# Red Arrows Female pilot



## John A Silkstone (May 14, 2009)

First woman joins Red Arrows

The RAF has selected its first woman pilot, Flt Lt Kirsty Moore, to fly in the Red Arrows aerobatic team in 44 years, it has been announced. 

Flight Lieutenant Kirsty Moore, 31, is the first female pilot to join the Red Arrows Photo:  
Flt Lt Moore was one of two candidates who passed a rigorous selection test with 30 other RAF fast jet pilots to claim the place among the renowned nine-pilot team. 

The pilot, who qualified to apply for the post after an operational tour flying Tornados over Iraq, will spend the next three years enthralling crowds in Britain and abroad with daredevil manoeuvres. 

Until recently, no female fast-jet pilot had reached the stage in their flying career to fulfil the application criteria of being assessed as above average in their flying career, having a minimum of 1,500 flying hours and to have completed at least one front line fast-jet operational tour. 

Wing Commander Jas Hawker, the Red Arrows' commander, said the shortlist of candidates represented "some of the very finest fast-jet pilots" in the Royal Air Force. "Their skills, experience, dedication and enthusiasm are second to none," he added. "We are equally proud to be welcoming both pilots to the team." 

The second successful pilot was Flt Lt Ben Plank, 30, from 1 Squadron. 

Flt Lt Moore, originally from Lincolnshire, joined the RAF as a pilot in 1998 and has served as an instructor on the Hawk aircraft and is currently flying Tornado GR4s with XIII Sqn based at RAF Marham in Norfolk. 

Since the unit's creation in 1965, the Red Arrows have flown over 4,000 displays in 53 countries. 

Many of the Red Arrows' pilots and support staff have recently returned from Afghanistan and Iraq. 


Well done 

Silky


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