"If you see your pilot leave the plane, you should follow." That is such a quaintly British way of putting it. Brings to mind Protect and Survive films.
You get told if you do an air experience flight with the air training corps if your pilot goes unconscious you have to physically open the canopy open seat belt and jump off the edge of the wing so...
Aparantly there was a civilian who was given a flight for some reason , not straped in tight enough and during a manouver got lifted in his seat , he reached down and grabbed something to pull himself beck down . Yes , the ejector seat handle , wooooosh
Adam Savage had the opportunity to be a passenger with the Blue Angels (the US Navy's flight demonstration team who use F/A-18 Hornets) while filming Mythbusters. He did not wear pressure pants so he had to learn clenching, vomited multiple times due to his motion sickness, passed out briefly on camera during a high-G maneuver, and still maintains it was one of the greatest experiences of his life and he'd do it again in a heart beat. So jealous of both of you for this... you lucky bastard. :)
@@BlackSlimShady Yes, because they inflate, pushing your legs a bit. Maybe it's just enough to move the controls a millimeter or so, which could be enough to cause problems if you're extremely close to other planes.
@@em__1 Okay so- I'm guessing this isn't serious, but I'm autistic so I really can't tell, so Pressure pants apply pressure to your legs to help nullify the effect of g-force when you fly so you don't have to stress as much
Here in america we have the Blue Angels, famous for flying so low that once, they chopped the top of a tree off. In my yard... Bloody bastards. Glad you got to do this Tom.
And here in canada, we have the snowbirds They use trainer planes, so they're not as fast as the blue angels (not sure about the arrows) and I honestly prefer them, because you can actually see what they're doing for longer
Whenever Tom gets to do something special, I keep thinking that that's it, that's the limit of how cool stuff he gets to do. And every single time, just a few weeks or months later, he gets to do something WAY more special! ...and does an absolutely brilliant, informative and fun video about it.
I was thinking the other day that if rides to orbit (or even higher) get down to the $20K range while Tom is still a popular UA-camr, he's going to get invited on one.
I'd imagine the sentiment about the Red Arrows in the UK is very similar to that of around the Blue Angels in the US. You're right when you say that an average person going for a "ride along" is not a dream, it is an outright impossibility. I'm jealous beyond words that you got to do this.
STARRSHIP Nice. I'm glad that there are STEM project galore nowadays. I just wish it was like that about 10 years ago when I was in year 3/4 because it could have had a lot more impact on not just me, but the entire generation.
Water "soaking" into a waterproof jacket either means it needs to be washed, or it's lost the exterior hydrophobic coating (like DWR). Either way, water still won't soak all the way through it.
Absolutely agree. I actually kinda feel like even the actual flight video he did would've actually be even more enjoyable if he just paused the script for a bit and just enjoyed the flight. I'd have loved to see him do that. Him being in this amazing plane and just basically having to ignore the amazing experience in order to get the script out was a bit annoying.
Tom can I just say I am astounded by your professional ability - casually delivering a script to the camera during a once-in-a-lifetime experience where most people would simply be quietly squealing!
Philip Whitehouse Red 5 is Flight Lieutenant Dan Lowes, according to their website. “Red 11 [the lowest number not currently assigned to anybody] standing by”?
Was hoping you'd mention Douglas Bader the WWII pilot with no legs and how since blood couldn't go to this legs he was able to fly harder than most people
Good old Martin Baker, the one product that you really really do not ever want to use, absolutely never ever want to use, and definitely it will do it's darndest to kill you if used. However, if you do use it, you do get a tie pin from Martin Baker absolutely free. Friend of mine, now in the UK, used to work on them, and he was very proud when one was actually used, and did work perfectly. Yes the pilot was 10cm shorter from compressed vertebrae, and in pain, but he did survive. Note that once you have ejected, you are going to be only able to do it one more time, and then will be medically boarded, or transferred to a non fighter wing. Remember air show pilots are typically the coolest people you will ever meet, no show off’s there, all have to work together as a perfect team. Solo air show pilots can be show boaters, but typically only mess up once.
The point of an ejection seat isn't so much that it's _safe_ (as Tom says in the video, it's not even necessarily _survivable_ ), but that it's _safer_ than going down with the crashing plane.
SeanBZA Did Martin Baker go on the cheap? I'd always heard if you had occasion to fly one of their seats, you got the whole silk tie, not just the pin.
Don't know, but there were one or two pilots with the pin next to the medals on their dress jackets. As they were wearing the standard issue military tie I guess they might have had the MB tie as well, but it was not part of formal dress.
I’m just here to add more love for Tom and this awesome experience. It is not lost on me that this and other opportunities are being granted to someone who truly appreciates and understands their significance. Gracious and humble, and looking great with that swagger! ❤😂
“No-one knows the identity of the red arrows” Jersey Air Display Brochure holds those secrets, sadly they haven’t come to Jersey for the past 2-3 years though :(
The Red Arrows are a flight display team for the RAF. Some other flight display teams include the Frecce Tricolori (Italy), Blue Angels (Navy), Thunderbirds (USAF), Black Eagles (South Korea), ect. The UK actually had a very weird way of getting to having a display team compared to the US. Until 1965 there were display teams in quite a few squadrons and some would become the official display team. Some examples of these teams were the 111 Squadron (Black Arrows, flying Hawker Hunters), 92 Squadron (Blue Diamonds, Hunters and later English Electric Lightnings), 74 Squadron (Tigers, Lightnings) and 56 Squadron (Firebirds, Lightnings). Later display dutes were handed over to the training squadrons/school and this resulted in the Jet Provest equipped Red Pelicans and Folland Gnat equipped Yellowjacks. It was only after this mess of display teams that one was created, which inherited the Folland Gnats from the Yellowjacks, called the Red Arrows though some teams such as the Red Pelicans would continue until 1973 (Oil Crisis). This also explains why the Red Arrows use the advanced trainer of the RAF instead of the major fighter aircraft. Side note, one of these earlier teams has the record for most aircraft in formation loop with 22.
And don't forget the FAA's "Fred's Five" and "Simon's Sircus" (can't remember what squadrons they were - please tell me) that flew - Sea Vixens! (cue Ride of the Valkyries music)
If you are 13-17 and live in the UK, go to the Air Cadets/Air Training Corps - you get to fly, not hawks but you do get hands on experience flying and you do get to see the air in a completely different way (flying around a cloud was incredible) - I have also done a loop and a barrel roll over my house which is some serious cred. Also if you do want to go into the military (or commercial) it does help and you can get to meet people through the ATC which can further your career.
Ejector seat training discussion was fun. When I was doing my training before my T-37 orientation, I was told that I should pull the levers before the third "Bailout", because after that I'd be logging solo time. 8-)
Tom, It never ceases to amaze me how you end up getting the opportunities you do. Continue to make the most of them and thank you for sharing them with us!
In Sale, Victoria, Australia the Australian Roulettes (Red Arrows equivalent in Aus) fly around the area practising their manouvers. They are based at the RAAF East Sale site, which they also use to do alot of training for pilots etc.
Blame the UA-cam app for not having the built-in spell check enabled in the comment box. We don't all have geography degrees, you know. Some of us are software developers.
I'm a couple years late, I realize, but if Tom has the opportunity I would love to see a comparison between the RAF and other prominent air forces around the world, particularly around the WWII era. I'm from the US and I do think the RAF is superior, or at the very least was superior during wartime, but I would like to see a more detailed comparison and explanation!
Tom got to live my literal dream! What an amazing experience, even just watching the retelling of events filled me with an excitement I haven't considered since I was a child.
It's heartwarming to watch Tom live this "not a dream." This definitely goes in the highlight reel of his life! As far as your snide comment about the USAF Thunderbirds, everyone knows the US Navy Blue Angels are the premiere flight demonstration team in the world. Their F/A 18 Hornets would fly donuts around the Reds!
coming back to this after 2 years of this video, I grew up going to every air show I could and loved the red arrows. And after living in Cyprus (the base for the red arrows for some of the year) and being able to get next to the jets and talk to some of the crews ihave loved them even more.. I am, like many other, very jealous of you Tom.
Awww I love videos like this so much where Tom is just super excited and happy but I feel slightly bad for Matt who's almost always just hearing about it... I mean, of course Tom is the face and his channel is the popular one but still..
I used to go to the Joint Forces Open House at Andrews Air Force Base. The thing you walk away from that event is.......we have the BEST hardware in the world. The people that fly in that event are amazing. It sounds like you now have a similar view of the Red Arrows!! It makes your chest swell with pride....and I wasn't even in the aircraft! So jealous! Congrats!!!
SO JEALOUS! *Slams head in table*... Ehh, I know this will never happen but now I want to see a Citation needed while you guys are getting thrown about in the backseats :)
The reason they "went easy on you" is that you're not trained to handle high _g_ force loads (like the proper breathing and how to tense the right muscles and things like that), and they wouldn't want to pull that on anyone who hasn't got the proper training. The "ear clearing thing" is called the _Valsalva manoeuvre,_ and in a spacesuit where one can't reach one's nose with one's hands, there is a little piece of foam called a "valsalva device". I would hardly call the ejection seat _safe,_ but it is _safer_ than going down with the plane.
> I would hardly call the ejection seat safe, but it is safer than going down with the plane. They're certainly a hell of a lot safer than the older (bang-only) ones. In case you don't know about this, modern seats use a small explosive charge to fire the seat clear of the tail - this is where the very high G load comes from, and use a small solid rocket motor to give the seat some more speed to allow ejections at low speeds/altitudes. The old seats only had the explosive and it was significantly larger, causing many more serious injuries.
Well said, Mr Brown. "Safe" is definitely relative in this context. In a similar vein, this is how Tim Peake described the launch escape system on the Soyuz rocket: "I say 'survivable' and not 'safe because the crew could be exposed to acceleration forces in excess of 20 g during some phases of an aborted launch - and there's nothing safe about 20 g."
Thanks, though there's one important thing to note about SAS (Soyuz LES, Russian abbreviation): you're lying on your back, rather than sitting straight up. Cosmonauts have (as far as I've heard) no issues at all with the 4-5G experienced in a normal maintained for several minutes, without a G-suit. So 20G towards your back maintained for many seconds is still obviously dangerous, but not nearly as much as if you were sitting up.
"If you're ever in Lincoln, sometimes the Red Arrows just... display." OK so my story isn't as good as Tom's, but the Red Arrows used to be based at Cranwell, which is about a mile from where I grew up. So when I was at primary school, sometimes you'd be outside at break or lunchtime or whatever, and you'd just see them practising nearby. Also, the village is pretty much directly under the holding pattern used for the Waddington Airshow, which meant you got quite a lot of good flypasts back when there were more than three aircraft displaying at the airshow. Lincolnshire is a great place to live if you love 'planes.
As long as his mission follows the Chris Hadfield version and not the original David Bowie version, because I don't want him to end up on an EVA gone wrong.
They _had to_ go easy on him, because he hadn’t gone through the training needed to safely withstand the most strenuous manoeuvres. Everything was still standard Red Arrows manoeuvres, but it was a subset, limited to only the ones they could do with untrained passengers.
Tom the long legs thing, on the F-104 Starfighter there was a system of "Spurs" that attached to the pilot's boots and the ejection seat so that if he needed to punch out it would save their legs
In Canada our version of The Red Arrows are called "The Snowbirds". I'm 5'1 is there a minimum height limit? ooh, I do have ear problems so I might not be aloud due to health reasons.
I served in the RAF and couldn’t get a flight in a fast jet so you are a very lucky man. Plenty flights in different military helicopters. Wish it was me ☹️👍🏻
The comment about cutting legs off if one needs to eject reminds me of David Gunson's What Goes Up. It's an after dinner speech by an ex-pilot and air traffic controller. It's also from the 1980s so some of the humour is a tad dated (especially if you're particularly easily insulted - if you grew up in the 70s that wasn't good for keeping one's sanity!), but generally speaking it's fecking hilarious! So glad you enjoyed yourself, Tom. I can't even begin to imagine how wonderful it was for you. You'll have to try the Lightning jet in S Africa (you must have seen Profs Brian Cox and/or Iain Stewart in it! If not, find their videos.) Though I'm sad to say I'm watching this the day after the fatal accident in Valley. My heart goes out to all of the families and friends to the lost engineer and injured pilot. It's such an unusual event especially under 'normal' flight circumstances. Yet the Red Arrows should continue, if only out of respect.
this is so god damn cool and to get a souvenir of your name and flag WITH the experience? I often feel excitement for the person instead of jealousy, but maaaan am I jealous! I know I'd pass out, but maaan!
Thanks so much to The Red Arrows and Starrship for making this happen!
Matt and Tom oh did starship have some input in making this happen? 😂
Matt and Tom the US equivalent is the blue angels
South Africa Silver Falcons.
mr_kruchten We have 2 groups, the Blue Angles are navy with F-18's and the Thunderbirds are the Air Force with F-16.
Matt and Tom when did you start snapping a lot?
I feel like we're witnessing Tom's gradual transformation into an adrenaline junkie.
Most extreme way to turn into an adrenaline junkie XD
Gradual?
Question is when will the meth phase start
His new channel is that so far!
Happy to report from 2022 that Tom is a certified roller coaster enthusiast now!! Transformation complete
To keep with your color/colour theme, Matt should fly with the US Navy's blue angels.
Tom Link true
Aye Blue Angels 👍🏼
It's colour ;)
@@NotesfromtheBenchRWDP nah, we changed it to "color" back in 1776, when we kicked u out ;)
@@cybergeek11235 1806, actually. Also, the US declared independence in 1776, but certainly didn't have Britain kicked out at that point.
"If you see your pilot leave the plane, you should follow."
That is such a quaintly British way of putting it. Brings to mind Protect and Survive films.
It's like the "I am a bomb disposal technician. If you see me running, try to keep up" t-shirt, only for pilots!
You get told if you do an air experience flight with the air training corps if your pilot goes unconscious you have to physically open the canopy open seat belt and jump off the edge of the wing so...
Aparantly there was a civilian who was given a flight for some reason , not straped in tight enough and during a manouver got lifted in his seat , he reached down and grabbed something to pull himself beck down . Yes , the ejector seat handle , wooooosh
david thomas it was with the french air force
Next video: "And this is the time I went into space and didn't bring Matt."
Matt is far more likely to apply when ESA next open for astronaut candidate applications.
I think Matt would throttle him if that happened. Like a loving mate, but throttling none the less.
You mean the Zero-G plane that Tom *actually* did go on & didn't bring Matt? 😂🤣
@@ragnkjaMatt ‘s size dimensions would likely disqualify him. His a tall guy.
Is anyone else starting to get the feeling that various governments are starting to try and one up eachother using Tom Scott videos?
And hence, 25 years after the end of the cold war, the Tom Scott wars began to shake the nations.
Sounds like a fantastic military/spy thriller. Tom Scott: Weapon of War.
this is the new kind of war no guns, violence or politics just who can find the best way to one up each other
UK's already won, Tom lives there
Not for long, the Americans aren't against kidnapping
Words can't comprehend the amount of jealousy I feel. The Red Arrows are legendary.
DrewPeacock69 TrippyDrew69 when I saw his Instagram post, I was so jealous. And you can tell who wrote the description?
Yeah, the description and the pinned comment were definitely not written by the same person.
Adam Savage had the opportunity to be a passenger with the Blue Angels (the US Navy's flight demonstration team who use F/A-18 Hornets) while filming Mythbusters. He did not wear pressure pants so he had to learn clenching, vomited multiple times due to his motion sickness, passed out briefly on camera during a high-G maneuver, and still maintains it was one of the greatest experiences of his life and he'd do it again in a heart beat. So jealous of both of you for this... you lucky bastard. :)
@@Gigi-cz8sr Pressure pants somehow cause unintended movement?
@@BlackSlimShady Yes, because they inflate, pushing your legs a bit. Maybe it's just enough to move the controls a millimeter or so, which could be enough to cause problems if you're extremely close to other planes.
What are pressure pants? Those are inflating trousers
@@em__1 Okay so- I'm guessing this isn't serious, but I'm autistic so I really can't tell, so
Pressure pants apply pressure to your legs to help nullify the effect of g-force when you fly so you don't have to stress as much
You were invited to the red arrows. I think we can all agree without a doubt that "you have made it". You are no longer just a random youtuber.
He's more like a modern adventurer by now.
"It was never my dream, because a dream is something that could happen" is a weirdly inspirational quote :D
Ok, who is going to make a montage of Tom Scott slo-mo walking around in various ridiculously epic circumstances?
Slo-mo 'one take' montages.
With some badass music of course
cues youtube poop
Here in america we have the Blue Angels, famous for flying so low that once, they chopped the top of a tree off. In my yard... Bloody bastards.
Glad you got to do this Tom.
Tell more
And here in canada, we have the snowbirds
They use trainer planes, so they're not as fast as the blue angels (not sure about the arrows)
and I honestly prefer them, because you can actually see what they're doing for longer
Here in Mexico we have some pretty kites we fly every once in a while
I've seen blue angels, thunderbirds, and snowbirds. All pretty lit.
and here in Germany we have, if we are lucky planes
"If you see the pilot leave the plane, you should follow."
That one got me
"not all of you will exit the plane" - well put.
"I'm never going to get to do this again" says Tom.
*2 weeks later* Um, hi, Tom? we didn't get the right shots, can you come and do it again?
"Everyone has to turn away in the one in a million chance I might detonate" Is a terrifying statement to have to say
When I watched the video I couldn't stop humming "High way to the danger zone"
ThompsonJohnson I started to whistle the Top Gun Theme, seconds before the slow walk.
Wtf, I turned on the radio just after reading this comment and danger zone was playing.
Future Tom: And that was the happiest day of my life!
Tom Jr.: What about when I was born?
Tom: Not even close!
Toms acting like he has a crush on the red arrows :)
You don't?
treborely I’m presuming your not British then
You say that like it's a bad thing?
Whenever Tom gets to do something special, I keep thinking that that's it, that's the limit of how cool stuff he gets to do.
And every single time, just a few weeks or months later, he gets to do something WAY more special! ...and does an absolutely brilliant, informative and fun video about it.
I was thinking the other day that if rides to orbit (or even higher) get down to the $20K range while Tom is still a popular UA-camr, he's going to get invited on one.
@@OrigamiMarie That is *incredibly* true and I can't wait.
“It nearly didn’t happen” seems to be a recurring theme in the big cool things Tom gets to do...
I'd imagine the sentiment about the Red Arrows in the UK is very similar to that of around the Blue Angels in the US. You're right when you say that an average person going for a "ride along" is not a dream, it is an outright impossibility. I'm jealous beyond words that you got to do this.
Brilliant video! Lovely to see you still so happy 😀 The name badge was organized by Flight Lieutenant Marcus Ramsden!
Is there going to be any footage from Tom and/or including Tom on the channel any time soon?
Yep - we're filming another 2 or 3 videos with him in the next two weeks :)
STARRSHIP Nice. I'm glad that there are STEM project galore nowadays. I just wish it was like that about 10 years ago when I was in year 3/4 because it could have had a lot more impact on not just me, but the entire generation.
Completely agree!
There is now! :)
Maybe Matt would fit in one of the Patrouille De France's planes. Plus, they are _blue_ .
"Don't pull that unless you really have to pull it"
*Points at crotch*
In fairness, if you know your number's up, you may as well.
Water "soaking" into a waterproof jacket either means it needs to be washed, or it's lost the exterior hydrophobic coating (like DWR). Either way, water still won't soak all the way through it.
Oh thats good to know. Cheers
Nobody:
That one bird: *[TWEETING INTENSIFIES]*
This is so wholesome to see Tom as "Tom" instead of "Tom Scott"... like, I appreciate all the content from Tom Scott, but Tom is just so fun to see :D
Absolutely agree. I actually kinda feel like even the actual flight video he did would've actually be even more enjoyable if he just paused the script for a bit and just enjoyed the flight. I'd have loved to see him do that. Him being in this amazing plane and just basically having to ignore the amazing experience in order to get the script out was a bit annoying.
Tom is such a kid..... so cute.
The Blue Angels should invite just Matt so we're left with Tom arguing for the Red Arrow and Matt arguing for them.
Why are the angels being asphyxiated?
Tom can I just say I am astounded by your professional ability - casually delivering a script to the camera during a once-in-a-lifetime experience where most people would simply be quietly squealing!
You look good in a flight suit, and I'm impressed that you had the intestinal fortitude to actually do this thing. (I suspect I never could.)
Does that come after intestinal thirtynineitude?
@@sgnosymfoemos wahey!
At this rate it's pretty safe to say Tom is going to space at some point.
"I want to do it again"
So in other words:
"Red 5 Standing By"?
Philip Whitehouse
Red 5 is Flight Lieutenant Dan Lowes, according to their website. “Red 11 [the lowest number not currently assigned to anybody] standing by”?
Nillie It’s a reference to Star Wars: A New Hope
Tom Scott, the jammiest of gits.
Tom, you're a lucky bugger.
Congratulations
I guess the only thing that'll top this is a visit to the ISS.
Well, there'd be going up sub-orbital with either Virgin Galactic or Blue Origin as an intermediate step.
And the only way to top _that_ would be to go to the Moon, whether it's "just" Lunar orbit or actually landing.
Well, fewer people have flown a red arrow than gone to space, so I'm not sure!
Are you sure, Iain? Not all "Spaceflight participants" are tourists. Many of them, among them Helen Sharman, are cosmonauts from non-Soviet nations.
What about being lowered into a volcano!
First the Teasmaid, now the Red Arrows. I am looking forward to the next bit of Tom doing British Things (tm)
Was hoping you'd mention Douglas Bader the WWII pilot with no legs and how since blood couldn't go to this legs he was able to fly harder than most people
Tom’s video of the red arrows is playing at the national museum of flight in Scotland next to one of the hawk jets.
Good old Martin Baker, the one product that you really really do not ever want to use, absolutely never ever want to use, and definitely it will do it's darndest to kill you if used. However, if you do use it, you do get a tie pin from Martin Baker absolutely free.
Friend of mine, now in the UK, used to work on them, and he was very proud when one was actually used, and did work perfectly. Yes the pilot was 10cm shorter from compressed vertebrae, and in pain, but he did survive. Note that once you have ejected, you are going to be only able to do it one more time, and then will be medically boarded, or transferred to a non fighter wing.
Remember air show pilots are typically the coolest people you will ever meet, no show off’s there, all have to work together as a perfect team. Solo air show pilots can be show boaters, but typically only mess up once.
The point of an ejection seat isn't so much that it's _safe_ (as Tom says in the video, it's not even necessarily _survivable_ ), but that it's _safer_ than going down with the crashing plane.
SeanBZA Did Martin Baker go on the cheap? I'd always heard if you had occasion to fly one of their seats, you got the whole silk tie, not just the pin.
Don't know, but there were one or two pilots with the pin next to the medals on their dress jackets. As they were wearing the standard issue military tie I guess they might have had the MB tie as well, but it was not part of formal dress.
god the loop above the clouds was beautiful
i'm not from the uk but i feel so damn happy for you just watching this. congratulations man!
BTW, I have to say Tom, you look REALLY good in the flight suit. It suits you well.
He looks kinda attractive in in I don't know how but do you get me
It's all the straps, it acts like a massive corset.
girlwiththespecs he does wear it well. The flight suit is Tom’s version of a perfectly tailored suit.
True it suits him silly well
He could be a bit more buff, but otherwise yes.
I’m just here to add more love for Tom and this awesome experience. It is not lost on me that this and other opportunities are being granted to someone who truly appreciates and understands their significance. Gracious and humble, and looking great with that swagger! ❤😂
No one is better than the Irish Air Force with our couple Cessnas 172H. Yes. We do use them.
I really hope Matt and Tom do more Park Bench bits. This videos are such a different pace dork Tom’s main channel and I love it!
“No-one knows the identity of the red arrows”
Jersey Air Display Brochure holds those secrets, sadly they haven’t come to Jersey for the past 2-3 years though :(
So I'm way late here, but Tom's swagger was hot.
One day we'll see Tom go to the ISS.
Living vicariously through Tom Scott, priceless. For everything else there’s Master Card.
All British people must have that time in their lives where they randomly see the red arrows flying over head in formation.
The Red Arrows are a flight display team for the RAF. Some other flight display teams include the Frecce Tricolori (Italy), Blue Angels (Navy), Thunderbirds (USAF), Black Eagles (South Korea), ect.
The UK actually had a very weird way of getting to having a display team compared to the US. Until 1965 there were display teams in quite a few squadrons and some would become the official display team. Some examples of these teams were the 111 Squadron (Black Arrows, flying Hawker Hunters), 92 Squadron (Blue Diamonds, Hunters and later English Electric Lightnings), 74 Squadron (Tigers, Lightnings) and 56 Squadron (Firebirds, Lightnings). Later display dutes were handed over to the training squadrons/school and this resulted in the Jet Provest equipped Red Pelicans and Folland Gnat equipped Yellowjacks. It was only after this mess of display teams that one was created, which inherited the Folland Gnats from the Yellowjacks, called the Red Arrows though some teams such as the Red Pelicans would continue until 1973 (Oil Crisis). This also explains why the Red Arrows use the advanced trainer of the RAF instead of the major fighter aircraft.
Side note, one of these earlier teams has the record for most aircraft in formation loop with 22.
And don't forget the FAA's "Fred's Five" and "Simon's Sircus" (can't remember what squadrons they were - please tell me) that flew - Sea Vixens! (cue Ride of the Valkyries music)
Super jelly, Tom. The smile on your face is amazing.
If you are 13-17 and live in the UK, go to the Air Cadets/Air Training Corps - you get to fly, not hawks but you do get hands on experience flying and you do get to see the air in a completely different way (flying around a cloud was incredible) - I have also done a loop and a barrel roll over my house which is some serious cred. Also if you do want to go into the military (or commercial) it does help and you can get to meet people through the ATC which can further your career.
Skye Murphy 1. Good surname 2. I like the PR plug for the Cadets 3. It's not ATC any more it is now the RAFAC (Royal Air Force Air Cadets)
we have air cadets in canada as well. we also have army cadets and sea cadets
@@Jay-to7yz and the Junior Rangers in more rural places. Still a bit surprised they finally replaced their SMLEs tbh.
Ejector seat training discussion was fun. When I was doing my training before my T-37 orientation, I was told that I should pull the levers before the third "Bailout", because after that I'd be logging solo time. 8-)
Tom, It never ceases to amaze me how you end up getting the opportunities you do. Continue to make the most of them and thank you for sharing them with us!
In Sale, Victoria, Australia the Australian Roulettes (Red Arrows equivalent in Aus) fly around the area practising their manouvers. They are based at the RAAF East Sale site, which they also use to do alot of training for pilots etc.
Every time you said clear your ears a reflexively did it, years of flying and diving at work
I'm in awe of your luckiness. You deserve this though, probably more than you realise. Have really enjoyed your account of the experience.
"This is not a dream come true. This can't happen" It's a glitch in the Matrix.
He no longer hates rollercoasters.
the footage of Tom flying makes me smile a lot. maybe it's like contagious happines
At 16:50 it finally hit me. That small DIY plane model i had as a kid was a freaking Red Arrows plane!
They should just invite Matt everywhere Tom goes. These two have such a chemistry.
"I might be doing some more stuff with the RAF."
What? Are you planning to invade Kewait?
Kuwait*
Where is kewait🤔oh you mean Kuwait
Blame the UA-cam app for not having the built-in spell check enabled in the comment box. We don't all have geography degrees, you know. Some of us are software developers.
@@theblackwidower some of us do parking management and traffic control. Also know how to write Kuwait.
@@nlknok77 Interesting. Thanks for sharing. I didn't know that. I'm glad to know that. Thank you very much. Also, don't be an ass.
10 years later: Tom flew with the ISS crew
I'm a couple years late, I realize, but if Tom has the opportunity I would love to see a comparison between the RAF and other prominent air forces around the world, particularly around the WWII era.
I'm from the US and I do think the RAF is superior, or at the very least was superior during wartime, but I would like to see a more detailed comparison and explanation!
The video was amazing, listening to Tom discuss it here was great. Thanks for sharing this experience.
It's just been announced that the pilot has survived and is receiving treatment but the engineer has died. Thoughts with the family.
Tom got to live my literal dream! What an amazing experience, even just watching the retelling of events filled me with an excitement I haven't considered since I was a child.
It's heartwarming to watch Tom live this "not a dream." This definitely goes in the highlight reel of his life!
As far as your snide comment about the USAF Thunderbirds, everyone knows the US Navy Blue Angels are the premiere flight demonstration team in the world. Their F/A 18 Hornets would fly donuts around the Reds!
Lived in Lincoln many years ago and we would see them fly over regularly. Great to watch them train.
coming back to this after 2 years of this video, I grew up going to every air show I could and loved the red arrows. And after living in Cyprus (the base for the red arrows for some of the year) and being able to get next to the jets and talk to some of the crews ihave loved them even more.. I am, like many other, very jealous of you Tom.
I could listen to these two talk to each others for hours on end
Matt's plug at the end was one of the best parts of my day!
Awww I love videos like this so much where Tom is just super excited and happy but I feel slightly bad for Matt who's almost always just hearing about it... I mean, of course Tom is the face and his channel is the popular one but still..
I don’t think I can quite comprehend your glee since I don’t live in the UK and have never heard of these guys until this video.
Footage from your training is really good quality, it looks like you're in a badass war movie, from the costume to the lightning.
"The RAF: We drop explosives on bad people."
The Great Steve but also fly cool planes
I used to go to the Joint Forces Open House at Andrews Air Force Base. The thing you walk away from that event is.......we have the BEST hardware in the world. The people that fly in that event are amazing. It sounds like you now have a similar view of the Red Arrows!! It makes your chest swell with pride....and I wasn't even in the aircraft! So jealous! Congrats!!!
SO JEALOUS! *Slams head in table*... Ehh, I know this will never happen but now I want to see a Citation needed while you guys are getting thrown about in the backseats :)
seeing someone like you, get to have an experience like this, reminds me that there are still some good things in the world.
The reason they "went easy on you" is that you're not trained to handle high _g_ force loads (like the proper breathing and how to tense the right muscles and things like that), and they wouldn't want to pull that on anyone who hasn't got the proper training.
The "ear clearing thing" is called the _Valsalva manoeuvre,_ and in a spacesuit where one can't reach one's nose with one's hands, there is a little piece of foam called a "valsalva device".
I would hardly call the ejection seat _safe,_ but it is _safer_ than going down with the plane.
> I would hardly call the ejection seat safe, but it is safer than going down with the plane.
They're certainly a hell of a lot safer than the older (bang-only) ones.
In case you don't know about this, modern seats use a small explosive charge to fire the seat clear of the tail - this is where the very high G load comes from, and use a small solid rocket motor to give the seat some more speed to allow ejections at low speeds/altitudes.
The old seats only had the explosive and it was significantly larger, causing many more serious injuries.
Well said, Mr Brown. "Safe" is definitely relative in this context. In a similar vein, this is how Tim Peake described the launch escape system on the Soyuz rocket:
"I say 'survivable' and not 'safe because the crew could be exposed to acceleration forces in excess of 20 g during some phases of an aborted launch - and there's nothing safe about 20 g."
Thanks, though there's one important thing to note about SAS (Soyuz LES, Russian abbreviation): you're lying on your back, rather than sitting straight up.
Cosmonauts have (as far as I've heard) no issues at all with the 4-5G experienced in a normal maintained for several minutes, without a G-suit.
So 20G towards your back maintained for many seconds is still obviously dangerous, but not nearly as much as if you were sitting up.
I don't even care about planes in the slightest, but I'm still jealous.
"If you're ever in Lincoln, sometimes the Red Arrows just... display." OK so my story isn't as good as Tom's, but the Red Arrows used to be based at Cranwell, which is about a mile from where I grew up. So when I was at primary school, sometimes you'd be outside at break or lunchtime or whatever, and you'd just see them practising nearby.
Also, the village is pretty much directly under the holding pattern used for the Waddington Airshow, which meant you got quite a lot of good flypasts back when there were more than three aircraft displaying at the airshow.
Lincolnshire is a great place to live if you love 'planes.
Next step, space. Although you probably need an honorary military title. I suspect something between Captain and Colonel would do.
As long as his mission follows the Chris Hadfield version and not the original David Bowie version, because I don't want him to end up on an EVA gone wrong.
Benjamin Shaw It's gotta be Captain. It absolutely must be Captain Tom.
@@megarockman with him singing and doing the voice again.
@@megarockman *mad
"I think they went easy on me."
Well, Tom, you do kind of have a reputation at this point...
They _had to_ go easy on him, because he hadn’t gone through the training needed to safely withstand the most strenuous manoeuvres. Everything was still standard Red Arrows manoeuvres, but it was a subset, limited to only the ones they could do with untrained passengers.
@@ragnkja Still answering comments this long after the video was released? I'm... Impressed, honestly
I love these guys so much
Tom the long legs thing, on the F-104 Starfighter there was a system of "Spurs" that attached to the pilot's boots and the ejection seat so that if he needed to punch out it would save their legs
In Canada our version of The Red Arrows are called "The Snowbirds".
I'm 5'1 is there a minimum height limit? ooh, I do have ear problems so I might not be aloud due to health reasons.
I absolutely love how the other plane is visible in Tom's visor during the above cloud loop
We have had the Red Arrows do pre-race shows for a car race in Bathurst, Australia but more usually it's their RAAF equivalent, The Roulettes.
I served in the RAF and couldn’t get a flight in a fast jet so you are a very lucky man. Plenty flights in different military helicopters. Wish it was me ☹️👍🏻
Jealous, sounds like great fun! And thanks to Matt (presumably) for linking the cantina scene in the description - saved me finding it for myself!
"They rang me" *mic drop*
Is there anything this guy hasnt done? His life has been hella exciting.
One of my favourite memories was seeing the red arrows in Bournemouth in August 2016.
The comment about cutting legs off if one needs to eject reminds me of David Gunson's What Goes Up. It's an after dinner speech by an ex-pilot and air traffic controller. It's also from the 1980s so some of the humour is a tad dated (especially if you're particularly easily insulted - if you grew up in the 70s that wasn't good for keeping one's sanity!), but generally speaking it's fecking hilarious!
So glad you enjoyed yourself, Tom. I can't even begin to imagine how wonderful it was for you. You'll have to try the Lightning jet in S Africa (you must have seen Profs Brian Cox and/or Iain Stewart in it! If not, find their videos.)
Though I'm sad to say I'm watching this the day after the fatal accident in Valley. My heart goes out to all of the families and friends to the lost engineer and injured pilot. It's such an unusual event especially under 'normal' flight circumstances. Yet the Red Arrows should continue, if only out of respect.
this is so god damn cool
and to get a souvenir of your name and flag WITH the experience? I often feel excitement for the person instead of jealousy, but maaaan am I jealous! I know I'd pass out, but maaan!