The theme for this year’s Airpower Over Hampton Roads air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia was “The British are Coming”.  The show marked the return to the United States airshow circuit of the Royal Air Force aerobatic demonstration squadron The Red Arrows.  The last time the team performed in the United States was 1993.  The British team arrived on Wednesday, June 18 and conducted a practice for the airmen at the base.  Flying the BAE Systems Hawk T1 the Red Arrows flew their first ever formation flight with the F-22 Raptor piloted by the F-22 demo pilot Maj Paul “Max” Moga.   After a few formation passes, the Red Arrows performed their entire routine as a practice for the upcoming weekend.  This was their first ever performance at Langley.

  The air show kicked off Friday evening with demonstrations flown by  the F-15, QF-4, F-22, F-18 and Ken Appezzato in his Pitts Eagle.  Matt Younkin flew a night performance in his Twin Beech aircraft outfitted with pyrotechnics.

  Saturday’s events started off with Ed Hamill flying his Dream Machine Air Force Reserve biplane.  There was a mix of civilian and military performers throughout the day.  During the F-22 demonstration the pilots from the Red Arrow team seemed to be spellbound with the various maneuvers that the F-22 performed.

The Red Arrow performance on Saturday was hampered by higher than normal winds from a brewing storm and smoke from a local wildfire.  Although photographic conditions were not ideal, the show was superb.  Their standard performance consists of several formation passes (or “fly past” as the Red Arrows announcer called it) with nine aircraft in formation.  The Nine Arrow Roll and the Lancaster Roll are amazing to watch.  After the formation passes, they do a “Palm Tree and Synchro Split” maneuver and then separate into two groups for the remainder of the show.  With other maneuvers like the “Cyclone”, the “Carousel”, the “Python”, and the “Corkscrew” the Red Arrows really please the crowd.  The most amazing maneuvers are the “Goose” where a single Red Arrow flies directly at a formation of five and passes under the center of the formation.  As amazing as that part of the routine is, the “Gypo Break” is possibly their best maneuver.  Four aircraft fly directly at the crowd from front and center.  All at once they all break different directions.  It appears that all four pass within inches of each other.  

  The local meteorologists were predicting rain throughout the area for the entire day on Sunday, however, it was a perfect day for an air show.  Sunday was a repeat of Saturday’s performances except for the absence of the B-2 and the addition of a C-17 demonstration. 

  The air show ended with another outstanding show by the Red Arrows.  There was a little haze in the sky, but that didn’t detract from the exciting performance.