YEOVILTON AIR DAY: A celebration of 100 years of Naval Aviation (From This is The West Country)

YEOVILTON AIR DAY: A celebration of 100 years of Naval Aviation

8:00am Friday 10th July 2009

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RNAS Yeovilton Air Day’s celebration of 100 Years of Naval Aviation tomorrow will bring together a cavalcade of aircraft and helicopters representative of major stages in the Fleet Air Arm’s development.

This ranges from early wood and wire biplanes right up to modern day hi-tech technology, and much of what came in between, too.

With over 30 years’ operational service now behind it, the Westland Lynx remains one of the most significant and important helicopters within the Fleet Air Arm’s inventory and, indeed, within its history.

Active in the Falklands Conflict, Desert Storm and, more recently, on missions in Iraq, the Lynx is a highly versatile and agile design – twin qualities superlatively demonstrated by the Royal Navy’s official helicopter display team, the two-Lynx-equipped Black Cats.

The team’s award-winning routine of ultra-intricate and smoothly choreographed rotary revolutions has been impressing airshow audiences since 2003, none more so than spectators at Air Day where – as of one two “home teams” – the other being the Royal Navy Historic Flight - the Blacks Cats’ flying display is a consistent, major highlight.

But how long does it take to achieve that level of precision in the sky, how is the beautiful choreography achieved, and what can we expect to see from the Black Cats in 2009?

“The pre-season work-up starts in January”, Black Cats manager and lead pilot Lieutenant Dave Lilly explained, adding that, by May – the month when display approval is granted and the airshow season begins – the Lynx pair will have practiced together for between 60 to 80 hours.

During the routine, the two helicopters are in constant communication with each other: that, adherence to a rigid and strict display sequence, and an engrained knowledge of exactly where each helicopter should be every second of the routine combining to produce a mesmerising performance characterised by pin-point accuracy.

In terms of manoeuvres, the 2009 Black Cats display is set to include many favourites from seasons past including what Lieutenant Lilly referred to as a “signature manoeuvre”, a spectacularly steep nose-down crossover performed from the hover.

The “Swingboat” – a formation pass flown at 50 miles an hour, backwards – was introduced last year and, according to Lieutenant Lilly, was extremely well-received, so will feature again in this year’s show.

A new Black Cats display arrival is also promised, but Lieutenant Lilly was tight-lipped on the specifics of this, not wanting to spoil what promises to be a bit of a surprise!

2009 will be a highly active year for the Black Cats, with the dual role of flying the flag for the Fleet Air Arm at airshows up and down the country, and of taking part in the series of Fly Navy 100 centennial flypasts planned to take place at various events – Air Day being one of them.

As Lieutenant Lilly pointed out, the Black Cats’ expertise in formation flying led to their inclusion in the latter – testament indeed to their prowling prowess.

And, finally, what of the Black Cats’ name? ‘Black-Catting’, as an expression, refers to a competitive, but amicable show of one-upmanship, or to the possession of something that exceeds the possessions of others.

While the latter might be true of the Fleet Air Arm and their Black Cats, what is certain is that – in a six-hour-long Flying Display featuring no less than four world class international display teams, afterburning jets and historic aircraft – this dynamic rotary unit will once again thrill the Air Day crowds.

The current list of participating aircraft can be viewed by clicking on the link in our "related articles" section on this page of our website.

Tickets are available online or via the ticketline on 08445 781 781.

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