Behind the scenes with the Typhoon Display Team
We had the pleasure of joining forces with Flt Lt Ryan Lawton and his colleagues in the Typhoon Display Team at the historic Petwood Hotel in Woodhall Spa.
The aim of the evening, coordinated by Sarah Gray, was to give fans of the aircraft a chance to learn more about what happens before, during and after a full airshow season. We were delighted to support the team in helping to raise funds for JET and MIND Newark. The evening raised over £1700 for the charities. A great effort.
A few things we learned…
- This is a talented and very witty bunch of people!
- For every hour of flying there are 27 man hours of engineering required to support it.
- Bournemouth didn’t happen because the show itself moved dates making it impossible for the team to deliver on all the commitments already scheduled for that weekend, Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Cosford didn’t happen because of a technical problem and would have been a modified display had it gone ahead. This was for safety reasons to ensure avoiding overflight of Albrighton
- Ryan’s most rewarding show was Sunderland as he was able display while others were not due to the weather.
- Ryan won the Best British Display at RIAT 2017
- JET aim to support 10 000 young people by 2020
- Nobody is immune to having ‘a bad day’, no one is immune to mental health.
- The Display Pilot for next year is Flt Lt Jim Peterson. Jim is most looking forward to:
I am excited and honoured to be given the opportunity to continue the great work Ryan and his team have demonstrated in 2017. This will be an incredible year to be part of the display circuit, I look forward to bringing the noise for the RAF’s centenary year.
