Mansfield engineer flying high with the Red Arrows

Not many Mansfield men get to spend their summer in the back seat of a world-famous Red Arrows Hawk T1 aircraft.

By The Newsroom

Published 24th Feb 2017, 12:43 BST

Updated 28th Feb 2017, 12:06 BST

Corporal Shaun Kelly, a key member of the Red Arrows display team.

But that is the exciting prospect awaiting Corporal Shaun Kelly, who joined the RAF’s Red Arrows Squadron in 2014 and is now an integral member of its display team.

He is one of 10 engineers who have been assigned to a specific aircraft and pilot in the world-famous display team during 2017.

He will fly at speeds of more than 350mph as a passenger in transit flights to more than 80 venues across the UK and Europe.

The former pupil at Garibaldi School in Forest Town joined the RAF in 2001 as a weapons technician.

Since teaming up with the Red Arrows, he has been deployed all over the world, including countries such as China, India, Thailand and Singapore.