View Full Version : Anyone remember the Yellowjacks?
Cloudwatcher
18th Dec 2003, 20:29
:cool: Does anyone have any info on the Yellowjacks, were they the forerunners to the Red Arrows and did they fly Gnats also.Were they the same actual aircraft repainted red?
Also why did they change the name and the colour? (if indeed they did).
Any info would be of interest.
Cheers
Cloudwatcher
Megaton
18th Dec 2003, 20:32
Yup, Yellowjacks were effectively forerunners of the Red Arrows and yes they did fly the Gnat. IIRC, they used 7 aircraft which were then passed on to the Reds before the decision was made to go to 9-ships.
Cloudwatcher
18th Dec 2003, 20:38
:ok: Thanx for confirming that Ham Phisted, tell me does anyone know how many seaons they flew for and in what years.
Aerohack
18th Dec 2003, 20:53
The Yellowjacks were formed in 1964 at 4 FTS, RAF Valley. The name was derived from a 4 FTS R/T callsign prefix. Leader was Flight Lieutenant Lee Jones, a veteran of 111 Sqn's Black Arrows. It was a five-ship team, drawing from a pool of nine (or maybe ten) Gnats. Their first public show was at RNAS Culdrose 25 July 1964, and at the 1964 Farnborough Air Show The Yellowjacks formated with the CFS's JP-equipped The Red Pelicans before starting their individual displays. The Gnats were painted in a bright lemon yellow overall, but I don't think they had any distinguishing logo or badge, except for a pair of 'moon eyes' above the nose light. The Red Arrows was formed as a permanent RAF display team by the CFS in 1965, again with Lee Jones as leader, and using the former Yellowjacks aircraft, repainted, and initially flew as a seven-ship, increasing to nine in mid-1966 under Ray Hanna's leadership.
Cloudwatcher
18th Dec 2003, 20:58
:O great , any pictures anywhere?
G-KEST
18th Dec 2003, 23:26
:ouch: Yes.................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cloudwatcher
18th Dec 2003, 23:59
:{ :p G-Kest, where might I find these photos, pppleasssseee.
Also do you know Alan Dix also ex Rothmans, he's a friend of mine
treadigraph
19th Dec 2003, 00:36
Type in "Yellowjacks" on google and you get quite a few hits (though some appear to be a Nevadian Football team or something!) Nice pic of Dave Gilmour's G-MOUR in its Yellowjacks scheme.
Hi
Re the Yellowjacks, if yuou do a Google Search and type in The Yellowjacks Aerobatic team it will come up with some good sites with some descent photographs of the Team a/c (all Yellow)
Hope this Helps you out??
:ok: :ok:
surely not
29th Dec 2003, 01:39
As a young lad at Farnborough with my dad in 1964 we saw the Yellowjacks and thought they gave a very good display.
It could be memory fade but I seem to recall that the colour scheme wasn't as visual as the red of the Red Arrows and you had to look harder to locate them in the sky.