RED LIONS ALL SET TO JUMP FOR NDP AT PADANG
STORY // Report Matthew Neo
PHOTO // Ajay Prashad
In celebration of Singapore's Golden Jubilee, the Red Lions will be returning to the Padang for this year s National Day Parade (NDP).
It is during the Prologue of the Integrated Show that the Red Lions will be executing their jump and making their much-anticipated entrance.
Flying in a Super Puma of the Republic of Singapore Air Force's 126 Squadron, the six jumpers will exit the helicopter individually at 10,000 feet, and manoeuvre towards each other.
They will then link arms with each other and keep close, freefalling to a height of 5,000 feet, where they will turn outwards and track away, executing a bomb burst of trailing smoke.
At 4,000 feet, they will deploy their parachutes and glide downwards till they are set up for the landing circuit at 1,000 feet above ground, then take their turns to land, one by one, in the middle of the Padang.
"The Padang has its own set of issues and challenges that we face," said Red Lions Team Leader Major (MAJ) Arnold Low. "The wind condition will always be one of the biggest challenges. It can change in terms of the direction that it comes from, and also the velocity."
"Other than that, there are obstacles that we face like the tower structures, the seating galleries, and the trees which we have to watch out for."
To overcome these challenges and put up a good and safe performance for the spectators at NDP 2015, the Red Lions have been undergoing a vigorous training schedule which includes sessions at iFly Singapore as well as using the Parachute Flight Simulator located at Pasir Ris Camp.
Using the vertical wind tunnel at iFly Singapore, the Red Lions practise the freefall segment of their performance by fine-tuning their body positioning as they freefall. Explaining that there are four stages of freefall - exit, freefall, canopy control, and landing - MAJ Low said: "The wind tunnel comes into play during the second phase of freefall where we are able to fly our bodies better, and fine-tune our skillset."
"It also allows us to gather together as a team and rehearse the manoeuvres that we are going to do during the NDP, and make sure that we know how each other flies his body."
The Parachute Flight Simulator, which the Red Lions have been using since April, is also essential to their mastering the freefall and ensuring that their performance goes off without a hitch. As MAJ Low explained: "It puts us in a simulated and controlled environment that allows us to try various kinds of jumps in various kinds of environments (and) to assess and react according to various kinds of malfunctions which we can input into the system."
He added: "We know that we are a crowd favourite, and we don't want to disappoint the crowd We are really looking forward to putting up a good show!"
