VE Day Palace flypast prep 'like herding cats'

Sqd Ldr Dan Wilkes has been involved in a coordination issue akin to "herding cats".

A pilot taking part in a flypast over Buckingham Palace for VE Day has revealed the painstaking detail that goes into planning the display - comparing the challenge of coordinating flights to "herding cats".

Sqd Ldr Dan Wilkes, who trained at RAF Cosford in Shropshire, said work had started last September for Monday's military flypast.

The event is part of celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of VE Day on Thursday and the pilot said he was "proud" to be involved.

He said more than 20 planes were taking part in the display, including World War Two Lancaster bomber, plus flight jets and current operational aircraft including the RC-135 Rivet Joint, which he flies, and the Red Arrows.

VE Day on 8 May 1945 brought to an end nearly six years of war in Europe, with the unconditional surrender of all Nazi German forces to the Allies in World War Two.

Other high-profile events on Bank Holiday Monday in London include a procession from Parliament Square along Whitehall and The Mall.

Organising people on foot, however, would appear to be a simpler task than the sort of planning required for formations of different aircraft - logistics pressures shared by Sqd Ldr Wilkes.

Sqd Ldr Dan Wilkes has worked on other flypasts including this one for the King's coronation

Arranging the flypast, he said, began when planners booked airspace and spoke to Heathrow Airport about what commercial airlines would be doing on the day.

They then turned to the "choreography" of the event, with the aim of giving the best possible tribute to veterans. Preparations took place at RAF Brize Norton.

The issue with the choreography, he explained, was that every aircraft would be flying at a different speed.

"Trying to work out getting everybody in the right place at the right time is like herding cats," he said.

As a boy, Sqd Ldr Wilkes watched air shows at RAF Cosford and wanted to be involved

Sqd Ldr Wilkes grew up in Albrighton, Wolverhampton, near RAF Cosford, with some "pretty strong links" to the base near Telford, because his grandparents and greatgrandparents worked there during the war and afterwards.

Watching RAF Cosford Air Show as a boy inspired his love of flying, he said, adding: "It's where I learned how to fly when I was 16, before I could drive a car."

'Daddy's aeroplane'

Prior to joining the RAF, he worked as a specialist education teacher in Birmingham.

Describing his family's pride, he said his two daughters, who are aged five and two, had started to call every aircraft "daddy's aeroplane".

He previously worked on flypasts for the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee in 2022, the coronation of King Charles in 2023 and the King's birthday celebrations in 2023 and 2024.

"The nerves have slowly dissipated and gone away," he said, "but the importance nonetheless is still there and at the forefront of my mind."

Remembering how he watched RAF Cosford air show aged 13 or 14, wanting to be involved, he said things had worked out "quite nicely".