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Red Arrows' Silver Anniversary Airshow, Scampton 1989 In celebration of the Reds' 35th anniversary, here is a reminder of the 25th birthday bash held at Scampton on 4 October 1989. A ticket only affair, it was one of the highlights of the year for many with plenty of autumn sunshine welcoming the various display teams from around Europe. As commitments to the airshow season had finished, the event was graced by Spain's Patrulla Aguila,
Portugal's Asas do Portugal, Switzerland's Patrouille Swiss,
France's Patrouille de France
& Italy's Frecce Tricolori. A good selection of NATO hardware was also in evidence, ably supported by BAe's EAP and Hawk 200, operating out of the company's facility on the north side of the base. Amongst the RAF types on view were a 45 Squadron TWCU Tornado GR1, 229 OCU Tornado F3 and Tucano accompanied by a Hunter and Meteor of the resident training schools. A Gnat in full Red Arrows scheme provided a bit of history to proceedings, it being ten years since the type had provided the necessary inventory. 1999 also marks the 20th anniversary of the team receiving its first Hawk, although it was not until 1980 that the type was used for official display flying. XX251 was the first Hawk to be dedicated to the team, being delivered on 17 August, 1979 in readiness for the winter training season. The remaining eight followed through until November when the ninth, XX266, was delivered on the 15th. Of the nine original Hawks delivered, four are still current in January 1999, click here for a rundown of the fleet. Perhaps the most unusual participant at Scampton was the cargo version of the BAe 146 that the company tried to develop as a short to medium haul military workhorse, unfortunately ultimately without any success.
Items of particular interest to the enthusiast included the Canadian CF188s, one of which performed a sparkling display incorporating the famous 'square loop', the Portuguese C130 accompanying the Asas do Portugal and BAe Hawk demonstrator ZH200, making a rare appearance away from Warton.
Although initially cloudy, the day brightened considerably just prior to the flying display commencing at 13:00, and with the low sun behind the crowdline some spectacular photography was to be had. Starting with the venerable Bulldog, all the visiting teams gave a full routine, interspersed with contributions from a Belgian Alpha Jet, the CF188 and regulars such as the Jaguar, Tornado F3, Tucano, Harrier GR3, Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and Vulcan B2 XH558. It was left to the home team to close the show, the setting sun at 17:30 providing a memorable backdrop to their final performance of the season. Led by Squadron Leader Tim Miller, the team comprised of Red 2 Flt Lt Al Hoy, Red 3 Flt Lt Martin Cliff, Red 4 Flt Lt Guy Bancroft-Wilson, Red 5 Flt Lt Dom Riley, Red 6 Flt Lt John Rands, Red 7 Flt Lt Steve Johnson, Red 8 Squadron Ldr Jeff Glover and Red 9 Flt Lt John Newton. Team Manager (or "Mange") was Squadron Ldr Andy Stewart.
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