Mike Ling MBE
The Wing is expecting a sell-out crowd for the second in the season of Sunday afternoon talks when former Red Arrow Mike Ling MBE visits the Battle of Britain Memorial on Sunday 13 February.
Mike’s highly anticipated presentation, which follows a fascinating curtain-raiser to the series by world-class conductor Anthony Inglis in November, is entitled Up and Downs – 10 Years as a Red Arrows Pilot.
It promises to include some fantastic anecdotes of his time as the longest-serving pilot with the world-famous aerobatic team and his new roles flying with the Blades Aerobatic Team and piloting the Grace Spitfire. With capacity in The Geoffrey Page Centre limited to just 50 people, early booking is advised.
Born in 1979 in Biggin Hill, famously home to a Battle of Britain airfield, Mike achieved his childhood dream when he was selected to join the Red Arrows for the 2008 display season as Red 3 before becoming Red 7 in the prestigious synchro pair for 2009.
In March 2010, while leading the synchro pair, he survived a head-on mid-air training collision at a closing speed of over 750 mph and needed major surgery and months of rehabilitation before getting back in the air.
Mike left the Red Arrows when his three-year tour of duty came to an end and undertook a staff appointment but was posted back as Red 10, the supervisor, in 2011. He was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List in 2017 and left the Royal Air Force in 2019 as a Squadron Leader. He achieved the second of his childhood dreams, to fly solo in a Spitfire, more recently
The series continues with a talk by Richard Kornicki CBE DL entitled For Your Freedom and Ours – The Polish Air Force in the West on Sunday 27 February, a presentation by Richard Chambers from the Mission Aviation Fellowship on Sunday 13 March and a talk by aviation historian Andy Saunders on Sunday 3 April. Later that month, on Sunday 24 April, Nick Oram will round off the spring series of talks with Spitfire Pilots: Legends of the Air, based on his new book of that name.
All the talks start at 2.30pm and last for approximately one hour.
Ticket prices:
Friend of the Few (Hurricane) Free Entry
Friend of the Few (Spitfire) £5
Guest of Friend of the Few (max one per friend) £6
Non-members of Friends of the Few £12.
For bookings phone 01303 249292 or email enquiries@battleofbritainmemorial.org