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Old 15th Dec 2005, 21:07
  #164 (permalink)  
Jackonicko
 
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Red Arrows in tribute to founder

The Red Arrows have flown over a funeral in tribute to one of the pilots who made them famous.
Five jets swooped low as New Zealander Ray Hanna, who helped to develop the display team in the 1960s, was buried near his home in Parham, Suffolk.

Squadron Leader Hanna died earlier this month aged 77.

On Thursday, a Spitfire joined the flypast to mark Mr Hanna's work as an airshow display pilot following his retirement from the RAF.

"He was a key figure in the history of Red Arrows," said a spokeswoman for the team.

"He was the leader of the team when it became famous in the late 1960s and one of our greatest pilots."

She added: "Under his leadership, the team flew for the first time as a nine-ship formation and received worldwide acclaim for their dynamic precision formation flying."

Mr Hanna was a founder member of the Red Arrows in 1965 and led the team during its formative years between 1966 and 1969.



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