Kiwi Red 1989 -1990
Personally my first witnessing of the 'live' Kiwi Red display was at the Royal New Zealand Aero Club pageant at Timaru on February 17th 1990, and it was not until this show did I fully appreciate the 'aura' that had grown to surround this team. From arrival at the Richard Pearce Airfield early on Saturday morning it became obvious the pedestal the general public had placed this crack aerobatic team upon. For at this show as well as the usual aviation buffs were a large number whose sole purpose in attending the air show was to witness the Kiwi Red routine. Throughout the day aircraft ranging from the C-130 Hercules to the Cessna Golden Eagle were being 'identified' as the approaching team.
Finally, when they did arrive, the crowd appeared caught by some surprise. Six Skyhawks storming in from the south, behind them in tight cardinal formation, two lines of three aircraft a mere three to four feet apart. Pulling up to a high 6,000 to 7,000 foot loop as the noise and smoke wafts over the crowd. A smooth changeover the top into the arrow head formation of delta, totally unaffected by the wisps of cloud making their way across from the thick cloud bank in the west. Smoke trails hanging motionless in the calm air, the distant black triangle descends, banking out in the west as the four outside aircraft slide back to formate off Red 4 flying in the slot behind Red 1, Wing Commander John Bates. This formation called swan passes 'slowly', gracefully down the display line, smoothly through another formation change into 'Lancaster' - Reds 2, 3, 5 and 6 line abreast with Red 1 centre fore and Red 4 centre aft - named in recognition of the aircraft operated by 75 Squadron in earlier days during World War Two. Four aircraft smoking to simulate the four engines of this giant bomber, Red 1 leads the formation through the first barrel roll of the display.
Heading out towards the north Reds 5 & 6 moves up to change to atlas, the formation taking the shape of a reverse arrow head. Returning directly towards the crowd the team pulls up into the vertical as inside the aircraft the Wing Commander calls out his heading. From this the other pilots calculate their required course and upon reaching the top of this climb the aircraft are rolled on their back and to head away to the six different points of the compass painting a large spectacular star or bomb burst pattern which hangs in the still air directly overhead.
With the ear shattering roar of the J52-P8A jet engine Red 2 and 3 return charging towards each other, passing, flicking through a couple of aileron rolls to disappear off stage.
Directly out in front Red 5 and 6 flying line abreast pull up into a high loop, descending and returning towards the crowd to execute one of the visual highlights of the show, as usual guarantied to draw a gasp from the crowd and although totally lost on still photography one I found hard to resist snapping, the 270 degree roll under split. A fuller description of the execution of this manoeuvre would give away the secret of creating the optical illusion; however viewed head on both aircraft execute a 270 degree aileron roll towards each other then break away across the path of the other.
Regaining their breath, spontaneous conversation breaks across the crowd as Reds 1, 2, 3, and 4 returns in echelon left stacked off Red 1's wing sliding through another barrel roll.
In another crowd stopper Red 6 returns at an altitude of a mere 50 to 100 feet and travelling at some 1000 kilometres per hour, slightly banked, canopy towards the crowd line. The airfield still reverberating, Red 5 returns from the opposite direction inverted and parallel to the crowd. Rolling back to level flight, through a sweeping curve to build up speed to 1100 km to pull up in a cork screwing vertical climb to top out some 13,000 feet overhead. As Red 5 cuts his smoke the rest of the team return in a tidy V for victory or 'vic' formation for another loop. On the boundary of the airfield Red 5 returning from greater heights takes up his usual position in the formation, a difficult task in which he has to adjust his speed to the 800 kilometres an hour of the formation and match their turning circle. Simultaneously Red 4 slides across to his more usual line astern position.
Approaching the main display area Red 1 deploys the inter-flight refuelling hose from his underwing store into which Red 4 plugs. As this 'Lancaster' formation passes down the display line the alternate pairs on each side of the plugged aircraft break away in graceful rollbacks to rejoin making up the swan formation. Another repositioning manoeuvre to bring the formation back in front of the crowd to perform what has become the hallmark of the No 75 Squadron Skyhawk aerobatics, the world unique 'plugged barrel roll'. The normal difficulty of the manoeuvre being added to by a 600km/hr limitation on the drogue causing speed problems over the top. As a refining of this manoeuvre the 1990 team complete the barrel roll in the swan formation involving for the first time, all six aircraft.
Disengaging from the plug the team pulls up into the last loop of the display bringing the six aircraft back straight towards the crowd to split in the final manoeuvre, the horizontal bomb burst or fan break. Cutting their smoke the black dots soon disappear.
Appreciation, admiration, its difficult to put a label on it, sweeps the crowd as they dissipate in total ore. In Timaru the organisers of the Pageant made their only mistake of the day in scheduling the Warbirds’ Baghdad Fury after the Reds. Spectacular, as this mighty aircraft is, it was lost - the crowd had been to the top of the mountain nothing could follow - they had seen Kiwi Red 'live'.
Finally, when they did arrive, the crowd appeared caught by some surprise. Six Skyhawks storming in from the south, behind them in tight cardinal formation, two lines of three aircraft a mere three to four feet apart. Pulling up to a high 6,000 to 7,000 foot loop as the noise and smoke wafts over the crowd. A smooth changeover the top into the arrow head formation of delta, totally unaffected by the wisps of cloud making their way across from the thick cloud bank in the west. Smoke trails hanging motionless in the calm air, the distant black triangle descends, banking out in the west as the four outside aircraft slide back to formate off Red 4 flying in the slot behind Red 1, Wing Commander John Bates. This formation called swan passes 'slowly', gracefully down the display line, smoothly through another formation change into 'Lancaster' - Reds 2, 3, 5 and 6 line abreast with Red 1 centre fore and Red 4 centre aft - named in recognition of the aircraft operated by 75 Squadron in earlier days during World War Two. Four aircraft smoking to simulate the four engines of this giant bomber, Red 1 leads the formation through the first barrel roll of the display.
Heading out towards the north Reds 5 & 6 moves up to change to atlas, the formation taking the shape of a reverse arrow head. Returning directly towards the crowd the team pulls up into the vertical as inside the aircraft the Wing Commander calls out his heading. From this the other pilots calculate their required course and upon reaching the top of this climb the aircraft are rolled on their back and to head away to the six different points of the compass painting a large spectacular star or bomb burst pattern which hangs in the still air directly overhead.
With the ear shattering roar of the J52-P8A jet engine Red 2 and 3 return charging towards each other, passing, flicking through a couple of aileron rolls to disappear off stage.
Directly out in front Red 5 and 6 flying line abreast pull up into a high loop, descending and returning towards the crowd to execute one of the visual highlights of the show, as usual guarantied to draw a gasp from the crowd and although totally lost on still photography one I found hard to resist snapping, the 270 degree roll under split. A fuller description of the execution of this manoeuvre would give away the secret of creating the optical illusion; however viewed head on both aircraft execute a 270 degree aileron roll towards each other then break away across the path of the other.
Regaining their breath, spontaneous conversation breaks across the crowd as Reds 1, 2, 3, and 4 returns in echelon left stacked off Red 1's wing sliding through another barrel roll.
In another crowd stopper Red 6 returns at an altitude of a mere 50 to 100 feet and travelling at some 1000 kilometres per hour, slightly banked, canopy towards the crowd line. The airfield still reverberating, Red 5 returns from the opposite direction inverted and parallel to the crowd. Rolling back to level flight, through a sweeping curve to build up speed to 1100 km to pull up in a cork screwing vertical climb to top out some 13,000 feet overhead. As Red 5 cuts his smoke the rest of the team return in a tidy V for victory or 'vic' formation for another loop. On the boundary of the airfield Red 5 returning from greater heights takes up his usual position in the formation, a difficult task in which he has to adjust his speed to the 800 kilometres an hour of the formation and match their turning circle. Simultaneously Red 4 slides across to his more usual line astern position.
Approaching the main display area Red 1 deploys the inter-flight refuelling hose from his underwing store into which Red 4 plugs. As this 'Lancaster' formation passes down the display line the alternate pairs on each side of the plugged aircraft break away in graceful rollbacks to rejoin making up the swan formation. Another repositioning manoeuvre to bring the formation back in front of the crowd to perform what has become the hallmark of the No 75 Squadron Skyhawk aerobatics, the world unique 'plugged barrel roll'. The normal difficulty of the manoeuvre being added to by a 600km/hr limitation on the drogue causing speed problems over the top. As a refining of this manoeuvre the 1990 team complete the barrel roll in the swan formation involving for the first time, all six aircraft.
Disengaging from the plug the team pulls up into the last loop of the display bringing the six aircraft back straight towards the crowd to split in the final manoeuvre, the horizontal bomb burst or fan break. Cutting their smoke the black dots soon disappear.
Appreciation, admiration, its difficult to put a label on it, sweeps the crowd as they dissipate in total ore. In Timaru the organisers of the Pageant made their only mistake of the day in scheduling the Warbirds’ Baghdad Fury after the Reds. Spectacular, as this mighty aircraft is, it was lost - the crowd had been to the top of the mountain nothing could follow - they had seen Kiwi Red 'live'.