiencing just such a pitch change. 2.8.6 Lastly, an unusual feature of any Harrier display sequence is the number of times the undercarriage is raised and lowered to fit in with the VSTOL routines. Build in extra checks prior to landing, to make sure the gear is not out of sequence! PREPARING FOR A DISPLAY 2.8.7 Considerable preparation is necessary prior to a Harrier display at an away airfield. Firstly, it is highly desirable to visit the airfield before the display to inspect the facilities and discuss the show with the organiser. The following particular Harrier points are additional to those quoted in Section 3: 2.8.8 Fire Cover. Ensure that fire cover is adequate and brief the fire crews on your ejection seat and escape facilities. Otherwise, it is usually best to take your own fire vehicles to small airfields. 2.8.9 Runway. Emphasise the FOD potential of the Harrier and insist that the runway is swept. For grass airfields, ensure that the LDA is sufficient even when wet, and that a loading test has been carried out before landing. 2.8.10 Fuel. Fuel must be of the correct grade, with FSII. Otherwise provide your own bowser. 2.8.11 ATC. Inspect air traffic facilities or provide your own mobile ATC - a pilot in the spare ac can assist by wearing a headset and being on hand with a set of FRCs . In any event it is worth liaising with the ATC controller and explaining the foibles of your display discussing how they can assist during emergencies such as an undercarriage problem that requires an inspection. 2.8.12 Briefing. Brief the organiser carefully on the special aspects of the Harrier: its relative shortage of fuel, the danger from jet blast in the hover, the requirement for wind and accurate temperature readouts. All parked gliders and light aircraft must be kept well away from the parking slot and hovering areas. Helicopters must not be permitted to operate close to the Harrier as they can blow FOD into intakes. FLYING THE DISPLAY 2.8.13 A Harrier display is demanding on the aircraft as well as the pilot. The biggest single factor is the wind. Lack of appreciation of a tightening crosswind on finals can naturally ruin the display. Temperature is the other big problem in the Harrier, and it is wise not to place too much trust in temperature readouts from the tower. A full water tank is a very useful precaution to employ against unexpectedly high temperatures; and if you are flying overseas, remember that many civil airfields are well over 1000 ft AMSL. 2.8.14 Fly the display as if it were a practice, ignoring as far as possible the distractions of the crowd. Post-display euphoria can be particularly hazardous; it looks silly to taxi into a ditch whilst waving to the applauding masses. The unhappy example of the Harrier pilot, who was inadvertently ejected after forgetting to safe up his ejection seat after a display, is the saddest case in point here.

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HINTS AND PITFALLS 2.8.15 To complete the picture, the following are a few extra hints applicable to the Harrier, potential pitfalls and ways to avoid them: 2.8.16 Practice emergencies in the simulator whilst flying the display sequence. Know undercarriage and engine emergencies intimately as these usually occur at very low fuel states. 2.8.17 Visit the display airfield before the display - if possible read site notes made by previous display pilots. Check suitability of runways, grass areas, Mexes etc. Ensure that fire/ambulance cover is adequate. Confirm that spectator clearances are correct. Check aircraft guarding arrangements. Consider the birdstrike hazard on the airfield. Ensure that a NOTAM has been promulgated for your display and that the vertical limits are sufficient. 2.8.18 Practise at least once in the week before the display. Tailor your practice to the shape size/layout of the display airfield. Fly the display aircraft if possible. 2.8.19 On transit to the display airfield remember that weekend flying is marked by a profusion of gliders and light aircraft - flying above 5000ft can reduce this risk. Check the aircraft for perfect serviceability. Do an inverted flight check. Confirm all JPTL datum’s are correctly set. Ensure that fuel is feeding symmetrically. 2.8.20 The show is not over until you have shut down and are out of the cockpit with the seat safe! 2.8.21 If the worst comes to the worst and there is some aspect of the display organisation that you don’t like, but which the organisation won’t change, don’t fly. Withdraw your aircraft and report to Group/Command, who should back you all the way. CONCLUSION 2.8.22 Displaying the Harrier should be fun, impressive and absolutely safe. Safety is mainly a matter of sticking to the rules and applying common sense. However, the tricks of the trade that have been described in the preceding paragraphs can save a would-be display pilot from pumping excessive adrenaline and will ensure that he enjoys a smooth, trouble free performance when operating from small, unfamiliar airfields equipped with limited facilities and amateur organisers.

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PART 2 SECTION 9 - THE TORNADO 2.9.1 My concept of display flying is to keep the aircraft as close as possible to the crowd centre, always be manoeuvring, and generating the largest amount of noise you can! For simplicity the displays were designed to the same geometrical plan/form, so that you could easily switch from one to the other, which was really useful in deteriorating weather. Also, you finished heading in the same direction as you started, so the display could be finished quickly with a break to land if you were short of fuel or time. The rules were a 5000ft cloudbase for a full display, 1500ft for a rolling display and 1000ft for a flat display. The minimum height for aerobatic manoeuvres was 500ft; 300ft was used in turns and 100ft for fly-bys. THE DISPLAY SEQUENCE

Full Rolling Take-off into Min Radius/Max Rate turn Take-off into Min Radius/Max Rate turn ½ Cuban eight Derry Wingover 67° Wing Flypast 67° Wing Flypast Derry Wingover Derry Wingover 4 Point Roll 4 Point Roll 270° Turn 270° Turn Canadian Break towards crowd & Derry Canadian Break towards crowd & Derry Slow speed flypast & turn away Slow speed flypast & turn away Slow speed steep climb from crowd Slow speed climb from crowd Dirty Barrel Roll Dirty Barrel Roll ½ Horizontal Derry Wingover Oblique Loop Canted Max Rate Turn Derry Turn Derry Turn Slow Roll Slow Roll Derry Wingover Derry Wingover High Speed Pass High Speed Pass Vertical Departure 67° Wing Break 2.9.2 Those are the sequences and what follows is how I did it. Bear in mind that these techniques (and more importantly, safety gates) work for me; however, you should find out what works for you before you get too close to the ground. 2.9.3 Take-off. This has got to be impressive to make people forget about their hamburgers but remember, wings must be level until 100ft to satisfy JSP550. The Tornado looks good at low speed in a tight turn near the ground. Lift off at crowd centre at 180kts which takes about a 3000ft. I maintained 15 AOA and 240kts until 60° before roll-out heading. Flaps then selected up with thumb on manoeuvres for crisp roll out and accelerating to 330kts for the Cuban. 2.9.4 Looping. You have to ‘loop the loop’ to keep the punters happy. To change the theme slightly I included an oblique loop, half Cuban eight and a half horizontal eight. Safety gates are all important and I used the nav to confirm ‘good gate’

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before I continued. He used his head down altimeter for this. 5500ft was the gate for the half Cuban with a max speed of 250kts. The aircraft was then always max performed through a 90° nose down gate of 3500ft / 300kts to 40° nose down gate of 1500ft. Only then was the pull let out setting up for the 67 wing flypast. 2.9.5 Rolling. The secret to performing slow and hesitation rolls in the Tornado is your initial attitude. With the CSAS fighting you all the way in knife edge flight, the best you can do is to slow, with rudder, the speed at which the nose drops. The roll starts at 2° nose up, falling to 2° nose down when inverted. Push the nose back above level then start the process again to completion of the roll. Imagine flying mini barrel rolls, but keep it as flat as you can. 2.9.6 Dirty Barrel Roll. I flew the dirty barrel very procedurally as I felt it was the one manoeuvre that could give you a significant difference in nose down attitude for a minor change in pull and roll rates. It was started with an offset of 20° away from the display axis so the roll could be completed towards the crowd. I started at 220kts with gear down, mid flap and probe out and used full reheat as I pulled to 20° nose up when the roll was started topping at 30° nose up. Roll cadence was varied to be inverted as the nose came through the horizon and I never allowed the nose to drop below 30° nose down. I also used a gate height of 30° nose down and 1300ft. 2.9.7 Gate Heights. As mentioned earlier the gate heights I used were: 5500ft before pulling through, 3500ft at 90° nose down, and 1500ft at 40° nose down. Find your own heights through trial and error at height, and stick to them. It can be done tighter; however, in over 100 displays and practices, my underpants stayed the same colour throughout the display! For the ½ Horizontal, I pulled inverted to 60° nose down which I held to 3500ft before rolling out and pulling into the oblique loop. Although you cannot have a gate for the oblique loop, I used to aim for 30° nose down at 1500ft which seemed to work well. 2.9.8 Wind. There’s already a lot of wind in this article you may say. Well strangely enough, even in a high performance jet, wind is still a big player as far as display flying is concerned. The normal display axis is 230 metres from the crowd line. Imagine a 20kt on-crowd wind and say a manoeuvre such as a 360° turn, which if it took 30secs to complete would result in a downwind drift of 280 metres; very embarrassing if not allowed for. Wind has to be compensated for in virtually every manoeuvre performed. In the Tornado it was convenient to have the wind displayed on the EHDD (Pilots Electronic Head Down Display) to back up any ‘feelings in the water’. The no-wind ground track was plotted on a 1:50,000 map and ground features used throughout the display. The cadence of the display was equally important adding 1sec to the outbound Derry heading for every 10kts of on crowd wind component which is all you have over the sea. 2.9.9 And finally. The Tornado, although not exactly the most agile jet on the circuit, is a good display aircraft. It’s noisy, looks impressive with the wings back at 600kts and turns well enough for your average airshow punter. Know and plan your displays so that you don’t get put off by the many distractions and pressures that will undoubtedly appear during the display season.

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PART 2 SECTION 10 - THE TYPHOON 2.10.1 Sqn Ldr Matt Elliott provided these notes from his experiences of the RAF’s first years of displaying the Typhoon. 2.10.2 These notes are written to try and pass on some of my experience having displayed the Typhoon for 2 very enjoyable seasons (2005 & 2006), but they must be taken in some context. My first season was limited to displaying 2 seat ac only, and during my second season I could not guarantee getting my hands on a single seat ac every weekend; therefore all my gate heights and assumptions are based on the lowest common denominator – the two stick tub. Along with this, both seasons were flown with FCS Phase 3 software, which is/was some way short of the ultimate ac performance. If you are lucky enough to guarantee a single seat ac with FCS Phase 4 software (or whatever the future holds), then your display may well include more dynamic manoeuvres than these. 2.01.3 My premise on putting the display sequences together was that someone could stand at display centre and see the ac at all times whilst having to move his or her head as little as possible, and so I tried to keep the routine as tight as possible (by staying slow enough to be α limited rather than g limited most of the time), and also making use of the 45° axis as seen from crowd centre. The jet is also fantastically loud in full reheat, so comparisons of full power noise and idle power silence can be used to good effect. 0B2.10.4 2006 Display Sequence:

• Take-Off into loop. • 100’ Arrival (430kts) into loop. • 45° Off-Crowd VV reversal. • 100’ 450kt pass. • 90° Off-Crowd idle VV reversal. • Slow Speed ‘arc’ from 45° on-crowd to 45° off-crowd (110kts, 500’). • ½ Cuban 45° off-crowd. • Oblique Loop. • ¼ Clover into Pirouette. • Loop towards crowd centre. • Min radius level 360° turn. • 45° off-Crowd VV reversal. • Inverted 4 point roll. • Canadian break from inverted into 270° flat turn. • Derry turn towards crowd centre • Square Loop. • 60° Off-Crowd VV reversal. • Hi Speed pass into Vertical departure. • Hi speed pass into Reverse break to land.


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2.10.5 The display used approximately 2400 kgs of fuel from a display venue take-off, less if starting from an airborne arrival. Thus at some venues I was able to take-off with only 4000 kgs total fuel, making the initial loop that much tighter (and easier!). The display could also be flown with a centre line fuel tank fitted, as long as the tank was empty prior to starting the display – useful for displays that you either can’t, or don’t want, to land at (or close by). 2.10.6 The mechanics of the manoeuvres that worked for me are as follows: 2.10.7 Loop from Take-Off: During my first season I flew this from a rotate speed of 125kts, and then nursed the tub into the vertical trying desperately to avoid an ALSR engagement (not always successfully!). The trouble with this technique was that at relatively hot and high (for the UK) airfields the performance of the tub was barely sufficient. A much more satisfactory technique (even in a single seat ac) is to keep the ac on the ground until 160kts and then rotate – no one will notice that you have ‘cheated’ slightly to gain some more energy. The rotate can be flown with Full Back Stick (FBS) as the FCS will limit the ac performance with the gear down. As the gear travels ease back the stick to capture 15 α and hold this until you are through the vertical by at least 30° - you should be at 230kts through the vertical, but don’t accept any less than 200kts as this will inevitably lead to an ALSR engagement (at FCS Phase 3). The α control is the critical path, any more and you will not accelerate in the initial climb. Once through the vertical and with the knowledge that you either have already, or are going to, capture your gate height and speed you can back stick the ac to perform a tight(ish) loop that you can easily recover by the base height. My personal gates for looping manoeuvres were height greater than 3200’ and speed less than 250kts at the apex. If you have to capture a 230m display line that is offset from the runway, then kick 10° towards the display line once above 50’ and roll 10° towards the display line once in the vertical. This should get you laterally displaced from the runway and parallel to it once you are at the apex of the loop. This method is also useful for strong on-crowd cross wind components. 2.10.8 100’ Arrival into Loop: Much easier, but doesn’t look anyway near as impressive! Arrive at the datum at 100’ and 430kts, use FBS and ensure that you capture your gates. Continue the FBS pull until the ac is pitching up through the 40° nose down attitude, only then be tempted to ease the pull to level off at a base height if you have height to spare (the same can be said of all the looping manoeuvres). 2.10.9 45° Off-Crowd VV Reversal: Outbound on the 45° axis, pitch the ac using FBS to 45° nose-up and then initiate full roll control in the opposite direction to your intended turn whilst holding FBS and full power for 270° of roll – essentially a Derry Turn. At FCS Phase 3 the ac rolls around its velocity vector during the manoeuvre; this is more pronounced at slower speeds, ideally 250kts. The manoeuvre can be flown at up to 400kts, but is nowhere near as tight a turn. The pitch can be started below 500’ (I used a limit of 300’) so long as the ac is above 500’ prior to rolling through 90° of attitude. 2.10.10 100’ High Speed Pass: Nothing much to say, other than that you don’t need to be at max speed by the start of the crowd line. Keep the ac tight to the crowd and accelerate down the line – the crowd can then see the ac accelerate and get an idea of its performance.


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2.10.11 90° Off-Crowd VV Reversal: After my attempt at using an on-crowd idle barrel roll to slow in to the slow speed pass in my first season backfired somewhat at RIAT, I used this much simpler (and safer!) technique during my second season. At the end of the high speed pass, aim to have at least 450kts at the end of the crowd line. Select idle power and max perform the ac to 90° off-crowd, then immediately perform a VV Reversal/Derry maintaining idle power to point back at crowd centre. This will then leave you at about 180kts and 45° displaced from crowd centre, the entry parameters for the slow speed arc. If you enter the manoeuvre at less than 450kts, you may need power during the later half of the reversal to avoid an ALSR excursion. 2.10.12 Slow Speed Arc: Decelerate the ac on-crowd from the previous manoeuvre to 120kts pointing at crowd centre. Below 150kts the α will quickly build to max available at idle power, so anticipate this to catch 120kts (holding FBS) with power. I held this at 800’ on-crowd, using the power to stop any sink rate, with the intention being that the crowd saw the ac plan form from below almost ‘hovering’ towards them. Before you bust the 230m line (easy with an on-crowd wind and limited manoeuvre capability at this attitude) turn through 90° at crowd centre to depart on the opposite 45° axis. 2.10.13 ½ Cuban: Entered from the end of the slow speed arc. Select full reheat, and as it bites pull using FBS to 70° nose-up. The ac stabilized at 170kts on the way up from my normal entry speed and weight. At 1500’ roll inverted – the technique I used was to start the roll and almost immediately push to full forward stick as the ac started to move. Capture 60° nose-up once inverted, and at a minimum of 2500’ pull FBS. Ensure that the gates are met at the apex and then continue to pull through. 2.10.14 Oblique Loop: Entered at 300kts, use full reheat throughout manoeuvre. Roll to 45° off-crowd and simultaneously pitch to 30° nose-up. Ensure you are parallel to the crowd line at the apex (approx 1500’) with the nose coming down through the horizon; capture no more than 25° nose-down to complete the manoeuvre. 2.10.15 ¼ Clover into Pirouette: Pitch up at 350kts using FBS and full reheat into the vertical, and roll 90°away from the crowd at 1500’ to place the underside of the ac towards the crowd. Pitch back (relatively gently) to be inverted at 4000’ flying perpendicular to the crowd line – select idle power when required to be at 250kts when level. Roll the ac to 90° of bank towards crowd centre and ‘arc’ through 90° of turn to end up displaced from crowd centre by 4000’ and parallel to the display line, at less than 250kts (ideally 200kts) and a height of 4000’. Simultaneously apply FBS and full rudder towards crowd centre at idle power, and maintain this until the ac is pointing vertically down and parallel to the crowd in the opposite direction to that at which you started. Roll to place the lift vector towards crowd centre and at your gate (mine was 2500’ minimum and a maximum of 250kts) pull FBS whilst selecting full reheat. 2.10.16 Loop towards Crowd: Watch any on-crowd wind component – it’s easy to get caught out! Pitch into the loop from the B-axis with minimum of 250kts, using a maximum of 18α. If above approximately 330kts then FBS can be used throughout, the gates remaining as before. To break the on-crowd vector on exiting the loop, I rolled through 90° and used full in-to-turn rudder as well as FBS to ‘skid’ the ac away from the crowd line whilst still nose down.


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2.10.17 Min Radius Turn: Use FBS and full reheat to stabilise at 230kts and 300’. Don’t select reheat until sub 270kts if entering from a faster speed as the ac will take some time (and most of the turn) to decelerate, and so will not be a MIN radius turn! 2.10.18 4-Point Roll from Inverted: Aim to get lined-up with the display axis early, with a minimum of 300kts but ideally 350kts; hold this speed with use of the autothrottle. Roll inverted prior to the start of the display line, then bunt from the inverted to 4° climb followed by rolling to 90° attitude whilst simultaneously feeding in full rudder control. The FCS will not hold the nose up on the knife-edge, hence the initial bunt, nor will it enable the ac to track in a straight line without bunting whilst holding the 90° attitude. Once the nose has dropped to the horizon roll upright, followed by a pitch to 4° climb before the second knife-edge. Roll out inverted and Canadian break from this attitude through 270° to track away from the crowd line. 2.10.19 Derry Turn Towards Crowd Centre: Position the ac pointing towards crowd centre on the B-axis at 300’ with at least 4000’ lateral spacing from the 230m line on a calm wind day. Pitch up to 50° nose-up (or more if you need to stop any unwanted closure with the display line) and perform a VV Roll through 270°. End the manoeuvre by descending back to 300’ along the display line. If in doubt, use more lateral spacing at the start as any on-crowd wind will exacerbate your problem with closure to the line – I bust my line enough times to learn the lesson! 2.10.20 Square Loop: Arrive 2500’ displaced from crowd centre along the display axis at 350kts and 300’, pitch using FBS and full reheat to the vertical and hold this attitude until 3000’. At 3000’ select idle power and pull using FBS to the inverted to track back along the display line at 4000’. Catch the speed at 200kts with dry power; you may get a FUEL LOW caption/audio warning at this point as the fuel computers cannot calculate fuel usage at differing power settings whilst inverted – trust the RtS times for inverted flight as published. When 2500’ displaced from crowd centre on the other side than that from which you started, select idle power and pull FBS until 90° nose-down pointing at the 230m line. Hold this attitude until reaching either 2500’ or 250kts, then select full reheat and FBS to level out pointing back along the display line. Again, this gate is generous for a single seat ac but will work for the tub as well. To compensate for on or off crowd winds during the manoeuvre, roll 5° towards or away from the crowd whilst in the vertical, or track wing low whilst inverted. Remember that roll stick inputs have to be ‘reversed’ to get the same effect whilst inverted to that given in level flight – it can feel very odd to input roll towards the crowd to then track away. 2.10.21 Vertical Departure: Roll through 360° whilst in the vertical to show the impressive roll rate of the ac. Pick a feature first (sun, cloud) to enable the roll to stop crisply back at the start heading else you will get disorientated. 2.10.22 Avionic Set-Up: Have the HSI on the PA format with the HSI Course Marker orientated to the display axis and the Heading Marker on the B-axis outbound heading. Relate this to crowd centre by using Steer Hold on a nav point entered at crowd centre. I also had the fuel page permanently on the left MHDD, as 5000kgs of fuel can disappear very quickly!


Good luck, and ENJOY yourself!

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PART 2 SECTION 11 - THE HEAVIES 2.11.1 If you are a ‘heavy’ display pilot and have given the preceding s of this booklet a miss, you should turn back to the beginning. Although this section will inevitably reiterate some of the earlier points, the content of Sections 1 and 2 is of paramount importance to you and should also be of consuming interest. PRESENTING YOUR AIRCRAFT 2.11.2 Clearly, pre-display preparation and a thorough knowledge of both one’s own and the aircraft’s capabilities and limitations are fundamental to any sort of display. However the great difference between ‘heavy’ and ‘fighter’ displays must inevitably lie in the content. The range of manoeuvre afforded to large aircraft by Air Staff Instructions and structural considerations is limited. You must therefore compensate for any possible loss of spectacle by detailed planning, skilled presentation, accurate timing, correct positioning, the imaginative use of lights and pyrotechnics, and the use of bank to display the lines of the aircraft and show off the low level handling characteristics. Obviously, therefore, the manner in which the aircraft is to be presented deserves the most careful consideration. In Section 1, members of the ‘bloodshot-eyes’ brigade are advised never to fly their aircraft straight and level during a display. This is impractical for the ‘heavy’ pilot. That advice must be modified to avoid straight and level constant-speed fly pasts when possible; and every opportunity must be taken to pass the crowd with bank on. Use of large bank angles will show off the aircraft in plan form to the spectators; slightly less bank may reveal the bomb bay contents to the crowd. BASIC PLANNING 2.11.3 Basic planning must be done for the ‘heavies’ (as for the fighter pilot) on the drawing board. You must know the diameter of your turns. Fast jets maths is complicated, so do it this way: a Rate 1 turn completes 360° in 2 minutes. The circumference of a turn is expressed as it x diameter. Thus at 180 knots the circumference equals 6 miles = it x d. The diameter of the turn can be found by rearranging the equation thus: diameter = 6 divided by it, which equals 1.9 miles. At Rate 3, the turn will be completed in 40 seconds, thus the diameter equals 2 miles (40 seconds worth of 180 kts) divided by it, which is 1300 yards. In the same way as the aerobatic pilot plans out his sequence on a scale map, so the heavy aircraft display pilot should plan the turns which link his sequence. GETTING THE FEEL 2.11.4 In the case of all heavy aircraft, you must also work the aircraft out thoroughly at a sensible height to know how hard you can pull, how much is too much buffet, how far the speed can decay before the wing-over becomes unique, how long you have to wait before the way you are pointed becomes the way you are going, and the effect of various AUWs. PUTTING IT TOGETHER

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2.11.5 Irrespective of aircraft type, you must practise each manoeuvre separately until it works right every time and allows for change of run-in direction. The visibility from the left-hand seat will be a dominant factor in your display, particularly when turning right. By the time you can see that you have misjudged it, it’s usually too late to do much about it so make sure that you are aware of the effect of wind, haze layers and the late afternoon sun. Most important, educate your co-pilot and make full use of him. When you are confident of each manoeuvre - with and without undercarriage/bomb doors/etc - put them together. There aren’t many so it won’t take long, but remember that a smooth and speedy transition is necessary if you want to keep the display crisp and near the datum. FINE TUNING 2.11.6 Naturally you will have practised your manoeuvres at height before presenting the sequence to your executives. You must always have the same mentor watch and debrief your show; you should then get a consistent standard of criticism. Remember that the aim of display flying is to impress the public - which in general is often highly entertained by some of the more basic aural and visual assaults on their senses, and upon whom the finer (and often more demanding) points of flying and airmanship are lost. If you have clearance to use them, pyrotechnics and searchlights may indeed arrest the consumption of ice-cream. For example, landing lights can be turned on with the undercarriage down; the Nimrod searchlight can be switched on and the night illumination flasher selected with the bomb doors open; taxi lights can also be used effectively throughout a display. 2.11.7 You will find that the use of large bank angles does make accurate height keeping a little more difficult. Variations in height during prolonged turns look bad, particularly with the aircraft in full plan form. However, since the crowd cannot judge aircraft height very accurately, you can compromise and make the whole sequence look tidy by adjusting height when turning away or towards the crowd, and accepting whatever height you have when in full plan form view of the spectators (provided you are at or above your MSD). Accurate positioning in front of the crowd is probably the one most important point, it is very easy to find one-self drifting away. A crosswind coupled with a continuously reducing radius of turn compounds the problem, but there is no substitute for practice in coping with the various wind effects. Pilots must practise in both on-crowd and off-crowd winds- on any one day the display can be practised in both wind conditions simply by having an observation point at either side of the main runway. TIMING 2.11.8 Accurate timing of course is important for the smooth progress of the whole show, but to arrive at the threshold bang on time adds that professional touch. When you only have a speed range of 130 kts to 250 kts within which to make ETA adjustments, it is useful to plan a route from the holding point to the display datum that allows corners to be cut or legs to be extended. Then with sensible use of the aircraft navigation system, combined with speed adjustment in the later stages of the run in, display times can he made to within 2 or 3 seconds. 2.11.9 Notwithstanding the structures of the programme, it is an exceptional show that runs absolutely on time throughout. When changes take place, the aircraft with the most fuel (the heavies) are inevitably the ones that are asked to hold off and

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accept the longest delays. Your subsequent arrival precisely on the revised time should not only be a matter of personal pride, but will also assist the organisers to avoid further delays. Your limited speed range means that the size and orientation of the holding pattern must be carefully planned to enable you to lose or gain time. Most air shows have laid-down holding points to which aircraft are allocated by broad category, i.e. all the ‘heavies’ together. However, if you would rather use a different holding point - or vary from defined patterns or heights - ask the organisers. Most are amenable to necessary change. In any event, be sure to select some track features between the ‘hold’ and the display to ensure that you arrive on the right line and pointing in the right direction. 2.11.10 Naturally you must know precisely how long your display lasts, you must establish markers during the sequence to keep you informed of any variations and use your crew to monitor adherence to the schedule. It also helps to know the duration of individual manoeuvres; thus, if half way through your show the display controller tells you that the Blunder twits will be on stage 45 seconds early, you will perhaps be able to miss out one manoeuvre and still make an orderly departure. 2.11.11 It goes without saying that slower speeds tend to increase the effect of any wind, and it is only too easy to exceed ‘g’ or angle of bank limitations in an attempt to rescue a poorly planned turn. Practice and more practice is the ultimate solution, but prior attention to the wind strength can make life easier. The use of landmarks may be counter-productive for the fast jet display pilot, but ground features can be very useful when displaying a heavy aeroplane. When you practise around your own airfield, take note of the features under your turn-in/pull-up/procedure turn. When you are back on the ground, get hold of the 1:50000 map and measure these points as a range and bearing from the display datum. Then when you are displaying at Little Snoring, you can get the local 1:50000, mark on the crowd datum, measure off the same range and bearing, and look for a likely feature. You will often find features that will be of use, but of course you must allow for wind rather than place blind faith in a still-air plan. Moreover, it is worthwhile ensuring whenever possible that you get a visual reconnaissance of the topography surrounding the airfield or site at which you are to display. A display rehearsal offers the best value, a long hard look from circuit height is a poor second best, but be very wary indeed of accepting display commitments at completely unknown sites. CREW CO-ORDINATION 2.11.12 Displaying a large aeroplane requires as much team work as operating the aeroplane in its tactical role. It is therefore important that the pilot practises and flies on displays with the same crew. As your own confidence grows, be sure to instil the same feeling in them. This is not what most AEOs and navigators had in mind when they joined, and they are not sitting in the comforting Martin-Baker embrace. Each crew brief must be confident and comprehensive and detail exactly what is expected of the members. If your aircraft has no look-out stations, positioning assistance cannot be expected from anyone other than the co-pilot. However, in aircraft that have astrodome/beam windows/nose/tail look-out stations, the crew can provide the pilot with invaluable clues as to how a turn onto the datum is going. Further-more, in the crowded air traffic environment of most air displays, the look-outs may be of considerable use in calling the position of other aircraft. However, beware too much chatter on the intercom, which is not only distracting but could cause you to miss a vital call.

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POOR WEATHER 2.11.13 Having a separate bad weather show up your sleeve is less important to a ‘heavies’ man than to a fighter pilot. The majority of your manoeuvres will be fairly flat at any rate; thus with few adjustments the same show can be done equally well with a 1200 ft cloudbase as with 2500 ft. However, you must bear in mind the potential dangers of goldfish-bowl/no-horizon weather. In such conditions you must increase the height of your turns by 100-250 ft or more. The weather parameters for the good weather/bad weather display formats are largely a matter of judgement for the display pilot and therefore have to be decided beforehand. Quite contrary to their normal practice, Met men at display airfields often tend to be optimists. They, like the organisers, want the display to be a success. Moreover, in marginal weather conditions, reported cloud bases and visibilities can be the best, not the worst. On the other hand, when displaying on a hot summer’s day in a flat calm you may experience trouble in flying into your own slipstream. Aircraft have been slightly over-stressed because of this as well as turbulence on windy days. OVER COMMITMENT 2.11.14 Finally, you must consider in advance - and honestly - whether what is being asked of you is not going to stretch you just a little too much. A straight forward display, taking off and landing at the mounting base is fine, but look carefully at those Bank Holiday tours. You may be asked to perform two, three or more times in one sortie. That could make it a three hour job, with the air traffic complications, timing problems, varying display environments, and an aircraft (to begin with at least) much heavier and less forgiving than you would prefer. Don’t succumb to the temptation to make do with a bit less fuel so that you can enter the first display at a more acceptable weight. Equally, if the aircraft is heavy, don’t fly just below the ‘g’ limit - buffet or turbulence can quickly take you over it. In fact, it makes sound sense for you to have a separate sequence ready for a heavy aircraft display. You must plan these multi-show days extra carefully, eliminate the surprises, and if you have doubts, express them clearly in good time. Better to reduce the commitment than increase the risk. 2.11.15 If you have done all these things, then the show itself should be almost a formality. You know what you can do, you know what you intend to do, and you have practised dealing with the unexpected. Now practise humility. Do only that which is within your training, briefing and authorisation. Ignore with a distant smile the Mephistophelian characters, always present at those displays far from home, who will assure you that nobody else will bother with the height and proximity minima, that there are no FAA observers on the island, that last year’s Shackleton/Nimrod/’VCl0 stole the show with a vertical roll. If it turns out that they suddenly want 10 minutes rather than 7, don’t come up with some-thing new at this stage. At best, somebody will write to the AOC with a photograph and graphic description of your brilliance. At worst, the Board of Inquiry will enter its own commentary. Playing to the crowd is unrewarding, unprofessional and unacceptable

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PART 2 SECTION 12 - HELICOPTERS By Flt Lt P Lees, 1992 and 1993 Wessex Display Pilot. INTRODUCTION 2.12.1 Helicopter displays before the public range from the ‘simple’ role demo to a full scale display at IAT or the like. Nevertheless, each must be planned with care and attention. Many of the back-ground factors relating to planning, preparation, practice, PR and other pressures described in previous pages of this booklet are relevant to helicopter displays. The following notes should be used as a guide to preparing for your display/role demo and are aimed at all helicopter types. Displays and role demos are considered separately. DISPLAYS 2.12.2 As the build up to the display season begins several weeks or months prior to the first display let’s start at the beginning and progress from there. SELECTION OF PILOT AND CREW 2.12.3 As a conscientious would-be display pilot you can’t do much about this phase except volunteer for the job. Before putting yourself forward ensure that you know what you are letting yourself in for - many days away from base, lots of paperwork, extra days at work etc... If this all appeals, then volunteer and good luck. SELECTION OF THE ROUTINE 2.12.4 So you have been chosen to display your aircraft this year. The choice of routine is your opportunity to stamp your individual mark on the season, but how? You may have seen previous shows and been impressed (or disappointed) with some aspects of them. Think about how the display flowed, what would you change? Is the aircraft capable of more? If possible, talk to last year’s pilot and discover what he would have changed. 2.12.5 At this stage, you will not be authorised to practise the full sequence so you will have to imagine how one manoeuvre will blend with another. Remember that you are flying a helicopter you will never be able to out-aerobat a Hawk or Tucano for instance, but you can hover, fly backwards, etc. It is worth thinking about who you are trying to impress. Most of the people who will watch your display will be lay public and very easily impressed by even very simple manoeuvres, so don’t push it to the limits. APPROVAL BY HIGHER AUTHORITY 2.12.6 The first approval from above will probably come in signal form allowing you to practise your new sequence. Be mindful of any caveats that may have been imposed. If ‘the big man’ has questioned a particular manoeuvre, it is worth rechecking that it is possible or sensible to fly it. If you still believe it to be safe, fine.

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PRACTICE 2.12.7 After initial selection of your routine, the most important factor is practice, and then more practice! Start gently though. Think about your entry heights and speeds again, set absolute limits for yourself AND NEVER BE TEMPTED TO GO BELOW THEM. Start your practices at a safe height, say 1000 ft - 1500 ft, so that any wrinkles can be identified and ironed out, and you can be-come fully conversant with the routine. Once you are happy at this height go down lower as soon as possible. High energy, low altitude helicopter flying is heavily reliant upon visual clues. These clues are not available at height and most flight instruments are not responsive enough to compensate, so get lower as soon as cleared. 2.12.8 By repeating the process a few times you will soon be down towards your legal base height - and this can be as low as 50 ft for some parts of the display. Remember a couple of things about flying this low. One, there is very little room to play with if things go wrong, and two, if you fly very low and close to a large crowd only the front few rows will see you! Perhaps a more realistic compromise is 100 ft. 2.12.9 As you get more confident at this height, start to introduce variables. These include poorer met conditions, using different display line orientations, etc. You should aim to fly a few times, at least, in weather conditions as close as possible to your legal minima so that poor weather will not come as a surprise. Vary the wind velocity angles by changing runways, this also prevents you relying on fixed visual markers unique to your base. If you are planned to display over the coast or open grass areas try to practice in similar locations. You are aiming to reach a situation where whatever happens on your first display, you will have seen something like it before. PRE-DISPLAY PLANNING 2.12.10 OK, so now you are the fully checked out, approved and qualified display pilot. What next? After practice, the biggest part of your preparation will be paperwork. Every show that you attend will require information. This ranges from planned arrival time, display length, accommodation requirements, fuel requirements, departure details, personal details about you and your crew, facts and figures about the aircraft and its role and a myriad of other items. Each set of organisers has a different questionnaire format and the list seems endless. A good idea is to produce your own fact sheets covering yourself, the display, the aircraft and its role. 2.10.11 Ensure that when you write to the organisers you brief them fully on rotor downdraught, otherwise you could end up parked close to a light aircraft, unable to lift-off and show the world your well-rehearsed display. If your helicopter can ground taxi, say so, adding any restrictions you may have. 2.12.12 Several organisers may ask whether you are SAR capable in the event of a major disaster on the day. Only you can answer that, but if you have a stripped down machine and no crew then the answer is probably ‘no’. If you are not SAR capable say so now, or else you could find yourself planned as an integral part of the disaster plan. It is worth remembering that if you are at a large show, and maybe a mile or so from your helicopter when an accident happens, you will be next to useless anyway. It is better to say no and be a possible bonus should circumstances permit, than vice a versa.

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2.12.13 Plan your maps carefully - most helicopters are not capable of flying above, or through, a summer weather front with associated thunderstorms. Make sure you know where you can get fuel at weekends should you need it. This may sound obvious, but it is better to be prepared than embarrassed. Even if you are not a declared SAR asset, it is worth having local area maps with hospital landing sites marked - just in case! 2.12.14 Whatever else, confirm exactly what the organisers want from you. It has been known for a helicopter crew to be requested to fly a VIP before the start of the show to allow him to view the scene from the air. Don’t be pressurised into performing these tasks on the spur of the moment - if you don’t want to do it due to fuel, authorizations, weather, or just that it is too adjacent to your slot time -DON’T DO IT. 2.12.15 Finally, if you can plan to arrive the day before, do so. This is advantageous for several reasons. You get to see the display area and are able to think about your display orientation, you can iron out any minor problems with organisers and, last but not least, you actually get there. Nothing is more frustrating than having a CAVOK met report from the show venue when you have 8/8 clag at base, or have to negotiate an active front en route, etc. Plan ahead and try to get there early. THE BIG DAY 2.12.16 Here you are then, well rested, relaxed and fully prepared for your first ‘live’ display. What is there left to do? Probably not a great deal if you have planned ahead correctly, but even the tiniest task will take on mammoth proportions in your highly aroused state. So here are a few tips. 2.12.17 Ensure you get to the briefing on time. If you are too early you can always grab a coffee and wait; if you are late you will miss something. Listen carefully to all the brief- has your slot time changed and become unworkable? If you need 20 minutes to get airborne after starting rotors check that no one has slipped a parachuting display into this period. Check the wind and work out how it will affect your sequence. Confirm that ATC frequencies have not changed - sometimes the published frequencies for a station are altered for the duration of the flying programme. It sounds ludicrous but it has happened. 2.12.18 Once you are satisfied, fully brief your support personnel. Check that they know what time to arrive at the aircraft, again give yourself plenty of time. Don’t get in a situation where you have to rush checks and risk missing something. 2.12.19 As your flying time approaches, re-check all the details. Some of the larger shows, IAT for example, have several hours of flying planned and things can change during the day. 2.12.20 OK, so you’ve done all the pre-flight, got airborne and are now ‘off and running’. It is not unknown for things to change even at this stage so be ready for it. Analyse the ‘real’ wind now you are flying, look at the crowd line and display line and plan to fly just as you have practised. DO NOT get tempted to modify your display dramatically to adapt to local conditions or inputs, and if you are not happy, land. At

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worst, no one will know whether you really did or didn’t have a minor problem, but everyone will know if you press on and muck it up. 2.12.21 Finally, you have flown your sequence to perfection and the crowd loved it and you are feeling great. Don’t relax. Someone else is just starting his run-in and wants you out of the way. Fly your planned departure and be on the lookout for things that have moved since you got airborne. Accidents can, and have happened whilst helicopters are taxiing. Once you have shut down you can relax. DEPARTURE 2.12.22 On leaving the show site do not be tempted to do anything silly - I know YOU wouldn’t, but others have! Leave sensibly, get back to base and tell the Boss how great it all was and how much you are looking forward to the next one. FINAL POINTS 2.12.23 Be prepared for organisers to throw a couple of fast balls. To you it is another show, to them it is one of the highlights of the year, perhaps with much prestige at stake. Some fast ball examples are: requests that you fly an altered sequence in weather below your minima, that you extend/shorten your routine by a couple of minutes, let VIPs and/or the public look around your helicopter, put on a mini show the next day, etc. If you don’t have a formal, approved poor weather show, don’t fly an impromptu one. (Better to plan one in January to cater for the British summer!) Other requests maybe possible but could compromise your schedule. Before you fly, do not allow yourself to be distracted by a ‘special favour’ to the Stn Cdr. Either suggest an alternative time or politely decline. 2.12.24 Lastly, if, despite all this, you do not enjoy yourself quit. Display flying should not become a chore for that is when it gets dangerous. ROLE DEMOS 2.12.25 The helicopter has unique handling qualities that invite it to be used as a PR vehicle for the RAF at small fetes and shows throughout the summer. These are not aerobatic displays, but role demos. Regulations and separation distances concerning role demos are less restrictive than those for aerobatic displays, thus several different types of event can be supported, however if performed in front of the general public a PDFA will be required. 2.12.26 Many of the points raised in the display section are pertinent here too. However, there is no format, approved sequence, practices are not always required and a special pilot/crew is not always employed. Despite all this do not be led into a false sense of security. 2.12.27 Many role demos are organised on a small scale, often by a local charity, and occasionally little or no aviation knowledge is present. Venues can be far too small, surrounded by vertical obstructions and totally unsuitable. It is not uncommon for there to be no RT comms available and the helicopter is the only thing flying. The organisers will be incredibly keen, and very persuasive, that you show up to ‘do something’. Resist

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the temptations to compromise the rules and your safety in an attempt to please those on the ground. 2.12.28 If you are going to perform a SAR demo make sure the ‘survivor’ is well briefed, his kit tested and the dinghy will inflate. Remember the possible falseness of the scenario if you are over a field, or the potential risks if you have a man in the sea at a coastal show. Try to keep it interesting, the tiny blob that is a helicopter several hundred yards away will not keep people’s attention for long. The best way to demonstrate SAR capability is for real - over a boat or near a cliff. Often this is impossible, so do not get too tied down with authenticity. 2.12.29 Similarly for SH demos. The natural SH environment is moving fast at low level, trying not to be seen. Try to identify a method of portraying this role, but let the crowd see you. If you decide to use an under-slung load, check it is correctly rigged. Also check that there are safe approach and departure lanes. 2.12.30 If you intend parking the helicopter at the event for any length of time, ensure that it is properly guarded. The public has an uncanny knack of being able to remove bits as souvenirs, or of accidentally breaking essential components, so only let them near your aircraft under close supervision. 2.12.31 Finally, just as for display flying, if you don’t like the way things are going, stop. It could save some very red faces later.

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PART 2 SECTION13 - THE SPITFIRE and HURRICANE

Provided by Sqn Ldr Clive Rowley OC BBMF 2004

2.13.1 The lucky few pilots who are permitted to display the ‘Fighters’ of the BBMF are extremely privileged, after all most pilots dream of having the opportunity to fly a Spitfire or Hurricane. BBMF flying is sometimes exciting and often rewarding; it is also just plain old-fashioned fun! However, this ‘dream come true’ can also be very challenging, occasionally even nerve racking and, like all display flying, could be potentially hazardous. The BBMF ‘Fighter’ display sequence is intended to allow the public to see and hear these rare aircraft in flight, not to demonstrate the aircraft’s full capabilities or the pilot’s skill. In addition, the BBMF is dedicated to the long-term preservation of these historic aircraft and therefore operates them with power settings and g limits much reduced from the original design limits. The BBMF ‘Fighter’ display sequence is therefore very simple and quite short. It consists of a series of linked wingovers, steep turns and low passes to the minimum cleared height of 100 feet. The only truly aerobatic manoeuvres are the ‘Derry wingovers’ and the final climbing aileron or ‘victory’ roll. The sequence can be flown either as a singleton or, with only minor amendments, as a ‘synchro pair’. All manoeuvres are flown using between +1 and +3g (+4g never-exceed for Spitfires only). The simple display sequence has the advantage that it can easily be flown left or right handed, it requires no alteration to fit into the 3-ship (Lancaster, Hurricane, Spitfire) display and can also be flown as a ‘synchro’ display if required.

2.13.2 The following notes do not attempt to detail Spitfire or Hurricane flying techniques nor how to fly the BBMF ‘Fighter’ display as these skills are taught to new BBMF fighter pilots during their conversion and display work-up. However, some of the specific problems involved in displaying these historic, single-engine aircraft are described below. An understanding of these points could be useful to other display aircrew and air show organisers and this, in turn, may be helpful to the BBMF.

LIMITED FLYING HOURS

2.13.3 Accurate and detailed planning is essential to the successful completion of displays and flypasts. BBMF fighter pilots work in a single-seat cockpit with no modern navigation aids; they have to transit VFR below cloud or in sight of the surface (this is an engine failure / forced landing consideration and the aircraft do not have an IFR clearance) and they often arrive at a venue in close formation. Sometimes the first opportunity that a pilot gets to orientate themselves with the display line and datum is as they break out of close formation with only 30 seconds and a positioning turn to get their bearings before commencing their individual display. Although the pilot may be expecting to be a formation wingman and to be led to the display venues, aircraft unserviceabilities may result in him becoming the leader or going as a singleton. Thorough planning is therefore, self evidently, a very necessary requirement. In addition, BBMF sorties frequently involve multiple tasking, perhaps 2 full displays and several flypasts at different venues utilising the full fuel capacity and range of the aircraft. A BBMF fighter pilot’s pre-flight planning, therefore, typically takes up to 4 hours for every BBMF sortie and, of course, this has to be done in the pilot’s own time to fit around his primary duties. On occasions the full details of display venues and timings are not provided to the Flight in adequate time to ease this pre-flight planning burden, despite

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the best efforts of the BBMF Ops staff. This is an area where display organisers can either make the lives of the BBMF aircrew much easier or alternatively more stressful.

2.13.4 One of the principal factors governing BBMF flying operations is the seasonal limit on flying hours, intended to ensure the long-term preservation of these historic aircraft. In practice this does not present a problem, merely a challenge, but one that is not always fully appreciated by those who do not have to work within it. Each display season is planned jointly by the Participation Committee and the BBMF to wring the maximum possible benefit from every hour in the air. Each sortie will be planned to appear over as many venues as possible and sortie durations of over 2 hours with 5 or 6 mixed displays and flypasts are not uncommon. Excessive use of flying time due to ‘slack’ planning by the aircrew, e.g. over-generous holding time or unnecessary navigational detours, is actively discouraged. With all this effort to minimise the wastage of flying hours and to maximise their value, requests to hold-off at air shows or to prolong airborne time unnecessarily may meet with little sympathy from the BBMF crews unless there are very good reasons. This is not personal nor is it ‘bloody mindedness’ and any assistance that can be provided by organisers or other display aircrew to avoid wasting valuable flying hours will be much appreciated. The ‘bottom line’ is that wasted airborne time could result in the cancellation of someone else’s display or flypast later that season.

DISPLAY SITE HAZARDS

2.13.5 The Enthusiast. When operating from ‘away’ airfields especially those hosting a display, one of the greatest hazards facing the pilot of an historic aircraft is the persistent enthusiast and, to only a slightly lesser extent, the air show video cameraman. One well-known and very experienced civilian ‘warbird’ pilot swears by remaining ‘incognito’ to counter this hazard, dressing in such a way that no one would ever guess (or even believe) that he was a pilot, he dons his flying overalls only immediately before entering the cockpit. Unfortunately, that option is not open to military aircrew who must dress the part and accept that being pestered goes with the territory. This is no problem when time is available and the pilot is outside the ‘sortie bubble’. However, it can be distracting and even, potentially, a flight safety hazard once pre-flight preparations have begun. The best solution to the problem is always to leave more than sufficient time for each activity especially those in public areas, e.g. sortie briefing at the aircraft or pre-flight ‘walk round’, and to avoid becoming rushed. The only place that a pilot cannot be disturbed is in the cockpit; strapping in 5 minutes earlier than needed provides an invaluable few minutes of thinking and ‘focusing’ time.

2.13.6 Off-Airfield Venues. The BBMF frequently flies full display routines or flypasts, as a formation or as a singleton, at rather less well-defined and/or poorly controlled venues such as summer fetes or veterans’ reunions. ‘Dog and pony’ shows present a variety of problems; even finding the site in the first place can prove an interesting challenge. Typically, there is no R/T contact with these shows, sometimes even pre-sortie telephone contact is impossible as the organiser’s mobile is switched off or has no signal. The precise timing of events is not of paramount importance to the organisers of such shows. It is a good idea in these cases to make a positive effort, both in the planning stages and in the execution, to de-conflict the display/flypasts with any animal-related events on the ground, e.g. the pony rides, the dog obedience show or the sheepdog demonstration. An arrival at low level and high speed, smack on time may be cause for celebration inside the cockpit but might not be appreciated to the same degree by those on the ground chasing bolting ponies, sheep or dogs whose obedience has suddenly deserted them. BBMF fighters therefore tend to arrive at such venues from

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altitude if possible, perhaps even spiralling down in the overhead before commencing the display or flypast, giving the people on the ground plenty of warning of their arrival. This technique has the added benefit of allowing the pilot to recce the site for any unexpected obstacles.

AIR DISPLAY SPECIFICS

2.13.7 Engine Overheating. One of the perennial problems of operating BBMF fighter types, particularly the ‘Baby’ (MkII and MkV) Spitfires, is the tendency for the engines to overheat rapidly on the ground. (To a lesser extent this affects all marks of Spitfire in the air at display power settings or with the undercarriage down). When operating from the display airfield, BBMF pilots are under remit to ensure that the display director and ATC are briefed on the likely engine overheating problems. Typically, on a hot summer day a ‘Baby’ Spitfire will overheat in approximately 5 minutes from engine start and it would be necessary either to take-off within that timescale or to shut down. Clearly, once the show timing has been confirmed, clearance to start commits all concerned to a take-off within the pre-briefed time scale or a ground abort will ensue. This overheating problem also applies after landing and very long taxy distances, ground holding or snails-pace ‘follow me’ vehicles could lead to having to shut down on the taxyway, possibly causing an inconvenient blockage.

2.13.8 Cockpit Noise Levels and R/T. At display power settings, the ambient cockpit noise levels are high in a Spitfire and extremely high in a Hurricane. This can make it difficult for the pilots to hear the R/T. Please rest assured that if the response to your R/T transmission is a “Say Again”, this is not (entirely) down to the age and deafness of the BBMF pilot. One of the standard points in the BBMF written brief to air show organisers is a reminder of the possible need to fire a red ‘very’ cartridge to stop the display should this be necessary and if an R/T call is unsuccessful. Unnecessary R/T transmissions on the display frequency should be avoided during BBMF displays, partly because it may be misheard for the reasons above and also because, during formation displays, the radio is needed for co-ordination between aircraft in the team. BBMF fighter aircraft are equipped with VHF-only radios and a dedicated VHF display frequency is therefore highly desirable at all displays and essential for team or ‘synchro’ displays.

2.13.9 Weather Limits. The crosswind and maximum wind strength limits for the BBMF aircraft are restrictive compared with most other types because of the directional control difficulties generated by the undercarriage arrangement on the ground. In addition, the BBMF will not display its fighter aircraft in rain as this causes damage to the wooden propellers. With the long-term preservation of these precious aircraft in mind, these sensible limits mean that, on occasions, the BBMF will not be able to appear when others have no problems doing so.

2.13.10 Runway Availability During Display. An engine failure during the display would transform a BBMF fighter into an instant and not very efficient glider with a rate of descent in the order of 2,600 fpm. In most display circumstances this would allow no more than 30 seconds before the aircraft reaches ‘terra firma’ one way or the other. It is therefore essential that the runway is kept clear during BBMF displays to permit a forced landing should it become necessary. If other aircraft are required to be on the runway, perhaps lining-up for take-off or backtracking, then it is essential that they are listening out on the (VHF) display frequency and could react to an emergency immediately by clearing the runway (onto the grass if necessary). If, after an engine failure, it were not

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possible to reach the runway for a forced landing, the pilot’s next choice would be to force land, probably wheels-up, on any suitable grass area.

2.13.11 Holding Areas. BBMF aircraft usually ask to set up a 4-minute hold approximately 2 minutes out from the display datum prior to the run-in to display. During a BBMF team display the aircraft waiting their turn for their individual displays, hold crowd rear at heights (depending on the cloud base) between 500ft and 2,000ft. From a BBMF perspective the location of published display holding areas is often unacceptable and the crews have to negotiate for dispensation. Because the fighter aircraft are single-engined, the pilots will wish to avoid holding over water, built-up areas or any terrain that is unsuitable for forced landing. In general, the fighters will want to hold above 1500 ft, this being ‘Low Key’ for a forced landing and also the minimum bailout height. The regulations governing BBMF display flying do not permit any helicopter pleasure flying from anywhere on the airfield during the display, even from crowd rear, as this is where the BBMF aircraft hold and run-in from during a team display.

2.13.12 Circuits and Landings. Because of the need to remain within gliding range of the airfield from downwind and to counter the poor view over the aircraft’s nose on the final approach, BBMF fighter pilots fly tight circuits and curved approaches to land. They will not take kindly to being asked to extend to fit in behind other aircraft flying long straight-in approaches or ‘bomber’ circuits. Finally, landing these aircraft neatly is really not that easy so please feel free to ‘banter’ if any are less than perfect whilst, of course, continuing to make no mention at all of those occasions when a pilot gets it absolutely right so as not to encourage over-confidence or over-inflated egos!

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Display Flying Handbook