Raymond Thilthorpe
Ray spent 27 years as an RAF pilot flying the Canberra, Gnat and Hawk, including a tour as the Manager of the Red Arrows from 1979 - 1982; it was during his time as Red 10 that Ray oversaw the team change from flying the Gnat to the Hawk. His last tour was spent as a fast - jet flying instructor at RAF Valley - but he is that old that even his protégés have now retired from the Service!
It was during that tour that he became involved in organising a new concept in flying displays - that of the seafront airshow.
By the time he left the Service, this involvement had developed into a business and, although he briefly joined an airline and flew Boeing 737's out of Heathrow, the business took over and he ultimately stopped flying professionally to focus on airshows.
As a result of his Red Arrows 'experience', he was also introduced into television and radio presentation and he co-hosted the TV coverage of Farnborough International on two occasions, a QED programme entitled 'Round Britain Whizz', which was the forerunner of the current documentary programme 'Coast', and a number of other 'aviation-related' projects. Since he started in 1986, Ray has run almost 100 shows. Now, although he will remain a Director of the company, and a key member of the team, he has decided to step slowly towards retirement and focus more on his ‘grand-fatherly’ responsibilities!
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Phoenix House
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Cirencester
Gloucestershire
GL7 1QG
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