Congratulations to Flight Lieutenant Kirsty Moore, 31, a female daredevil who is to become the first woman to fly with the Red Arrows. Kirsty will start training in September as a member of the prestigious aerobatics display team from 2010-2012. Kirsty (pictured above) is not the first woman to apply for a place, although she was the first to make the short list and be selected to join. According to the RAF no previous female fast-jet pilot had advanced far enough in their career to join the display team, which is based in Scampton, Lincolnshire. To underline Kirsty's achievements, about thirty fast-jet pilots apply to join the Red Arrows every year but only the very best are successful. As a measure of ability required, successful applicants must have scored better than average marks in their flying career, have flown a minimum of 1,500 hours and have completed at least one front line tour as a fast-jet pilot. She is currently flying with a Tornado squadron based at RAF Marham in Norfolk. Kirsty joined the RAF in 1998, the Top Gun, who is originally from Lincolnshire, trained new pilots on the Hawk aircraft at RAF Valley in North Wales. It is likely that Flight Lieutenant Moore will fly at events such as the British Formula 1 Grand Prix, Great North Run in Newcastle and, in her final year with the team, at the London Olympics. If you are watching a display and one of the jets is painted in a Laura Ashley design, it will probably be Kirsty.
