Two rolls of the red fireproof material Nomex made by the Du Pont corporation, is stored ready for tailoring by a bespoke seamstress at Dale Techniche, Nelson, Lancashire where every Winter, the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team place about 40 pilot suit orders and 180 blue (support ground crew) suits before their Summer air show season starts. Containing 5% Kevlar, all suits are made to fit exactly each team member. Fouteen different measurements are taken before the first suit is cut, each one requiring approximately three metres of dyed cloth. When a suit is complete, each one is signed inside by the machinist..The clothing factory also designs the Red Arrows badges, each requiring 15,000 stitches as well as suits for racing drivers, soldiers and pilots from other aerobatic teams. The Red Arrows have, since 1965 flown over 4,000 air shows in 52 countries.
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