Beechcraft T-6 Texan II

The Royal New Zealand Air Force Black Falcons aerobatic display team to perform again after 17 years

By Dario Leone
Oct 20 2016
Share this article

The team, which was re-established in 2015, is now equipped with the new Beechcraft T-6C Texan II turboprop trainers

The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Black Falcons aerobatic display team will be back thrilling the crowd in 2017.

In fact next year the RNZAF will celebrate its 80th anniversary with an airshow at RNZAF Base Ohakea on Feb. 25-26, 2017. The two-day event will showcase the RNZAF capabilities along with guest aircraft from allied air forces.

The Black Falcons aerobatic display team flying the T-6C Texans will took part to the event too.

The team was formed in 2000 and used five Aermacchi MB-339CB aircraft from No. 14 Squadron, flown by the unit instructors. The Black Falcons performed the first of five displays on Jan. 1, 2000 at the Gisborne Millennium (a worldwide, coordinated series of events celebrating New Year’s Eve in 1999–2000) and the team disbanded later that year.

The team, which was re-established in 2015, is now equipped with the new Beechcraft T-6C Texan II turboprop trainers. Based on the Pilatus PC-9, the T-6 is purpose-built for military training and have the latest technology such as ejection seats, collision-avoidance and ground awareness warning systems, a pressurised cockpit and personal locator beacons for each pilot.

The Black Falcons will perform for the first time at the Wings over Wairarapa Air Show on Feb. 17-19, 2017.

Photo credit: Wikipedia


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and 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