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
The F-35 is the initial platform for the Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW), and the USAF… Read More
Zero-sen pilots were particularly vexed by the four-engined Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. In fact… Read More
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, in partnership with the US Air Force, completed the first flight… Read More
Not long after arriving at Eielson, A-10 Warthog 80-221 was repainted in an arctic camouflage… Read More
It was on the basis of the Arrow’s future potential, more than CF-105 then-current design,… Read More
The Argentine Air Force may give new life to the Boeing CH-46 medium-lift helicopter, retired… Read More
