Can The Red Arrows display in poor weather?
As long as the weather is in limits for a formation of nine aircraft, there are three types of display the Leader can fly: the Full Display; the Rolling Display; and the Flat Display. To carry out a full looping display the base of the cloud must be above 4,500 feet to avoid the aircraft entering the cloud at the top of a loop. If the cloud base is less than 4,500 ft but more than 2,500 ft the Team will perform the Rolling Display substituting wing-overs and rolls for the loops. If the cloud base is less than 2,500 ft the Team will fly the Flat Display, which consists of a series of fly-pasts and steep turns. People often ask why two, three or four aircraft do not give a display when the weather is too bad for all nine. The answer is that the Team has practised a nine-aircraft display all winter. Any variations from that routine could be dangerous due to lack of planning and practice.
