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  • Squadron Leader Spike Jepson, leader of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, demonstrates the Corkscrew manoeuvre to his group of pilots and visitors in the briefing room at their RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire headquarters. Using two scaled model Hawk jet aircraft he shows how their formation is to be flown on their next training flight. Five autumn and winter months are spent teaching new recruits manual aerobatic display flying while the older members (who rotate positions) learn new disciplines within the routine. Their leaning curve is steep, even for these accomplished fast-jet aviators who had already accumulated 1,500 hours in fighters. By Summer they need every aspect of their 25-minute displays honed to perfection. In this meeting room they meet before and after every flight discussing safety, merits and failures.
    Red_Arrows610_RBA.jpg
  • A door painted with a high-gloss red finish is closed and a warning sign for privacy is hung to deter outsiders from entering. This briefing room belongs to the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team Lincolnshire, who use these offices as headquarters and administrative centre for the 90-plus displays they perform a year. The pilots' crew room is screened off from visitors and the notice says "Stop, do not enter, briefing in progress" to isolate the serious business of briefing and de-briefing. Performance appraisals before and after a training flight or air show displays are intense. Matters of safety and perfection are discussed so the aviators politely close the door unless visitors have been invited in to hear about the features of the next flight or afterwards, the gentlemanly exchanges providing analysis and frank views.
    Red_Arrows472_RBA.jpg
  • Two female tourists walk beneath the perfect nude male example of Michelangelo's David statue in Piazza della Signoria. It is said that the statue's genitals were created smaller to imply that David was not allowing himself to make decisions with pleasure in mind. "David" is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504, by the Italian artist Michelangelo. It is a 5.17 metre (17 feet) marble statue of a standing male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favoured subject in the art of Florence but soon came to symbolise the defence of civil liberties in the Florentine Republic, an independent city-state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states and by the Medici family.
    florence_italy53-22-10-2010.jpg
  • Pilots belonging to the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, walk in line from their parked Hawk jet aircraft during their two-day visit to the airfield at the Payerne Air 04 show, Switzerland. It is a perfect day for aerobatics with blue alpine skies during the teams' two-day visit to the Swiss airfield. Payerne is home of the Swiss Air Force who host the cream of international aerobatic display flying every September to 275,000 spectators over a weekend. European display teams and air forces gathered to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Swiss military aviation. The team walk towards waiting transport wearing the red flying suits, synonymous with an ambassadorial role for the UK and recruiting tool for the RAF's pilots of the future. SInce their birth in 1965, they have performed over 4,000 shows in 52 countries. .
    Red_Arrows667_RBA.jpg
  • A pilot of the French Air Force walks looking down along the fuselage of his C-130 Hercules oblivious to nine Hawk jet aircraft of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, who come screaming behind and 'breaking to land'. This set procedure prepares them to split up as a group, peel off seperately and land safely at the Payerne Air 04 show, Switzerland. It is a perfect day for aerobatics with blue alpine skies during the teams' two-day visit to the Swiss airfield. Payerne is home of the Swiss Air Force who host the cream of international aerobatic display flying every September to 275,000 spectators over a weekend. European display teams and air forces gathered to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Swiss military aviation. .
    Red_Arrows663_RBA.jpg
  • Climbing at sub-sonic speed, a Hawk jet aircraft of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, is seen from a neighbouring aircraft during an 'In-Season Practice' (ISP), a summer training flight over the farming fields of Lincolnshire. A landscape of agriculture is behind the red airplanes as they loop after a vertical climb. The front-seated pilot and his guest passenger stare through visors towards the wing to keep a perfect 'reference', maintaining an exact formation as seen from the ground. The Red Arrows fly to within 10 feet (3 metres) apart in some formations with speeds of 480 mph (770 kph), keeping in formation is a skill they learn every winter and refine on spare days like this between public air shows. The RAF roundel, (emblem), is on the nearest wing and the other fuselage as the world falls away in perspective.
    Red_Arrows575_RBA.jpg
  • Flying overhead into the distance, Hawk jet aircraft of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, leave behind a trail of red, white and blue smoke in the clear skies above RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. Completing their off-season training, the team put the finishing touches to their display routine every Spring on the Mediterranean island where they perfect new manoeuvres. The sky is empty but as the light wind blows across the airfield, the remainder of the tapering coloured smoke (a mixture of vegetable dye and 'derv' - diesel fuel), blends together like a patriotic ribbon to make a haze of soft spectrum in the correct order of the United Kingdom's flag, and which becomes ever-sharper as the viewer looks towards the distant aircraft. They fly past, bend to the left and climb to a higher altitude, ready for their next formation.
    Red_Arrows485_RBA.jpg
  • Ending France's Bastille Day parade, the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, streak over the pyramid peak of the Louvre art museum in the centre of Paris. Leaving vapour trails of red, white and blue smoke to mark the 100th anniversary of the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale. They were chosen by the French authorities to close the fly-pasts. British armed forces paraded in the historic parade for the first time. Under blue skies on a perfect summer day, the squadron lined up in their classic fly-past 'V-shape' called 'Big Battle', following the straight line of the Champs Elysees then eastwards over the Parisian suburbs. Personnel from four British military units were present and French Air Force jets performed their own fly-past to open the parade, while the British Hawk jets of the Red Arrows had the honour of completing it. .
    Red_Arrows462_RBA.jpg
  • Wearing ear-defenders,military green camouflage and fluorescent tabard, a 'line' engineer from the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, inserts his head into the jet pipe of a Hawk aircraft immediately after a winter training flight at the team's headquarters at a damp RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. The man is a member of the team's support ground crew (called the Blues because of their distinctive blue overalls worn at summer air shows). Checking for irregular blemishes within the aircraft's exhaust is a vital aspect of maintenance jets whose engines need to perform as the highest level, especially if its performance, and that of each pilot's manoeuvres need to be perfect. Power reduction can ruin a display for tens of thousands of spectators but an engine failure could be catastrophic..
    Red_Arrows389_RBA.jpg
  • Young Nepali boys adjust their spacing during a camp parade after recruitment to the British Gurkha Regiment. The recruitment test for the Gurkha Regiment is part of a tough endurance series to find physically perfect specimens for British army infantry training. For example they will need to perform 25 straight-kneed sit-ups at a 45° slant both within 60 seconds to pass. 60,000 boys aged between 17-22 (or 25 for those educated enough to become clerks or communications specialists) report to designated recruiting stations in the hills each November, most living from altitudes ranging from 4,000-12,000 feet. After initial selection, 7,000 are accepted for further tests from which 700 are sent down here to Pokhara in the shadow of the Himalayas. Only 160 of the best boys succeed in the journey to the UK. The Gurkhas have been supplying youth for the British army since the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
    gurkhas07-16-01-1997.jpg
  • A handful of perfect strawberries with a Morrisons supermarket slogan next to a covered floor polisher.
    strawberry_poster2-20-July-2011.jpg
  • With the runways and former nuclear silos of RAF Scampton below, Lincolnshire, the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team swoop down to their home airfield during an In-Season Practice (ISP) training flight. Trailing white organic smoke before reforming in front of a local crowd they work through a 25-minute series of display manoeuvres that are loved by thousands at summer air shows. They curve round in a similar trajectory as seen on the bending taxi-way. Freshly-ploughed English fields with properties, roads, hedgerows and cold war nuclear solios are seen below on a perfect day for aerobatic displaying. After some time off, spare days like this are used to hone their manual aerobatic and piloting skills before re-joining the air show circuit. Since 1965 they've flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.   .
    Red_Arrows732_RBA.jpg
  • Craning their necks skyward, both a pilot and support ground engineers of elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, gaze up to view an air display directly overhead at the Payerne Air 04 show, Switzerland. It is a perfect day for aerobatics with blue skies and during the team's two-day visit to the Swiss airfield at Payerne. Pilot Squadron Leader John Green is one of nine aviators who are collectively known as the Reds because of their famous red flying suits. The ground crew are obviously called the Blues. Payerne is home of the Swiss Air Force who host the cream of international aerobatic display flying every September to 275,000 spectators over a weekend. The picture is full of humour because John Green is looking one way and the two others look in the opposite direction, while standing next to the aircraft.   .
    Red_Arrows660_RBA.jpg
  • A flying helmet belonging to a member of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, is cradled in the highly-polished open Plexiglass  canopy of a team Hawk jet aircraft. With the arrow pointing downwards we see it from below along with the airplane's red fuselage and the words Royal Air Force stencilled in blue lettering on the side within a white stripe. There are strong angles with clear blue space on the top right. The colours that dominate this image are red, white and blue - the colors of the Union Jack, United Kingdom's flag. This scene is at RAF Akrotiri, Cypus where the Red Arrows put the finishing touches to their display sequences before starting the gruelling air show calendar in the UK and Europe. The squadron represents all that is perfect with aerobatic flying, about teamwork and discipline.
    Red_Arrows102_RBA.jpg
  • Banking hard right over the agricultural Lincolnshire countryside are the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, who have commenced an In-Season Practice (ISP) training flight near their base at RAF Scampton. They turn at a ninety degree angle, two trailing white organic smoke before reforming in front of a local crowd at the airfield and working through a 25-minute series of display manoeuvres that are loved by thousands at summer air shows. Their objective is to appear perfectly spaced from a ground perspective. Freshly-ploughed English fields with properties, roads and hedgerows are seen below. After some time off, spare days like this are used to hone their manual aerobatic and piloting skills before re-joining the air show circuit. Since 1965 they've flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.   .
    Red_Arrows731_RBA.jpg
  • Ending France's Bastille Day parade, the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, leave a trail of smoke over the pyramid peak of the Louvre art museum in the centre of Paris. Leaving vapour trails of red, white and blue smoke to mark the 100th anniversary of the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale. They were chosen by the French authorities to close the fly-pasts. British armed forces paraded in the historic parade for the first time. Under blue skies on a perfect summer day, the squadron lined up in their classic fly-past 'V-shape' called 'Big Battle', following the straight line of the Champs Elysees then eastwards over the Parisian suburbs. Personnel from four British military units were present and French Air Force jets performed their own fly-past to open the parade, while the British Hawk jets of the Red Arrows had the honour of completing it. .
    Red_Arrows461_RBA.jpg
  • Banking slowly left over the agricultural Lincolnshire countryside are the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, who have commenced an In-Season Practice (ISP) training flight near their base at RAF Scampton. They turn at a gentle angle trailing white organic smoke  before reforming in front of a local crowd at the airfield and working through a 25-minute series of display manoeuvres that are loved by thousands at summer air shows. Their objective is to appear perfectly spaced from a ground perspective. Freshly-ploughed English fields with properties, roads and hedgerows are seen below. After some time off, spare days like this are used to hone their manual aerobatic and piloting skills before re-joining the air show circuit. Since 1965 they've flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.   .
    Red_Arrows682_RBA.jpg
  • RAF Flight Lieutenant Jez Griggs, exerts his last, tough repetition of sit-ups to reach his target during his annual basic fitness test. Griggs is a member of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, and each member has to pass fitness exams like this in order to maintain their military pilots' licence. Held in the gym at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, it forms part of the team's Spring training month. The fatigued pilot is straining to sit upright once more while an RAF instructor shouts encouragement while holding down his feet at the ankles to ensure the sit-ups are performed perfectly. The picture is blurred to show movement during the exercise and the man's face is red with effort. Another instructor is seen in the background holding down another pilot's feet and the floor of the gymnasium is marked for indoor sport. .
    Red_Arrows040_RBA.jpg
  • On the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903, the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team, fly over the RAF Museum in Hendon, North London as part of the celebrations to honour this momentous date in aviations history. Coming from behind RAF personnel who are lined up to meet Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, the ten Hawk jet aircraft make a perfect Diamond as they trail red, white and blue smoke across the blue skies above London. Since 1965 the team have flown over 4,000 such shows in 52 countries.
    Red_Arrows001_RBA.jpg
  • Banking slowly left over the agricultural Lincolnshire countryside are the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, who have commenced an In-Season Practice (ISP) training flight near their base at RAF Scampton. They turn at a gentle angle trailing white organic smoke  before reforming in front of a local crowd at the airfield and working through a 25-minute series of display manoeuvres that are loved by thousands at summer air shows. Their objective is to appear perfectly spaced from a ground perspective. Freshly-ploughed English fields with properties, roads and hedgerows are seen below. After some time off, spare days like this are used to hone their manual aerobatic and piloting skills before re-joining the air show circuit. Since 1965 they've flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.
    Red_Arrows683_RBA.jpg
  • Banking slowly left over the agricultural Lincolnshire countryside are the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, who have commenced an In-Season Practice (ISP) training flight near their base at RAF Scampton. They turn at a gentle angle trailing white organic smoke  before reforming in front of a local crowd at the airfield and working through a 25-minute series of display manoeuvres that are loved by thousands at summer air shows. Their objective is to appear perfectly spaced from a ground perspective. Freshly-ploughed English fields with properties, roads and hedgerows are seen below. After some time off, spare days like this are used to hone their manual aerobatic and piloting skills before re-joining the air show circuit. Since 1965 they've flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.
    Red_Arrows681_RBA.jpg
  • Seventeen officer cadets march in line wearing full dress uniform with their rifles on shoulders past guests and VIPs at their passing out parade in the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The recently-graduated soldiers march in a near-perfect line looking over their right shoulders towards their commanding officers and VIP guests which sometimes includes Her Majesty the Queen. We see every face clearly and notice their different heights and sizes.  Sharp focus is centred on the smallest man in the parade. The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is the British Army officer initial training centre. Sandhurst is prestigious and has had many famous alumni including Sir Winston Churchill, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Sultan Qaboos of Oman and, more recently, Prince Harry and Prince William. All British Army officers, and many from elsewhere in the world, are trained at Sandhurst. RMA Sandhurst was formed in 1947, from a merger of the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich (which trained officers for the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers from 1741 to 1939) and the Royal Military College at Sandhurst.
    RB-0074.jpg
  • While on ceremonial duties at the Queen's Buckingham Palace, members of the Welsh Guards prepare the finer details of uniform presentation at the Wellington barracks, opposite the Palace in central London, England. Buffing up their bearskin hats and brushing away any specks of dust from shoulders, they each help the other appear as near-perfect as they can before parading in front of thousands during the Changing of the Guard or at other times, during tropping of the Colour on the Queen's birthday occasion. Formed in 1915 by order of King George V,  have fought in every war since but are housed at the Wellington Barracks purely for ceremonial reasons, also serving on active duty in the world's trouble spots, where their professionalism is demanded by their British Ministry of Defence masters.
    army01-15-12-2007 .jpg
  • A British Army Gurkha recruit stands to attention during a barracks inspection at the Gurkha Regiment's training centre at Church Crookham, on 16th January 1996, in England UK. Some 60,000 young Nepalese boys aged between 17 - 22 (or 25 for those educated enough to become clerks or communications specialists) report to designated recruiting stations in Nepal's Himalayan foothills each November, most living from altitudes ranging from 4,000 - 12,000 feet. Only 160 are recruited with training continuing at this barracks until joining various units within the army. The Gurkhas training wing in Nepal has been supplying youth for the British army since the Indian Mutiny of 1857. (Photo by Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images)
    gurkha_barracks-16-01-1996.jpg
  • A window designer puts the finishing touches to a display for a clothing retailer in the City of London - the capital's financial district, on 6th June 2018, in London, England.
    city_people-03-06-06-2018.jpg
  • The window of a beauty waxing and tanning salon in central London, features beautiful people with white teeth and tanned caucasian skin.
    tanning_window04-25-02-2016.jpg
  • The window of a beauty waxing and tanning salon in central London, features beautiful people with white teeth and tanned caucasian skin.
    tanning_window02-25-02-2016.jpg
  • Blonde model shown on a video loop in a central London shop window, in the run-up to London Fashion Week.
    retail_window05-04-02-2015-2.jpg
  • Ballerina, Dorothée Gilbert warms up in the Salon de Danse, at the Palais Garnier, Paris. <br />
<br />
From the chapter entitled 'Etoile' and from the book 'Risk Wise: Nine Everyday Adventures' by Polly Morland (Allianz, The School of Life, Profile Books, 2015). <br />
<br />
FOR REPRODUCTION OTHER THAN RELATED TO THE BOOK 'RISK WISE', PERMISSION FROM DOROTHEE GILBERT IS REQUIRED.
    dorothee_gilbert278-05-06-2014.jpg
  • Ballerina, Dorothée Gilbert warms up in the Salon de Danse, at the Palais Garnier, Paris. <br />
<br />
From the chapter entitled 'Etoile' and from the book 'Risk Wise: Nine Everyday Adventures' by Polly Morland (Allianz, The School of Life, Profile Books, 2015). <br />
<br />
FOR REPRODUCTION OTHER THAN RELATED TO THE BOOK 'RISK WISE', PERMISSION FROM DOROTHEE GILBERT IS REQUIRED.
    dorothee_gilbert292-05-06-2014.jpg
  • Ballerina, Dorothée Gilbert warms up in the Salon de Danse, at the Palais Garnier, Paris. <br />
<br />
From the chapter entitled 'Etoile' and from the book 'Risk Wise: Nine Everyday Adventures' by Polly Morland (Allianz, The School of Life, Profile Books, 2015). <br />
<br />
FOR REPRODUCTION OTHER THAN RELATED TO THE BOOK 'RISK WISE', PERMISSION FROM DOROTHEE GILBERT IS REQUIRED.
    dorothee_gilbert289-05-06-2014.jpg
  • An optician's window ad faces and spectacles display in central London.
    opticians_window01-06-03-2014.jpg
  • The fantasy of a model sunbathing on a beach is the opposite of rainy London on an April morning for local girl.
    rain_ad01-27-04-2012.jpg
  • Two women walk past a giant ad mural of a bare-chested young male model
    male_mural09-22-03-2012.jpg
  • Women walk past a giant ad mural of a bare-chested young male model, carrying Abercrombie shopping bags.
    male_mural06-22-03-2012.jpg
  • Young woman photographs a giant ad mural of a bare-chested young male model
    male_mural01-22-03-2012.jpg
  • The giant nudes of Baccio Bandinelli's Hercules & Cacus and Michelangelo's David stand in Piazza della Signoria beneath the fortress palace Palazzo Vecchio. Piazza della Signoria is an L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio ("Old Palace") which is the town hall of the city. This massive, Romanesque, crenulated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany. Overlooking the square with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi, it is one of the most significant public places in Italy, and it host cultural points and museums.
    florence_italy63-22-10-2010.jpg
  • Above tourists from south Asia, we see Michelangelo's David, Baccio Bandinelli's Hercules & Cacus and Benvenuto Cellini's Perseus with the Head of Medusa statues stand in Piazza della Signoria, beneath the fortress palace Palazzo Vecchio. Piazza della Signoria is an L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio ("Old Palace") which is the town hall of the city. This massive, Romanesque, crenulated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany. Overlooking the square with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi, it is one of the most significant public places in Italy, and it host cultural points and museums.
    florence_italy60-22-10-2010.jpg
  • Female officer cadets march in line with their weapons on shoulders past guests and VIPs at their passing out parade in the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. An honoured cadet strides in front holding a ceremonial sword vertically in her white glove while one cadet in the main line-up is of an ethnic minority. The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is the British Army officer initial training centre. Sandhurst is prestigious and has had many famous alumni including Sir Winston Churchill, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Sultan Qaboos of Oman and, more recently, Prince Harry and Prince William. All British Army officers, and many from elsewhere in the world, are trained at Sandhurst. RMA Sandhurst was formed in 1947, from a merger of the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich (which trained officers for the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers from 1741 to 1939) and the Royal Military College at Sandhurst.
    RB-0071.jpg
  • Flight Lieutenant Antony Parkinson a pilot with the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, signs posters on arriving at the team's home base at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire from his last ever display. Flt Lt Parkinson has served on the Red Arrows for four years and is to leave for a Typhoon squadron - from a relatively simple aircraft to one of the most sophisticated. Press and PR is one of the team's main purposes, acting as ambassadors for the UK and as recruiting tool for tomorrow's RAF officers and autographing publicity material is a routine chore. Traditionally, photographs are designed to allow pilots a space to sign their names alongside their respective position in the display formation. In high-spirits after a stressfully long year, he is in the crew room to wind down, with a tomato in his mouth. .  . .
    Red_Arrows747_RBA.jpg
  • Looking down vertically upon the Hawk jet aicraft of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, the team loop over agricultural countryside during an In-Season Practice (ISP) training flight near their base at RAF Scampton. Roman Ermine Street road is a diagonal line through the centre, dissecting wisps of organic white smoke left hanging in the air. Reforming in front of a local crowd at the airfield they work through a 25-minute series of display manoeuvres that are loved by thousands at summer air shows. Freshly-ploughed English fields with properties, roads, hedgerows plus former nuclear silos are seen below. After some time off, spare days like this are used to hone their manual aerobatic and piloting skills before re-joining the air show circuit. Since 1965 they've flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.   .
    Red_Arrows733_RBA.jpg
  • Some of the nine Hawk jet aircraft of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, perform the 5/4 Split high during an In-Season Practice (ISP) training flight near their base at RAF Scampton. Seen through the explosive Plexiglass cockpit of a tenth plane, we see forward into deep blue sky as two sets of aerobatic pilots steer their machines from a crossover manoeuvre, their organic white smoke pouring from their jet pipes to emphasize their paths through the air. In front of a local crowd at the airfield the team work their way through a 25-minute series of display manoeuvres that are loved by thousands at summer air shows. After some time off, spare days like this are used to hone their manual aerobatic and piloting skills before re-joining the air show circuit. Since 1965 they've flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.   .
    Red_Arrows730_RBA.jpg
  • Air show organiser Jock Maitland of the Biggin Hill displays is to be presented with a momento by members of  the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. We look down upon three pilots' backs (known as the Reds) who are lined up in their famous red flying suits during the ceremony and as speeches of thanks are made. A scaled model of a Hawk jet aircraft is hidden from view behind Flight Lieutenant Dave Slow's back before being handed to Mr Maitland as thanks for his contribution to the air show calendar. They stand at ease on the grass of this famous World War II airfield which saw much enemy action during the Batttle of Britain, patiently and relaxed with hands behind backs before leaving to perform their display routine in front of thousands of spectators.
    Red_Arrows727_RBA.jpg
  • Joining with the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team on the far left, are the smoke trails of forty leading European display aircraft: Spanish Patrulla Aguila; Italian Frecce Tricolori; French Breitling Jet Team and the Swiss Patrouille Suisse. All flew together in the clear, blue alpine skies on a spectacular fly-past at the Payerne Air 04 show, Switzerland. The two-day festival at the Swiss airfield is home of the Swiss Air Force who host the cream of international aerobatic display flying every September to 275,000 spectators over a weekend. European display teams and air forces gathered to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Swiss military aviation. Flying on the far left here, the Red Arrows have performed over 4,000 shows in 52 countries since 1965. .
    Red_Arrows673_RBA.jpg
  • A member of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, sells Rolls-Royce-sponsored charity posters of their workhorse Hawk jet aircraft for £5 (?10) each on the beach at Clacton-on-Sea after the Air Show on West Greensward on the sea front. It is a hot summer's afternoon but wearing black heavy-duty RAF regulation boots and the distinctive, specially-tailored  blue overalls, is a member of the team's support ground-crew (known as the Blues). Their jobs might include engineering, operations or administration work. Secondary duties are asked of them too and here we see the lower body of photographer Senior Aircraftman (SAC) Matt Reid who holds a hardened folder containing the scaled artwork while standing on the soft sand. The crowd mingles in the background and a lady dressed in only a bikini returns to her possessions. .
    Red_Arrows623_RBA.jpg
  • Squadron Leader David Thomas of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, sits on the wing of his Hawk jet aircraft and concentrates on the air display at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) RAF Fairford, UK. The pressures on the pilots are enormous when thousands of people scruntinise the team's every move. Squadron Leader Thomas is Synchro Leader - the prime flyer in a partnership of two who perform some of the most spectacular manoeuvres in the Red Arrows routine, including the most physically demanding high 'G' (gravity) turns. Leaning back on the fuselage, he replays the manoeuvres through his mind. The psyching-up process mentally prepares him for the intensive show. Thomas wears his anti-g pants which squeeze blood back to his thorax and head during the turns and loops, also wearing the famous red flying suit. .
    Red_Arrows507_RBA.jpg
  • The Hawk jet aircraft of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, are lined up at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus as members of the team's ground crew step away from the aircraft that they respectively look after. From a low angle we see a wide landscape looking over the taxi-way markings that direct military airplanes. The Red Arrows aircraft are a deep red colour that stand out against the horizon in an identical line. It is a wide expanse of road surface, the yellow centre-lines are for the benefit of pilots who need guidance for parking areas after landing, or leaving towards the departing runway on the southern part of the Cypriot Mediterranean island. With the Red Arrows, the nine taxiing jets all peel off in unison to and from the parking area and these lines are vital for this technique.
    Red_Arrows281_RBA.jpg
  • Sheltering from a rain shower at the Kemble Air Day, some pilots of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, gather beneath a full-scale model of a Hawk jet aircraft. Spectators have also gathered in their waterproof wear to make a colourful group. Flight Lieutenant Steve Underwood, who as commentator and Ground Safety Manager worries about the cloud cover and the implications for a safe display. He looks towards the gloomy sky to assess the prospects of a Red Arrows show in a short while. Dressed in red flying suits, the pilots have been signing PR autographs and distributing team brochures to some of their many fans before the deluge which sent the public undercover to seek shelter. The team's main purpose is to forge a link between the RAFand potential recruits plus the general public.
    Red_Arrows204_RBA.jpg
  • Flight Lieutenants Steve Underwood and Anthony Parkinson and Wing Commander Bill Ramsey of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, discuss logistics beneath the emblems of long-disbanded fighter squadrons which decorate the squadron building at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. They sit in faded pink armchairs supplied by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) that are seen in many RAF stations and airfields with the same drab blue paint on the walls. Painted by hand are circular badges  with bold colours (colors) and illustrations of birds of prey, fighter-jets, swords and shields which all symbolise  warfare. The three pilots are relaxed wearing their red flying suits with their sunglasses dangling in the regulation loop, they are holding a bottle of mineral water and a coffee cup.
    Red_Arrows155_RBA.jpg
  • Specialist Corporal Mal Faulder is an armourer engineer (qualified to handle ejection seats and weaponry on military jets) but here in the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team he is seen polishing the aircraft's flying surfaces using wool and cleaning fluid on the morning of the team's PDA Day. PDA (or 'Public Display Authority'), is a special test flight when their every move and mistake is assessed and graded. Corporal Faulder is to buff up the airplane for an extra special shine on such an important day and we see the UK's Union Jack flag on the side of the diagonal stripes of the tail fin. The Red Arrows ground crew take enormous pride in their role as supporting the aviators whose air displays are known around the world. Blues like Mal outnumber the pilots 8:1. Without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly.
    Red_Arrows129_RBA.jpg
  • In the mid-day heat, Squadron Leader John Green is a member of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. Here he walks out alone to his aircraft, which is lined up with some of the others jets at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus before flying out to Marka in Jordan for the first display of the year. The Red Arrows arrive each April to fine-tune their air show skills in the clear Mediterranean skies and continue their busy display calendar above the skies of the UK and other European show circuit. We see John Green carrying his flight bag and life-vest over his shoulder. He paces confidently across the bright 'apron' dressed in his famous red flying suit that the Red Arrows have made famous since 1965. He is alone and striding confidently towards the matching red eight Hawk airplanes.
    Red_Arrows093_RBA.jpg
  • In the mid-day heat, all members of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, stand at ease and we see the back of one of the squadron's official photographers head, looking into the viewfinder of his camera to record an official photograph immediately on PDA Day at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. PDA (or 'Public Display Authority'), is when they are allowed by senior RAF officers to perform as a military aerobatic show in front of the public - following a special test flight when their every move and mistake is assessed and graded. Until that day arrives, their training and practicing is done in the privacy of their own airfield at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, UK or here in the glare of Akrotiri. The pilots are called reds and their ground crew, the Blues after their summer air show uniforms.
    Red_Arrows092_RBA.jpg
  • Senior Machinist Supervisor, Tricia Randle finishes a red flying suit of Squadron Leader David Thomas, a pilot of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. Tricia is a bespoke seamstress at Dale Techniche, Nelson, Lancashire. Every Winter, the Red Arrows place about 40 pilot suit orders and 180 blue (support ground crew) suits. Tricia adjusts her thread while the suit is complete on her work bench. The clothing factory also designs the Red Arrows badges, each requiring 15,000 stitches. All suits are made from Nomex by the Du Pont corporation, containing 5% Kevlar. Flame-retardant, they 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.
    Red_Arrows084_RBA.jpg
  • Chief Technician Kerry Griffiths is a with the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team, the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. In camouflaged military green jacket, large forearms and rolled-up sleeves, he oversees the loading of spares and personal effects into a C-130 Hercules aircraft before the two-day journey from RAF Scampton to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. Surrounded by heavy-duty flight-spares, survival equipment boxes and a tyre for a Hawk jet aircraft, the Hercules looms large in the overcast sky. The team complete their winter training schedule in Cyprus. The Red Arrows pilots fly their own jet aircraft to air shows but when requiring the support of ground crew  they borrow a transporter to fly behind the main airborne squadron. 10 tons of spares and personal effects are shipped for a six-week stay.
    Red_Arrows052_RBA.jpg
  • Flight Lieutenant Dave Slow of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, is seated in a BAE Systems Hawk jet aircraft simulator at the fast-jet flying training centre, RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales. Like all fast-jet pilots, Flight Lieutenant Slow is required to complete this emergency drill every six months. The pilot is seated in his ejector seat as if in a real jet using back-projected computer graphics representing a generic landscape below. Each aviator proves they can cope with a series of failures that operators select: Engine, hydraulic failure or bird strike.  Apart from the aircraft fuselage, the high-tech facility loads malfunctions on a pilot that he could experience in reality. The version of Hawk that the Red Arrows fly is actually a primitive piece of equipment, without computers or fly-by-wire technology.
    Red_Arrows043_RBA.jpg
  • Stored in their respective wooden boxes are the flying helmets and miscellaneous equipment belonging to two pilots of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, at their headquarters RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. All ten pilots have their own storage space for gear. We see the place names of Reds One and Two: Squadron Leader Spike Jepson and Flight Lieutenant Matt Jarvis, whose visors are protected by soft cloths preventing scratches protective face screen. Squadron Leader Jepson is team leader and Flight Lieutenant Jarvis flies slightly behind and to the right in the Red Arrows Diamond Nine formation. On an average winter training day at Scampton, the crews will collect their kit up to six times a day in readiness for the forthcoming summer air show season. Flight Lieutenant Jarvis died of cancer one year later in March 2005. .
    Red_Arrows021_RBA.jpg
  • Corporal Andrew Haynes and Senior Aircraftman Michael Owen load boxes packed with the possessions and kit belonging to the elite 'Red Arrows' pilots, Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, before travelling for winter training at Akrotiri in Cyprus. In the team's hangar at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, the two Suppliers lift the reinforced cardboard 'tri-pack' struggling to lift the weight from the ground. Corporal Haynes lifts with the correct technique: knees bent, straight back. The man on the right, has a bent back risking spinal injury. Some 80-plus members of the team will spend six weeks away from home. 23 tons of spares and personal effects travel ahead by ship with another 10 tons travelling on-board a C-130 transport aircraft. The Suppliers ensure possessions and spares are stored taking many weeks of meticulous planning. .
    Red_Arrows014_RBA.jpg
  • A detail of a Grenadier Guardsman's chinstrap during a ceremonial parade for Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee celebrations, on 3rd June 2002, in London, England.
    queens_golden_jubilee-03-06-2002_3.jpg
  • The trimmed topiary forming the letters spelling Love in a public park, on 22nd April 2017, in Clevedon, North Somerset, England.
    love_topiary-01-22-04-2017.jpg
  • The window of a beauty waxing and tanning salon in central London, features beautiful people with white teeth and tanned caucasian skin.
    tanning_window05-25-02-2016.jpg
  • Blonde model shown on a video loop in a central London shop window, in the run-up to London Fashion Week.
    retail_window06-04-02-2015-2.jpg
  • Blonde model shown on a video loop in a central London shop window, in the run-up to London Fashion Week.
    retail_window04-04-02-2015-2.jpg
  • Blonde model shown on a video loop in a central London shop window, in the run-up to London Fashion Week.
    retail_window03-04-02-2015-2.jpg
  • Blonde model shown on a video loop in a central London shop window, in the run-up to London Fashion Week.
    retail_window01-04-02-2015-2.jpg
  • Ballerina, Dorothée Gilbert backstage at the Palais Garnier, Paris. <br />
<br />
From the chapter entitled 'Etoile' and from the book 'Risk Wise: Nine Everyday Adventures' by Polly Morland (Allianz, The School of Life, Profile Books, 2015). <br />
<br />
FOR REPRODUCTION OTHER THAN RELATED TO THE BOOK 'RISK WISE', PERMISSION FROM DOROTHEE GILBERT IS REQUIRED.
    dorothee_gilbert319-05-06-2014.jpg
  • Ballerina, Dorothée Gilbert backstage at the Palais Garnier, Paris. <br />
<br />
From the chapter entitled 'Etoile' and from the book 'Risk Wise: Nine Everyday Adventures' by Polly Morland (Allianz, The School of Life, Profile Books, 2015). <br />
<br />
FOR REPRODUCTION OTHER THAN RELATED TO THE BOOK 'RISK WISE', PERMISSION FROM DOROTHEE GILBERT IS REQUIRED.
    dorothee_gilbert315-05-06-2014.jpg
  • Ballerina, Dorothée Gilbert warms up in the Salon de Danse, at the Palais Garnier, Paris. <br />
<br />
From the chapter entitled 'Etoile' and from the book 'Risk Wise: Nine Everyday Adventures' by Polly Morland (Allianz, The School of Life, Profile Books, 2015). <br />
<br />
FOR REPRODUCTION OTHER THAN RELATED TO THE BOOK 'RISK WISE', PERMISSION FROM DOROTHEE GILBERT IS REQUIRED.
    dorothee_gilbert267-05-06-2014.jpg
  • Ballerina, Dorothée Gilbert warms up in the Salon de Danse, at the Palais Garnier, Paris. <br />
<br />
From the chapter entitled 'Etoile' and from the book 'Risk Wise: Nine Everyday Adventures' by Polly Morland (Allianz, The School of Life, Profile Books, 2015). <br />
<br />
FOR REPRODUCTION OTHER THAN RELATED TO THE BOOK 'RISK WISE', PERMISSION FROM DOROTHEE GILBERT IS REQUIRED.
    dorothee_gilbert275-05-06-2014.jpg
  • Ballerina, Dorothée Gilbert warms up in the Salon de Danse, at the Palais Garnier, Paris. <br />
<br />
From the chapter entitled 'Etoile' and from the book 'Risk Wise: Nine Everyday Adventures' by Polly Morland (Allianz, The School of Life, Profile Books, 2015). <br />
<br />
FOR REPRODUCTION OTHER THAN RELATED TO THE BOOK 'RISK WISE', PERMISSION FROM DOROTHEE GILBERT IS REQUIRED.
    dorothee_gilbert262-05-06-2014.jpg
  • Ballerina, Dorothée Gilbert warms up in the Salon de Danse, at the Palais Garnier, Paris. <br />
<br />
From the chapter entitled 'Etoile' and from the book 'Risk Wise: Nine Everyday Adventures' by Polly Morland (Allianz, The School of Life, Profile Books, 2015). <br />
<br />
FOR REPRODUCTION OTHER THAN RELATED TO THE BOOK 'RISK WISE', PERMISSION FROM DOROTHEE GILBERT IS REQUIRED.
    dorothee_gilbert303-05-06-2014.jpg
  • Ballerina, Dorothée Gilbert warms up in the Salon de Danse, at the Palais Garnier, Paris. <br />
<br />
From the chapter entitled 'Etoile' and from the book 'Risk Wise: Nine Everyday Adventures' by Polly Morland (Allianz, The School of Life, Profile Books, 2015). <br />
<br />
FOR REPRODUCTION OTHER THAN RELATED TO THE BOOK 'RISK WISE', PERMISSION FROM DOROTHEE GILBERT IS REQUIRED.
    dorothee_gilbert305-05-06-2014.jpg
  • Men walk past a giant ad mural of a bare-chested young male model, carrying Abercrombie shopping bags.
    male_mural14-22-03-2012.jpg
  • Older, obese woman walks past a giant ad mural of a bare-chested young male model
    male_mural13-22-03-2012.jpg
  • Women walk past a giant ad mural of a bare-chested young male model, carrying Abercrombie shopping bags.
    male_mural12-22-03-2012.jpg
  • A Muslim mother and son walk past a giant ad mural of a bare-chested young male model, a clash of western and eastern cultures.
    male_mural10-22-03-2012.jpg
  • Two women walk past a giant ad mural of a bare-chested young male model
    male_mural05-22-03-2012.jpg
  • Two women walk past a giant ad mural of a bare-chested young male model
    male_mural04-22-03-2012.jpg
  • Elderly couple walk past a giant ad mural of a bare-chested young male model.
    male_mural03-22-03-2012.jpg
  • Two US Navy sailors carefully fold the nation's on an upper deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman. The Truman is the largest and newest of the US Navy's fleet of new generation carriers, a 97,000 ton floating city with a crew of 5,137, 650 are women. The Iraqi no-fly zones (NFZs) were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom and France after the Gulf War of 1991 to protect humanitarian operations in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the .
    us_navy_carrier11-08-05-2000.jpg
  • The giant nudes of Baccio Bandinelli's Hercules & Cacus and Michelangelo's David stand in Piazza della Signoria beneath the fortress palace Palazzo Vecchio. Piazza della Signoria is an L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio ("Old Palace") which is the town hall of the city. This massive, Romanesque, crenulated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany. Overlooking the square with its copy of Michelangelo's David statue as well the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia dei Lanzi, it is one of the most significant public places in Italy, and it host cultural points and museums.
    florence_italy64-22-10-2010.jpg
  • David and Hercules & Cacus statue copies and Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della Signoria.
    florence_italy62-22-10-2010.jpg
  • David and Hercules & Cacus statue copies and Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della Signoria..Benvenuto Cellini's Perseus with the Head of Medusa, Michelangelo's David Hercules and Cacus statues and Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della Signoria. The Loggia dei Lanzi, also called the Loggia della Signoria, is a building on a corner of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy, adjoining the Uffizi Gallery. It consists of wide arches open to the street, three bays wide and one bay deep. The arches rest on clustered pilasters with Corinthian capitals.
    florence_italy48-22-10-2010.jpg
  • Michelangelo's David's genitalia appear on tourist aprons souvenirs on sale in Piazza Michelangiolo above the city of Florence. Reproduced on trinket clothing, the penis is positioned at the front. It is said that the genitals were created smaller to imply that David was not allowing himself to make decisions with pleasure in mind. "David" is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504, by the Italian artist Michelangelo. It is a 5.17 metre (17 feet) marble statue of a standing male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favoured subject in the art of Florence but soon came to symbolise the defence of civil liberties in the Florentine Republic, an independent city-state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states and by the Medici family.
    florence_italy124-23-10-2010.jpg
  • The legs of two young girls sit astride their beloved ponies at a gymkhana in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Wearing a smart herringbone patterned jacket, regulation jodhpurs, short polished boots and holding a crop to encourage the horse to perform a series of trick and races, the rider nearest the viewer sits calmly awaiting the next event. The word gymkhana is an Indian Raj term that referred to a place where sporting events took place to test the skill of the competitors. In the UK and east coast of the US, the term gymkhana now almost always refers to an equestrian event for riders on horses, often with the emphasis on children's participation (such as those organised here by the Pony Club). Gymkhana classes include timed speed events such as barrel racing, keyhole, keg race (also known as "down and back"), flag race, and pole bending.
    gymkhana03-17-09-1999.jpg
  • A detailed view of a Mark 1 Hawk jet belonging to 'Synchro Leader' of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. We see the flight controls and instrument panels looking grubby and worn with grey paint rubbed or flaking off. This version of the BAE Systems Hawk is low-tech without computers nor fly-by-wire technology it is one of the most user-friendly modern jets to fly and serves as a first step trainer for pilots to accumulate fast-jet flying hours and who are destined for the most sophisticated of fast military fighters in the future. Their aerobatic displays demands that their workhorse machine must have phenominal turning circle ability and rate of climb. The team's aircraft are in some cases over 25 years old and their airframes require constant attention, with frequent engineering overhauls needed. .
    Red_Arrows769_RBA.jpg
  • Seen in profile view, we are looking at the edge of a Hawk jet aircraft port wing flap set at about 45 degrees. Designed by BAE Systems and painted in the colour of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. An original serial and issue numbers plate is riveted to its end assembly. The Hawk's classic, highly-efficient lifting wing is legendary with aeronatutical designer experts who recognise its ability to withstand excellent rates of climb and high g-forces (positive or negative gravity) routinely exerted on it by the Red Arrows team who fly more sorties (flights) and undergo more 'g' than other RAF squadron. In bright sunlight we see the graish red that is the signature colour of the team and the RAF's roundel is seen out of focus in the background to make a graphic engineering detail. .
    Red_Arrows643_RBA.jpg
  • Whilst one spectator cranes her neck skyward, another is oblivious to an air show spectacle above their heads. One looks up into the sun, shielding her eyes with a hand and outstretched fingers but the other concentrates on lighting her cigarette with a match. Unseen in this picture, the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, are performing high in the blue skies above the public on West Greensward, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. In front of the seaside town's brightly coloured red and yellow Lifeguard Station, the two ladies have different interests in the aerobatic manoeuvres. The Red Arrows' 25-minute display either captivates some or bores others although they can be seen upwards of 90-plus shows and fly-pasts each year in front of several millions live or on TV. They have flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.
    Red_Arrows618_RBA.jpg
  • A large man with a shaved head and hairy back is seen from behind as he watches a display by the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team at Weymouth, England. A heart shape which grows from his bald head has been drawn with red smoke in the sky two Hawk jet aircraft taking part in the town's annual air show along the sea front. Such a tough-looking male specimen contrasts with the romance of this valentine symbol helping to make this picture's quirky juxtaposition touching. The Red Arrows use smoke to emphasize their flight-path, help the spectators see their manoeuvres and to make more of an enjoying spectacle. In blue sky they use white smoke for The Heart and red when overcast. We watch the man from below and see him craning his neck skywards, the skin on his thick neck wrinkling as he looks heavy from this angle.
    Red_Arrows614_RBA.jpg
  • An old fashioned pair of public address speakers have been attached to a no access sign overlooking the Northumberland countryside at the Kielder Air Show. Here, the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, are to perform and the squadron's commentator - known as Red 10 - will be describing the 25-minute routine performed in front of a few hundred people, probably the smallest of the Red Arrows audiences. The Hawk aircraft will be flying over the borderland between England and Scotland during this display which has attracted a local crowd to this pretty landscape. This primitive method of amplification makes for it charmingly quirky. Tangled electrical wires and an extension reel is low-tech and makeshift, vastly different to other shows where digital sound quality reproduces audio to many of thousands of spectators.
    Red_Arrows542_RBA.jpg
  • A 7 year-old boy has been lucky enough to spend a day with the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. As just four members of the team of nine red jet aircraft fly past in formation, Mitchell stretches out his arm, holding a plastic toy Hawk aircraft up to the blue sky and light cloud with his back to the practice show, part of the team's winter training schedule. The Red Arrows' main purpose is Press and PR and corporate guest visitors are a weekly item in the team's diary during the winter training period - a 5-month schedule of up to six flights a day. Companies who help the RAF, the Red Arrows or local charities are privileged to be invited behind-the-scenes at the squadron's home facilities.
    Red_Arrows454_RBA.jpg
  • Nine pilots of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, stand in the shape of their signature 'Diamond Nine' formation with one of their Hawk jet aircraft at the team's headquarters at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. Today they have reached the all-important milestone of 'first 9-ship' (when all nine aircraft have flown a basic air show display together, after two groups have practiced seperately) and is the culmination of five months rigorous Winter training. They stand proud with beaming smiles on a warm spring day, their flying helmets with those famous arrows pointing towards blue sky and fluffy clouds. Still dressed in green flying suits, they go on to their spring training ground at Akrotiri, Cyprus where they earn the right to wear red suits, known around the world. At the front is team leader, Squadron Leader Spike Jepson...
    Red_Arrows421_RBA.jpg
  • On a foggy Spring morning at RAF Scampton, in Lincolnshire, a yellow MoD airfield telephone stands alone in the mist. Scampton is the headquarters of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team who largely have the sole use of its air space. The ageing equipment is a push-button type and its colour matches the painted stripes on the damp, concreted ground. The gloomy mist is obscuring buildings and hangars in the background and flying has been cancelled so an eerie stillness has settled on the normally busy facility that would normally host up to six red Arrows sorties (flight) a winter's day. Communications with remote areas of the aerodrome is often necessary to alert the air traffic control tower. Only qualified personnel are to use this system, just as drivers must have undertaken an MoD vehicle course.  .
    Red_Arrows399_RBA.jpg
  • Stored temporarily in a storeroom shelf, are the front and rear sections of a Hawk jet aircraft smoke pod belonging to the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. Grubby and old, like museum artifacts, the two items are attached to the ageing aircrafts' belly accessory that provides the team with their distinctive red, white and blue smoke (a vegetable dye and diesel fuel mixture) during their air show display routines. This version of the BAE Systems Hawks are primitive pieces of equipment, without computers or fly-by-wire technology. Nevertheless, the team's aircraft are in some cases over 20 years old and their air-frames require constant attention with increasingly frequent major overhauls due. Here the parts are separated from the middle section which are receiving a winter modification.
    Red_Arrows393_RBA.jpg
  • Looking out to the Mediterranean Sea from the Akrotiri Peninsular, Cyprus, we see the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, practising their display finale, the Vixen Break, a show-stopping manoeuvre of their 25-minute air show display routine. A rusted and crumbling hulk of a ship lies in the shallow surf and the Hawk jets used by the Red Arrows fan out above it using red, white and blue smoke. It is a calm sea near the shoreline and the shipwreck's remains provide a sad foreground to the dynamic flying beyond making a graphic landscape. 'Datum' is an axis on which the Red Arrows focus their displays, from where the whole show is visible at the crowd's centre. 'The Wreck' is but one of a series of datum points selected by the team leader at short notice to simluate diverse geographical features and wind directions. The wreck is the MV Achaios. Built in 1932, it was on a voyage from Yugoslavia to Jeddah in 1976 with a cargo of timber. She ran aground in a storm at Akrotiri Peninsula, but no lives were lost.
    Red_Arrows337_RBA.jpg
  • Squadron Leader John Green the executive officer of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, instructs a group of RAF fighter pilots in the art of manual close-formation aerobatic flying. Explaining how to line up their aircraft with their nearest neighbour using a system called 'referencing', he shows them with his fingers the margin of error that is tolerated when only 12ft (3-4m) apart and flying at 400mph (650kph).  The recruits all hope to be selected for next year's team and have travelled to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus where the Red Arrows complete their pre-season training. Seen from beneath the Hawk jet aircraft's nose on the 'line' Squadron Leader Green kneels by the trailing wing edge to demonstrate what he will expect from their upcoming flying test.
    Red_Arrows305_RBA.jpg
  • The elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, fly over an area known as the Cliffs on the Akrotiri peninsular of southern Cyprus. We see a barren scene of scrub and in the air, the team are in their signature 'Diamond Nine' formation, climbing up in a long arc through the blue sky and traversing above the dusty, featureless landscape where a naval Transit marker in the shape of a giant red arrow aids coastal shipping to safely navigate but which is missing some panels. The nine Hawk jets pass-by as a tight 'nine-ship' (the term used to describe nine aircraft in close formation) during a training flight in the clear Mediterranean skies. They return to this stretch of Cypriot coast each Spring to complete their rigorous winter schedule before the UK's air show display season.
    Red_Arrows288_RBA.jpg
  • A young boy wearing ear-defenders and dressed in a child's miniature red flying suit is perched on a metal crate of flight spares belonging to the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team. Joshua Lewis is the son of one of the team's electricians Corporal Dave Lewis, and they are both at RAF Scampton in Lincolshire to wave goodbye to the departing Hawk jet aircraft who are leaving for their winter training ground at Akrotiri, Cyprus. Other team-member families have come along to see these famous red aircaft. Most of the team leave the UK for a six-week stint, refining their evolving air display routines and manoeuvres in the clear Mediteranean skies. Pilots and ground support crew will be away from loved-ones and their absence is one of the toughest aspects of RAF frontline personnel - and aerobatic squadrons.
    Red_Arrows260_RBA.jpg
  • A 40th anniversary celebration cake has been baked for the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team who are soon to appear. Displayed in a hospitality tent at the Kemble Air Show, the iced gateau has a red ribbon and an image of nine aircraft in mid-flight. A bouquet of flowers and assorted cutlery for the forthcoming lunch is alongside. Blue paper is draped over the top adding to the patriotic red, white and blue colours. After several identities, the Red Arrows started life near this location in 1964 at RAF Little Rissington in Gloucesterhire. Their name originates from the French 'Fleches Noirs', or Black Arrows, so in England, a new team was established flying black Hawker Hunters in the colour of their Squadron 111. As the Red Arrows diaplay team, they have since flown over 4,000 shows in 52 countries.
    Red_Arrows188_RBA.jpg
  • Officer pilots of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, lean aginst a wing of their Hawk jet in a pre-flight briefing while a member of their ground crew positions some wheel chocks. The highly-skilled engineer is known as a 'Blue' but the 'Reds' discuss  flight plans. Eleven trades skills are imported from some sixty that the RAF employs and teaches. It is mid-day and only their flying boots and red legs are seen with the RAF roundel emblem is on the underside of the wing. The better-educated officers in the armed forces enjoy a more privileged lifestyle than their support staff. In the aerobatic squadron, the Blues outnumber the pilots 8:1. Without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly. SOme of the team's Hawks are 25 years old and their air frames require constant attention, with increasingly frequent major overhauls due.
    Red_Arrows174_RBA.jpg
  • Flight Lieutenant Dan Simmons of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, zips up his g-pants before climbing into his Hawk jet. G-pants counterac the effects of high gravity stresses that jet-fighters impose on the human body, automatically inflating and squeezing blood back to the thorax and head when blood drains towards the legs. As he attaches the zipper, he rests his straight right leg on a retractable step which helps him and his ground crew engineers to gain access to the cockpit, high above the ground. Hanging from another part of his airplane is his life-vest which he will wear around his neck, whilst in flight. Flight Lieutenant Simmons wears heavy-duty black boots which are regulation footwear for flying personnel and dressed in his red flying suit that is famous around the world.
    Red_Arrows173_RBA.jpg
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