Blue Eagles

Associated sites:
Army Historic Aircraft Flight | The Museum of Army Flying | Army Air Corps Recruiting

Blue Eagles Team Displays – Sponsors Day at Middle Wallop – 8th July 2004

The Team combined their efforts with their Middle Wallop based colleagues, the Army Historic Aircraft Flight, to provide a special day of displays and opportunities to examine their work in detail for the sponsors and supporters of the Team. Representatives from Rolls-Royce Turbomeca, Breitling and many other companies were invited to join the Team at Middle Wallop to watch a private display, fly in one of the Team’s helicopters and have a close inspection of the Army Air Corps’ latest aircraft, the mighty Apache. The weather took a hand, and the schedule had to be chopped and changed as severe rainstorms swept across the airfield. In the end, the Team displayed just after lunch in the only really dry patch of weather all day! Good fortune also smiled on those visitors wishing to fly in a Gazelle, everybody managed to have a good flight inbetween the squalls. The Team caravan was also open to display the range of memorabilia, so the whole Team managed to achieve everything they had hoped for, despite the unseasonal conditions!

Major Adrian Palmer began his introduction with a background history of the Army Air Corps and how it developed over time.	WO2 Stewart Pearce, Eagle 3, then took groups of visitors around the latest Army helicopter, the Westland Apache.

Stewart demonstrated the use of the state-of-the-art monocle sight to John Kitchener of Frazer-Hart….	….and how it interacts with the front gunner’s cockpit systems to Sam Barton of DeltaWeb….

….as well as the complexity of the system as a whole to Lisa Duvar of RTM.	The rear cockpit had "the bag" set up, a kit of screens allowing night and all weather flying simulation. Louise Hastings of Ernest Jones….

….and Lamine Gueye of RTM tried out the pilot’s seat for size.	After lunch, the Team lifted off into a clearing sky as the rain finally stopped!

The drama of the opening break caught everyone’s attention!	A sequence of pictures to prove…..

….how inhumanly accurate….	….the simultaneous pedal turns….

….by the pairs of Gazelles are…..	….even when the wind is blustering….

….and the overall conditions are grim!	The storm clouds gave the centre cross added drama.

The Lynx’s aerobatics were unexpected by many, and thrilled the visitors. Here Ed and Graham are pulling up for a loop.	Stewart and Nige ran in for the Eagle Heart…..

….which finished perfectly with a heart-stopping cross!	The Lynx back-out from the Gazelle formation was particularly sharp in the gusty wind.

The first pair of Gazelles, Al and Al, pull up for their bunts…..	….followed by Stewart and Nige in the second pair, seen here on the pull out.

The four Gazelles in really tight formation to begin the finale.	The four Gazelles in trailing Elphinstone loops, through which the waiting Lynx backflips.

The trailing loops form a dramatic pattern against the storm.	The Team returned to land in arrowhead.

Stewart and Nige taxy in in the low sun….	….the low storm light casting some odd reflections.

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