SHAH ALAM: The Red Arrows, the RAF aerobatic display team returned to the Malaysian skies on Oct. 17. The venue was the Epsom College at Bandar Enstek, a couple of kilometres down the road from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Due to the low cloud, the crowd at the college, had to be contend with a flat display, all 24 minutes of it. Although only invited guests were allowed into the college -due to security reasons = enthusiasts who had taken the trouble to walk to the bare hills behind the grounds would have been delighted with the view they got.
Honestly, I think those who trekked there would have gotten better photos or videos of the display as there were no street lamps and short trees to block the view of the display. I had intended to shoot a video of the display while at the same time take photographs. What was the result then? Lets just say, thankfully I took pictures as well!
Bad weather had dogged the Red Arrows since last Wednesday as they flew from the Indian leg to the Malaysian and Singapore legs. The team finally landed at Subang airbase around 11.30am on Sunday (Oct 16) after an extended stay in Thailand due to bad weather.
Due to the weather delay, they did not perform the KLCC flypast on Friday (Oct 14) and the Singapore flypast the next day (Oct 15). The KLCC flypast on Friday was conducted by three RAF Typhoons from Butterworth instead.
And despite what the Star says, a flypast is not a display. Its just a way to say, hi, in the sky.
These two flypasts are now scheduled for tomorrow (Oct 18). The Singapore flypast venue is over the Marina Sands Bay (1.10pm to 1.30pm) while the KLCC one is scheduled at 6.25pm. Note that this times are tentative due to weather and final clearance. .
The Red Arrows is in Malaysia and Singapore as part of their 60-day tour covering the Middle East and Asia. They will perform for the first time in China at the Zhuhai airshow, to be held from Nov 1 to 6 at Zhuhai, Guandong.
The display at the college was the first for the Red Arrows in Malaysia since LIMA 2007. As LIMA is now held in March – the time the team started their training for its annual display calendar – they have been unable to come to Malaysia since then.
— Malaysian Defence
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View Comments (6)
3 Typhoons did do a flypast on Friday 14th Oct 2016 by KLCC. It was some time after 4pm.
Hawk is all weather jet plane, why weather is a concern?
Reply
They are not on a combat mission. They can take their time
Weather radar and external data can be used to alter course and fly around the weather. But here it's a light aircraft with limited range so the only options are to go through or wait.
karim,
Irrespective of whether an aircraft performing a display is ''all weather'' [which the Hawk T1 is not]; bad weather such as haze, rain or a low cloud base will affect the display and lead to safety issues. It will also make it hard for spectators on the ground to watch the display.
Lack element of surprise and high speed fast as normally aerobatic team will do. But still entertaining with close formation and extreme maneuver. Again the location is really bad choice with hilly terrains, trees and shop lots.
They just passed by around 6.30 just now. I wish I could take the pic though...