Hawks Grounded (merged with Hawk Display Cancelled)

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Any info on when the Red Arrows might be serviceable please? Hoping to see them at Cowes on Friday..

[teej013]

I’m only a lowly bomhead, I know my place, ( insert mental picture of oily oik, head bowed, respectfully tugging forelock), and minds more superior than mine have given this problem much thought, but, the mk10 is fitted to a wide variety of platforms from the PC9 to the Tonka, most with a higher Fatigue Index than the Hawk, and the discrepancy is with the equipment and not the Aircraft, when will these fleets be grounded for inspection ?.

[melmothtw]

Only the Mk 10B seat is affected. Only the Mk 1 Hawk is fitted with this seat in UK service.

[forget]

I keep seeing mention of sabotaged seats. Is there any proof that this ever happened? Surely, even someone deranged enough to sabotage something has an end result in mind. With ejection seats the chances of their handiwork ever coming to anything are slim, and they won't see the result anyway, so why bother.

I'd prefer to think that these so called sabotage incidents are a c*ck up in the seat bay and the guilty party has cried sabotage to protect himself. If I remember, installing a seat was at least a two man job which makes sabotage even less likely. No?

PS. Why is it when I type c o c k it comes out as dog?

[Saintsman]

Surely if you sabotage something you are expecting the worst to happen in the near future. Sabotaging a seat seems pointless as it may never be used in anger.

Then again there are some w@nkers about.

[L Peacock]

melmothtw

Your second sentence is correct.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Just read that the Red Arows are fully serviceable..

[champair79]

That's what I read Heathrow Director....

...except they didn't fly to Bournemouth today. There's been no announcement from the team as to why either. Cue a lot of annoyed spectators at both Scampton and Bournemouth who were expecting them to re-start the summer season after their mid-summer break.

P.S I wasn't one of them thankfully

[airsound]

I gather what happened was this. An RAF press release was put out (not by the Reds) saying they were all clear. But then the dreaded seat crack was found in one of the Reds' aircraft, and the press release had to be withdrawn. Oops. It's not yet clear whether they'll be able to display at, say, Lowestoft (12 & 13 Aug).

There also seems to be une petite problčme with the solo Hawk. This has nothing to do with the seat. I hear that there will not be a solo Hawk display for the rest of the season, but that it may be replaced with a "rôle demo" Hawk, which may, or may not, appear in time for Lowestoft.

It's not really been a great year for RAF hawks.....

If the "rôle demo" does appear, at least we may still be able to see the imaginative and elegant colour schemes that commemorate the BoB Spitfires.

airsound

[gareth herts]

They flew down to Cowes today having completed an ISP at Scampton but the weather was too bad for them to display.

PS The Spitfire schemes are on the Tucano display aircraft - not Hawks

[kiwibrit]

Saw the Red Arrows flying near Scampton today

[airsound]

oops!

Apologies about the colour schemes. I'd like to say I was just checking to see if anyone was awake, but..........

airsound

[champair79]

airsound, what's the problem with the display hawk??

[airsound]

I'm afraid I don't know precisely what the problem is. When I said the problem was with "the solo Hawk", it would perhaps have been more accurate to say "the solo Hawk display".

I do know it's not an aircraft technical problem. Hence the possibility of an alternative 'rôle demo'.

airsound

[Focks 2]

Originally Posted by Dengue_Dude

Saw a colour photo of the crack and it didn't look particularly new.

Thats Anglesey for you.

[Sgt.Slabber]

Seat fits...

Forget,

If I remember, installing a seat was at least a two man job ...

Was 3 at least the last time I did a seat fit. 1 "tech" to fit the seat; 1 NCO to supervise and do the "Vitals"; SNCO not involved in the seat fit, or supervision thereof, to do the "Indies".

It was a little while ago...

[Could be the last?]

So what is the difference between a 'Display' and a 'Role Demo'? And other than trg (208/19 and JFACTSU)what role does the Hawk T1 have?????????

Anyway, I thought the the display was canx due to the integrity of the seat...........

[airsound]

So what is the difference between a 'Display' and a 'Role Demo'? And other than trg (208/19 and JFACTSU)what role does the Hawk T1 have?????????

Very good questions, CBTL. I have my own ideas, but I don't know the official answers. Anybody?

I thought the the display was canx due to the integrity of the seat.

I believe it was originally. But that was temporary. I understand the official Hawk solo display will not reappear this year. Unless anyone knows differently?

airsound

[gareth herts]

A role demo is a non-aerobatic display (a la Harrier and Tornado GR.4s this year) and it is much easier to gain a PDA for this than it is for a solo aerobatic routine - less work-up, fewer sorties etc.

[BEagle]

Well, the RAF Hawk Display Team website still shows plenty of appearances at display venues for the rest of the season....

Nothing on either the RAF Hawk Display Team - Latest News or the RAF Hawk Display News websites about any change to the display season content either.

If the website is so detailed as to be able to tell eager readers the name of the display supervisor's horse (I kid you not...), then presumably it will be bang up to date with any news?

(Oh and it's useful, not 'usefull' links, by the way - and recommended, not 'recomended' websites.....)