TWO Scottish pilots have been recruited to the Red Arrows for their 50th display season following a tragic period for the elite aerobatic team.
The RAF has announced that Flight Lieutenant Stewart Campbell, 33, from Peebles, and Flt Lt Joe Hourston, 34, who was raised in Cromarty on the Black Isle, will join the Red Arrows for 2014.
The Red Arrows have been beset by double tragedy in the last two years, with a pilot crashing to his death and another dying after being ejected from his grounded plane.
Flt Lt Campbell joined the RAF in 2003 and flew two operational tours in Afghanistan, supporting UK and allied frontline troops with key intelligence and precision weapons with 617 Squadron, known as The Dambusters.
He said: "The Red Arrows represent the pinnacle of fast-jet display flying and I'm honoured to be joining this famous team.
"The way the team operates, and how it represents the RAF and UK as a whole, is something I very much wanted to be part of.
"My selection hasn't sunk in yet, and I don't think I will feel like I'm a member of the Red Arrows until I taxi out with team leader and go through the first loops and rolls."
He added: "I'm looking forward to the training in the coming months. The skills and requirements are similar to what is expected in other fast-jet roles - just as we work up to fly operationally in Afghanistan, we will now be preparing and working hard for a busy and demanding display season in 2014."
Flt Lt Campbell, who attended Peebles High School and studied at the University of Edinburgh, went on: "I've had a desire to fly RAF fast jets ever since watching military aircraft conduct low-flying training from my classroom window at school."
The pair will begin training in the coming weeks and will be part of the aerobatic team's famous nine-aircraft formation, performing in front of thousands of people at home and abroad.
Flt Lt Hourston was born in Inverness and was educated at Fortrose Academy before studying at Glasgow University. He started his Initial Officer Training with the RAF in 2001.
He is also a former Tornado GR4 pilot with 617 Squadron at RAF Lossiemouth and has served in Afghanistan.
He said: "I'm very proud to be joining the Red Arrows and the 50th display season in 2014 makes this a particularly special time to arrive.
"Since day one of deciding to be a pilot I've always wanted to be a member of the team because of what it represents and the variety and challenge of the flying itself."
Flt Lt Hourston said: "People obviously see the team's nine red Hawk jets performing but there's much more to it. There's an experienced and highly skilled support team and that's one of the aspects I'm most looking forward to, getting to see how it all works."
The pair's appointments follow the loss of Flt Lt John Egging, 33, who died when his aircraft crashed near Throop, Dorset, in August 2011 before his colleague, Flt Lt Sean Cunningham, died three months later when he was ejected from his Hawk T1 while it was on the ground at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire.
The RAF describes the team as the public face of the force which contributes to defence diplomacy and supports wider national interests by promoting UK industry.
Since its formation the group has performed more than 4500 displays in 54 countries.
On completion of a three-year tour with the Red Arrows, which is based at RAF Scampton and flies BAE Systems Hawk jets, the pilots either return to the frontline or to instructional or staff duties.
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