Airforces

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #367 OCTOBER 2018 // 95

challenge especially given the range of

commitments already facing the relatively

modest five frontline squadron strength.

Preparations for the Typhoon ‘100’ began in

September 2017 as a small team at Coningsby

considered how they could turn the aspiration

into a reality. Sqn Ldr Mike Child, a Flight

Commander at No 29 Squadron, was tasked

as the project officer. “As we got into October

last year we were looking at the overall plan

of how we’d bring the formation together –

the number of aircraft we needed through to

how we would physically create the desired

shape. We decided it would be eight jets for

each ‘0’ and six jets for the ‘1’. We drew an

overhead picture of how it needed to look and

then physically measured the distances out on

the flight line for the aircraft to be 22 metres

apart in width and 20 metres in length. We

then generated the formation references.”

Sqn Ldr Child was previously a member of

the RAF Aerobatic Team, The Red Arrows.

“This helped me a lot when it came to how

to build the overall shape and the Standard

Operating Procedures [SOPs] needed for such

a large formation, this being the largest single

gathering of Typhoons the RAF had ever flown.”

The fi rst steps

Having established the shape and flying

references for the pilots, the overall formation

was broken down into three key elements –

the ‘1’ and the two ‘0s’. In the middle was the

‘White/Triplex’ section, with the ‘1’ comprising

‘Blue/Cobra’ formation and the other ‘0’ being

‘Red/Warlord’. The lead aircraft of the middle

Jamie Hunter joined the RAF Ty p ho on

Force as it provided a centrepiece to the

impressive centenary celebration flypast.

challenge especially given the range of apart in width and 20 metres in length. We

impressivecentenary flypast.

Typhoon Tribute

94-97 Typhoon AFM Oct2018.indd 95 9/7/2018 3:07:39 PM