RAAF aerobatic team Roulettes will fly PC-21 trainers featuring new livery

RAAF AEROBATIC TEAM ROULETTES WILL FLY PC-21 TRAINERS FEATURING NEW LIVERY

By Gabriele Barison
Dec 22 2017
Share this article

The PC-21 will replace the present team’s plane, the PC-9/A which Roulettes fly since 1989

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aerobatic display team Roulettes will fly new aircraft – in the form of the Pilatus PC-21 – featuring a new livery. The PC-21 will replace the present team’s plane, the Pilatus PC-9/A which Roulettes fly since 1989.

The aircraft will receive a brand new color scheme inspired by technology and energy themes and its motif will retain RAAF traditional colours (white, blue and red) while incorporating the Australian flag, the team logo, and Southern Cross.

According to RAAF “The colour design better enables our pilots to distinguish if an aircraft is viewed from above or below – aiding judgement of flight paths whilst also increasing visibility during day flying.”

However it is not known when the team will transition to the PC-21 aircraft.

Noteworthy the Roulettes carry out breathtaking displays, using only hand-eye coordination to fly at speeds of up to 590 kilometres per hour and they can pull up to 4.5G (or 4.5 times the normal force of gravity) during their flying programme.

Roulettes members are qualified instructors that when they’re not flying with the team they teach qualified RAAF pilots to become flying instructors at RAAF Base East Sale in Victoria.

The PC-9/A, which is used for pilot training, will be replaced by the PC-21, the newest of the Pilatus trainers, of which australia ordered 49 examples.

Photo credit: Royal Australian Air Force


Share this article

Gabriele Barison

Gabriele Barison

Gabriele Barison is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Co-Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. He has flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.



    Share this article
    Back to top
    My Agile Privacy
    This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. We and our selected ad partners can store and/or access information on your device, such as cookies, unique identifiers, browsing data. You can always choose the specific purposes related to profiling by accessing the advertising preferences panel, and you can always withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on "Manage consent" at the bottom of the page.

    List of some possible advertising permissions:

    You can consult: our list of advertising partners, the Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy.
    Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices