Halcones

Last updated
Halcones
Escuadrilla de Alta Acrobacia Halcones insignia.png
Halcones insignia
Active1981–present
CountryFlag of Chile.svg  Chile
Branch Chilean Air Force
Role Aerobatic flight display team
Size5 Aircraft
ColoursWhite, Red, Blue
Aircraft flown
Trainer Extra 300

Escuadrilla de Alta Acrobacia Halcones ("Hawks High Aerobatics Squad"), known simply as the 'Hawks' (Halcones), is an active group of nine officers of the Chilean Air Force who are trained specifically for aerobatics. One of the Halcones' signature moves is recreating the Chilean star in the air using smoke. The team may be likened to the British Royal Air Force's Red Arrows for their affinity for complex, high-risk, aviation-based manoeuvers.

Contents

The team flies Extra 300L aircraft. The Halcones have performed demonstrations in airshows in Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil, United Kingdom, Belgium, United States, Canada, Israel, France, Peru, Uruguay and Bolivia.

Aircraft

Pitts S2A

1981-1990

The Halcones was formed on January 14, 1981 as the Escuadilla de Alta Acrobacia "Halcones," equipped with four Pitts Special aerobatic biplanes, although the team later increased to five aircraft. [1] The Air Force acquired models S-2A and S-2S (the latter for the solo display). This agile biplane, which is American-made, is powered by a 200 hp Lycoming engine. The S-2S is powered by a 260 hp engine.

The Halcones used the Pitts for about 400 events in their home country and abroad. During these years, the notoriety of the pilots grew in Chile, and resulted in many invitations to international events, such as the following:


The last presentation made with these planes was on February 25, 1990.

Extra 300

1990 - 2003

The Air Force, aware of the new and advancing aeronautic technology, decided to replace the Pitts for a new plane: the Extra 300.

This German-produced monoplane-wing media is powered by a Textron Lycoming engine of 300 hp. 2700 rpm 6-cylinder and 3-propeller wood blades covered with carbon fiber. The two-seater plane is built from 60% composite materials and 40% metal, and features a load factor and G + 10 - 10 G, roll rate of 360 ° per second, maximum weight 950 kg. The plane was designed to make various aerobatic maneuvers, but can only sustain 4 minutes of inverted flight.

The squad made approximately 400 presentations with the Extra 300 planes in Chile (from Arica to Punta Arenas, as well as Easter Island) and abroad. The "Halcones" presentations during this time resulted in numerous invitations to perform, such as the following:

The last presentation made by the Extra 300 plane was on May 13, 2012.

The Halcones Aerobatic Team achieved many important distinctions with the Extra 300 aircraft and its skilled Air Force pilots.

Extra 300L

2003 - 2019

Due to the success achieved with the Extra 300, the Team began flying the new Extra 300 L. The Extra 300 L was a result of modifications and updates to the older Extra 300 model.

This low-wing monoplane of German origin is powered by a Textron Lycoming engine of 300 hp. 2700 rpm. 6-cylinder and 4-propeller wood blades coated with carbon fiber. The two-seater plane is made of 60% composite materials and 40% metal, and features a load factor and G + 10 - 10 G, why roll of 420 ° per second, in the silencer tailpipe, maximum weight 950 kg. This version was also designed for acrobatics, but still has only 4 minutes of inverted flight time.

The first presentation the Extra 300 L made was on February 29, 2003.

GB1 GameBird

During a meeting of Chilean Air Force new Commander in Chief, general Arturo Merino Nuñez with specialized press (March 5, 2019), it was confirmed that the new aircraft of Halcones aerobatic team will be the GameBird GB1. Seven of the type are set to be received over July and December 2019, with its public début intended for FIDAE 2020. [2]

Awards

Throughout the 31-year tenure, the High Aerobatics Squad "Halcones (Hawks)" has visited countries like Ecuador, Brazil, Canada, USA, England, Belgium, Israel, France and Peru.

Best Air Display

This prize was awarded in the city of Springfield, Illinois, United States, 1990, in honor of the presentation made by the then new aircraft, the Extra-300. The High Aerobatics Squad "Halcones (Hawks)" Team was the first team to use this aircraft for their demonstrations. The prize was awarded to the squad after just one year's experience in the Extra-300.

Sir Douglas Bader

This prize was awarded to the squad on their second visit to England for the 1993 International Air Tattoo. On this occasion, the Hawks' performance earned them the most prestigious prize of the festival.

Best Individual Flying Demonstration

In 1993, during participation in the International Air Tattoo in England, the squad received the prize for best presentation of a Team abroad, and the airplane "only" training was recognized with the distinction as "Best Individual Presentation."

50 anniversary of the USAF

As part of the ceremony for the U.S. Air Force commemoration in 1997, the High Aerobatics Squad "Halcones (Hawks)" was invited to participate in the celebration in recognition of their prestigious career.

50 anniversary of IAF

In 1998, during the 50th anniversary of the Israel Air Force, the High Aerobatics Squad "Halcones (Hawks)" was invited to participate in aerial events.

Ives Duval

This prize was awarded in the town of Evreux, France, in July 1998, during the First World Championship Patrol Acrobat, held to mark the centenary of the Aero-Club de France. This festival invited thirteen countries with their respective aerial teams, with the High Aerobatics Squad "Halcones (Hawks)" chosen as the "Best of the Best." The pilots participating in this event were tasked with electing the winning team; the prize was awarded by the French Defense Minister, accompanied by the Commander in Chief of the Air Force.

Incidents

On August 8, 2007 the number 5 plane, piloted by Captain Mario Costa, had to make an emergency landing after hitting another plane in the group during an exercise. At landfall, the plane hit a parked vehicle, but the pilot was rescued without injuries.

On November 9, 2011, during a routine training exercise on "El Bosque", and after a tour across the country, pilot number 3, Lieutenant Cristián Padilla, 28 years old, crashed his aircraft (Extra-300L), resulting in the pilot's death. The exact cause of the accident is still being investigated. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerobatics</span> Flying maneuvers involving attitudes not attained during normal flight

Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment, and sport. Additionally, some helicopters, such as the MBB Bo 105, are capable of limited aerobatic manoeuvres. An example of a fully aerobatic helicopter, capable of performing loops and rolls, is the Westland Lynx.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lycoming Engines</span> Manufacturer of aircraft engines

Lycoming Engines is a major American manufacturer of aircraft engines. With a factory in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Lycoming produces a line of horizontally opposed, air-cooled, four, six and eight-cylinder engines including the only FAA-certified aerobatic and helicopter piston engines on the market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surya Kiran</span> Indian Air Force aerobatic demonstration unit

Surya Kiran is an aerobatics demonstration team of the Indian Air Force. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) was formed in 1996 and is a part of the No. 52 Squadron of the Indian Air Force. The team is based at Bidar Air Force Station in Karnataka and has performed numerous demonstrations. The squadron was initially composed of the HAL HJT-16 Kiran Mk.2 trainer aircraft. The team was suspended in February 2011 and was re-established with BAE Hawk Mk.132 aircraft in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slick Aircraft Slick 360</span> Type of aircraft

The Slick Aircraft Slick 360 is a South African aerobatics aircraft produced by the Slick Aircraft Company of Pretoria, South Africa. It is designed exclusively as an aerobatic competition aircraft, to compete in events such as the Advanced World Aerobatics Championships (AWAC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zivko Edge 540</span> Type of aircraft

The Zivko Edge 540 manufactured by Zivko Aeronautics is a highly aerobatic aircraft. Capable of a 420 degree per second roll rate and a 3,700 foot per minute climb rate, it has been flown to victory on the international Unlimited aerobatics circuit several times since the mid-1990s. A tandem-seat version is sold as the Edge 540T.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extra EA-300</span> German aerobatic aircraft

The Extra Flugzeugbau EA300 is a two-seat aerobatic monoplane capable of Unlimited category competition. It was designed in 1987 by Walter Extra, a German aerobatic pilot, and built by Extra Flugzeugbau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mudry CAP 230</span> Type of aircraft

The CAP Aviation CAP-23x family is a family of aircraft designed for competition aerobatics. The CAP 230 airframe was a direct development of the CAP 21 competition single seater strengthened to cope with a 300 hp (220 kW) 6-cylinder Lycoming AEIO-540 engine instead of the 200 hp (150 kW) original 4-cylinder Lycoming AEIO-360.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pitts Special</span> Family of American aerobatic biplanes

The Pitts Special is a series of light aerobatic biplanes designed by Curtis Pitts. It has accumulated many competition wins since its first flight in 1944. The Pitts biplanes dominated world aerobatic competition in the 1960s and 1970s and, even today, remain potent competition aircraft in the lower categories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extra EA-200</span> Type of aircraft

The Extra 200 is a two-seat, tandem arrangement, low-wing aerobatic monoplane with conventional (taildragger) landing gear fully capable of Unlimited category competition, built by Extra Flugzeugbau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lycoming O-540</span> Family of flat-six piston aircraft engines

The Lycoming O-540 is a family of air-cooled six-cylinder, horizontally opposed fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter engines of 541.5 cubic inches (8,874 cc) displacement, manufactured by Lycoming Engines. The engine is a six-cylinder version of the four-cylinder Lycoming O-360.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slingsby T67 Firefly</span> Type of aircraft

The Slingsby T67 Firefly, originally produced as the Fournier RF-6, is a two-seat aerobatic training aircraft, built by Slingsby Aviation in Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grob G 120</span> German light aircraft

The Grob G 120 is a two-seat training and aerobatic low-wing aircraft with a carbon composite airframe, built by Grob Aircraft. It is based on the Grob G 115TA training aircraft and is specially designed for military and civil pilots training. It has a tricycle landing gear and a low tailplane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PZL M26 Iskierka</span> Type of aircraft

PZL M26 Iskierka or M26 Airwolf is a Polish trainer and aerobatic aircraft, designed at WSK PZL-Mielec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Versteegh</span> Dutch aerobatics pilot

Frank Versteegh is a Dutch aerobatics pilot. He is also an airshow organiser, a flight safety committee member, a FAI judge and a freestyle aerobatics competitor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ENAER T-35 Pillán</span> Type of aircraft

ENAER T-35 Pillán is a Chilean propeller-driven basic trainer aircraft. The student and the instructor sit in tandem. Production ceased in 1991 after 7 years but restarted briefly in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Lynn</span> American aerobatic pilot

Nancy A. Lynn was an aerobatic pilot, flight instructor, and air show performer. She owned and operated Lynn Aviation, an aerobatic flight school located at Bay Bridge Airport in Stevensville, Maryland, with her husband Scott Muntean and son Pete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviat Eagle</span> 1970s American sporting biplane

The Christen Eagle, which later became the Aviat Eagle in the mid-1990s, is an aerobatic sporting biplane aircraft that has been produced in the United States since the late 1970s.

The Stephens Akro is a single engine monoplane designed in the United States for aerobatic competitions. It first flew in 1967 and proved very successful, leading to several developments of which one won seven US Championships and one World Championship between 1975 and 1982. The Extra EA-230 and Extra EA-300 were also Akro developments with over two hundred built.

Semin Öztürk Şener is a Turkish female professional aerobatic display pilot. She is her country's first female civilian pilot to be recognized as a professional female aerobatic pilot.

The Extra NG is a two-seat German aerobatic monoplane designed by Walter Extra and built by Extra Aerobatic Aircraft.

References

  1. Balch 1987, pp. 324–325.
  2. "(Spanish) Este año llegan los nuevos aviones de los Halcones de la FACh: GameBird GB1 « ModoCharlie". ModoCharlie.com. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  3. "Muere piloto del grupo "Los Halcones" al sufrir accidente en Base Aérea El Bosque « Diario y Radio Uchile". Radio.uchile.cl. Retrieved 2014-02-19.