17 September 2018
The Red Arrows Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team is to be recognised for more than five decades of excellence when team members receive an award from the Honourable Company of Air Pilots next month.
The Air Pilots’ annual Trophies and Awards are among the industry’s most prestigious because recipients are selected by their peers, who have experience in military and civil aviation around the globe. They will be presented at London’s Guildhall on Thursday 25 October.
This year the top Award of Honour goes to the Red Arrows in recognition of the team’s enduring contribution to excellence in aviation.
For more than 50 years the aerobatic team has been performing both in the UK and abroad, making them globally famous and often performing before millions of people during the course of their season.
Receiving a separate award this year will be RAF Squadron Leader Mike Ling, pictured above, who flies as Red 3 within the Red Arrows. Sqn Ldr Ling was recalled to the team for the 2018 season – he spent nine years with the Red Arrows previously.
But it is for Mike’s role in promoting the best of British science, engineering and education around the world that this award seeks to recognise, including his tireless dedication to using social media to highlight the work of the team, often with eye-catching photography.
Another stalwart of the UK flying display scene, Roger ‘Dodge’ Bailey is also a recipient of an award this year, the inaugural Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown Memorial Trophy named for the famous Royal Navy flier and test pilot who died during 2018.
Bailey was an RAF pilot on the C-130 Hercules before attending the Central Flying School to train as a Qualified Flying Instructor after the US Air Force Test Pilot School.
Today he is best known for managing the flying at the Shuttleworth Collection of historic aircraft. He was instrumental in keeping the Collection’s machines in the air following the tragic crash at Shoreham when he adapted flying procedures to secure the necessary permissions required.
Another test pilot receiving an award this year is Liveryman Frank Chapman, who receives the Derry and Richards Memorial Award to recognise his dedication contribution to aircraft design, development and flight testing, both military and civilian.
Display flying was always in the blood of Lee Proudfoot, who receives the Hanna Trophy for his skill, precision, flair and passion. He first started flying at air shows in 1988 and swiftly moved to vintage aircraft. He has displayed many different types, from Spitfires and Hurricanes to Wildcat, Bearcat, Hellcat and Thunderbolt to the Mustang and Blenheim.
The full list of the awards is here
