Flight Lieutenant Martin Day is flying high.

He's one of just 10 new pilots chosen this year to fly with the Royal Tucano Aerobatic Display team.

Winchester-born Martin, a qualified flying instructor and instrument-rating examiner, attended St Bede Primary School, The Westgate and Peter Symonds' College.

He took a degree in accountancy at Cardiff where he enjoyed his experience of flying with the university air squadron. This seemed more exciting than balancing the books so, after he graduated in 1990, he was commissioned into the Royal Air Force.

A year later, he won the Battle of Britain Trophy for display aerobatics.

Martin's name may be familiar to the readers of the Hampshire Chronicle from his exploits as a young gymnast in the 1980s in which he achieved success at county, regional and national level.

"With this background, it should be no surprise that he is completely at home turning upside-down close to the ground but this time in a high-performance aircraft," said a spokesman for the display team.

This summer, Martin will take part in the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford in July and over 50 other aerobatic displays across the UK and Europe, taking the controls of the Tucano, which he first flew at RAF Cranwell.

His parents, Colin and Rosemary Day, still live in Winchester.