She gave up teaching for a career in the armed forces – now Lt Becky Frater is leader of the Navy's award-winning Black Cats helicopter display team. She and colleague Lt Chris Chambers will wow the crowds with a breath-taking demonstration of formation flying by their super- manoeuvrable Lynx helicopters. And there will be extra pride and passion when they take to the skies for Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton is their home base. By Tina Rowe

Lt Frater is the only woman Maritime pilot, and the first woman member of the Black Cats. She and Lt Chambers are instructors with 702 Naval Air Squadron, which teaches trainee Lynx pilots the skills they need for a multitude of roles from swooping on pirates to disaster relief.

They were trained for their new roles in the spotlight by the two previous Black Cats pilots, putting in four months of intensive flying, all after completing their normal working days.

Now they are revelling in the opportunity to showcase the aircraft nationally and internationally.

Lt Frater, 36, of Castle Cary, says her gender has never been an issue in her work. "You get a bit of banter of course, but I've never really noticed any issue."

She became interested in joining the armed forces when a recruitment officer came to talk to her students. She joined the Army in 1997, learning to fly at RAF Shawbury. She then spent five years on a front line tour with the Army, serving overseas, including in Iraq, before later transferring to the Navy.

She says: "I took a big risk in leaving a good job, but joining the armed forces is something I had always wanted to do."

One of the most dramatic of the Black Cats manoeuvres is the nose-over, which involves tilting a helicopter 90 degrees so the nose is facing the ground. Another is the carousel which sees two helicopters bringing themselves nose to nose and 'dancing' with each other in the air. This year the manoeuvres have been linked together to create an even more dynamic, vertical, display.

Lt Frater says: "The moves and manoeuvres involved in the performances were already known to us; the challenge was putting them to a different use. It's a whole new skill set and one of the most important things is to be safe. Our instructors have been very critical, but they need to be; like everything else in the Royal Navy it needs to be spot on.

"To be selected to fly for the Royal Navy Helicopter Display Team is not only an official recognition of your capability as a pilot and instructor, but it is also an honour to be asked to represent the Royal Navy in such a unique public arena. Lynx helicopters are very agile and the Black Cats fan base is growing; we hope the 2010 season will ensure even more people will get to see this very versatile aircraft."

Aerobatics in a very different style will be on show when the Breitling Wingwalkers take to the skies, recreating the fearless glamour of the flying circuses of the 1920s using the latest technology.

Painted in their striking Breitling livery, the beautiful 1940s Stearman biplanes will roar through the skies at speeds of up to 150mph, as the wingwalkers climb around the aircraft and perform handstands against the wind pressure while waving to the crowd below.

For the impressive 'Windrider' pass, named after the Breitling watch, the daring wingwalkers leave the safety of their static harness to sit on the leading edge of the top wing directly above the plane's propeller. The daring pilots will take the aircraft through a breathtaking sequence of loops and rolls. During low-level flypasts, the girls enjoy an unusual view of the audience as they perform handstands.

In complete contrast are the heavyweight pair which will dominate the static display area. Making a rare appearance is an E3 Sentry, with the distinctive "mushroom" on its back. The E3 is NATO's military airborne warning and control system, providing all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications. When E3s were deployed during Operation Desert Storm the aircraft's radar and computer systems allowed an entire war to be recorded for the first time in history. Standing alongside the E3 at Air Day will be a VC10, used for air-to-air refuelling.

Many of the historic aircraft are on show only as a result of major restorations. The visiting Sea Hurricane is an example. The aircraft, which left the production line in 1940 as a standard Hurricane, was "navalised" to a Sea version a year later. For some years after the war it was used as an instructional airframe, and it took an epic restoration and years of hard work to get it back in the air.

Similarly the hard-working team of the Yeovilton-based Historic Flight face a continuous challenge to keep their superb collection of Naval aircraft airworthy. They include the ever-popular Swordfish bi-plane, old technology even by World War II, but still capable of fearsome feats. Swordfish sank the Italian fleet at the battle of Taranto, a victory still celebrated at Yeovilton with an annual Taranto night dinner.

Air Day thrills are not just confined to aircraft. Royal Marines will present a display of unarmed combat, and there will be a chance to see aircraft engineers at work in open hangars. As the public watch the action in comfort, enjoying ice creams or cold drinks, far away in Afghanistan Yeovilton-based maintainers will be working round the clock in fierce heat to keep Commando helicopters at maximum efficiency.

Among dozens of specialist stands defence manufacturers will exhibit the latest technology with inter-active displays in industry hangars. More than 200 vehicles will be on display, from classic and vintage cars and motorbikes to military vehicles. For July 10 and 11 only the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton will offer a 25 per cent discount to Air Day ticket-holders.

One of the largest aviation museums in Europe it includes an audio-visual recreation of a working aircraft carrier, and is also home to the British Concorde prototype 002.

Yeovilton is proud to open its gates to the public. Brigadier Mark Noble Royal Marines, Yeovilton's commanding officer says: "The Air Station has played host to many squadrons and aircraft types over the decades and to the men and women who fly, service, repair and support them.

It is now the size of a thriving small town in its own right, with some 4,400 uniformed and civilian staff working together.

Since 1940, Yeovilton has operated countless naval aircraft types such as the Seafire, Firefly, Sea Vixen and Phantom – and more recently the Sea Harrier, Sea King and Lynx. These aircraft have flown from ships and shore bases around the world, in conflicts ranging from Borneo to the Falklands and in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Today, aircraft from Yeovilton's Maritime Lynx Helicopter Force are deployed on Royal Navy ships all over the world, protecting oil interests in the Gulf, defending the Falkland Islands or pursuing drug runners in the Caribbean and Atlantic. Meanwhile the Commando Helicopter Force operates its Sea King and Lynx helicopters on operations in Afghanistan, doggedly supporting the land forces on this dangerous but vital mission.

"Our aim for Air Day 2010 is to promote the Royal Navy and, in particular, Naval Aviation and the supremely professional men and women who make the Service what it is. It will also be a fitting tribute to the people and aircraft who have served the Air Station over the last 70 years."