Corkscrew

                                                                                   

by Robert Tomlin

It's August 2005 and during another memorable evening, the Red Arrows display over the beautiful Fowey estuary in Cornwall, England, and the famous replica of RFA Sir Galahad which had moored during the Fowey Royal Regatta Week.  The 'gypo' part of the team perform an extremely difficult manoeuvre rolling around the smoke trails of a pair who fly together, one inverted above the other leaving a blaze of colour across the early evening sky.

Many will remember the original Sir Galahad which was destroyed during the Falklands war in 1982 with the loss of many lives, and the appalling injuries suffered by Simon Weston who escaped barely alive from the carnage.  He now forms part of a charity, Weston Spirit, which aims to help young people in inner cities.

 The new Sir Galahad is part of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and is 140.6m in length, with a breadth of 19.5m.  She has a speed of 17 knots, with a complement of 49.  She has one spot for a Sea King on the flight deck and on the vehicle deck, one spot for a Sea King, Lynx or Chinook.

Home
Red Arrows