The Red Arrows flew with eight aircraft over Bournemouth on Saturday and Sunday - because Red 3's wife had gone into labour.
Pilot Joe Hourston got the news as the team headed to Barry on Saturday morning - and immediately jumped in the team's spare jet and flew back to RAF Scampton to be with wife Sarah.
Red Arrows enthusiast Haydn Garwood broke the scoop on Saturday afternoon.
Haydn, 19, from Bournemouth, whose father is a warrant officer in the RAF, spent the morning up at Bournemouth Airport with the Red Arrows team.
As the pilots headed off to their aircraft for a morning display in Wales, one of them was on his phone.
“We were joking that he was probably talking to his wife,” said Haydn, a charity worker.
“Then there was a bit of a commotion and one of the engineers told us that Red 3's wife had gone into labour.
“He was given the choice of doing the display this afternoon or heading back to base.
“He quickly jumped into a spare Hawk and flew back to Scampton.”
The Red Arrows displayed over Barry with Red 10 taking the ninth spot. But they flew their eight ship formation - which they rehearse in case a pilot is ill - at Bournemouth.
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