The highlight of the Sunderland International Airshow for many people is the display by the RAF’s Red Arrows. After losing two team members in accidents last year, they decided to display with seven aircraft this year rather than the usual nine, but this didn’t detract from the amazing spectacle at all. The huge audience was treated to a superb demonstration of precision formation flying and the ever-popular crossing manoeuvres, which involve two planes flying towards each other at 400mph and appearing to pass so close that the pilots can see each other’s eyes. This all happens so fast that getting a picture of the moment of crossing is a bit of a challenge. This year, I cheated. I set the 5D Mark III to high speed repeat, panned over one of the planes and kept my finger on the shutter.  And I got a couple of results that are much better than I’ve ever managed before with the Reds. Here they are:

Crossover

And

Crossover