manoeuvre and I missed taking the required flap. The consequence was that I flew well below my base height of 1000 feet at the bottom of the loop and ended actually levelling off at around 250 feet; a very sobering experience all round and many lessons that remained with me through my whole flying career, including in my current role as Commandant of the Central Flying School, where one of my responsibilities is as the accountable risk holder for the Red Arrows. Suffice to say, I was not successful in the eventual fly-off, although I’m confident others for whom I have had responsibility since that day may have benefited in some way.
So 
back on 208 Sqn for my 2 years in command, we did not actually have the display competitors flying aeros down to low level, but a very quick competition was flown at higher altitude, and the selection made from just the one sortie. Flt Lts Matt Barker and Tom Saunders were the 2 winners and I must say that both 
of their displays were absolutely superb, being innovative, dynamic and exciting (and not a hint of flap over the top of their loops in sight!). The 2 pilots also designed their own colour schemes for their aircraft; RAF Valley paint shops always looked forward to the challenge of realising the pilots’ dreams and they always accomplished magical feats…
I was also most grateful for the opportunity to deploy the Sqn abroad on several occasions, the most notable of which was to Tours Air Base in the Loire Valley. This is where the French Air Force conducts its own advanced Jet Training on the Alpha Jet. The event became a regular Sqn exchange, with the French returning to RAF Valley to enjoy the challenges of flying around the valleys and mountains of north Wales. Invariably I would have to devote some hours to the numerous noise complaints once our French friends had departed, as it’s probably fair to say that their idea of 250 feet, the minimum height permitted in our low flying system, was a ‘little different’ from our own. Nonetheless, all great for international relations and the benefits of deploying abroad can never be overstated, particularly for
…... display into the smallest piece of sky possible, I elected to use a ‘degree’ of flap over the top of the looping manoeuvres which would enable me to turn the corners more sharply. Although all approved by my authorising chain, it was not considered necessary to go back up to 5000 feet to practice as I was already flying down to a 1000 ft base height at the time. So off I went to practice the new manoeuvres…Unfortunately, on first attempt, I became distracted by something unrelated to the
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