F e a t u r e s Blues – It’s Over to You!
technician eleven years ago. Originally from Manchester, Chris said: “My dad, Steve, was a bit of a plane spotter and we used to go to airshows together. I used to see the Red Arrows and decided I wanted to join the RAF. I wanted to be a pilot like every young kid but I really used to enjoy hands on mechanical stuff, taking things apart and putting them back together, so I decided to look at engineering.”
T 10
Chris applied to join after leaving school but the RAF wasn’t recruiting. Undeterred, he got a job as an engineering apprentice and tried again seven years later. He was successful and after completing his trade training he was posted to Brüggen working in the tyre, brake, hydraulic and oxygen bays. When the unit closed he moved to VC10s and C-17s at Brize.
hose in the red overalls are well known enough, but who is working behind the scenes at their base at Scampton to
keep the iconic red Hawks flying? The answer: Eighty-five engineers and support personnel known as the ‘Blues’. Emma Thomas follows Corporal Chris Moss to hear the untold story.
Corporal Chris Moss is a ‘Blue’. He joined the Royal Air Force as an airframe
Spring 2010
Whilst working on the C-17 aircraft he went to Iraq and Afghanistan many times. Chris was posted to the Red Arrows in August 07. He said: “I was on JPA one evening and saw it as an option. I typed my name in and when I came in on shift the next day I had an e-mail saying I was going. I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a joke at first and phoned the Flight Sergeant to find out what was going on. My dad was really chuffed when I told him.”
Since joining the Team, 33-year-old Chris has experienced nearly every engineering role. He spent his first season working on the Winter line and then on the ‘sched jet’. The Team has thirteen aircraft with one aircraft always on scheduled maintenance. Chris said: “It was a case of being thrown in at the deep end but it was an excellent way to learn the jet.”
Chris traveled to Canada and America as part of the support team on the ‘Western Arrow Goodwill Tour ’ and spent time on the Red Arrows’ Spring training detachments at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. The 2008 season saw him working as part of the dye team, who travel to display locations to replenish the diesel and dye which creates the Team’s famous red, white and blue smoke. He said: “The dye team really are the un-sung heroes of the Red Arrows. The public never see them as they are generally hidden under their protective suits as it’s a messy and difficult job.”
Chris was also part of the Team’s on the ground Public Relations Team at airshows and events, manning the information unit and answering the public’s questions about the Team and the aircraft. He said: “Being part of the PR Team was worrying at first as it wasn’t something I’d done before. It was
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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