Captain Jack flies in

HE helped Doctor Who battle Earth-destroying aliens.
But John Barrowman, aka Captain Jack from Torchwood, had to battle nerves and a churning stomach as he flew low-level in the back of an RAF jet before kicking off the countdown to this year's Royal International Air Tattoo.
Jumping down from the back seat of the Hawk trainer at RAF Fairford yesterday, he adopted a sunglasses-clad, Top Gun-like pose and said: "I have helped to fly the Tardis, but this was much more exciting."
Barrowman was helping to launch the show because of his dual British and American nationality, which will be one of the key themes of the air tattoo when it celebrates the 60th anniversary of the United States Air Force.
"Americans have got a lot of flak in recent years," he said.
"But we shouldn't forget that men and women from both countries are working hard to ensure that we enjoy the freedoms that we have, and that is one of the great things about the tattoo."
advertisement

His wingman, or woman in the second Hawk, was Sound of Music star Connie Fisher who won the BBC talent contest How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? Yet although her voice won over the audiences on the TV show, she was unable to drown out the tones of Typhoon jet fighters sat nearby.
"This was an amazing experience," said the 23-year-old.
"I never watched the flight safety video the night I was supposed to.
"I never realised what a Hawk looked like. I think I was expecting an easyJet or something."
With just five weeks before the first aircraft arrive at Fairford for the show on July 14 and 15, air tattoo teams are getting ready to start building the show infrastructure, and show director Tim Prince admits he's excited.
He said: "Like last year, the show is smaller than those in the 1990s but we are concentrating on quality rather than quantity.
"This year, so many countries want to contribute to the flying that we are over-subscribed, and it's a challenge to keep everyone happy, but that's why volunteers and visitors come back year after year.
"There are so many things happening this year, but it's the Thunderbirds which will prove to be one of the main attractions, as their act has a certain razzamatazz that everyone will appreciate."
And that was a view shared by the American base commander, Col Paul Wuebold, who no doubt faces his fair share of stress in next few weeks, as his base becomes the focus for Europe's only airshow to celebrate the US Air Force anniversary.
"This will be my third and last air tattoo, and for me to be helping to celebrate such an important anniversary is a real privilege," he said.

Play video