I arrived at the airport for 9am and was collected by the chap who'd arranged things for me - the very kind and lovely Ross - also known as "Circus 8". The "Circus" engineers are those who are allocated to work with a particular pilot for the season (in theory with a particular jet too, but that doesn't always quite work out!). Ross's "Driver" is Red 8 -Flt. Lt. Martin Pert - known as "Perty" - and "their" jet is XX311 - this one...
...yes, she really IS that shiny!
Clearance gained from the airport for me, we walked across to the pan where the jets were lined up - another "wow!" moment for sure....I tried to play it cool but almost certainly failed, and suspect that my awestruck grin may have given me away. I had a chat with Ross while he carried on the work of getting the jet ready to go - there's only a limited amount of storage space onboard one of those Hawks so getting everything in place is a precise art, and you certainly must need to master the art of travelling light too! The jets themselves are just immaculate - spotlessly clean and highly polished to a state of reflectiveness that almost hurts your eyes. The other thing that immediately strikes you is the precision - all 9 were perfectly lined up, flying helmets sitting on the open canopies in each jet. That brings me to my first chosen shot of the day...
...had to be done that one - albeit it took me a couple of attempts because for the first few minutes I was so nervous I was shaking like a leaf and struggling to hold the camera still. I took a few deep breaths - no point in screwing things up now, and settled for just shooting XX311 and what Ross was doing until I'd got more comfortable and was able to get my "work time" head on and just crack on. Once I'd relaxed enough to feel I could wander about a bit I began to work as I always used to with candid shots at speedway, and for the couple of weddings I've done...working methodically through the mental list I already had in my head but at the same time scanning around for other shots that will work. Take a shot - check exposure and framing, if OK, move on, otherwise re-take. Some shots you are sure will work, don't, and others that just jump out at you work brilliantly. Around the jets, anything with reflections is a fairly safe bet...although this was a slightly different take on that thought...
...and then of course there is those stunning "50th Display Season" tails - every time I see them they just look more impressive, and seeing them right up close, and being able to take the time to line up the shots I wanted to accentuate that precision I mentioned earlier was fantastic...
I'd been there 45 minutes or so and had worked my way to the very far end of the line and was just working back, picking out detail as I went, when the Pilots appeared. I put on my best "I'm not here" face and tried to look like I knew what I was doing, fully expecting to be utterly ignored by all apart from maybe Perty who I thought might have remembered we'd spoken at Biggin Hill...but in fact pretty much all of them gave me cheery grins and bright good mornings, or comments about the gorgeous weather...Perty stopped for a chat, and once again my first impressions of what a nice friendly bunch they are were confirmed. I've heard people describing these guys in the past as arrogant, stand-offish, and saying that they'd look right through you, well not in my experience they wouldn't - gentlemen to a....well, man!
I was introduced to another of the Circus engineers - Nicky Cunningham, Circus 4, who's often retweeted some of my photos, and to one of the team's Photographers - SAC Adam Fletcher. Interesting talking to someone about the difficulties faced taking photos air to air, for example as soon as you apply any "G" whatsoever everything gets heavier...so your hands and of course the camera. Now a pro-spec camera like the Canon 5D's these guys are using isn't the lightest thing in the first place, and bearing in mind that some of the Reds display moves pull up to 5G it's mind boggling how they manage to get the amazing shots they do! The view they see through the viewfinder is also distorted as of course there is a visor stopping them getting the camera to their eye, something I'd never have thought of. I wandered a bit more - by this time I was aware that there was a problem with one of the jets - XX245 had sprung a nasty hydraulic leak and there were several of the Blues desperately trying to fix the problem. Due to mechanical issues over the previous few days they'd arrived at Bristol with only the bare 9 jets - not a situation that anyone is comfortable with, and as they were then due to fly out for a display in Denmark the next day, then on to Estonia - the 56th country that the team have displayed in - the day after, getting it fixed if at all possible was imperative. Perty called out to tell me that there was a half hour delay on departure to try to get things sorted - good for me as it meant I had extra time, but frustrating for everyone else as so much hangs on timings being met.
Time for a lens change. I'd started off with my 100-400mm on the 7D body - great for "papping" people at a distance and also for cropping right in to get detail shots - and the ever reliable 50mm 1.8 on the 40D - this was definitely one of those times when I was hugely glad I had two camera bodies to play with! As I had a gorgeous bright blue sky with some nice clouds as a backdrop though it was time for the 50mm to be replaced by the 24-70mm to enable some wider angle shots...
With repair attempts on XX245 being unsuccessful the decision was taken that she was going to have to stay behind as further work and spare parts were required. This meant that a Pilot & Circus Engineer also had to stay, and Red 10 and Circus 6 were the unlucky individuals. "The Boss" - Red 1 - who I believe had been intending to fly the unserviceable aircraft elected instead to take Perty's XX311, which in turn meant that all their gear, so carefully stowed away by Ross just a short while previously had to be taken out and repacked elsewhere. You'd have expected a mad rush but no, calmly panniers were undone and everything removed. There was a moment of apparent confusion when it seemed that nobody was quite sure how Perty & Ross were getting to Karup, but in the end Ross took the spare seat of the unlucky Circus 6, and Perty got an unaccustomed chauffeur-driven transit with Red 7 who also had an empty backseat. I was assured by Red 6 - Flt Lt James McMillan - that "It's not always this chaotic" but quite honestly it didn't appear chaotic at all, teamwork and people working together as one unit made it all appear quite calm, and anyone watching from over by the fence would have been utterly unaware of the reason for the delay.
As they made ready to leave it was time for me to retreat to a safe range while they crewed in and the jets fired up, before with that to be expected precision they nosed, one at a time, onto the taxiway and off to the runway. More cheery waves from most of the cockpits..not from Perty though, he was too busy taking pictures on his iPhone...look....
A huge thanks to Ross for sorting it, and for the whole team for just being so absolutely lovely. Possibly the hardest I've worked in the space of two hours photographically for a VERY long time, but well worth the effort! If you want to know more about the life of a Red Arrows Circus Engineer and see some fantastic photos taken from the backseat then follow @RAFCircus8 and @RAFCircus4 on Twitter. For a Pilots eye view follow @RAFRed8 (And for more of my photos, follow @EssexHebridean of course!)
Robyn
2 comments:
Wow that was so interesting. You are one lucky lady! You have some fantastic photographs. Your hard works shows. Well done. x
Thanks MG - as for lucky, don't worry, I'm VERY well aware of that! Nothing I thought for a second I'd ever have the chance to do!
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