How are the pilots selected?
There are always far more volunteers than places available and so a paper pre-selection board reduces the number to a short list of about nine. These nine pilots are then attached to The Red Arrows for a week to meet the present Team, to fly in the back seat of the Hawks during display practices, and to be interviewed. By this stage, it goes without saying that the short-listed pilots are deemed to be professionally capable of flying to the required standard; the volunteers are being assessed on their personal qualities and motivation. It is vitally important that the nine display pilots not only trust each other’s skills but that they all get on well together. The current pilots make the final choices at a closed meeting. Unsuccessful candidates can apply again, if they still meet the selection criteria. The whole process is, therefore, very democratic and there is no other selection procedure like it in the RAF.
