KEY POINTS:
A New Zealand pilot flying in the Royal Air Force's elite Red Arrows aerobatic team knows what it is like to fly faster than the speed of sound.
Andrew "Boomer" Keith, 32, earned his nickname when he flew at supersonic speed in an Australian F18 fighter aircraft.
He
made the flight when he went to Australia to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force's No 2 Squadron, whose Skyhawk fighter-bombers were based at Sydney.
When he arrived the Skyhawks were on an exercise with the Royal Australian Air Force so he flew as an observer on a reconnaissance flight in the F18.
Supersonic aircraft make a booming noise when they hit the speed of sound, hence the nickname.
When the Government dumped the air force's air combat wing, Fl Lt Keith went to England.
He is now part of the squadron which the RAF said was acknowledged as one of the world's premier aerobatic teams,
"The Red Arrows are the public face of the Royal Air Force. The Red Arrows exist to demonstrate the professional excellence of the RAF and promote recruitment to the RAF," said the RAF on its website.
However, for Flt Lt Keith's father, Bob Keith of Howick in Auckland, it was about a boy who wanted to fly after sitting in the cockpit of an Air New Zealand Boeing 747 and watching the flight crew.
Mr Keith said he was very proud of his son for having been accepted into the prestigious flying team and planned to visit England next year to see his son fly in a demonstration.
"I am very proud, extremely so," said Mr Keith, 69.
Mr Keith, also a pilot, said he and his son built their own aircraft in Auckland, a Thorpe T18 but that had just been sold.
"I am suffering a bit from withdrawal symptoms," Mr Keith said today.
Flt Lt Keith joined the RAF in 2002, the year after the Skyhawk squadrons were dumped in New Zealand.
His first posting was to a Harrier squadron when he flew the single seater vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in combat missions over Afghanistan in close air support mission for British and coalition ground forces.
Mr Keith said this year was the first for his son in the Red Arrows and he was unsure about what he wanted to do when his three-year term was up.
"That is what we would like to know. He was talking about getting a permanent commission. He was only on a six-year term," Mr Keith said.
Flt Lt Keith was one of 18 New Zealand pilots who transferred from the air force in New Zealand to the RAF when the air combat wing was axed.
The Red Arrows fly the Hawk fast jet trainer, a British-built aircraft.
- NZPA
