Silver Falcons Aerobatic Team

In 1953 the South African Air Force’s first jet display team, the Bumbling Bees, was founded to represent the SAAF by flying formation aerobatic displays at various events. The team flew the De Havilland Vampire FB Mk 52 in a 4-ship display. Between 1958 and 1966 the team became dormant but was re-instated in 1966 flying the newly acquired Aermacchi MB-326 “Impala” MkI, still as a 4-ship team. The team was renamed ‘Silver Falcons’ on 22 November 1967, due to the fact that the name “Bumbling Bees” did not translate well into the Afrikaans language, and also as a reference to the Impala’s all metal (silver) appearance.

The first display was flown 2 days later, at the opening of the Atlas Aircraft Corporation, on 24 November 1967. Founder of the team, Cmdt Chris Prins, led the 4-ship team, which broke off from a larger formation of Impalas following a flypast of the facility, and performed the display.

In the subsequent years, the Falcons built their reputation through precision flying across South Africa and became known as the “cockpit ambassadors” of the SAAF. The aircraft were originally all-silver, but were repainted in the colours of the old national flag in 1985, and in March 1988 a 5th aircraft was added to the team.

The team experienced their first accident on 6 April 1988 at La Motte Wine Estate, Franschhoek, when Capt Kobus Griesel (Falcon 5) safely ejected after suffering an engine fire in Impala #470. The engine fire was attributed to a malfunction of the smoke generator in the tailpipe and Capt Griesel received several citations for bravery for steering his burning aircraft away from residential areas before ejecting, despite his low altitude when the failure occurred.

5 years later a second accident occurred when on 2 October 1993, Capt Charlie Rudnick (Falcon 5) was killed when the right wing of Impala #489 separated from the fuselage when he exited from the loop during his solo sequence at Lanseria Airport. Capt Rudnick ejected moments after the structural failure, but despite his quick reaction time, the seat fired outside its design parameters and he was killed on impact. This remains the team’s only fatality.

Following the historic elections in 1994, the establishment of democracy, and the acceptance of new national symbols, the aircraft were repainted in white, navy blue and arctic blue, maintaining the same design pattern. The new colours were first flown on 10 May 1994 at Nelson Mandela’s presidential inauguration at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. 6 aircraft performed a flypast, trailing multi-coloured smoke in the colours of the new flag.

On 20 September 1997, the team flew their 350th and last display in the Impalas, due to the imminent phasing out of the type. The SAAF had recently acquired the Pilatus PC-7 Mk II ‘Astra’ as it’s new ab-initio training aircraft, and it was decided that this should be the new mount for the Falcons. The first 4-ship Astra display was flown on 30 October 1999 at AFB Ysterplaat.

For the next 9 years the team operated as a 4-ship in the red and white livery of the training fleet. Then, in 2008, Mr Kuba Miszewski, MD of First African Paints donated paint to give the Falcons a unique identity. The Astras were coated in AWLGRIP, a highly versatile maritime paint, which covers 84% of the world’s recreational yachts.

The team was also expanded to a 5-ship again and performed their brand new sequence on 21 September 2008 at the Africa Aerospace and Defence Expo at AFB Ysterplaat.

The new Falcons livery was an instant success with members of the public, pilots, the media and photographers alike. Over the next few months, the Falcons made the covers of numerous newspapers and magazines. The new livery also sparked international interest and since the new colours were unveiled, the team has received a number of invitations to attend international air shows.

The aircraft currently flown by the team is the Swiss built, Pilatus PC-7 Mk II, which is a tandem military training aircraft. Initially 60 were built on order for the SAAF and delivered in 1994. Due to a different avionic suite and a modification to the empennage of the aircraft, the South African version was known as the “Astra”. In 2010 a project was launched to upgrade the avionic suite of the aircraft to a “glass cockpit”, making it a more modern platform, and easier to transition onto the newer generation aircraft that the SAAF now possesses, such as the Hawk Mk120, The Agusta A109 and the SAAB Gripen. The aircraft is Powered by a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-25C, 700 shp turboprop engine and is certified to withstand G-forces of between -3.5 and +7 G. The maximum speed is 300 knots (555 km/h), it has a service ceiling of 25 000 ft, and is fitted with 2 Martin Baker CH-11 ejection seats.

To date, 106 pilots have been selected to fly for the Silver Falcons. Every time a new team member is included, the team number also changes sequentially, and the current team is Team 81 (June 2017). All display pilots are serving instructors at the Central Flying School, AFB Langebaanweg, where their primary task is the ab-initio training of pupil pilots for the SAAF. Ground support is rendered by a highly competent team of 8-10 specialists in various trades, led by a technical officer and a Crew Chief. The team further employs a Ground Liaison Officer and a Public Relations Officer to assist with marketing and safety on the ground.

In stark contrast to most military aerobatic teams, all Silver Falcons personnel are part-time volunteers and perform their duties as over-and-above tasks to their core appointments. Despite this, the Falcons maintain one of the best safety records in the niche of military aerobatic teams.

The full display lasts 20 minutes. A shorter, bad weather display can be performed if the cloud base is too low for vertical manoeuvres, such as loops. Formation reference positions are fixed by lining up certain aircraft fixtures or markings in a particular manner. The wingman has to maintain relative position to the lead aircraft by making a multitude of small inputs on the stick, rudder and power lever. Smooth flying by the leader is of utmost importance, as is sufficient anticipation by the wingmen to counter for inertia and engine response lag. Trust among the team is essential, with separation of less than 2 m between aircraft in unusual attitudes, close to the ground.

Pilots are exposed to G-force of up to +6 G during the sequence and wear g-suits to counter the physiological effects of high G.