Former Paignton schoolboy living the dream with Red Arrows

A former Torbay schoolboy is living his boyhood dream – working with the legendary Red Arrows.

Will Runciman, who grew up in Paignton, is part of the Red Arrows team bringing the flying action to next month’s English Riviera Airshow.

He said: “I used to live down by the harbour, and I’ve watched the Red Arrows in Torbay since I was a little boy sitting on the harbour walls.”

Sgt Will Runciman is now in the Blues, the Red Arrows’ ground support team making it happen when the Red Arrows star in this year’s airshow on Saturday, June 3, and Sunday, June 4.

Will, a former pupil of Curledge Street and Paignton Community College, joined the RAF in 2007. He said: “I’ve been on the team for almost four years. As soon as the opportunity arose, I had all my friends in Torbay messaging me to say how excited they were – and it brought back all those childhood memories of watching the Red Arrows in the Bay and in Dartmouth.

“I now maintain the safety equipment, everything from the helmets and life preservers to providing training and advice for pilots in a survival situation. The Red Arrows have around 140 personnel but only about 10 of them are display pilots.”

One of the pilots Will will be working with is Flt Lt Ollie Suckling, who is fulfilling a lifelong ambition to fly with the Red Arrows, although he admits it is often tricky for the pilots to fully enjoy their surroundings.

“This is my first year in the team, so I haven’t visited Torbay as part of the Red Arrows before but I was here for my final civilian show last year,” said Ollie.

“Torbay will be one of our first shows for the public in 2023 and my first military appearance in the Bay. There are moments in the display when you might get a glimpse of the area through your front window but we are mainly focussed on the bosses and synchro leader. Everybody else is concentrating on the formation.

“I am an unashamedly an aircraft enthusiast and have always loved everything about aviation. When I was younger, my dad took me to the local airshow near York and I’ve got stuff at home signed by the Red Arrows.

“It is really cool for me to hopefully inspire the next generation of pilots and engineers, or whatever job people want to do in the military.

“The training for the Red Arrows is extremely demanding and will continue throughout the season. Our winter training was probably the most intense period of flying I’ve done through my career.

“We came back to the UK for the coronation but were in Croatia the week before and, including the transit back to the UK, we flew 17 times in six days.

“It is an incredibly intense period but also very rewarding because you see the team beginning to gel and routines coming together. It is a bit like a sports team going through pre-season in readiness for the real thing.

“We pick up on any error and timing issues. The only way to be the best is to train hard and to practise.”