Episode 4 Britain's Ultimate Pilots: Inside the RAF

Can there be anything more British than the love of adrenaline?

Determination in the face of adversity...

That is not show standard.

..which epitomises the RAF.

Brilliant to watch. It never gets tiring.

Over the course of their action-packed summer season,

we'll be flying with Britain's ultimate pilots...

..the Red Arrows.

With their fellow display teams, the Typhoon jets...

..the Chinook helicopter...

..and the Hurricanes and Spitfires.

We're going inside the bubble to chart the courage it takes to

pull off the most famous flying experience in the world.

With the display season in full swing, the Red Arrows

are setting their sights on Britain's biggest single public coastal event.

The high-profile Bournemouth Air Festival.

But will the unpredictable British weather prevent them

from turning the skies red, white and blue and keep the crowds away?

If the weather stays like this here,

then clearly the shows might not go ahead.

Frustrating. We put a lot of effort into training through winter. 11 displays we've lost this year.

We're joining the RAF's Typhoon display team...

..as they prepare a demanding finale to the Bournemouth weekend.

Despite battling an uncooperative locked cockpit...

The problem is, we need to get inside to adjust it.

..a small missing part that causes big headaches...

If this system does not get sorted out, there will be no display this weekend.

..all of which could put an end to them stealing the show from the Red Arrows.

But when the team receives the most shocking news

of the display season...

You have to respect that sort of stuff.

..will their training and experience be enough to pull them through?

Entertaining the crowds alongside the Red Arrows

at the Bournemouth Air Festival will be Flight Lieutenant Jonny Dowen.

He also flies a fast jet but it's not painted red...

..he doesn't fly in formation...

..and he doesn't need smoke to make patterns in the sky.

He flies the 1,500 mph supersonic monster of the Air Force...

..the Typhoon fighter,

one of the most physically demanding planes in the RAF's arsenal.

Capable of going from brakes off to Mach 1.5 in 90 seconds,

it will give any fast jet a run for its money.

The display arena is the perfect place

to showcase the Typhoon's might.

But it's the job it does 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, which has

made it a vital asset to this country's security.

Quick reaction alerts.

We've got the jets 365 days a year,

both here and up at Lossie, ready to go.

Essentially responsible for defence of the UK's airspace.

Ready to scramble at a moment's notice, the quick reaction alert

base at Coningsby is made up of two frontline squadrons,

50 combat-ready jets, 60 pilots and 500 ground crew,

all in place for one reason - to protect us from aerial threat.

All the guys that come through,

one of the very first disciplines they'll learn is how to sit QRA.

In this practice, the pilots and ground crew are poised ready to go.

And the Typhoon will be airborne within minutes,

to intercept any unknown aircraft.

Once in the sky, these two fully armed jets could be over

London in a matter of minutes, ready to deal with any possible threat.

In most cases, the target aircraft turns out to be innocent enough

and may have just flown into difficulty or unknowingly

strayed into restricted airspace.

In such instances, they're escorted to the nearest nominated airfield.

As well as being a guardian of our skies,

Jonny trains other pilots to fly the mighty Typhoon.

But this summer, he's been given a new challenge -

to amaze the British public with his super-fast jet.

And such feats grow from straightforward beginnings.

For the design sequence, um, one of the really nice things,

actually, about it is the fact that each year, the display pilot

who comes in will get to design from scratch his own sequence.

It literally was as simple as having a sort of overall concept

of what I wanted to put across, even to the extent of, you know,

just sitting down, watching YouTube videos of past Typhoon displays,

other sort of F-jet displays, et cetera.

And then with that in mind, I sit down with a bit of paper

and draw it out, essentially -

what I think is going to flow nicely,

what I think is going to look good from the ground.

And then, once I've got that sort of rough sequence put together,

I'll then go down to the simulator

to see how it actually works and inevitably,

that throws up a few issues

and then necessitates design changes et cetera.

In order to stress-test his complex moves

and how his jet will handle them, Jonny's plans are meticulously

examined in what looks like the best computer game ever.

The simulator - a multi-million-pound training device that allows

pilots to mimic an astounding variety of flying conditions.

So the sim we're about to go into is one of our essentially dome visuals,

so we've got 360 degree visuals, which is

really good in terms of just going to practise a display quickly,

either for currency trip back at Coningsby,

or for going into Bournemouth cos we can just, you know,

pick up the jet, move it to wherever we want in the country.

Right, let's head on in.

With his safety and that of his £60 million jet on the line,

Jonny is able to practise above a simulated Bournemouth.

This 21st-century training tool allows pilots to mimic an astounding

variety of weather conditions, environments and training scenarios.

Hi. Do you want me to get airborne and give you some quick positions for Bournemouth?

-Yeah, that'll be fine.

-Cool. Thanks, Matt.

230 metres is the closest Jonny is allowed to get to the crowd

during his display.

Minimising the risk to the public is everything here.

Any infringement of that line

could result in the display being terminated.

Paper planning done, simulator stress testing completed,

now - up into the skies for the real rehearsal.

A little bit of a breeze.

A little bit of a non-crowd.

But there's next to no weather.

Today marks the last chance Jonny has to practise those gravity-defying

moves, prior to the Bournemouth Air Festival, just three weeks away.

-Cheers, Andy.

-Cheers.

Er, yes, so it should be... It should be a full.

And just a reasonable breeze.

If the pressure wasn't high enough,

his whole family have come along to watch the final practice.

My parents, also Ness, my fiancee, and two kids.

That'll be the first time they've seen the display, which'll be nice.

I haven't seen his display yet.

He showed me with his hands and little plane but...

So I have little idea but no, I haven't seen anything.

Why has Daddy gone far, far away?

Because he's going to take off.

I've cleared this break, wind 240 098.

If Jonny doesn't nail it now, he won't have another chance before he

is set to give the all-important show in Bournemouth a stunning finale.

Down on the ground, his pilot father Paul watches his every move.

He always had a strong interest in aircraft, right from an early age.

When I was doing my flying training, he'd come flying with me.

He had his first flying lesson in the States at ten years old.

Straightaway, an instructor said he was a natural.

Shows there was something there.

Jonny is a natural.

His eye for detail and all-out dedication makes him

the obvious choice for a display pilot.

He has put his all into making this eight-minute display the best

the South Coast crowds will see.

One of the most skilful moves is the four-point hesitation roll,

where Jonny puts the aircraft through 360 degrees, hesitating

at each 90-degree interval for two seconds.

To fully understand what is involved in this complex manoeuvre,

we can go inside the cockpit with Jonny.

To hold the jet at each 90-degree position requires a crucial

combination of hand, feet and eye coordination.

As Jonny progresses through the roll,

the difficulty increases sharply.

Jonny is now fully inverted and is literally hanging in his straps,

experiencing -1G.

He has to constantly battle the jet's

flight control system, which is trying to counter his every command.

This is because the Typhoon has been designed and built for combat,

not wowing the public with challenging aerobatics.

Wheels safely back on the ground,

everyone can breathe a sigh of relief.

Every time he was coming down low, you're thinking, "Pull up, pull up!"

So, you're always... You've always got that feeling, you know.

There's always a sense of danger, obviously.

Hello, Daddy.

Displaying the Typhoon puts incredible strain on its airframe.

Here at Coningsby, a team of 500 ground crew carry out the vital work

of keeping the jets ready to protect our skies 24 hours a day.

And it's the same for the display teams with their punishing schedules.

For instance, the Red Arrows need nine fully serviced jets ready

to thrill the public in the 83 displays planned for the summer.

It's the job of Wing Commander Martin Higgins to ensure that

everything runs like clockwork, both inside and outside the cockpit.

There are 134 people on the squadron

and we need every single one of those

to produce the show on a daily basis.

It's not just the nine pilots that the public see.

I understand what pressures the engineers face,

especially the Circus, who follow the team around.

When the pilots finish at the end of the day, the Circus will have

to make sure the aeroplanes are good to go for the following day.

Jonny may only need one jet to perform his breathtaking display

but, unlike the Red Arrows, his jet is also required to perform a day job

when it's not away at the weekend.

At 29 Squadron,

it's just one of the 20 other Typhoons being used

for the training of the next generation of fast jet pilots.

This puts extra pressure on the engineers, who not only

have to keep it flying during the training week

but then also ensure it is ready to wow the crowds

at every display weekend.

With only 16 hours until Jonny is due to depart for Bournemouth,

his jet arrives back. But there's a problem. And it's big.

It's reporting a fault with the air brake.

Engineer Sergeant Chris Eaton, also known as Stan, is on the late shift.

It's his responsibility to oversee the work. The clock is ticking.

The pressure is on to get it fixed in time.

If this system does not get sorted out,

there will be no displays this weekend on this aircraft itself.

It's imperative it has an air brake for this flight.

How's it going?

On closer inspection, Stan discovers the source of the trouble.

The air-brake switch on the throttle control has stopped working.

Time is against them.

They must remove the faulty part and fit a new one.

But on removing the faulty unit, disaster strikes.

-We've got a potential major problem now.

-OK.

-Yeah. It's...

What's basically happened is,

a switch that is not working for the air brake - that is now missing.

The top of the switch. And it's inside the cockpit somewhere.

So we have now got to find that switch top, otherwise

the aircraft really is not going anywhere at all.

I'll have a quick look for it now.

With only 14 hours before takeoff,

the team don't have the time to be looking for a missing part.

Right, guys. We could be ages here.

If they don't find it, the aircraft will not be allowed to take off

and Jonny won't be displaying this jet.

It can be like a needle in a haystack, to be honest.

Um, sometimes we are looking for very small items indeed

in what looks like a small cockpit but in fact,

it's quite a large cockpit when you're trying to find things.

-It could have gone into the back.

-It's got to be there.

If the part remains hidden, the team will have to start

the painstaking job of stripping out sections of the cockpit.

Oh, dear.

At this late stage, a job that big will prevent the jet from ever making it to Bournemouth on time.

It's there. I've got it.

-Where?

-I think it is.

-I've got it.

-Can I have a look?

-Yeah.

-Have you got it, Stan?

-Got it.

Yeah, just a case of recovering it now. It's stuck right behind the ejector seat handle.

It's just a case now, I think the armourers will have to take part of the seat out

and it's just a case of retrieving it, then carry on as normal.

Given that the ejector seat contains explosives,

this job is no simple task.

Only specially trained armourers are authorised to remove

any of the seat's components.

Tricky work, especially when you're under pressure.

So that's what we had to get out of there.

Here you are. You can put this back in.

With the rogue part finally recovered,

in goes the seat just in the nick of time,

as Stan arrives back with the new throttle control.

Despite the pressure, fitting the new component is a straightforward task

for these experts.

And with safety uppermost in the mind,

they finish off with a full test of the system.

Got the air-brake switch, Fletch?

Sweet.

What could have been a disastrous job has been saved, actually.

Yeah, so luckily we found the missing part and the aircraft will

make the display tomorrow.

With that challenge faced down,

the team hopes that the big day at Bournemouth will run smoothly.

It's the morning of departure and whilst the Typhoon

sits at the ready, Jonny makes his final preparations for a weekend

of South Coast displays.

This weekend should be great. I mean, it's probably the biggest one on the South Coast.

It is huge, just Bournemouth of itself,

but then we've also got Dawlish a little bit

further down the coast as well, which is, you know,

relatively local to home for me, so that'll be nice.

And then Shoreham, as well, on the Sunday.

The pressure is on for Jonny.

Five displays in one weekend,

including the huge finale at Bournemouth.

There's no turning back.

The paperwork is filed and the training is completed.

He's off to meet the British public and only then will he know

if his hard work has paid off.

Capable of reaching speeds in excess of 1,500 mph, if Jonny was

to travel this fast, he'd be over Bournemouth in less than ten minutes.

The weekend is well under way and the beach is packed.

The crowds are expectant -

thousands want to see some awesome aerial displays.

This is our fourth time we've been. It's really good. We like it.

It's just a good fun day out.

Just love it.

Unlike Jonny at Bournemouth,

the Red Arrows have decided to base themselves out of Exeter Airport.

It gives them the best location for the wide variety of shows

they need to pack into this one huge weekend.

However, bad weather has dogged the Reds all week.

The engineering team, the Blues,

led by Flight Lieutenant Marcus Ramsden, are feeling the tension.

Unfortunately, it's not gone to plans.

So far, we've had four displays that we've had to cancel.

The weather is not looking favourable yet again.

It changes hour by hour.

Not the standard week for us.

Lots of chopping and changing but at the moment,

the Jets are in a good place and we'll see what today brings.

Two days of being grounded is sapping morale amongst the Reds.

Having missed four shows in the last two days, we are very,

very keen to try and get them in but ultimately, I mean, if the weather

stays like it is here, then clearly, the shows that are close to here

might not go ahead, unfortunately.

In contrast to Exeter, Jonny touches down at a sunny

Bournemouth Airport to be met by the rest of his team.

As always, time is of the essence.

The ground crew have five hours to turn around

Jonny's jet ahead of this afternoon's first display.

Joining Jonny and the Red Arrows at the festival will be

the RAF's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, or BBMF for short.

They're welcoming their newest Spitfire recruit,

Station Commander Jez Attridge,

who's arriving from Coningsby in the Chipmunk.

Sadly, hopes of flying in his first public display in a Spitfire

are about to be shattered by Wing Commander Justin Helliwell, or Hells.

Hello.

I thought the weather was going to be bad.

-It is, unfortunately.

-Sunny Bournemouth.

Sunny Bournemouth?

-That wind is a bit cheeky, though.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

It could be at crosswind limit.

-I think it might be just outside your limits.

-Is it?

-It's been gusting up to sort of 14, 15.

-So you're laughing, I'm crying.

-I'm absolutely laughing. I'm so pleased to be here.

Being new to the Spitfire, there are tighter restrictions

and safety concerns for Jez.

He has a crosswind limit of ten knots and he is not allowed to

take off or land if the wind is outside these limits.

As a newbie on the Spitfire, then I'm restricted to ten knots

and they can be quite cheeky, so I'm not going to push that one. That's fine.

And in the Second World War, they had these big grass airfields,

and they would literally take off into wind.

They'd just adjust where the runway was into wind.

Modern aeroplanes with the nose wheel at the front, it doesn't have a crosswind problem any more.

You know, a Typhoon's got a crosswind limit of round about 30 knots.

We very much live by the rules with these aeroplanes just to absolutely

make sure they're here in 100 years' time to keep displaying them.

It just so happens today, we've got a crosswind... I'VE got a crosswind problem.

But fingers crossed for tomorrow.

With just a few hours until his display,

Jonny's relentless schedule continues.

He must head to the beach to meet and greet the public.

A big part of any display pilot's life is being the face of the RAF.

Unlike his display, Jonny is still perfecting this side of the job.

Only a few months ago,

I was doing a job that tens of other people do on the same squadron

so, when you have that sort of intense interest, it just

takes a little while to get used to, cos you think,

"Wh-What I do isn't that..."

I mean, yes, it is unique, but it's just a little bit surreal. It's...

It's quite humbling, in a way.

At no point during the whole season have I become totally used

to it, in the sense that you just take it for granted, you know.

It is still amazing, just how many people want to come and talk.

Back with the BBMF,

and Hells has taken over Jez's seat in the 1944 Mark IX Spitfire.

This aircraft completed an astonishing 60 operational sorties

over occupied France in the run-up to D-Day.

Alongside him is Squadron Leader Dunc Mason,

flying the last-ever Hurricane to roll off the production line in 1944.

An impressive duo.

That's...! Look at it, right the way across the runway.

This is an old World War II airfield.

It's actually got all of the superstructure for six runways.

What I needed them to do was invest in it for the last 70 years.

So that I could fly today!

A disappointed Jez can't resist seeing the boys off.

Kicking off today's extravaganza at Bournemouth

are the Spitfires and Hurricanes of the BBMF.

Bournemouth Air Festival is huge.

Over four days, it will showcase

50 air displays by 15 different display teams,

and attract over one million visitors to its shores.

It's therefore no surprise that this is one of the biggest

displays of the year for both the pilots and the public.

It's also a chance for the public to meet their flying heroes

and get that much-cherished photo and autograph.

There you go.

-That's great. Thank you very much.

-Yeah. No worries.

It's that human element, I guess.

It's just important for us to chat about what it is we do.

-Thank you.

-That's all right.

The set-up we've got here, it's not just about what I do.

It's all of the other stuff as well.

So engineers, admin, all sorts of people that come

and work on the trailer. It's good,

because it just shows how much we have to offer as a force,

as opposed to it just being a one-man-band type thing,

which it's not. Ultimately, I think everyone wants to come and say hello and find out a bit more.

Jonny may have his public relations hat on but inside his head,

he is never far from his display.

-Thank you.

-So I mean, looking at the weather,

it looks as though that cloud's just staying away and it's kind of been

sat there for a while so I think I'll probably get a full display.

If it stays like this I'll do a full, which will be nice.

News of the great weather makes its way to Exeter

and the Red Arrows Circus.

So I'm actually just on Twitter now

and I've just received a message from Red Ten,

following his Twitter stream, and he's sent us a picture of

blue skies over Bournemouth, which is quite a stark difference

to the weather that we've got over here,

so the boys will take off from here

and fingers crossed for the display this afternoon.

After the anticlimax of four cancelled displays

and the boredom of two days of being grounded,

it looks like the skies will once again be painted red white and blue.

The Reds heading for Bournemouth signifies an hour

until Jonny's Typhoon display.

Back at the airport, he's running through the final checks

for his all-important spectacular finale.

Running through the checklist,

um, Taf - weather's going to be the biggie, I think, for today.

So happy with what they've forecast,

although it seems to be differing slightly.

Dayton, actually is large hotel, seafront, big red markers,

marked between the pier, so happy with that.

It's going to be a right-hand display,

notionally with a west hand hold running in.

Height restriction is going to be down to 100 feet,

albeit there are yachts with masts up to 150,

so just playing that one sensibly.

Emergency considerations are standard.

If I take a bird, it'll be notional to come back into Bournemouth.

At coastal displays, the risk of a bird strike is very real.

Not only would it immediately end the display,

but it could have more catastrophic consequences.

All the prep is done.

the only element Jonny doesn't have any control over is the weather.

It will decide which type of display he can perform.

As it stands, the skies are clear

and everything is pointing towards his full dynamic Typhoon display.

Not ones to waste a blue-sky opportunity,

the Reds are pulling out all the stops.

It's their first display in almost a week

and it's also the all-singing, all-dancing full display.

Clear visibility and lack of cloud means the public get to

marvel at high-level display moves, like the Champagne Split...

..and the breathtaking Heart And Spear.

With this display ending their run of bad luck,

there's one Red Arrow breathing a sigh of relief -

the boss, David Montenegro - Red 1.

As soon as we got into the Bournemouth area, it was absolutely blue sky, gin-clear.

So we got a full show in.

Any form of aviation is a good thing in this team,

so it's been a good day. Much better than the last two days,

where we were completely weathered out.

At most air festivals, the Reds would be closing the day's events.

But here in Bournemouth...

'Ten-four-two, clear for takeoff. Wind 230 degrees. 14 knots.'

That job is being left to Jonny in the mighty Typhoon.

And it doesn't start well.

The weather has not read the script. The clouds are back.

Jonny has no option but to go for the less dynamic rolling display.

Running at eight minutes, Jonny's carefully engineered display

is packed with high-G turns and technically advanced manoeuvres.

But it's not his full display

and all his moves have to remain below the cloud base to ensure

he keeps the visual references needed to perform safely.

He would have loved to have wowed the crowds with the full display.

And back on the ground, it's hard to hide his feelings.

Yeah, ended up doing a rolling, which was a little bit disappointing.

I mean, it is quite nasty out towards the west, actually.

I mean, it's OK. It was all right, quite a cheeky little breeze.

Not my finest performance, but it'll do.

I kind of spent all afternoon roasting in the sun,

thinking I was going to get a full, and then it was a flat, so...

It's one of those things. One of those things, and, yeah, just...

do a better one tomorrow.

Jonny's high standards make him his own worst critic.

But with two days still to go, there's plenty of time for him

to push both himself and his Typhoon to the limit.

The Great British public are packed into Bournemouth,

all ready for another day of the air festival.

Their expectations are high.

With a coastal display,

the beach isn't the only place teeming with avid spectators.

Out in the bay sits over 1,000 boats, both military and civilian,

all jostling for the perfect view.

Let's go.

But before anyone thinks of flying,

Senior Engineering Officer Bryn Kirby

and Jonny have to deal with a bird strike

of a very different kind.

Image is everything -

even when you are asked to go from a £60 million jet

to a family-sized saloon car.

En route to the car wash,

Jonny has time to reflect on a busy day of displays -

one in Dawlish, near his home town,

and closing the show in Bournemouth.

I think today should be fine.

Again, there's just that risk of weather coming in

a little bit later, around about display time. So we will see.

I don't think it will be horrendous,

but hopefully the clouds will stay away.

I think Dawlish will certainly be nice this morning for us.

The guys are doing such a good job, it's given Bryn an idea.

-Would do a good job on the jet, actually.

-Mm.

-See if they're free.

-Yeah.

With a clean set of wheels, the boys head for the airport.

Joining the Reds and Jonny at the air festival this weekend is

the Chinook Display Team.

Made up of a crew of three,

they are headed up by display pilot Flight Lieutenant Brett Jones.

So we're off to the airport.

It will be the two air shows today, so we've got Bournemouth initially,

and then we'll be back to Bournemouth Airport for a refuel.

And then it's off to Shoreham.

We've been quite lucky, we've done quite a lot of over-sea ones.

We've got used to it.

The communication levels within the crew just picks up.

We leave a bit of a buffer on our minimum heights as well, because it

is a bit harder to judge the height as you're coming over the water.

Shoreham is another one.

That one will pose another challenge, cos it's a bit tighter

than our original ones. And there are quite a few "no overflight",

so we'll have to adapt the display to remain within those confines.

Yeah, there are two distinct, separate challenges today.

But it should make the day interesting.

If two displays weren't enough, the BBMF have trumped them all.

Hello, Ian, it's Jez Attridge from the BBMF. How are you?

With three shows to pack into the day, Jez and squadron leader

Dunc Mason get in early with Air Traffic Control.

Perfect, see you, bye.

This one's a little bit more complicated today

because we fly the display at Bournemouth,

and then we're going down to Shoreham for a display down there,

and then come back and then get some fuel in the aeroplanes

to go to Dawlish.

So if I can make that transit from Bournemouth down to Shoreham

really easy, by talking to the air traffic controller,

so the first thing they hear from us is me on the phone now

rather than just in the air, it'll just make it a lot easier.

Save some fuel. And save a bit of time as well.

So have we talked to Shoreham yet?

I haven't spoken to them yet, I'll speak to them.

-So 14:55 is the takeoff, isn't it?

-Yep.

Thankfully for Jez, crosswinds are down and it's looking good

for his first public Spitfire display.

It looks like we're on the Eastleigh runway.

All this preplanning ensures the pilots are ready to deal with

almost any eventuality.

And whilst they put their plans in motion, their team of skilled

engineers see to it that the aircraft are ready to amaze.

With such a busy day ahead, the ground crews have their work

cut out, not least of all the Typhoon team.

With two displays so close together, Jonny is not leaving anything

to chance, and has opted to use both jets.

The engineers swing into early action, which is just as well.

All we are going to do is just crack the canopies open,

get a bit of airflow in there, after it's sat for all night.

Open the canopy.

The canopy is jammed.

Occasionally, the hydraulic pressure needed to open the canopy drops

when the aircraft has been standing overnight.

The easiest way to top it back up is with a simple hand pump.

Normally, hydraulic pressure is only supplied by the engines.

Of course, we can't run those just to open the lid.

SQUEAKING

Once the hydraulic pressure is increased, the canopy should open.

But it doesn't want to cooperate.

The team have only 60 minutes until the display at Dawlish.

They need to find a solution.

And fast.

Hi, there, it's Jonny Dowen with the Typhoon Display, down at Bournemouth. How are you doing?

Inside, Jonny is unaware of the problems with the jet...

..and is continuing to make the final touches

to his contingency plan for Dawlish.

I just wanted to double-check, our op should have booked

Brize for the period I'll be flying this afternoon.

Can you just confirm whether that is still the case, and any pertinent stuff going on?

In case of an emergency during a display,

the pilots need to have a back-up airfield that they can land at.

In Jonny's case, this would be Brize Norton.

Cool, cheers, thank you. Bye.

Flight and contingency planning in place,

all Jonny needs now is an aircraft he can fly.

We think one of the microswitches will be

just out, a little bit of adjustment.

The problem is we need to get inside to adjust it, so...

It will work, hopefully.

With no access to the microswitch,

the team are trying some unusual techniques to gain entry.

Maybe all you need is the magical touch.

All right, who's watched Happy Days before?

THEY CHUCKLE

Never going to live this down, am I?

-No, not really.

-I'm going home.

Time is now the enemy. All hands are needed to get the switch fixed.

We've adjusted the microswitch,

so now, hopefully, it'll open and close as is, so...

Jonny can go flying.

Job done.

Vital final checks done, it's over to Jonny.

All that's left is to go and dazzle the crowds at Dawlish

with some high-energy display moves in this slick-looking jet.

The Typhoon's striking colour scheme mimics that of a Hurricane

used during the Battle of Britain,

and is a reminder of those that lost their lives 75 years ago.

It's no surprise that it turns heads wherever it goes,

including that of the Chinook's display pilot, Brett.

I've been lucky enough to go up one.

I've got a friend up at Coningsby,

and he happened to be going on a sortie in the two-seater aircraft,

so I managed to go up, we did a bit of high-speed flight over the water.

So, yeah, it was an amazing experience.

But I'm still biased - I love the Chinook, to be honest,

having flown it in loads of different environments,

and seen what it can do on the display. You know, you can

have immense amount of fun in that thing.

Yeah, it was good to experience, but no,

I wouldn't change it for anything.

Brett isn't the only one showing his love for the Chinook.

His co-pilot, Gordo, has some fond memories of flying

in this particular aircraft.

This was the aircraft we had in Kabul for three months with us.

Probably the most reliable aircraft we had at the time.

So it's strong in our hearts, 980, also known as the Whip,

as we used to call it. But this will be the first time

it'll be put through its display paces, so we'll see how it handles.

See if it becomes a new favourite.

A short 70-mile hop from Bournemouth Airport is the small

Devonshire town of Dawlish.

With its picturesque bay and dramatic coastline,

it makes for the perfect display location.

Amongst the 80,000 strong crowds are Jonny's parents,

who couldn't resist the chance to see their son perform above home turf.

You think of him as that little boy playing with those toy planes about 25 years ago.

And there he is flying a Typhoon, so, for us, it's...

-a bit surreal sometimes, isn't it?

-Yes.

It's just fantastic to see him achieving his life's ambition.

-And just doing something he really loves to do.

-And he does love it,

-every second of it.

-Yeah.

Jonny begins his display by passing over the headland at 100 feet,

flying at nearly 460 mph.

The Typhoon's twin engines can produce 20,000 lbs of thrust each,

allowing the aircraft to go from brakes-off to Mach 1.5 in 90 seconds.

After a series of impressive turns and rolls,

Jonny engages in a high-speed pass along the crowd line,

accelerating from 170mph

to over 600 in just 20 seconds.

At the end of this high-speed run,

Jonny enters a 9G turn - the limit for both himself and the aircraft.

To understand what this feels like, we go back inside the cockpit

as Jonny demonstrates the extreme capabilities of this aircraft.

Jonny has the jet at 600mph.

Next, he puts the jet into idle

and pulls back hard, rolling the jet into a dramatic 9G turn.

That's nine times the force of gravity.

Lasting for 16 seconds,

the 9G makes his body weigh that of a Formula One car and both Jonny

and the G suit have to work hard to keep the blood from draining

away from his head into his legs.

Jonny cannot rely on the G suit alone to combat gravity.

He must tense all his muscles to further restrict the blood flow

to his legs - lowering his risk of blacking out.

One full display down, but the big finish over Bournemouth is

still to go for Jonny.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the airfield, the Chinooks

are gearing up for their own show at Bournemouth.

But moments before they're due to take off,

there appears to be a problem.

Hello, Jez Attridge from the Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight. How are you?

Yeah, I'll call you back. Thank you.

Dunc, Shoreham have had an accident.

We've had a message there's been an aircraft crash at Shoreham

so we don't think Shoreham is going to go ahead and post a display.

So, we are still on time for Bournemouth,

we're doing Bournemouth and then after that we will land on

and find out what's happening.

So, yeah, we should have more news when we get back, all right?

See you in a bit.

Hello, it's Dunc Mason from BBMF. Hi there.

I am trying to get hold of Rod just to get a brief for the display

today. Is there any way of getting hold of him at the moment?

There has been some kind of incident at Shoreham. We're not sure

what it is but they'll be tied up with whatever this is right now.

OK, that's fine. That's all I need to know. OK, bye.

I think we just have to wait on that one.

That's... I don't know if they will restart the display or not.

Unaware of the severity of the situation at Shoreham,

Jez has no option but to turn his mind to the job in hand -

his first public display in a Spitfire.

A little bit of trepidation, only cos it's a big show

and there has been an accident at Shoreham, unfortunately,

so it just shows you this is...

There's an element of risk to it but, you know, I'm excited.

It's a lovely day for it and...

..let's hope the wind stays where it is.

With the thunderous roar of the Merlin engine and an excited

crowd of spectators to wave him off, Jez is soon in his element.

But getting to this moment has not been a walk in the park.

It has taken 3,800 hours of intense fast jet flying and 32 hours

in a Hurricane for Jez to finally fulfil his childhood dream.

This graceful display is a sobering reminder of the sacrifice many

young men gave 75 years ago over these very shorelines

during the Battle Of Britain.

The moment has certainly not been lost on the station commander.

The Spitfire smile. It was epic.

Really, really good. Really good.

There's an awesome poem by a guy called John Gillespie Magee

which just grabs all of this Spitfire flying. It's believable.

You just go up there, look at the cloud today - it's just perfect.

Battle Of Britain day. But it gives you an insight into

what those people did but only an insight. It is tremendous.

What an honour. Great.

Sadly for Jez, this excitement will be short-lived as news is

filtering through from Shoreham.

OK, cool. We'll see you back there. Yes, Cheers.

Yeah, as we expect, that's us done.

I think with everything kicking off,

whether they plan to do an air show the second day, I don't know.

With further displays at Shoreham cancelled for the day,

the teams have no choice but to put their aircraft to bed.

We're not going to fuel the aircraft

because we don't know the plan tomorrow.

At the moment the guys are going to service it

and make sure everything is A-OK and fingers crossed the person

involved or people involved are OK at Shoreham.

Yeah.

Everyone is wondering what has gone on at Shoreham.

From the sound of things, a very bad accident down there and our thoughts

are with the people at Shoreham and the organisers on the ground.

Yeah.

The shock of the day's events has everyone in a reflective mood.

Not least of all, Jonny.

On this, the penultimate show before Jonny closes Bournemouth

tomorrow, it's time to reflect.

Obviously very sad news about what's happened in Shoreham.

Quite sort of sobering.

You do think about those that have been involved.

Ready to taxi...

-DISPATCHER:

-Taxi to November...

DISPATCHER: Cleared for takeoff...

I have got to go fly a display at Bournemouth

so it will be... As sad as it is, it will have to be put behind me.

It just sort of puts it into context how potentially dangerous it can be.

You have what appears to be hugely glamorous on the outside can

very quickly go the other way.

And you do always, at the back of your mind,

have that awareness of risk.

It is important to remember those risks are there

and you don't ever become complacent.

Day three at Bournemouth

and in true British style, the heavens have opened.

If this weather persists, all our teams

and their display plans will be thwarted.

Jonny will not get to close the festival as planned.

But British holiday-makers are an optimistic breed.

Determined to keep his spirits up, Jonny's eyes are on the skies.

Morning. Weather, again, doing its thing, I guess.

Um, it has been like this all weekend

although obviously this is a little bit worse

but luckily having got the full in yesterday,

looking at the forecast we should still get something in this afternoon.

It's forecast to brighten up so I think even if I don't get the full in,

hopefully get the rolling in but for the time being I'm going to

head down to the PR trailer and see what's going on.

Jonny isn't the only one hoping for a break in the weather.

The Chinook's pilot, Brett,

is also remaining positive on this damp Sunday morning.

I am hoping the weather is going to improve.

Yesterday was such a good day with the weather.

So, fingers crossed but you never know

if another rain shower will hit us.

So, yeah, I hope it remains clear.

But the British weather is fickle. And somehow the clouds part.

Amazingly, the last day of the air fest starts on time.

First up of the RAF's teams is the Chinook - turning heads again

with their elephant of the skies strutting its stuff.

The crowds aren't the only ones being lifted by the sight of blue skies.

It has been largely a dreary week for the Red Arrows.

Quite frustrating - we put a lot of effort into training

throughout the winter and we have 84 public displays this year

and to lose six of them - a quick bit of maths!

Six of them this week is very frustrating.

Obviously that's 11 displays we have lost this year now to

weather so a really bad British summer.

Bournemouth is bathed in sunshine.

The crowds can't wait for an afternoon of world-class flying.

Typhoon Jonny is ready -

if he can keep his all-important energy levels where they need to be.

By the end of a busy weekend, it can get quite tiring.

It does take its toll, and certainly you do notice that the fourth

display I'm working harder than I would be, say, on the first,

so you do need to watch out for that fatigue from a G-tolerance

point of view, but that's where the kit really comes into its own.

All-in-one trousers to provide that G protection,

and the jacket as well, that inflates, to compress your chest.

And you get an overpressure in the mask as well.

It sort of inflates you from the inside, basically.

You know, it all helps just to make life that little bit easier.

During such a demanding season, the RAF display pilots cannot

rely on just their aerobatic skills and years of flying to succeed.

Pilots are given guidance throughout training, but once they become

operational, the onus is on them to keep their fitness levels up.

Jonny is no exception,

and during display season

he's stepped up his gruelling training schedule.

When you're doing five displays over the course of a weekend,

week in, week out, I just didn't want to get to a point where

I'm starting to feel just overall fatigued.

The reason Jonny needs to stay

so fit is that almost all his display turns produce at least 6G.

Both his physical fitness

and his special G-suit are vital to combat the effects.

INDISTINCT SPEECH OVER RADIO

But the most uncomfortable manoeuvre of the display

comes off the back of an incredibly prolonged 9G turn.

Jonny inverts the jet and pushes it into an eye-popping turn.

To fully understand the effects of this,

we go inside the cockpit with Jonny.

As Jonny pulls out of the 9G turn,

he will be on the verge of blacking out.

If not for the G-suit, which is helping his body cope.

In a matter of seconds, as he inverts the jet and pushes it into an outside

turn, Jonny goes from experiencing 9G to minus 3, an unbelievable swing.

In negative gravity, his G-suit has no effect.

All the time this negative G is forcing blood into his head

and pulling his body tight against the harness.

During this ten-second manoeuvre,

Jonny's head is filling with more and more blood.

Even though painful, Jonny has to resist the temptation

to pull out early, disrupting the display sequence.

This season has given Jonny the display bug.

But where could he possibly challenge his skills next?

-ANNOUNCER:

-The Red Arrows!

Every year, the Red Arrows take on two or three new recruits.

Maybe next year one of those iconic red suits may

find its way into the hands of Jonny Dowen.

For my own sort of career progression I don't see how

I could ever go any further than that or top that.

But for now, like the many thousands on the ground,

he can only admire them from afar.

The Reds are such an institution, such an iconic team.

You just bump into anyone around the air show,

and they've always, at some point,

they've gone to try and see the Reds.

The little kids walking around in the red flying suits -

it just gets passed from generation to generation.

Everyone grows up with the Reds.

They are just a symbol of best of British. It would be incredible.

All of Jonny's training,

sacrifice and dedication have led to this moment. It is his time.

Time to close the biggest public air show in Britain.

Good afternoon. Typhoon 4-2 for start.

Typhoon 4-2. Start approved.

MUSIC: When I Ruled The World by Coldplay

-Typhoon 4-2, line-up runway 2-6.

-Line-up 2-6, Typhoon 4-2.

Typhoon 4-2, left turn, cleared for takeoff.

-The Typhoon at the end.

-It's outstanding.

-Love it.

-I love heavy metal!

-You can really feel the sound inside of you.

It's really, really good.

I just wanted it to go faster so it would make more noise, that was all.

I am sure it can probably go faster still, but you could hear it

and feel it in your chest as it flew past, and the noise and everything.

-Incredible.

-Complete admiration for the people who fly those.

I think it would be fun, but it would probably make me

-feel a bit queasy.

-You'd have to be brave, because I wouldn't do that.

-Basically, a fantastic end to the show.

-Yeah, yeah.

He's done it. Jonny's impressed the Bournemouth crowds.

Over the course of this series,

we've flown with the mighty Red Arrows as they braved low cloud

to make it to Buckingham Palace for the Queen's birthday fly-past.

That was probably the best thing I've ever done in my entire life.

We've seen what it takes to keep the old war birds in the sky with

the Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight,

as they strived to put on a show for the World War II veterans.

Makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

It was great, all 18 aircraft airborne. So I couldn't be happier.

And they pulled off a spectacular Spitfire/Typhoon synchro display,

all to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle Of Britain.

We've trained with the Chinook team above and below water.

Obviously if this happened over Blackpool,

we'd be panicking a little bit more.

And we've seen the physical stresses exerted

on a Typhoon display pilot up close.

-HE GROANS

-Minus three.

We've been inside the bubble with the RAF's elite,

witnessed their highs and lows during the busy display season,

and caught a glimpse into their unique world,

to find out what it takes to be Britain's ultimate pilots.