Patrulla Águila

Patrulla Águila (Spanish for "Eagle Patrol"), formed 4 July 1985, is the aerobatic demonstration team of the Spanish Air Force. It is based at San Javier Air Base at the location of the academy of officers of the Spanish Air Force, near Mar Menor and La Manga, in the Murcia region of Spain. Flying seven Casa C-101 Aviojets, they are the only team to use yellow smoke and are also known for their formation landings.

Patrulla Águila
Patrulla Águila in 2016
Active	1985–present
Country	Spain
Branch	Spanish Air Force
Role	Aerobatic flight demonstration team
Garrison/HQ	San Javier Air Base
Colors	Red, yellow, white
Aircraft flown
Fighter	12 Casa C-101 Aviojets Only 7 fly in airshows

Patrulla Águila at RIAT of 1987

Patrulla Águila.

History

During the 1950s and 1960s the Spanish aerobatic teams which preceded the creation of the Patrulla Águila were:

• Basic Air School of Matacán (Salamanca) Patrol, founded in 1954 with six T-6 Texan aircraft.
• Jet Training Air School Patrol, Talavera la Real Air Base (Badajoz), established in 1955 with T-33 Shooting Stars.
• Ascua Patrol Manises Air Base (Valencia) established in 1956 (officially in 1958 became the Patrulla Ascua) equipped with the F-86 Sabre.
• Los Llanos Air Base Patrol (Albacete) in 1980 with the Mirage F-1.

On 4 June 1985, Patrulla Águila made its first training flight from pilots were selected among the teachers of the Air Force Academy and equipped with the Casa C-101 Aviojet.

Gallery

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  Patrulla Águila 2016
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  Patrulla Águila 2016
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  Patrulla Águila 2016
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  Patrulla Águila 2014
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  Patrulla Águila 2015
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  Solo on display 2015
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  Patrulla Águila 2014
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  Patrulla Águila 2015
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  Patrulla Águila 2016 members

Members of the team

Piloto[1]	Puesto 2011
Miguel Puertas (Granada)	Chief of the team
Ignacio Sánchez-Heredero (Madrid)	Leader
César Piquer (Valencia)	Right Point
Antonio Monge (Madrid)	Left Point
Pedro M. Monleón (Valencia)	Dog
Antonio Gutiérrez (Granada)	Solo
Moisés Roca (Murcia)	Right pair
Mariano M. Navarro (Murcia)	Left pair
Kevin Zinter (Cadiz)	Reserve

The team has seven pilots (plus a chief and support personnel).

• Leader or Eagle 1: in the standard formation of the team, the leader occupies the head, the other extending to the sides and behind him. The leader directs the whole team.
• Points right and left or Eagles 2 and 3 : the points go behind and on both sides of the leader.
• Dog or Eagle 4: the 'dog' flies behind the leader and of the points, forming the four one diamond.
• Solo or Eagle 5: the one in charge of the maneuvers that show off the aircraft.
• Pair right and left or Eagles 6 and 7 make up the sides of the formation. They are responsible for the maneuvers that require more precision and coordination.

Information

• To mark the 25th anniversary of the Patrulla Águila Aviojet #5 was painted.
• Aviojet #5 has got stickers that say "World Champion 2010", which were given by the Netherlands Air Force, who planned to put them on their planes but finally it was Spain who won the football World Cup.

Incidents

• 27 Feb 2020: Commander Eduardo Fermín Garvalena was killed when his #5 jet crashed into the ocean near La Manga.[2]

References

1. Ministerio de Defensa de España. "Patrulla Águila > Los pilotos" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
2. Cenciotti, David (27 February 2020). "Spanish Air Force Display Team's Soloist Has Crashed into The Sea. Pilot Killed". The Aviationist. Retrieved 28 February 2020.

External links

• Patrulla Águila Website (in Spanish)