2013
Fly past fit for the Queen
By Cadet Corporal Heather Stacey (Squadron Press Pack)
Two 1406 (Spalding) Cadets joined in the celebrations to mark Her Majesty the Queens Official Birthday on Saturday 15 June 2013.
Cadet Sergeant Andrew Oxby and Cadet Corporal Heather Stacey joined forces with the Royal Air Force and took part in the Official Flypast to celebrate the occasion. They flew in the Royal Air Force Tri-Star of 216 Squadron, along with 50 other cadets from around the UK.
As Her Majesty returned to Buckingham Palace after enjoying the grand spectacle of Trooping the Colour and Horseguards’ Parade, several thousand feet overhead Andrew and Heather were on-board the Tri-Star aircraft as it took its place along with other aircraft in formation as they flew along the Mall, and over Buckingham Palace.
The fly-past comprised 30 aircraft of 12 different types from the famous Lancaster bomber of the RAF Memorial Flight to modern multi-role Typhoon fighters, the Red Arrows Aerobatic Team and the RAF’s latest and largest transport aircraft, Voyager, including a Nimrod flanked by two Tornado F3 fighters. The flypast took nine months to plan due to the different aircraft speeds. Due to high winds the schedule was slightly changed as it was decided to withdraw the Spitfire and Hurricane from the flypast.
The Fly past culminated with the Red Arrows trailing red, white and blue smoke as they flew
over Buckingham Palace.