Save our Arrows!

[Saitek]

Just let our PM know that we really do want our Red Arrows. I fear they are following Concorde. Hasn't anyone heard of keeping things going with the money side of things kept out?
Brits only can vote.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SaveTheReds/

[Craig.]

to be fair the PM has little to do with this.
the MOD the RAF and defense minister are the ones this needs to go through.

[Saitek]

Of course the PM hasn't any influence.

[Hagar]

Of course the PM hasn't any influence.

I doubt that he cares very much either way.

This latest trend of government by petition worries me. Just another gimmick.

[C]

Try Mr Brown, our illustrious coffer-controller. Unfortunately for all the services, and he being a Labour polititian, he views the services as being predominently "Tory", hence the lack of any major spending increases under the current government (despite getting involved in two major conflicts).

Strangley enough, the service tend to have Tory leanings, and given the evidence its not difficult to se why!

Having said that, the Arrows do get a lot of corporate money (BAE SYSTEMS, Total (fuels) et al...) so I don't think we have too much to worry about in the long term...

[expat]

What prompted this, I have not seen or read anything to suggest the Reds are approaching their last flight?

Matt

[Hagar]

What prompted this, I have not seen or read anything to suggest the Reds are approaching their last flight?

http://www.express.co.uk/news_detail.html?sku=1083

[C]

The Reds as a team would probably be safe. The main thrust of these articles was after the Navy slashing debacle announced in January. There are a few potential stumbling blocks for the Reds though, mostly budget related.

Scampton is a bit of a problem. Arguably the RAF's most historic base it has infrastructure problems. Units that were meant to move there have ended up elsewhere (remembering Scampton/Waddo was being planned as a big ISTAR base when the ASTOR arrived to complement the E3D and Rod R1). IIRC the runway needs resurfacing (muchos cash) and on top of this, Doncaster (tenuous link) Robin Hood International Airport is the latest minor regional airport trying to get too big for its boot and hae some controlled airspace, which would probably (almost certainly) overlap with the Scampton Danger area (5nm radius up to 9000ft!) - bad news for Reds operations. Alternatives have been suggested such as Leeming, but that for example has the very busy A1 next to it - imagine the increase in accidents of the Reds were there - not to mention the problems they had operating out of Cranwell for the time after Scampton closed originally...

[Hagar]

Scampton is a bit of a problem. Arguably the RAF's most historic base it has infrastructure problems.

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about that.

Quoted from Hansard 25 Jan 2007 : Column 1944W http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070125/text/70125w0009.htm
[quote]RAF Coltishall and RAF Scampton

Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of (a) RAF Coltishall and (b) RAF Scampton. [116947]

Mr. Ingram [holding answer 22 January 2007]: Former RAF Coltishall has been declared surplus to defence requirements and is currently in the process of disposal.

An element of the United Kingdom

[ozzy72]

Well I signed it on the grounds B.Liar rarely does anything that makes him REALLY unpopular in the tabloids