The RAF Red Arrows

As invitations go, this one was one of the best. We were invited to RAF Scampton to meet the team and discuss how we could safely perform a spectacular display within the confines of a secure and active RAF station. We had met representatives from the Red Arrows at a previous display the year before so we knew how important this would be for the team.

After several months of planning and meetings we arrived at RAF Scampton on a chilly morning and set to work on rigging the display. This would be a two day set up due to the size of the display and the complexity of the sequences.

We have to say what a lovely group of people the team at the RAF Red Arrows are as they treated us to lunch and a photoshoot with the jets.

The weather on the day of the display provided quite strong sideways winds so we had to make fine adjustments to angles and keep everything completely waterproofed as the forecast was not looking great. This attention to detail made for a problem free night and releases the stress of working on high profile displays like these. Fine margins, great teamwork and an excellent work rate…all part of Frontier Fireworks which is why so many clients use us for special displays.

On the night of the display we had lined up a few special surprises! The display was fired with wide sequences from multiple firing points and consisted of shells, cakes, mines, candles and set pieces. Our shells provided the height at around 750ft as we filled the sky with stars. We used the Cobra wireless firing system which enabled us to create this thrilling display.

We encouraged them to count down for us and as we hit zero the iconic words lit up in fireworks…#SMOKE ON GO to great cheers as we led our audience through an exact display of choreographed colours and effects. Red would obviously celebrate the colours that are work by the pilots and adorn their planes, blue for the groundcrew, red, white and blue combined for patriotism and a few extra twists and turns for this world renowned team.

We designed special Synchro Pair opposition shell passes which had to be angled very accurately so as not to hit each other which the team recognised instantly.

Perhaps one of the most recognisable sequences that we designed was the finale as we replicated part of their display that season with a Synchro Pair pass of fireworks leading into a part finale called the Vixen break that we created with mines. We then filled the sky with strobe stars and gold brocades to bring the display to a dramatic and spectacular conclusion.

Such was the impression that we left on everyone, we were invited into the Hangar Bash party and then invited to a black tie dinner at a later date and personally thanked which was a very prestigious moment for our company.

On that night two teams became one. To this day we are great friends with the Red Arrows which shows how two teams can work together in perfect synchronisation with each other, pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved within tight parameters to deliver the ultimate personalised display.