The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team – better known as the Red Arrows – is to be recognised for more than five decades of excellence when team members receive an award from the Honourable Company of Air Pilots next month.
The Air Pilots’ annual Trophies and Awards are among the industry’s most prestigious because recipients are selected by their peers, who have experience in military and civil aviation around the globe.
This year the top Award of Honour, goes to the Red Arrows in recognition of the team’s enduring contribution to excellence in aviation. For more than 50 years the aerobatic team has been performing both in the UK and abroad, making them globally famous and often performing before millions of people during the course of their season.
The Red Arrows are also regarded as ambassadors for the UK and they have, for so many years, been one of the most visible examples of British expertise in the field.
Also receiving a separate award this year will be RAF Squadron Leader Mike Ling, who flies as Red 3 within the Red Arrows. Sqn Ldr Ling was recalled to the team for the 2018 season following a tragic accident – he spent nine years with the Red Arrows previously. But it is for his role in promoting the best of British science, engineering and education around the world that this award seeks to recognise, including his tireless dedication to using social media to highlight the work of the team, often with eye-catching photography.
All this has helped make Sqn Ldr Ling one of the most recognised faces on the air display circuit and for his dedication to duty, support for the Red Arrows and promoting the ‘Best of British’ abroad, he is awarded the Master’s Commendation.
image © Crown Copyright
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