Black Cats - Lieutenant’s Michael Vivian and Scott Sunderland

In this episode we welcome Lieutenant’s Michael Vivian and Scott
Sunderland to the For Flying Out Loud podcast. They are two
serving members of the Royal Navy, both serving as Fleet Air Arm
pilots on the Wildcat helicopter. In 2024, these two pilots
embarked upon a challenging but as you’ll learn, extremely
rewarding journey to re-launch the display of the Wildcat
Helicopter in an exhilarating pairs display season. 

Unlike most other display teams,  the job of these isn’t to
display for the public. It’s to teach the next generation of
aviators to fly and fight the Wildcat Helicopter. 

2024 saw the team awarded the Steedman Sword at RIAT for best
British Display Team, beating the Red Arrows, Typhoon and Chinook
Display teams of the RAF. The first time this had been won since
the predecessors to the Black Cats, the Lynx pair in 2003.


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