Sywell Aerodrome is the local aerodrome serving the towns of Northampton, Wellingborough, Kettering and Rushden, as well as wider Northamptonshire. The aerodrome is located 5 nautical miles northeast of Northampton and was originally opened in 1928 on the edge of Sywell village.
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment, and sport. Additionally, some helicopters, such as the MBB Bo 105, are capable of limited aerobatic manoeuvres. An example of a fully aerobatic helicopter, capable of performing loops and rolls, is the Westland Lynx.
The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force (RAF) based at RAF Waddington. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-RAF team, replacing a number of unofficial teams that had been sponsored by RAF commands.
The Black Arrows, one of the predecessors to the current Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team the Red Arrows, were an aerobatic demonstration team formed in 1956 by Squadron Leader Roger L.Topp, then Commanding Officer 111 Squadron ("treble-one"). One of the many memorable feats accomplished by the Black Arrows was the execution of a world record loop of 22 Hawker Hunters in formation at the Society of British Aircraft Constructors' show at Farnborough in 1958. This was a world record for the greatest number of aircraft looped in formation, and remains unbroken to this day. After the loop the Black Arrows performed the world's first 16 aircraft barrel roll. Roger Topp handed over the lead of the Black Arrows to Squadron Leader Peter Latham in late 1958. Latham expanded the size of the team to nine aircraft from the original five and led the Squadron for two years.
The Yellowjacks were a Royal Air Force aerobatic display team which flew Folland Gnat trainers painted yellow. The team was formed informally in the summer of 1963 by a group of flying instructors, led by Flight Lieutenant Lee Jones, at No 4 Flying Training School at RAF Valley. The two-seat Gnat T.1 had been in service at Valley only since February of that year, when the first 20 student pilots, selected after being awarded their "wings", from the recently graduated No 82 Entry of the RAF College Cranwell, had started their advanced training on the Gnat. Instructors and student pilots loved this aircraft, because of its small size and its sensitive handling and high maneuverability.
Surya Kiran is an aerobatics demonstration team of the Indian Air Force. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) was formed in 1996 and are a part of the 52nd Squadron of the IAF. The team has since performed numerous demonstrations usually with nine aircraft. The squadron was composed of the HAL HJT-16 Kiran Mk.2 military trainer aircraft till 2011 and were based at the Bidar Air Force Station in Karnataka. The team was suspended in February 2011 and was re-established with Hawk Mk-132 aircraft in 2017.
The Farnborough Airshow, officially the Farnborough International Airshow, is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors. Since its first show in 1948, Farnborough has seen the debut of many famous planes, including the Vickers VC10, Concorde, the Eurofighter, the Airbus A380, and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. At the 1958 show, the RAF's Black Arrows executed a 22-plane formation loop, setting a world record.
The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the world's largest military air show, held annually in July, usually at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England in support of The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust. The show typically attracts a total of 150,000 to 200,000 spectators over the weekend.
The Extra Flugzeugbau EA300 is a two-seat aerobatic monoplane capable of Unlimited category competition. It was designed in 1987 by Walter Extra, a German aerobatic pilot, and built by Extra Flugzeugbau.
The Pitts Special is a series of light aerobatic biplanes designed by Curtis Pitts. It has accumulated many competition wins since its first flight in 1944. The Pitts biplanes dominated world aerobatic competition in the 1960s and 1970s and, even today, remain potent competition aircraft in the lower categories.
The Blue Eagles were the helicopter aerobatic team of the British Army Air Corps. It was one of only eight professional helicopter teams in the world, along with the Royal Navy Black Cats, Sarang of the Indian Air Force, the Scorpion aerobatic team of the Polish Air Force, Rotores de Portugal, the Patrulla Aspa of the Spanish Air Force, the Grasshoppers of the RNLAF and the US Army Silver Eagles. They were formed in the spring of 1968 by Air Corps instructors, and were established in the following years with five helicopters. In 2001, the team included the first British female military display pilot. In 2010, it was disbanded due to an ageing Westland Lynx fleet and financial cutbacks.
Beverly "Bevo" Howard was an American aerobatic pilot and aviation businessman.
Raynham George Hanna, was a New Zealand-born fighter pilot who emigrated to England to join the Royal Air Force (RAF). During his RAF career he was a founding member of the Red Arrows aerobatics display team. He also founded The Old Flying Machine Company, which commercially flies Second World War vintage fighter aircraft at air displays around the world, and for television and cinematic productions. He was a Spitfire display pilot in the latter half of the 20th century, noted for his daring aerobatic stunt flying.
Nigel Lamb is an English aerobatics pilot and the 2014 Red Bull Air Race World Champion.
The 53rd Air Demonstration Group, nicknamed the Black Eagles, is the flight display team of the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) based at Wonju, Gangwon Province.
De Havilland Aviation was originally a licensed aircraft company based in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. It maintained and operated many post-War vintages and modern aircraft, owned by both the company and on behalf of private clients. Its most noteworthy restoration project was restoring the de Havilland DH110 Sea Vixen XP924 to flightworthy status; at its time, the most complex aircraft restoration project ever undertaken. Its main base was Bournemouth Airport but it also operated a Worldwide spares and parts service from Swansea in Wales, supplying many of the vintage aircraft owners as well as various air forces.
Charlie Hillard was an American aerobatics pilot, and the first American to win the world aerobatics title.
No. 52 Squadron is an aerobatic squadron of the Indian Air Force. It was established in January 1986. It is presently based at Bidar Air Force Station. It is popularly known as the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT). SKAT performs across the country, and has performed in China, the UK, Germany, Laos and Sri Lanka. The Surya Kirans were among the top three nine-aircraft aerobatics teams in the world, along with the British Red Arrows and the Canadian Snowbirds. The Squadron motto is "Sadaiv Sarvottam", which translates as "Always the Best". For its consistent performance since 1996, the Suryakiran was awarded Chief of the Air Staff's Unit Citation on 8 October 2004. It is the first unit in the IAF to receive this award.
On 22 August 2015, a former military aircraft crashed onto a main road during an aerial display at the Shoreham Airshow at Shoreham Airport, England, killing 11 people and injuring 16 others. It was the deadliest air show accident in the United Kingdom since the 1952 Farnborough Airshow crash, which had killed 31 people.
Ben Murphy is a British pilot. He is a pilot of The Blades aerobatic team, and master class of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. He is a former Commanding Officer of the Royal Air Force display team The Red Arrows
