In 1991, at the Kubinka Air Base a new Russian Air Force aerobatics team was born: the Strizi ( Swifts ). Pilots at Kubinka had been flying since 1984 in close 6 aircraft formation, but they were officially recognized on May 6, 1991, when they carried out a demonstration under the name Strizhi. The aerobatic performance demonstrator team flies the Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum. The Strizhi aerobatic team has conducted 50 demonstration flights on an annual basis since 1991. Its pilots have visited in excess of 28 foreign states. The team traditionally participates in Tushino air parades and Zhukovsky air shows. The team’s pilots have repeatedly carried out demonstration flights during numerous celebrations, devoted to anniversaries of various cities, including the 850th anniversary of Moscow. This video present the story of these amazing pilots.
The Blue Eagles is a British professional helicopter aerobatic team. Formed nearly 40 years ago, the Blue Eagles team is also famous for including the first British female military air display pilot: Sgt Julie Wiles. They fly four Gazelle light helicopters and one Westland Lynx. The Blue Eagles team is composed entirely of volunteers. The team continues to fly out of Middle Wallop and its repertoire includes formation flying, loops, rolls, breaks, and many other standard aerobatic maneuvers. Watch them “work their magic” in this amazing video, soundtrack is Queen – A kind of magic…
The United States Navy’s Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the Blue Angels, was formed in 1946 and is the world’s first officially sanctioned military aerial demonstration team, as well as the oldest currently flying aerobatics team. Check out this great Blue Angles video….
Check out this CH-53E Super Stallion as it comes to land. See anything weird? Well if you don’t see the nose gear extended that is because there was some kind of problem… fortunately the mechanics did a great job and managed to release the gear. Also, got to hand it to the pilot. He did a phenomenal job controlling the “Hurricane Maker” ( sailors call the Stallion that way because of the downward thrust ). Great team effort!
In 1997 at an airshow in Bratislava one member of the Russian Knights aerobatic team forgot to lower the landing gear of his Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker. As a result of this incident, only helicopters were allowed to perform that day. As for the aircraft, there was some damage to the underside but nothing major. The plane took off heading for Russia only two days later. Very solid plane… and beautiful too…
The Turkish Stars are the aerobatic demonstration team of the Turkish Air Force and the official national aerobatics team of Turkey. Jump in the cockpit of one of their supersonic Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighters for a ride along with the Turkish Stars.
For 12 years the Douglas A-4F Skyhawk was the chosen plane for the famous Blue Angels, the United States Navy’s Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron. Between December 1974 and November 1986 the Blue Angels performed their routines with elegance and precision. Here is an old Van Halen video featuring the Blue Angels.
