Team Viper consists of five supersonic Hawker Hunter jets flown by military pilots from the British Royal Air Force.
They are based in the United Kingdom but have displayed all over the world.
The team is named after the Rolls Royce Viper engine found in the original team of Strikemaster jets that were displayed in 2010.
In 2010, Team Viper flew four Strikemaster Jets but for the 2011 season they will be flying five Hawker Hunter Jets. Team Viper disbands in 2012.
Pilots
Squadron Leader Chris Heames – Viper 1
Chris has a fantastic background as a display pilot having well over 6,000 hours displaying aircraft as diverse as the Yak Hunter, Phantom, Lightning and Tornado. He brings an incredible depth of professionalism and expertise to display flying.
Gerald Williams - Viper 2
Gerald is the only private pilot in the team with now well over 1000 jet hours to his credit. He has also displayed the Yak, Hunter and L39 in South Africa and the UK.
Andy gillett - Viper 3
Andy was a fast jet pilot for the RAF where he became both a Qualified Flying Instructor and Qualified Weapons Instructor, for many years flying the Hunter, Hawk and Jaguar. He flew as a Senior Captain for Cathay Pacific, ran his own flying school, and when not flying with Team Viper now flies as an Airbus Captain for easyJet. He has in excess of 15000 flying hours .
Mark Southern - Viper 4
Mark is an ex military RAF fast jet pilot where he flew the Hawk and Tornado and was a qualified flying instructor on the Jet Provost amassing over 6,000 hours. He now flies the 757 and 767 as a training captain for Thomas Cook.
Squadron Leader Dan Arlett - Viper 5
Dan is a current fast jet pilot flying the Tornado F3 as Flight Commander on Treble-One Fighter Squadron at RAF Leuchars in Scotland and is responsible for flying standards and evaluation on the Tornado F3 aircraft. He has been an active display pilot since 2004 successfully displaying Hunters, Strikemasters, Jet Provosts, Yaks and Extras and the Tornado F3 as part of the RAF Role Demonstration Team. Dan is the deputy team leader, so can move around the team as well as flying in the Viper 5 slot. He has over 5,000 flying hours.
Ben Morell - Viper 6
Ben was a fast jet pilot for the RAF for many years flying the Hawk and Tornado and was also a weapons instructor on the Hawk. He flies the spare aircraft and swaps for Mark or Dan in the Viper 3 or 4 slot as needed. When not flying for Team Viper he currently flies the Airbus for British Airways.
