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  • An instructor with the Royal Gurkha Rifles points a recruit towards an objective while on tactical training manoeuvres on heathland above Farnborough, on 5th August 1996, in Farnborough, England. Nepali-born boys belong to an elite Regiment of the British army. Every year 60,000 boys attend recruiting sessions in villages and towns in the Himalayan Kingdom but only 150 are selected each year to serve on active duty across the world. They fly to the UK for basic soldier training where they learn the skills required for infantry, transport, communications or clerical duties. Their reputation as a fierce but intensely loyal fighting force and many Victoria Crosses were won for bravery during World War 2. Here they are seen cradling modern SA-80 rifles while dressed in camouflaged helmets with oak leaves.
    soldier_training-05-08-1996.jpg
  • A young apprentice stop near the top of a city centre chimney during a steeplejack course in Kings Lynn, Norfolk. Using an elaborate system of harnesses and pulleys, the young lad is learning the skills to work safely and efficiently at dangerous heights and the town stretches below. Sponsored training is offered through the Steeplejack Industry Training Group Association and CITB-ConstructionSkills for young people aged 16. Applicants for this scheme will have to pass aptitude tests, literary and Maths assessments, and problem solving. Each year, the Steeplejack Industry Training Group and CITB-ConstructionSkills offer 12 places on training courses for trainee steeplejacks and 12 places for trainee Lightning Conductor Engineers.
    steeplejacks02-17-03-1993.jpg
  • Young apprentices climb ladders to the top of a tall chimney during a steeplejack course in Kings Lynn, Norfolk. Climbing together, the youths haul themselves up a series of ladders to reach the top. Sponsored training is offered through the Steeplejack Industry Training Group Association and CITB-ConstructionSkills for young people aged 16. Applicants for this scheme will have to pass aptitude tests, literary and Maths assessments, and problem solving. Each year, the Steeplejack Industry Training Group and CITB-ConstructionSkills offer 12 places on training courses for trainee steeplejacks and 12 places for trainee Lightning Conductor Engineers.
    steeplejacks01-17-03-1993.jpg
  • With a blindfolded trainer, a young Labrador dog learns how to negotiate obstructions and hazards as part of its training as a guide dog. There are around 5,000 working guide dogs in the UK today, though the Guide Dogs charity care for around 8,000 dogs, including breeding stock, puppies, dogs in training and retired dogs.
    guide_dog01-09-06-1997.jpg
  • Young people with the Royal Air Force's Air Training Corps (ATC) parade wearing poppies during the annual Lord Mayor's Show. The Air Training Corps (ATC), commonly known as the Air Cadets, is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary youth group which is part of the Air Cadet Organisation (ACO) and the Royal Air Force (RAF). The ATC has around 35,000 cadets, aged between 13 to 21 years, within 1009 Squadrons. Its cadets are supported by a network of around 10,000 volunteer staff and around 5,000 civilian committee members.
    lord_mayors_show22-10-11-2012.jpg
  • The Australian born Oxford University veteran rower James Ditzell returns from another winter training session on the Thames. Many of his team mates are only 19 but at 45 James is currently the oldest ever rower in the history of the boat race. He trains with the rest of his squad on the Thames from Putney in West London under race conditions, hoping that as race day (April 6th 2012), his times are good enough for a seat in one of two of Oxford boats. First raced in 1829 the boat race between Oxford and Cambridge unbiversities is one of the oldest sporting events in the world. It is nowadays watched by thousands along the banks of The Thames Tideway, between Putney and Mortlake in London and by millions more on TV around the world.
    james_ditzell45-21-01-2012.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
  • In a red helmet, Squadron Leader Spike Jepson, team leader of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, plunges into the blue  Mediterranean waters for his annual Wet Drill exercise during Spring training in Cyprus. We see the pilot, small in the picture surrounded by frothing, blue water that engulfs his small body making him look vulnerable. There are lines attaching him to a boat ensuring his safety. The rehearsal is to practise a helicopter recovery after a fast-jet ejection over the sea. His RAF-issue life vest (containing a vital life-raft) has inflated when in  contact with the salt water and helps him stay afloat in the cold water. This yearly event is required of all flying personnel to ensure that any accident over water can reach a positive outcome - by the rescuing of an expensively-trained pilot or navigator. .
    Red_Arrows039_RBA.jpg
  • Firefighters line-up before a training morning at Heathrow airport's jet gas fire computerised simulator facility, on 18th March 2000, at Heathrow Airport, London, UK. (Photo by Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images)
    heathrow_fire_training02-18-03-2000.jpg
  • Firefighters line-up before a training morning at Heathrow airport's jet gas fire computerised simulator facility, on 18th March 2000, at Heathrow Airport, London, UK. (Photo by Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images)
    heathrow_fire_training03-18-03-2000.jpg
  • Photographer ground staff member of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team films a winter training sortie.
    Red_Arrows027_RBA.jpg
  • On the edge of an old Soviet parade ground, peeling murals show an instruction mural for guarding prison camps seen in this army boot camp in the former East German peninsular called Halbinsel Wustrow near Rostock. For the benefit of recruits or as reminders of Soviet discipline, the picture shows a soldier standing at the barbed wire of a generic Gulag holding his AK-47 weapon and dressed in fur hat and uniform from that era. Perhaps those training here were eventually to guard political prisoners though it is a reminder of a fallen ideology. Wustrow was once a WW2 German anti-aircraft artillery position then housed civilian refugees before the eventual Soviet occupation of the former DDR during the Cold War, up until 1990 and the fall of communism and the Berlin Wall. The camp was ransacked and all its assets stripped before its desertion that summer.
    russian_wustrow03-16-06_1990.jpg
  • Four members of the Royal Gurkha Rifles are on tactical manoeuvres on heathland above Farnborough airfield, England. These Nepali-born boys belong to an elite Regiment of the British army. Every year 60,000 boys attend recruiting sessions in villages and towns in the Himalayan Kingdom but only 150 are selected each year to serve on active duty across the world. They fly to the UK for basic soldier training where they learn the skills required for infantry, transport, communications or clerical duties. Their reputation as a fierce but intensely loyal fighting force and many Victoria Crosses were won for bravery during World War 2. Here they are seen cradling modern SA-80 rifles while dressed in camouflaged helmets with oak leaves. The nearest to the camera points his weapon past the viewer with a yellow blank cover attached. .
    army04-15-12-2007 .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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Squadron Leader Duncan Mason of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, strides out across a gloomy, rainswept 'apron' at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. Squadron Leader Mason will fly up to 6 times daily during winter training ,when weather permits, learning new manoeuvres. Wearing winter green flying suits, their day is spent flying and de-briefing. Mason  wears a green flying suit with anti-g pants and helmet on with its pilot number. He is being greeted by a member of the team's support ground crew who outnumber the pilots 8:1.  The engineer wears a fluorescent yellow tabard and stands politely by the waiting aircraft on the 'line'. He has already prepared it for flight and helps with any technical issues that may arise.
    Red_Arrows015_RBA.jpg
  • At the start of another day's work, pilots belonging to the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, walk in single-file out into the pink morning light for the first winter training flight of the day at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. Emerging from their squadron building the aviators make their way along a pathway towards the waiting Hawk jet aircraft known the world over. Wearing winter green flying suits and carrying their helmets, their day is spent flying and de-briefing up to six times a day when weather permits. Long shadows spill over on to the airfield's cropped grass. Scampton  is one of the original World War 2 RAF stations for the Lancaster bombers the 617 Dambusters squadron who attacked the damns of the German Ruhr valley on 16th May 1943 using the Bouncing Bomb. Today, it is used almost exclusively by the team.
    Red_Arrows011_RBA.jpg
  • Flight Lieutenant Simon Stevens, a pilot in the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, makes a pre-flight check of his Hawk jet aircraft before a practice flight at RAF Scampton. Stevens and his fellow-aviators fly up to 6 times in winter training, learning new manoeuvres. The dangers of high-speed close formation flight makes health and safety precuations vital; the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Royal Air Force take working environments of their personnel seriously so pre-flight examination of aircraft happens before every sortie (flight). Performing the brief safety walk-around, Stevens bends at the waste to avoid the aeroplane's low aileron despite wearing a helmet, full flying suit, boots, life-vest and anti-g-pants. Flying still continues despite rainclouds in the gloomy Lincolnshire sky.
    Red_Arrows005_RBA.jpg
  • Rowers pass under the closed Hammersmith Bridge while training on the Thames, passing riverside properties near Barnes, on 6th April 2022, in London, England. Safety checks revealed "critical faults" and Hammersmith and Fulham Council has said it's been left with no choice but to shut the 132-year-old bridge until refurbishment costs could be met. In march 2022, a new capital spend of £3.5million was approved to progress concept design and associated works to stabilise the grade II-listed structure.
    hammersmith_bridge-20-07-04-2022.jpg
  • A boat from the Oxford University rowing team rounds the bend of the River Thames in Putney, West London during a winter training session. First raced in 1829 the boat race between Oxford and Cambridge unbiversities is one of the oldest sporting events in the world. It is nowadays watched by thousands along the banks of The Thames Tideway, between Putney and Mortlake in London and by millions more on TV around the world.
    james_ditzell39-21-01-2012.jpg
  • Pilot members of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team in post-training flight briefing during winter training.
    Red_Arrows363_RBA.jpg
  • Pilot members of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team in post-training flight briefing during winter training.
    Red_Arrows079_RBA.jpg
  • New recruits of the Royal Gurkha Regiment swear allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen's portrait during their passing-out parade at their camp at Pokhara, Nepal. After being recruited into the regiment after a gruelling series of tests to eliminate the weaker and less able candidates, the lucky 160 fly to the UK for basic training. 60,000 boys aged between 17-22 (or 25 for those more educated 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. Nepal has been supplying youth for the British army since the Indian Mutiny of 1857
    gurkha_recruitment05-16-01-1997.jpg
  • New recruits of the British Royal Gurkha Regiment learn to parade for their official photograph at their army camp in Pokhara, Nepal after recently being recruited into the regiment after a gruelling series of tests to eliminate the weaker and less able candidates, before the 160 lucky candidates travel to the UK for basic training. 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. Nepal has been supplying youth for the British army since the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
    gurkha_recruitment04-16-01-1997.jpg
  • Rowers pass under the closed Hammersmith Bridge while training on the Thames, passing riverside properties near Barnes, on 6th April 2022, in London, England. Safety checks revealed "critical faults" and Hammersmith and Fulham Council has said it's been left with no choice but to shut the 132-year-old bridge until refurbishment costs could be met. In march 2022, a new capital spend of £3.5million was approved to progress concept design and associated works to stabilise the grade II-listed structure.
    hammersmith_bridge-18-07-04-2022.jpg
  • Rowers pass under the closed Hammersmith Bridge while training on the Thames, passing riverside properties near Barnes, on 6th April 2022, in London, England. Safety checks revealed "critical faults" and Hammersmith and Fulham Council has said it's been left with no choice but to shut the 132-year-old bridge until refurbishment costs could be met. In march 2022, a new capital spend of £3.5million was approved to progress concept design and associated works to stabilise the grade II-listed structure.
    hammersmith_bridge-19-07-04-2022.jpg
  • Rowers pass under the closed Hammersmith Bridge while training on the Thames, passing riverside properties near Barnes, on 6th April 2022, in London, England. Safety checks revealed "critical faults" and Hammersmith and Fulham Council has said it's been left with no choice but to shut the 132-year-old bridge until refurbishment costs could be met. In march 2022, a new capital spend of £3.5million was approved to progress concept design and associated works to stabilise the grade II-listed structure.
    hammersmith_bridge-17-07-04-2022.jpg
  • Rowers pass under the closed Hammersmith Bridge while training on the Thames, passing riverside properties near Barnes, on 6th April 2022, in London, England. Safety checks revealed "critical faults" and Hammersmith and Fulham Council has said it's been left with no choice but to shut the 132-year-old bridge until refurbishment costs could be met. In march 2022, a new capital spend of £3.5million was approved to progress concept design and associated works to stabilise the grade II-listed structure.
    hammersmith_bridge-16-07-04-2022.jpg
  • New recruits of the British Royal Gurkha Regiment parade before taking official oaths on the Union Jack flag at their army camp in Pokhara, Nepal after recently being recruited into the regiment after a gruelling series of tests to eliminate the weaker and less able candidates, before the 160 lucky candidates travel to the UK for basic training. 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. Nepal has been supplying youth for the British army since the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
    gurkha_inspection-16-01-1997.jpg
  • A boat from the Oxford University rowing team rounds the bend of the River Thames in Putney, West London during a winter training session. First raced in 1829 the boat race between Oxford and Cambridge unbiversities is one of the oldest sporting events in the world. It is nowadays watched by thousands along the banks of The Thames Tideway, between Putney and Mortlake in London and by millions more on TV around the world.
    james_ditzell41-21-01-2012.jpg
  • A boat from the Oxford University rowing team rounds the bend of the River Thames in Putney, West London during a winter training session. First raced in 1829 the boat race between Oxford and Cambridge unbiversities is one of the oldest sporting events in the world. It is nowadays watched by thousands along the banks of The Thames Tideway, between Putney and Mortlake in London and by millions more on TV around the world.
    james_ditzell38-21-01-2012.jpg
  • A boat from the Oxford University rowing team rounds the bend of the River Thames in Putney, West London during a winter training session. First raced in 1829 the boat race between Oxford and Cambridge unbiversities is one of the oldest sporting events in the world. It is nowadays watched by thousands along the banks of The Thames Tideway, between Putney and Mortlake in London and by millions more on TV around the world.
    james_ditzell37-21-01-2012.jpg
  • A young Nepali boy is straining in his last sit-ups during a recruitment test for the Gurkha Regiment, part of a tough endurance series to find physically perfect specimens for British army infantry training. He has 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.
    gurkha_training0416-01_1997.jpg
  • A young Nepali boy is undergoing a recruitment test for the Gurkha Regiment called the Doko race, part of a tough endurance series to find physically perfect specimens for British army infantry training. He has to carry 30kg of river stones in a traditional Himalayan doko (basket) for 3km up foothills within 37 minutes 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.
    gurkha_training0116-01_1997.jpg
  • A young Nepali boy is undergoing a recruitment test for the Gurkha Regiment called the Doko race, part of a tough endurance series to find physically perfect specimens for British army infantry training. He has to carry 30kg of river stones in a traditional Himalayan doko (basket) for 3km up foothills within 37 minutes 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. Nepal has been supplying youths for the British army since the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
    gurkha_recruitment08-16-01-1997.jpg
  • Officers and new recruits of the British Royal Gurkha Regiment pose for their official photograph at their army camp at Pokhara, Nepal after recently being recruited into the regiment after a gruelling series of tests to eliminate the weaker and less able candidates, before the 160 lucky candidates travel to the UK for basic training. 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. Nepal has been supplying youth for the British army since the Indian Mutiny of 1857..
    gurkha_recruitment02-16-01-1997.jpg
  • Hawk jets of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team perform training display over the skies above their Lincolnshire home.
    Red_Arrows422_RBA.jpg
  • Crew room classroom of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team 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_Arrows767_RBA.jpg
  • Seen from the cockpit of another Hawk of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team 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_Arrows572_RBA.jpg
  • A pilot of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team meets corporate visitors after winter training flight.
    Red_Arrows438_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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Two film crews record a USAF (United States Air Force) aviator, in training during week-long survival course held at the Fairchild Air Force Base, Spokane, Washington, on 6th August 1995, in Spokane, Washington, USA. The course is aimed at highy-trained personnel conducting a survival, escape and evasion course which combat pilots and air crew need to pass before rejoining their units for real-time warfare. Held in hangars and the surrounding forests, it forms part of an extensive physical and psychological assessment of young aviators on active service. In the future any one of them may be shot down behind enemy lines and need to use the lessons passed-on here to help facilitate their rescue by US forces. One pilot who passed this course in 1991, himself a Spokane-born boy, was F-16 pilot Scott O'Grady. He put his skills learned here to the test while evading Serb forces before being airlifted to safety and a hero's Presidential welcome.
    USAF_media-04-01-2020.jpg
  • A young Nepali boy is undergoes a recruitment test for the Gurkha Regiment called the Doko race, part of a tough endurance series to find physically perfect specimens for British army infantry training, on 16th January 1997, in Pokhara, Nepal. Carrying 30kg of river stones in a traditional Himalayan doko (basket) for 3km up foothills within 37 minutes 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. Nepal has been supplying youths for the British army since the Indian Mutiny of 1857. (Photo by Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images)
    gurkha_selection01-16-01-1997.jpg
  • A young Nepali boy is undergoes a recruitment test of pull-ups for the Gurkha Regiment, part of a tough endurance series to find physically perfect specimens for British army infantry training, on 16th January 1997, in Pokhara, Nepal. 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. Nepal has been supplying youths for the British army since the Indian Mutiny of 1857. (Photo by Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images)
    gurkha_selection02-16-01-1997.jpg
  • Firefighters line-up before a training morning at Heathrow airport's jet fire simulator facility, on 18th March 2000, at Heathrow Airport, London, UK. (Photo by Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images)
    heathrow_fire_training01-18-03-2000.jpg
  • A red warning flag flies on the perimeter during military live firing at Otterburn Ranges, on 28th September 2017, in Otterburn, Northumberland, England. Twenty-three per cent of Northumberland National Park is owned by the Ministry of Defence and used as a military training area though they encourage as much access to the area as possible. Sometimes areas are cordoned off from the public for military exercises. Visitors are welcome outside of live firing times if no red flags are displayed. When military exercises are happening, red flags around the boundaries indicate restricted access. Visitors are told not to pick up, kick or remove any object and not to stray off the public rights of way or tarmac roads.
    otterburn-08-28-09-2017.jpg
  • A red warning flag flies on the perimeter during military live firing at Otterburn Ranges, on 28th September 2017, in Otterburn, Northumberland, England. Twenty-three per cent of Northumberland National Park is owned by the Ministry of Defence and used as a military training area though they encourage as much access to the area as possible. Sometimes areas are cordoned off from the public for military exercises. Visitors are welcome outside of live firing times if no red flags are displayed. When military exercises are happening, red flags around the boundaries indicate restricted access. Visitors are told not to pick up, kick or remove any object and not to stray off the public rights of way or tarmac roads.
    otterburn-07-28-09-2017.jpg
  • A red warning flag flies on the perimeter during military live firing at Otterburn Ranges, on 28th September 2017, in Otterburn, Northumberland, England. Twenty-three per cent of Northumberland National Park is owned by the Ministry of Defence and used as a military training area though they encourage as much access to the area as possible. Sometimes areas are cordoned off from the public for military exercises. Visitors are welcome outside of live firing times if no red flags are displayed. When military exercises are happening, red flags around the boundaries indicate restricted access. Visitors are told not to pick up, kick or remove any object and not to stray off the public rights of way or tarmac roads.
    otterburn-06-28-09-2017.jpg
  • A red warning flag flies on the perimeter during military live firing at Otterburn Ranges, on 28th September 2017, in Otterburn, Northumberland, England. Twenty-three per cent of Northumberland National Park is owned by the Ministry of Defence and used as a military training area though they encourage as much access to the area as possible. Sometimes areas are cordoned off from the public for military exercises. Visitors are welcome outside of live firing times if no red flags are displayed. When military exercises are happening, red flags around the boundaries indicate restricted access. Visitors are told not to pick up, kick or remove any object and not to stray off the public rights of way or tarmac roads.
    otterburn-05-28-09-2017.jpg
  • A red warning flag flies on the perimeter during military live firing at Otterburn Ranges, on 28th September 2017, in Otterburn, Northumberland, England. Twenty-three per cent of Northumberland National Park is owned by the Ministry of Defence and used as a military training area though they encourage as much access to the area as possible. Sometimes areas are cordoned off from the public for military exercises. Visitors are welcome outside of live firing times if no red flags are displayed. When military exercises are happening, red flags around the boundaries indicate restricted access. Visitors are told not to pick up, kick or remove any object and not to stray off the public rights of way or tarmac roads.
    otterburn-03-28-09-2017.jpg
  • A red warning flag flies on the perimeter during military live firing at Otterburn Ranges, on 28th September 2017, in Otterburn, Northumberland, England. Twenty-three per cent of Northumberland National Park is owned by the Ministry of Defence and used as a military training area though they encourage as much access to the area as possible. Sometimes areas are cordoned off from the public for military exercises. Visitors are welcome outside of live firing times if no red flags are displayed. When military exercises are happening, red flags around the boundaries indicate restricted access. Visitors are told not to pick up, kick or remove any object and not to stray off the public rights of way or tarmac roads.
    otterburn-02-28-09-2017.jpg
  • A red warning flag flies on the perimeter during military live firing at Otterburn Ranges, on 28th September 2017, in Otterburn, Northumberland, England. Twenty-three per cent of Northumberland National Park is owned by the Ministry of Defence and used as a military training area though they encourage as much access to the area as possible. Sometimes areas are cordoned off from the public for military exercises. Visitors are welcome outside of live firing times if no red flags are displayed. When military exercises are happening, red flags around the boundaries indicate restricted access. Visitors are told not to pick up, kick or remove any object and not to stray off the public rights of way or tarmac roads.
    otterburn-04-28-09-2017.jpg
  • A red warning flag flies on the perimeter during military live firing at Otterburn Ranges, on 28th September 2017, in Otterburn, Northumberland, England. Twenty-three per cent of Northumberland National Park is owned by the Ministry of Defence and used as a military training area though they encourage as much access to the area as possible. Sometimes areas are cordoned off from the public for military exercises. Visitors are welcome outside of live firing times if no red flags are displayed. When military exercises are happening, red flags around the boundaries indicate restricted access. Visitors are told not to pick up, kick or remove any object and not to stray off the public rights of way or tarmac roads.
    otterburn-01-28-09-2017.jpg
  • An AgustaWestland AW101 makes a controlled landing in a south London public park. After circling for 5 minutes in windy conditions and hovered metres above the ground n Ruskin Park, south London. Autumn leaves flew in all directions in this regular landing point for the Royal Air Force and army. The RAF frequently make reconnaissance flights to this Lambeth open space for crew training purposes. The Merlin is a medium-lift helicopter used in both military and civil applications. It was developed by joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the UK and Agusta in Italy and was named the EH101 until 2007.  .
    merlin_houses03-01-11-2012.jpg
  • An AgustaWestland AW101 makes a controlled landing in a south London public park below. The houses of Parliament are in the distance. After circling for 5 minutes in windy conditions and hovered metres above the ground n Ruskin Park, south London. Autumn leaves flew in all directions in this regular landing point for the Royal Air Force and army. The RAF frequently make reconnaissance flights to this Lambeth open space for crew training purposes. The Merlin is a medium-lift helicopter used in both military and civil applications. It was developed by joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the UK and Agusta in Italy and was named the EH101 until 2007.  .
    merlin_houses01-01-11-2012.jpg
  • Hawk jets of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team perform training display over the skies above their Lincolnshire home.
    Red_Arrows254_RBA.jpg
  • Engineering ground staff of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team during winter training turnaround.
    Red_Arrows248_RBA.jpg
  • The Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team perform training display over local builders near their Lincolnshire home.
    Red_Arrows221_RBA.jpg
  • Hawk jets of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team perform training display over the skies above their Lincolnshire home.
    Red_Arrows220_RBA.jpg
  • Locals are caught up in downdraught as ZA939, a Westland SA-330E Puma HC1 helicopter belonging to the RAF's 230 squadron, lifts off after a five minute touch down in Ruskin Park, south London. The RAF frequently make reconnaissance flights to this Lambeth open space for crew training purposes. ..
    park_puma2-21-10-2011.jpg
  • Locals are caught up in downdraught as ZA939, a Westland SA-330E Puma HC1 helicopter belonging to the RAF's 230 squadron, lifts off after a five minute touch down in Ruskin Park, south London. The RAF frequently make reconnaissance flights to this Lambeth open space for crew training purposes. ..
    park_puma1-21-10-2011.jpg
  • British Army Gurkha soldier instructs his men during an exercise on Salisbury Plain, the army's infantry training ground.
    army_instructor01-05-08-1996.jpg
  • Teenage Nepali boys await the start of a recruitment test for the Gurkha Regiment called the Doko race, part of a tough endurance series to find physically perfect specimens for British army infantry training. They have to carry 30kg of river stones in a traditional Himalayan doko (basket) for 3km up foothills within 37 minutes 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. Nepal has been supplying youths for the British army since the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
    doko_gurkhas-16-01-1997.jpg
  • Seen from the cockpit of another Hawk of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team 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_Arrows740_RBA.jpg
  • Seen from the cockpit of another Hawk of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team before 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_Arrows739_RBA.jpg
  • Seen from the cockpit of another Hawk of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team 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 look sideways towards other pilots diving downwards as they their machines after a loop, 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_Arrows738_RBA.jpg
  • Seen from the cockpit of another Hawk of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team 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_Arrows686_RBA.jpg
  • Seen from the cockpit of another Hawk of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team 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_Arrows684_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
  • Pilots of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team after another hard day's winter training flights.
    Red_Arrows611_RBA.jpg
  • Pilots of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team zip themselves into their g-pants before training flight. G-pants counteract 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.
    Red_Arrows488_RBA.jpg
  • Pilots of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team sign paperwork after winter training flight at RAF Scampton
    Red_Arrows468_RBA.jpg
  • 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_Arrows354_RBA.jpg
  • Model plane used for training in pilots' crew room of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team.
    Red_Arrows321_RBA.jpg
  • Pilot's shadow of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team walking out to aircraft for training flight.
    Red_Arrows301_RBA.jpg
  • Joystick controller at BAE Systems Hawk jet aircraft simulator test a Red Arrows pilot at the fast-jet flying training centre, RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales. All fast-jet pilots are required to complete an 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_Arrows256_RBA.jpg
  • A pilot of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, is about to plunge into the blue  Mediterranean waters for his annual Wet Drill exercise during Spring training in Cyprus. There are lines attaching him to a boat ensuring his safety. The rehearsal is to practise a helicopter recovery after a fast-jet ejection over the sea. His RAF-issue life vest (containing a vital life-raft) has inflated when in  contact with the salt water and helps him stay afloat in the cold water. This yearly event is required of all flying personnel to ensure that any accident over water can reach a positive outcome - by the rescuing of an expensively-trained pilot or navigator.
    Red_Arrows038_RBA.jpg
  • Wearing darkened glasses, unsighted Tim Gutteridge walks along a suburban pavement near to The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association's offices in Reading, England with Lewis, a one year-old Labrador Retriever who has been groomed to become a guide dog. Tim is hoping to forge a strong relationship with his new-found companion who confidently leads the way along the path anticipating and avoiding obstacles and dangers. Animals like Lewis don't start learning with a guide dog trainer until they are 12-15 months old. There are around 5,000 working guide dogs in the UK today, though the Guide Dogs charity care for around 8,000 dogs, including breeding stock, puppies, dogs in training and retired dogs.
    guide_dog02-15-12-2007 .jpg
  • Wearing darkened glasses, unsighted Tim Gutteridge stands outside The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association's offices in Reading, England with Lewis, a one year-old Labrador Retriever who has been groomed to become a guide dog. Tim is hoping to forge a strong relationship with his new-found companion whose job is to confidently leads the way anticipating and avoiding obstacles and dangers. Animals like Lewis don't start learning with a guide dog trainer until they are 12-15 months old. There are around 5,000 working guide dogs in the UK today, though the Guide Dogs charity care for around 8,000 dogs, including breeding stock, puppies, dogs in training and retired dogs. A sign in bright yellow says 'Please don't distract me I'm working.'
    guide_dog01-15-12-2007 .jpg
  • Female vet, Diana Stapleton is ecstatically happy after successfully delivering twin calves to Fresian cow at Manor House Farm, Barnoldswick near Settle, North Yorkshire, England. With the two youngsters spread on the soft straw of the barn, and their mother facing the corner of the outhouse with the resulting afterbirth still attached, Diana makes her sense of achievement clear to the farmer who must also be relived about the positive outcome. The survival of twin cattle births depends on thorough training and an instinct for animal husbandry and medical requirements. Diana Stapleton belonged to the Dalehead Veterinary Group based in nearby Settle for 15 years, covering a 20-mile area of 500 remote farms though she specialised in small animals and farmwork before dying suddenly at the age of 39.
    diana_stapleton03-09-08-1995.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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • In the mid-day heat, Squadron Leader Spike Jepson, leader of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, informally addresses the team's highly-skilled ground crew at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus after the whole team's success of passing PDA (or 'Public Display Authority'). The Red Arrows are then allowed by senior RAF officers to perform as a military aerobatic show in front of the general 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. Squadron Leader Jepson has gathered his engineers and support crew known as the Blues to congratulate and encourage them. Specialists like these outnumber the pilots 8:1 and without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly.
    Red_Arrows162_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
  • Junior Technician Brian Robb, an engineer with the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's prestigious Royal Air Force aerobatic team, shines his torch inside the flaps of a Hawk jet aircraft checking for obstructions, RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. Wearing ear defenders clasped to his head, J/Tech Robb peers into the wing assembly during a pre-flight inspection before the pilot emerges from for another winter training flight. Robb is a member of the team's support ground crew who outnumber the pilots 8:1 and without them, the Red Arrows couldn't fly.  Eleven trades are imported from some sixty that the RAF employs and teaches. Crouching by an RAF roundel emblem, he wears an army style green camouflage coat as protection over the biting Lincolnshire wind, and a fluorescent tabard required for any personnel working on the 'line', where the aircraft taxi to and park. .
    Red_Arrows028_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
  • Partially-sighted skiing paralympian from the Sochi Olympics, Kelly Gallagher physio training at the Sports Centre in the University of Ulster, Belfast, Northern Ireland.<br />
<br />
From the chapter entitled 'The Law of Gravity' and from the book 'Risk Wise: Nine Everyday Adventures' by Polly Morland (Allianz, The School of Life, Profile Books, 2015).
    kelly_gallagher190-22-05-2014.jpg
  • Seen from the cockpit of another Hawk of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team 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_Arrows687_RBA.jpg
  • Seen from the cockpit of another Hawk of the elite 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team 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_Arrows685_RBA.jpg
  • Red Hawk jets of the 'Red Arrows', Britain's Royal Air Force aerobatic team perform during winter training at RAF Scampton home.
    Red_Arrows098_RBA.jpg
  • Wearing a large green helmet with the number 26 painted on the front, a worried-looking black soldier recruit gazes into the distance in front of a white army  instructor at the large Garrison at Catterick, England. Here, the Parachute Regiment (The Paras) - hold part of their famous basic training programme called Pegasus (P) Company. The most notorious selection procedure in the British Army. After initial recruitment, each student is sent to either pass or fail a set of 9 events from which a total score of 90 points is possible. 58% or more passes, less fails. Events like the 18 mile Forced March followed by a further 5 miles can earn 10 points though this will inevitably prove too much for many young man, desperate to pass P Company and earn his prestigious beret (Like the Foreign Legion).
    army05-15-12-2007 .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
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