The RAF Red Arrows have concluded their successful visit to Canada during Exercise Maple Hawk, commemorating their 60th display season and contributing to the festivities for the Royal Canadian Air Force's centennial.
Millions of spectators gathered to witness the spectacular 2024 air shows in Canada, showcasing traditional aerobatic manoeuvres like the 'Vixen break,' the 'Heart and Arrow,' and the iconic 'Diamond Nine' formation with red, white, and blue smoke filling the skies above Greenwood, Toronto, Ottawa, and London Ontario. As a tribute to the celebrations, a red and white numeral 60 and a grand finale featuring the number 100 brought joy to viewers of all generations.
The journey from the UK to Canada was carefully planned for the past two years. Due to the Hawk T1 being 50 years old and unable to perform air-to-air refuelling, considerations were made for the aircraft's flying time and weather limitations. Travelling with the 12 Hawks, a team departed from the Reds' home base in Waddington and, throughout a week-long period, completed flights to Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, and finally reached Goose Bay in Canada.
More than 120 RAF personnel, including Aircraft Technicians, Military Transport, Military Police, Operations, Safety, Pers Support, and Media professionals, have been deployed for a 5-week exercise. This exercise included numerous flypasts and the successful completion of four airshows.
Wing Commander Collins, Officer Commanding RAFAT Said “It is an absolute pleasure to be here in Canada supporting our close friend and allies the Royal Canadian Air Force during their centenary and of course, being here for our Diamond season makes this tour very special for us”
Wing Commander Collins added, “We have a very close relationship with Canada and it's always a great pleasure to fly alongside our friends the Snowbirds and enjoy the activities on the ground and our public outreach programme."
As well as a busy flying schedule, the team have completed multiple public engagements including a wreath-laying ceremony at a Commonwealth cemetery, STEM engagements at universities and airshows, ambassadorial events to showcase UK trade and business; and a visit to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) where the team handed out gifts and helped the children make paper aircraft.
“It is always great to come and see young people or people of any age to be honest but especially today, seeing young people in hospital, being able to talk to them about why we are here, bringing books to read and paper aeroplanes to make is really special” Collins concluded
Numerous memorable moments occurred during the exercise, such as a flypast featuring the Canadian Snowbirds above the British High Commission in Ottawa to mark its official opening. Another highlight was a flypast over Niagara Falls, where the Reds were joined by a historic Lancaster from the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.
Having flown consistently since February, the Reds will return to the UK to finish their 60th Diamond season of 2024 with various RAF displays in October, closing out their display year on the 5th of October at the Duxford flying finale.
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