<p>Do the pilots fly lower when the weather is bad?
</p>
No, the base height of the display is the same irrespective of the weather conditions. There are three types of display the Leader can fly depending on the weather conditions: the Full Display; the Rolling Display; and the Flat Display. However, due to optical and audio illusions, when the weather is bad people on the ground sometimes get the impression that the aircraft are flying lower than normal. Low cloud reflects the aircraft noise downwards and, by adding to the noise coming directly to your ears, makes the display seem noisier than usual. Similarly, a low cloud base acting as a near backdrop to the display, rather than the limitless blue sky, gives the visual impression that they are lower than normal.
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/48215073@N00">Santosh Puthran</a>
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<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/talk2santosh/9658674096/">Red Arrows Bournemouth Airshow 2013</a>