Wracks No. 11
by Richard Baker - Richard Baker - Richard Baker
Cyprus - Akrotiri - RAF Red Arrows traing over ship wreck
Hawk jets of the Red Arrows, Britain's RAF aerobatic team practice display using an old ship wreck as display datum (centre). Looking out to the Mediterranean Sea from the Akrotiri Peninsular, Cyprus, we see the elite team, practising their display, a show-stopping manoeuvre of their 25-minute air show display routine. A rusted and crumbling hulk of a ship lies in the shallow surf and the Hawk jets used by the Red Arrows fan out above it using red, white and blue smoke. The shipwreck's remains provide a sad foreground to the dynamic flying beyond making a graphic landscape. 'Datum' is an axis on which the Red Arrows focus their displays, from where the whole show is visible at the crowd's centre. 'The Wreck' is but one of a series of datum points selected by the team leader at short notice to simulate diverse geographical features and wind directions
