2011 UK Airshows

Airshows >> UK: 20 Questions For......Team Viper Team Viper began life as a four-ship, Strikemaster equipped display team before, at Waddington in July 2010, introducing Hawker Hunters in to the mix. The Strikemasters have now gone and, as a five-ship, Team Viper is the only Hunter display team in the world, conveying, in its own words, 'an aura of classical elegance which the Team affectionately describes as Power, Heritage and Soul'. With this weekend's Cotswold Airshow commemorating the Hunter's 60th anniversary, we thought it was time to ask Team Viper '20 questions....'

1/ Name?

Viper 1 - Chris Heames.

Viper 2 - Gerald Williams.

Viper 3 - Mark Southern.

Viper 4 - "Crazy Dan".

Viper 5 - Andy Gillett.

2/ Display mount / mounts?

Viper 1 - Hawker Hunter, Folland Gnat, BAC Strikemaster, K21 gliders.

Viper 2 - Hawker Hunter FGA9.

Viper 3 - Hawker Hunter GA11.

Viper 4 - Hunter T7 G-VETA owned by Team Viper Director and Commentator Ian Oliphant-Thompson.

Viper 5 - G-PRII, the oldest flying Hunter in the world, and the only PR11 left. Owner.

3/ Day job?

Viper 1 - Chief Instructor RAF Central Gliding School.

Viper 2 - Business stuff!

Viper 3 - Training Captain with Thomas Cook Airlines; on B757 and B767.

Viper 4 - RAF Squadron Leader, fast jet pilot.

Viper 5 - easyJet A319 / A320 Captain.

4/ How many hours in your log book?

Viper 1 - 12500 ish.

Viper 2 - About 1000.

Viper 3 - If my log book was up to date then there would be a total of 2.06285714 years airborne!

Viper 4 - 5200.

Viper 5 - 15000+.

5/ On what types?

Viper 1 - EE Lighning, F-4 Phantom, Tornado (both types), Tucano, lots of small pistons Yak 52, 50, 11, 3, Hunter, Gnat, JP etc.

Viper 2 - Yak 52, JP, Strikemaster, Vampire, Venom, L-29, L-39, Hawker Hunter, Westland Wasp.

Viper 3 - Dominie, Nimrod Mk 1 and 2, Chipmunk, Jet Provost, Hawk, Tornado GR1. Boeing 757 Boeing 767, Airbus 320, Shorts 360, BAC Strikemaster, Hunter and minor hours on Cessna 172, 150, Lynx, Scout, Lightning and Harrier.

Viper 4 - Mainly fighters (over 3000 hours) and all sorts of other things. I have enjoyed flying many types of aircraft; vintage jets, modern unlimited aerobatic types and even the much maligned Cessna and Piper aircraft.

Viper 5 - Fastjets: Hunter, Jaguar, Hawk. Airliners: L1011, A319, A320, A330, A340. GA: Many various types.

6/ How many years have you been displaying?

Viper 1 - Sixteen.

Viper 2 - About ten, here and in South Africa.

Viper 3 - Just over one year.

Viper 4 - Seven years.

Viper 5 - Three.

7/ What was your first public display?

Viper 1 - Biggin Hill.

Viper 2 - Kemble, still a favourite place.

Viper 3 - Southend 2010 in a Strikemaster.

Viper 4 - RAF Valley Photocall 2004.

Viper 5 - Farnborough (excluding RAF displays).

8/ All time favourite display venue?

Viper 1 - RAF Waddington.

Viper 2 - Durban, Virginia in South Africa. Stunning location!

Viper 3 - Not that many to choose from so far, but Skrydstrup in Denmark.

Viper 4 - I haven't got a specific one. Margate in South Africa was special; Kemble is the friendliest venue and is a great family occasion; the sheer size of Waddington and RIAT amaze me; and the crazy boaters at Dawlish with the large cliff-tops at the end of the display-line certainly focusses the mind. My favourite experiences have been at Kemble, so that wins.

Viper 5 - Sanicole.

9/ What's the best thing about being a display pilot?

Viper 1 - The friendship and camaraderie of the team.

Viper 2 - The flying!!!! Nothing comes close.

Viper 3 - Envy from my work colleagues.

Viper 4 - Sharing the enjoyment and fascination of flight with the public, especially those whose only other experience of aviation is as a passenger travelling to/from their holidays.

Viper 5 - Being able to get up close to some fantastic machines.

10/ And the worst?

Viper 1 - Sitting all day for the last slot and getting a weather abort.

Viper 2 - Hanging around and bad weather.

Viper 3 - Not found any yet!

Viper 4 - Giving up weekends with my family and not being able to have a late night before a display day.

Viper 5 - Struggling to strap in!

11/ Favourite part of your display?

Viper 1 - The aerobatic figures.

Viper 2 - Tough one, maybe the Blue Note pass at the end. It's all great really.

Viper 3 - Arriving at show start in good order, on time and in tight.

Viper 4 - The Team Viper routine is a great display throughout, showing off the best of precision close formation aerobatics and the aura of the iconic Hawker Hunter. To be honest, I'm working so hard the best bit is after landing knowing that the Team has just flown a top notch display.

Viper 5 - Opposition manouevres.

12/ If you could improve one thing about the UK airshow circuit what would it be?

Viper 1 - The weather.

Viper 2 - Pilots could be looked after better.

Viper 3 - Mountains of paperwork; all being different requirements from different shows. (Plea here for all shows to require the same details).

Viper 4 - There is too much paperwork with every airshow having a different and long line of questions and requirements. The airshow community needs a web-based site for all documents and hosting requests. Also, certain shows do not give adequate accommodation (often run-down student digs) which makes the pilots fatigued which, when combined with dynamic and very low flying, presents higher than neccessary level of risk.

Viper 5 - The cost of fuel!

13/ Other than yourself (obviously), who's your favourite current display pilot? .

Viper 1 - Cliff Spink.

Viper 2 - Dave Davies and Zane Sennet, Reds 8 and 9. Great guys and funny too.

Viper 3 - ......!

Viper 4 - Hard to say. The current leader of the Red Arrows is the most naturally talented pilot I have flown with.

Viper 5 - Charlie Brown.

14/ Which other act / team would you always stop and watch?

Viper 1 - The Swift Team (now GliderFX).

Viper 2 - The Reds of course! I also really like the GR4 Role Demo too and any Eastern Bloc fast jet.

Viper 3 - Any Russian fast jet. (Know your old adversaries).

Viper 4 - The Red Arrows obviously, they are the most exciting flying display act in the World and are testament to the excellence and selflessness of those serving in the RAF.

Viper 5 - The Red Arrows.

15/ Is there a team / aircraft you've never seen displaying which you always wished you had?

Viper 1 - The Russian Knights.

Viper 2 - English Electric Lightning.

Viper 3 - The Black Arrows.

Viper 4 - Treble-One Squadron's Black Arrows. I would have loved to have seen them at Farnborough in 1958 for the never beaten 22-ship close formation loop.

Viper 5 - ME262

16/ If you could choose anything from any era, which aircraft would you most love to get your hands on?

Viper 1 - Spitfire.

Viper 2 - F/A-18 Super Hornet (Drool!)

Viper 3 - F-22 Raptor.

Viper 4 - Harrier I suppose. I had the opportunity to fly one once but gave the seat to a colleague because I expected another opportunity which never materialised. Hovering a fixed wing aeroplane would have been incredible.

Viper 5 - Avro Lancaster.

17/ Who inspired you to begin display flying?

Viper 1 - Andy Gent and Anthony Hutton.

Viper 2 - Tony Haig-Thomas, of Old Warden fame.

Viper 3 - It just happened, and the shoes fitted.

Viper 4 - Nobody really, but it was Tony Little and the guys at North Wales Military Aviation Services, Mark Petrie and John Rowley, that invited me in to the privileged world of flying civilian ex-military jets. Through them I flew the Jet Provost, Strikemaster and L39 Albatross. It was Gerald Williams, whom I met whilst teaching him close formation in Yaks at North Weald, who invited me to fly with Team Viper.

Viper 5 - Hmmm... me?

18/ Which airshow has the best grub?

Viper 1 - RAF Leuchars.

Viper 2 - Al Ain, UAE.

Viper 3 - I'm still hoping to find it!

Viper 4 - Well, if I could blag my way in to the hospitality enclosures then that would be RIAT. Farnborough is the worst, surprisingly enough. To be honest, most of the shows lay on decent food for the display crews.

Viper 5 - As a pilot, food is normally taken at a run..availability beats quality in my book, so the answer must be anywhere that has all day snacks. RAF Leuchars does a good job in that department.

19/ Where's the best after show party?

Viper 1 - Culdrose.

Viper 2 - RIAT or Sanicole.

Viper 3 - Sanicole.

Viper 4 - They're always a bit over-rated particularly because I have to fly the next day so can only have a couple of drinks. I think RIAT throws the very best after show party. >

Viper 5 - Sanicole.

20/ What one piece advice would you give to anyone who wanted to get in to display flying?

Viper 1 - Lose your ego.

Viper 2 - Do it because you want to do it, not for the perceived accolades. Get used to waiting around for long periods!

Viper 3 - Win the lottery first!

Viper 4 - Be very cautious; make sure you practice all your manoeuvres at a safe altitude before stepping down; never fly to your's or the aircraft's limits and, most importantly, remember you are there to display the aircraft not impress other pilots with how great you are.

Viper 5 - Don't own your own aircraft!!

Huge thanks to Gerald Williams and his colleagues for taking part. Team Viper's new website can be found at the Team Viper Display website. The Cotswold Airshow takes place on the 18th and 19th June and more details can be found in the GAR Cotswold Airshow preview.

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