RFC Rendcomb is picture perfect. Driving towards the main building, home to Vic Norman's AeroSuperBatics, this idyllic private airfield immediately grabs your attention with its manicured lawns, long gravelled drive and superb views across the Cotswolds. Then of course there are the aircraft, Boeing Stearman biplanes, two of which are basking in the spring sunshine and looking resplendent in their new Breitling sponsored colour scheme.
It's exciting seeing them in the flesh for the first time. GAR was fortunate enough to be one of the first outside parties to see images of the scheme last year ahead of the big reveal we ran on November 25th - an announcement with which we broke with tradition for the first time in running a feature outside of our weekly Tuesday update. One thing is immediately obvious - what looked good on paper has translated to the aircraft exceptionally well, with the orange and white colours offering great potential for photography. The Breitling branding also lends itself perfectly to the aircraft and is tastefully presented and bold, without being overbearing.
Bearing in mind the global economic climate, it is to AeroSuperBatics' great credit that they have been able to convert an existing relationship with Swiss watchmaker Breitling in to a two year title sponsorship package. The new deal comes of course on the back of an extremely successful partnership with cosmetics brand Guinot; a deal which reached its conclusion at the end of last season. As many people noted at the time, it would have been a significant blow to the UK airshow circuit should their participation have been curtailed in any way due to a lack of sponsorship, so this is very much a good news story.
Talking about the new partnership with Breitling Vic Norman said at the time, "We are extremely pleased to have secured sponsorship from a prestigious brand like Breitling. It is one which has a long standing relationship with the aviation world, especially airshow display acts, and we are already looking forward to working with them next season and beyond."
And this, from both parties, was very much the message at the press launch, with Breitling's own marketing department in attendance to join Vic and his team heralding a new partnership which, if recent seasons are anything to go by, will see the team perform in front of millions of spectators this year alone.
AeroSuperBatics has been in the wing-walking business for an incredible 27 years, and Breitling is the latest in a long list of brands which have joined forces with Vic Norman's formation team - the only one of its kind. It's difficult to disagree with the quote from the team's website for they truly are one of Europe's best known and best loved civilian display acts. I remember standing in the crowd at RIAT with GAR colleague Paul Dunn last year and you could see that the airshow-going public were lapping up their wingwalking display - and this at an event more normally associated with military heavy metal of course. It's the same everywhere, be it civilian events, military events, seaside events or private events - the AeroSuperBatics team puts on a great show, and that's what it's all about.
The press event commences with a full flying display from the two aircraft, piloted in this instance by Martyn Carrington and the main man himself, Vic Norman. Stella Guilding and Danielle Hughes are on wingwalking duty for this performance, and it's a spectacular sight over the historic Royal Flying Corps airfield, with some super passes including a lovely split following a fabulous low run-in directly towards the assembled media corps. Despite the generally excellent weather it naturally clouds over a little just before the show starts, but the new Breitling colour scheme holds up well in the dull conditions and I would suggest it will probably prove more photogenic in that regard to the previous red and white Team Guinot paintwork.
This season sees the wingwalking team made up of three girls with Stella and Danielle joined by Sarah Tanner. With 11 years on the team between them the girls do an impressive job of making what is actually very difficult look almost effortless. Trying putting your hand out of your car window at 40 mph and then imagine your whole body being exposed to speeds of up to 150mph and forces of 4G - all the while performing various gymnastic routines. It's not easy and, if not done correctly, could be potentially harmful, oh, and by the way, you have to smile throughout as well! It's impressive stuff and the girls deserve huge credit for the professional way they approach their work - the hallmark of everyone on the team it has to be said.
The aircraft of course are Boeing Stearman biplanes from the 1940s. Each began life as a PT17 'stock' Stearman and was used to train American pilots to fly in WW2. Since then they have been modified and now have twice as much power (450hp) as they originally had (220hp). Other modifications include new (four) ailerons and an inverted pressurized fuel system which combine to improve the roll rate and enable the aircraft to fly upside down during the display.
"All of these modifications help make the (now known as a B75) Stearman an awesome display flying platform." says Martyn Carrington. "Our pilots love flying them to the displays, during the displays and home after the displays! For formation flying, the extra horsepower also helps us a lot with 'catch up' and 'keeping in' during tight turns."
I'm pretty sure flying with a wingwalker atop the aircraft is a little different to the norm as well - but exactly how does that does that impact on the pilots I wonder?
"We are always very aware of the girls being on the wing during our displays as the flying characteristics of the aircraft completely change." says Martyn. "The best way of describing the performance change is to say that it is very much like flying an aeroplane with the landing gear and drag flaps down. You have to be much more aware of attitude and speed when going into the aerobatics or unusual attitudes as it's a lot more speed critical - speed can drop off very rapidly as can the height." he explains. "Our display is more about 'energy management' than it would be if we were displaying without a wingwalker on top of the aircraft.
"As for the 'G-Force' and 'speed' considerations for the wingwalker herself, this is not a problem as both of these aspects are not sustained for long due to the natural 'wingwalker drag' and height loss during manoeuvres - the aeroplane returns to a slow / moderate speed very rapidly," explains Martyn.
"The wingwalkers are so used to the sequence that they know exactly when things are going to get fast or when there will be some 'G' applied. They cope with these by relaxing at high speed and not waving or changing position until normal speeds are reached. I guess you could say they develop an inherent 'sense of airspeed'!
"As a pilot, you are very aware that you have a person on your wing during formation flying. This does make you think twice about separation distances, especially if you're passing beneath the lead aircraft or flying under it. Of course, the other consideration here is the smoke as the girls will certainly be very annoyed with you if you put them in it!"
It is these skills that the team will employ to entertain a vast number of spectators during the 2010 airshow season, a season which will see The Breitling Wingwalkers perform across the UK, Europe and, all being well, even China. The sponsorship deal with Breitling is great news, not only for the team, but the airshow scene in general and the enduring success of Vic Norman's team is a tribute to their popularity and ability - long may it continue.
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