Red Arrows cancel three airshows as Hawks remain stranded in Canada

The Royal Air Force‘s iconic display team, the Red Arrows, will not be performing their flyover at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo this week as the Hawk jets remain stranded in Canada.

The team have been stuck in Goose Bay since 31 July, as weather conditions have not been suitable to fly the single engine Hawks (which cannot air-to-air refuel) across the Atlantic.

As well as the Edinburgh tattoo, the Red Arrows have been forced to cancel appearances at Airbourne: Eastbourne International Airshow and at  Lyme Regis Lifeboat Week.

Bad weather strands the Red Arrows Hawks in Goose Bay

The Red Arrows have been stranded in Canada’s CFB Goose Bay for around a week following their participation in Operation Eagle Hawk in the United States. As part of the 250th anniversary of American independence, the Reds have been in the US since late June, and have performed at six seperate events. These included:

• Sail 250 Maryland & Airshow Baltimore
• International Aerial Review New York City
  FourLeaf Air Show
• Great State of Maine Airshow
• Thunder over Michigan Air Show
• EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

The team were due to fly back to RAF Waddington after the conclusion of Oshkosh, with their final performance there taking place on 26 July. However, long periods of forecast bad weather in the north-east of Canada meant the departure was postponed after an attempted sortie was forced to return to Goose Bay.

Why the RAF Red Arrows can’t fly across the Atlantic in bad weather

The Hawk trainer aircraft is a single engine jet with no aerial refuelling capability. As such, the Red Arrows transit to and from the USA via several stopping points. Goose Bay in Canada is the first port of call on the homeward journey, with Greenland and Iceland the next stopovers.

But with bad weather in the region, the trip becomes too risky to make. Thunderstorms, cloud, icing and winds can all cause fuel consumption to increase, and could leave the Hawks without the range necessary to make it across the wide stretch of ocean.

Operational margins are much stricter than on overland flights, where alternative airports and landing facilities are available, and as safety is paramount, the Reds will only fly home when conditions are suitable.

Nevertheless, the RAF has been making use of its downtime in Canada. Some personnel have been sent home for mandated leave, to ensure they are well rested for the remainder of the season. Others are undertaking post-display maintenance work on the Hawks at Goose Bay.

The RAF said that a buffer zone had already been built into the team’s flying schedule to allow for weather delays. However, the prolonged nature of the poor conditions means the Red Arrows will now miss three of their contracted events.

The Reds had been expected to perform an air display at Airbourne – Eastbourne International Airshow on the 14 and 15 August. They were then due to participate in a flypast at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo on the 15, before displaying again in Eastbourne on the 16 August and at the Lyme Regis RNLI Lifeboat Week celebrations on the same day.

That means the next time the Reds are due to appear in public will be on 19 August at Cromer Carnival and Air Display.

“We are very sorry the Red Arrows cannot participate at these events and we are grateful to organisers and communities for their understanding,” said Wing Commander Sasha Nash, Officer Commanding RAF Aerobatic Team. “Every effort is being made to ensure the Red Arrows can recommence the busy display season as soon as possible. However, safety is the only factor that will determine the timing of the team’s return from Canada.”

Other RAF aircraft will fill the Red Arrows gap at airshows

The Air Events Team, which coordinates the RAF’s display assets, has been liaising with the shows that the Red Arrows will miss.

RAF aircraft from the Typhoon Display Team and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) will still attend Eastbourne.

On Saturday the 15th of August, the RAF intends to fly a C-17 Globemaster and two Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets over the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The BBMF is also scheduled to attend Lyme Regis during Lifeboat Week.

The RAF hopes to begin the multi-stop Atlantic crossing later this week, when the forecast is looking more favourable.