Sunderland Airshow

Myles Garland has spiralled from the position of Blade Four to lead the team in the air as Blade One and has flown at many an airshow from Bahrain to Dublin to Sunderland – the team certainly take flight in a dramatic way.

Commuting to work is fast. In the space of two days they will fly in Sunderland, Edinburgh, Dublin and then back to Sunderland – they do stop for some sleep and food they say.

This type of flying is no walk in the park

All the team's pilots' professional skills have been honed to perfection, but what does it take to make the team?

Myles says: "To fly with The Blades, one does not have to be mad - in fact, you need to be quite the opposite.

"Our training is approached in a very procedural manner and each stage of training is completed before moving onto the next. Our aircraft, the Extra 300, is a 'tail-dragger' (a plane with a wheel at the back of the aircraft by the tail), so learning to fly this type of aircraft is essential.

"All of our pilots are former Red Arrows, which reduces the amount of training required to fly precise formation aerobatics.

"Flying 'gyroscopic' (spinning on every axis all at once) aerobatics however, was a new discipline for us when we first started in 2006 and this required the most training and respect.

"The best thing about flying is that it focuses the mind. Other 'issues' just fade away as soon as you get airborne and flying is a real escape."

Scary

When their audience sees the planes performing their stunts from the ground, it all looks so simple and smooth, but of course, this air of calmness belies the reality of some manoeuvres in the sky. 

You wouldn't drive your car to work like this!

Myles says that The Blades try to avoid scary moments: "The times when our skills are most needed are when flying a close formation display in strong gusty winds. It's then that the aircraft are bumped and tossed about in turbulence." That could be what you would call scary!

And of course those skills are hard earned.

The team are aged between 37 and 43 and are very experienced pilots – that experience is needed every second they are in the air - especially when flying at such speeds and tempo.

"My favourite manoeuvre," says Myles, "is the new one and four set-piece following the four aircraft fan-break. It's new for 2009 and flows into a mirror push-up and stall-turn split. It's dynamic, fun to fly and challenging to get it right."

Fancy flying?

If you fancied becoming an aerobatic pilot, then bear in mind, that it takes a very special person to do it.

While this type of flying is not just for young men, Myles says aerobatic flying of this calibre is "not pipe and slippers time".

So what if you would like to be a pilot in a team like The Blades? What would it take?

Myles explains: "You would have to be someone who knows limits and discipline.

"When working in a team, there is no place for show-offs or pushing the limits of what is sensible and safe.

"As a solo aerobatic pilot the same rules apply. Fly within your own personal limits and if something doesn't feel right then it probably isn't!"

Look out for the dynamic team in the sky this coming weekend – it'll be The Blades.