This was always at the top of my wish list
Next issue: glass blower Kayleigh Young.
Corporal Lydia Ford is flying high and living her dream.
I had just turned nineteen.
After training I worked on Tornados and served in Cyprus and Afghanistan as well as the UK.
All were amazing experiences, but my big dream was to be part of the Red Arrows’ Support Team.
In the RAF, we are allowed to submit three requests for postings and this was always at the top of my wish list.
These choices have to be approved by our flight commander and thankfully mine was sanctioned and I joined the team in 2017.
There isn’t really a routine day for us, though I suppose out of season, when the pilots are practising, is when we come closest to it.
We start at seven-thirty a.m., with a briefing from our trade manager.
We’re given the flying programme for that day and told if there are any faults on the aircraft.
It’s our job to get the aircraft ready for when they’re needed. We finish work at five p.m.
In spring the pilots practise in Greece to take advantage of the good weather and get in as many hours as possible before the season starts.
Ten members of the support team, nine engineers and a photographer will have been chosen to go with them. These 10 people are known as the Circus.
For the past two years I have been lucky enough to be chosen for the Circus.
We have to undergo extensive training and stringent medical tests, but it’s worth it.
During the season we fly with the pilots, in the rear seat, to and from the air shows.
For the 2019 season I flew with Flight Lieutenant Jon Bond, who was Red 7, which made my call sign Circus 7.
When we arrive at our air-show destination we refuel the aircraft and tackle any faults.
It’s important to make sure they’re fully serviceable for the air show, which generally starts the next day.
For example, at the
Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) we arrive on the Thursday.
There are three days of displays over the weekend, and again it is our job to keep the aircraft flying. We return to base on the Monday.
In August last year we represented Great Britain and the Royal Air Force on a three-month tour of the USA and Canada.
We did so many fly-pasts and displays over landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, Niagara Falls and the Golden Gate Bridge. We were all in absolute awe and the memories will stay with me for ever.
To relax I love taking my sprocker spaniel, Roger, on long, rambling walks. I also enjoy baking and I’m a self-confessed shopaholic.
I am happy to say that I am on the support team for this year’s season and on reserve for Circus, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that.