<p>On a transit flight (getting to or from a display location) the team may fly at the relatively low altitude of 1,000 feet (300 m). This avoids the complication of moving though the cloud base in formation, and also avoids much controlled air space. Jets are more efficient at higher altitude, so longer flights are made at 35,000 to 42,000 feet (11,000 to 13,000 m). On transit flights, the formation can include spare planes. Sometimes a C-130 Hercules accompanies them, carrying spare parts.
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As the fuel tank capacity of the Hawk sets a limit to flight distance, very long transits between display sites may need landings on the way to refuel. For example, a visit to Canada needed 6 refuelling stops (in Scotland and Iceland and Greenland and Newfoundland).
<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/9662286556/">Red Arrows, Bournemouth Airshow 2013</a>