The RNZAF McDonnell Douglas A-4K Skyhawk

1970 – 1997

Kiwi Red

The Show - The Magic

Personally my first witnessing of the 'live' Kiwi Red display was at the Royal New Zealand Aero Club pageant at Timaru on February 17th 1990, and it was not until this show did I fully appreciate the 'aura' that had grown to surround this team. From arrival at the Richard Pearce Airfield early on Saturday morning it became obvious the pedestal the general public had placed this crack aerobatic team upon. For at this show as well as the usual aviation buffs were a large number whose sole purpose in attending the air show was to witness the Kiwi Red routine. Throughout the day aircraft ranging from the C-130 Hercules to the Cessna Golden Eagle were being 'identified' as the approaching team.

Finally, when they did arrive, the crowd appeared caught by some surprise. Six Skyhawks storming in from the south, behind them in tight cardinal formation, two lines of three aircraft a mere three to four feet apart. Pulling up to a high 6,000 to 7,000 foot loop as the noise and smoke wafts over the crowd. A smooth changeover the top into the arrow head formation of delta, totally unaffected by the wisps of cloud making their way across from the thick cloud bank in the west. Smoke trails hanging motionless in the calm air, the distant black triangle descends, banking out in the west as the four outside aircraft slide back to formate off Red 4 flying in the slot behind Red 1, Wing Commander John Bates. This formation called swan passes 'slowly', gracefully down the display line, smoothly through another formation change into 'Lancaster' - Reds 2, 3, 5 and 6 line abreast with Red 1 centre fore and Red 4 centre aft - named in recognition of the aircraft operated by 75 Squadron in earlier days during World War Two. Four aircraft smoking to simulate the four engines of this giant bomber, Red 1 leads the formation through the first barrel roll of the display.

Heading out towards the north Reds 5 & 6 moves up to change to atlas, the formation taking the shape of a reverse arrow head. Returning directly towards the crowd the team pulls up into the vertical as inside the aircraft the Wing Commander calls out his heading. From this the other pilots calculate their required course and upon reaching the top of this climb the aircraft are rolled on their back and to head away to the six different points of the compass painting a large spectacular star or bomb burst pattern which hangs in the still air directly overhead.

With the ear shattering roar of the J57 jet engine Red 2 and 3 return charging towards each other, passing, flicking through a couple of aileron rolls to disappear off stage.

Directly out in front Red 5 and 6 flying line abreast pull up into a high loop, descending and returning towards the crowd to execute one of the visual highlights of the show, as usual guarantied to draw a gasp from the crowd and although totally lost on still photography one I found hard to resist snapping, the 270 degree roll under split. A fuller description of the execution of this manoeuvre would give away the secret of creating the optical illusion; however viewed head on both aircraft execute a 270 degree aileron roll towards each other then break away across the path of the other.

Regaining their breath, spontaneous conversation breaks across the crowd as Reds 1, 2, 3, and 4 returns in echelon left stacked off Red 1's wing sliding through another barrel roll.

In another crowd stopper Red 6 returns at an altitude of a mere 50 to 100 feet and travelling at some 1000 kilometres per hour, slightly banked, canopy towards the crowd line. The airfield still reverberating, Red 5 returns from the opposite direction inverted and parallel to the crowd. Rolling back to level flight, through a sweeping curve to build up speed to 1100 km to pull up in a cork screwing vertical climb to top out some 13,000 feet overhead. As Red 5 cuts his smoke the rest of the team return in a tidy V for victory or 'vic' formation for another loop. On the boundary of the airfield Red 5 returning from greater heights takes up his usual position in the formation, a difficult task in which he has to adjust his speed to the 800 kilometres an hour of the formation and match their turning circle. Simultaneously Red 4 slides across to his more usual line astern position.

Approaching the main display area Red 1 deploys the inter-flight refuelling hose from his underwing store into which Red 4 plugs. As this 'Lancaster' formation passes down the display line the alternate pairs on each side of the plugged aircraft break away in graceful rollbacks to rejoin making up the swan formation. Another repositioning manoeuvre to bring the formation back in front of the crowd to perform what has become the hallmark of the No 75 Squadron Skyhawk aerobatics, the world unique 'plugged barrel roll'. The normal difficulty of the manoeuvre being added to by a 600km/hr limitation on the drogue causing speed problems over the top. As a refining of this manoeuvre the 1990 team complete the barrel roll in the swan formation involving for the first time, all six aircraft.

Disengaging from the plug the team pulls up into the last loop of the display bringing the six aircraft back straight towards the crowd to split in the final manoeuvre, the horizontal bomb burst or fan break. Cutting their smoke the black dots soon disappear.

Appreciation, admiration, its difficult to put a label on it, sweeps the crowd as they dissipate in total ore. In Timaru the organisers of the Pageant made their only mistake of the day in scheduling the Warbirds’ Baghdad Fury after the Reds. Spectacular, as this mighty aircraft is, it was lost - the crowd had been to the top of the mountain nothing could follow - they had seen Kiwi Red 'live'.

Formation For 1990

The year 1990 was to be a special year for New Zealand with the XIV Commonwealth Games being stage in Auckland and the celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. To celebrate this Sesqui-Centennial a wide variety of events were being sponsored and encouraged throughout the country, to this a major contribution by the Royal New Zealand Air Force was to be the reformation of the No 75 Squadron aerobatic team tasked with the major undertaking of a tour of the entire country.

Although the Royal New Zealand Air Force does not operate a full time aerobatic team when opportunity presents itself regular squadron pilots are drawn from their normal duties and shaped into a team, which in the past have developed a proud reputation.

For No 75 Squadron the of jet team aerobatics dates back to the 1950's with the pilots flying the operational aircraft of the day, the de Havilland Vampire. Through the teams ‘live’ performances around New Zealand and a New Zealand National Film Unit production made in 1958 featuring a Vampire team, ‘Jetobatics' became a household word.

Following 75 Squadrons re-equipment with the new McDonnell Douglas A-4K Skyhawk aircraft in 1970 the aerobatics tradition continued. The oil crisis of 1973 however resulted in a ban on display flying as a fuel conservation measure and it was not until 1981 with the lifting of this ban that the first full RNZAF Skyhawk aerobatic team was formed. Under the leadership of Wing Commander Goldsmith a five-man team made its debut performance at the very spectacular Ohakea Airshow, celebrating Airforce Day '81 and in doing so becoming the second only Skyhawk aerobatic team in the world. Following the show the team, nicknamed, RAGNSBQGAT (Red and Gold Nothing Special but Quite Good Aerobatic Team), was disbanded.

1981 TEAM

WGCO G Goldsmith

FLTLT J Dick

FLOF I Gore

FLTLT G Howse

SQNLDR S White

1983, and focus was centred on Base Whenuapai in Auckland and an airshow that was to attract some 135,000 people. For this show 75 Squadron Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Lanham selected five of the squadron's pilots and worked up a routine, which was to include a totally new manoeuvre, a world first, the plugged barrel role. A manoeuvre that saw two aircraft performing a simulation of the operational task of interflight while performing a barrel roll. A manoeuvre so unique that Flight International Magazine requested and subsequently published a picture of its execution.

1983 TEAM

FLTLT S Pilkington

FLOF B Keightley

WGCO J Lanham

FLOF G Stuart

FLTLT F Sharp

In 1986 the Commanding Officer of No 75 Squadron, Wing Commander Frank Sharp brought together a six man team that present, in July a formation aerobatic display at the Cook Islands first Airshow, held at Rarotonga Airport and staged by the aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air Force involved in NZDF Exercise Joint Venture ‘86. This team also went on to display at the Naval Air Station Nowra for the Royal Australian Navy’s 75th Anniversary on October 6 and at the Royal Malaysian Air Force Base Kuantan.

An important year for the Royal New Zealand Air Force, 1987 was the year of its 50th Anniversary and as part of the celebrations were to be a series of Golden Anniversary Airshows at Christchurch, Ohakea and Whenuapai. Included in No 75 Squadron's contribution to these shows was an aerobatic routine by a six-man team on this occasion led by Wing Commander Frank Sharp. The exploits of this team also bought the team back into the pages of Flight International, on this occasion featuring the 270 degree roll under split in a column called "miss you".

In 1988 it was again Wing Commander Sharp who was to draw from the ranks of the 75th Squadron its five most experienced pilots to travel across the Tasman to display at the largest airshow to ever be held in the South Pacific region - the Australian Bicentennial Airshow at RAAF Base Richmond. To this team was given the name KIWI RED, an adaptation of the prefix added to RNZAF call signs when travelling overseas and other more obvious reasons. To thousands of spectators, particularly New Zealanders and ex-patriots this team went on to steal the show, and then upon returning to New Zealand win many more fans at a lunch time performance and T.V. appearance prior to the Nissan Mobil 500 Wellington Waterfront Race on October 24.

1987 TEAM

Wing Commander F Sharp

Flying Officer P Turvey

Flying Officer J Benfell

Flying Officer P Wilson

Squadron Leader C Rippey

Flight Lieutenant S Moore

1988 TEAM

Wing Commander F Sharp

Flying Officer P King

Flying Officer D Laming

Flight Lieutenant C Tanner

Squadron Leader G Howse

Flying Officer N Milne

It was this name, Kiwi Red, that the current 75 Squadron Commanding Officer Wing Commander John Bates, was to adopt when he formed his new team in August 1989. Changes in squadron personnel had meant the sole surviving member of the previous team was Flying Officer Peter King, who had previously flown in the No 2 slot, on the new team taking up the position of No 6. Selected to join Reds 1 and 6 were Flight Lieutenant Barry Nelson (Red 2), Flying Officer Grapham Dobson (Red 3), Flying Officer Grapham Carter (Red 4) and Flight Lieutenant Bruce Keightley (Red 5).

Selection of the manoeuvres for the 1990 routine was a team effort with the only restraint from the outset being the all important factor of safety. Co-ordinating this and having overall responsibility for the final selection was Wing Commander Bates who brought to the position a background that included participation in the Central Flying School's Wigram based Red Checkers Aerobatic Team and the role of Skyhawk display demonstrator during 1983 - 1985. Inevitably there were however sequences worked up but not used when it came to the choreography of the routine as a whole. At this stage consideration had also to be given to keeping the aerial activity in front of the crowd and the ability of the various team members to achieve this moving from one manoeuvre to the next.

This year the team would take the hallmark of the 75th Squadrons A-4 routine, the plugged barrel roll and perform it with all six aircraft participating. First pioneered in 1983 this routine was performed by just two aircraft of the team. In subsequent years it was built up to included four aircraft, then for 1990 the roll was performed in the swan formation with the 'vic' of five formatting off Red 4 in the line astern position behind Red 1, connected via the inter-flight refuelling hose.

Although the majority of the manoeuvres are based on operational flying considerable practice is required to develop the polished routine that was to thrill the public of New Zealand.

Training commenced on August 9, 1989 with Reds 2, 3,and 4 who were all experiencing Skyhawk aerobatics for the first time being worked up on an individual basis with Red 1. As these individuals rapidly improved practise switched to combined four ship routines. Meanwhile Red 5 and 6 who had flown in the No 2 slot of the 1982 / 83 teams and 1988 teams respectively and were to form the synchronised pair of this new team commenced with pairs work. Once all members were comfortable with their performances the two groups were brought together to practise the individual manoeuvres of the intended display. Final step in the process was the difficult task of co-ordination and timing of the total routine. During the work up process extensive use was made of the hand held videos that then formed an important part of each debriefing insuring errors were detected and in turn corrected.

Before the Public

By September 15 each team member had completed some 20 hours practise and launched out on their first public appearance - the occasion being the Battle of Britain Anniversary that is commemorated throughout New Zealand on the third Sunday of September.

Being a tribute to the feats and achievements of the Royal Air Force and its multi-national compliment in this important aerial battle a fitting part of the 1989 commemorations was a tiki tour by Kiwi Red. Flying in low formation over the lower North Island and upper South Island the team departed home base Ohakea at approximately midday and touched down at Base Woodbourne around 12.40pm in a short deployment to participate in the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the Air Base.

The following day the Base opened it gates to the general public and as well as a variety of static displays a short flying made up the programme of events. Highlight of this was the Kiwi Red routine, commencing with the cardinal arrival and following the ‘high’ show routine to end with the bomb burst.

At the end of the month, on the Sunday 24, it was Base Ohakea's turn to celebrate a 50th birthday. In similar format to the Woodbourne display the Kiwi Red team again presented a short portion of their routine during the flying activities of the open day.

October 4, Kiwi Red, without Reds 2 and 5, transited for an overnight stay at Base Whenuapai giving them their first opportunity to overfly the Mount Smart Stadium the site of two forthcoming appearances in association with the 1990 Commonwealth Games opening and closing ceremonies.

Additional preparations for the display season resulted in Colin Harmsworth, a TVNZ camera technician joining the team for a week in the middle of October providing technical expertise during the fitting of a new camera pod mounting to the Skyhawk. During this period of trials, Reds 3, 5 and 6 assisted with the flying of the formation aerobatics.

Tragedy Strikes

Suddenly - 11:25am Tuesday 24 October 1989 as the team returned from their regular practice session, on this day held over the Raumai Ranges disaster struck.

In their normal airshow finale, the roll under break, Red 4 struck Red 5. With severe damage to the aircraft and trailing the refuelling hose and a plume of smoke from the damaged centre-line air-to-air refuelling store Red 5, in NZ 6211 executed a successful emergency landing. Aware of the population below he had declined to eject, instead dumped fuel and elected to stay with the aircraft.

Recovery for Red 4 was however not possible, resulting in the tragic death of Flying Officer Graham Thomas Carter.

Part II Continues……

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Created : Saturday, 25 October 2008