THANKS for putting up with the noise. As a token of the nation's gratefulness please have… some more noise.
The Royal Air Force is putting on more than 800 free air displays across the country as a thank-you to communities for enduring low-flying practice. And if no acrobatics teams are available for a show then commanders of fighter planes will allow th
eir pilots to make a brief diversion from a flight plan to perform a few minutes' aerobatics.
The scheme has been drawn up by defence chiefs in order to defuse controversy over low flying in rural areas, especially in the Highlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. RAF strategists believe it is vital for their crews to practise flying at low levels in order to avoid enemy radar and missiles.
Shows attended by the RAF in recent years include the Borders Union Show, the Tain Gala Week in Sutherland and the Dunscore Gala near Dumfries. The biggest shows can receive a visit from the Red Arrows or a modern fighter jet.
Fiona Henderson, secretary of the Dunscore Gala, said: "Last year we had a Tucano, a small training aircraft, and the year before that we had a Hawk. And the RAF will be back at this year's show too, so we've been very lucky that way.
"They do about 15 minutes of looping the loop and so forth. It's great to have them. I don't know if it stops people being concerned about the low flying. Maybe some people will complain anyway."
• To request a display, contact the RAF events team at RAF Cranwell on 01400 266328. The e-mail address is june.austin@cranwell.raf.mod.uk. Find out more at www.raf.mod.uk/reds. Requests should be submitted at least eight weeks before the event is wanted to take place.
The full article contains 313 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
