RAF Red Arrows at Duxford Flying Finale 2025

Video from the channel William Scrope 91 films about Duxford Flying Finale 2025, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 36:55. Language: English. Video type: Air show.

Full display by the Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force's aerobatic team, at the Duxford Flying Finale 2025, the last performance of their 2025 season. Duxford's runway is not long enough for the team, so they operate from RAF Mildenhall. The commentary is by Squadron Leader Graeme Muscat, Red 10, in his last commentary with the Red Arrows. The formation is led by Squadron Leader John Bond, "Bundy", in his second year as team leader. The commentator also introduces Rob Thomas (Red 2), Andrew McBurney (Red 3), Chris McCann (Red 4), Tom Hansford (Red 6, synchro pair leader), George Hobday (Red 7), Rich Walker (Red 8) and Ollie Suckling (Red 9).

Wind and rain delayed the flight until the last moment. A technical fault grounded Red 5 Dustin Wales's aircraft, so he flew in the back seat of Red 9's aircraft, meaning the display was performed with eight aircraft. The first half strings together formation figures: the V arrival, Swan, Concorde, Typhoon (dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the RAF Typhoon Display Team), Apollo, Big Vixen, Tornado and the Diamond Nine diamond, here flown with eight. In the second half the team splits into two sections. Enid (Reds 1 to 4) takes its name from Enid Blyton's Famous Five. Hanna (Reds 6 to 9) takes its name from Ray Hanna, one of the team's early members, who took it from seven to nine aircraft and created the Diamond Nine. There follow the Hanna Break, crossovers at 100 ft with a closing speed of more than 800 mph, Roller Coaster, Boomerang, Slingshot, Goose, the synchro pair's heart, Double Rolls, Corkscrew, Circus, Tango and Crossbow. The two new 2025 figures, Chainsaw and Tempest, are also seen. It closes with a last formation pass before returning to Mildenhall.

The commentator explains that the formation is flown by ear: the pilots follow Red 1's calls and take their reference from him, not from the aircraft beside them. In some figures they deploy the airbrake, a small panel under the rear fuselage. This makes the engine run at a higher rating and hotter, so the smoke comes out brighter and thicker. The smoke container under the fuselage gives about five minutes of white smoke, one of red and one of blue, and each colour has its own button on the stick; red and blue together make purple smoke. The team has eleven pilots and more than 140 people, of whom about 120 are support staff, the Blues.