In a surprise announcement to local media, the Spanish Air and Space Force has revealed that Patrulla Águila is about to trade in their C-101EB Aviojets for Pilatus PC-21s.
The team, which has flown the Spanish-built jet trainers since 1985, is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a major airshow in San Javier. It now seems that this event, scheduled for the 14th-15th June, will be their last ever appearance on the type, which has already been withdrawn from training duties and replaced with the Pilatus PC-21. Retraining on the new turboprop will take place in July and August, with the team initially flying as a five-ship before adding aircraft incrementally based on pilot availability.
Notably, all of Spain’s PC-21 fleet has been painted in a colour scheme similar to that of Patrulla Águila’s. This has sparked periodic speculation that the team would swap to PC-21s, although Spanish military chiefs had so far refused to comment, or outright denied the story, in one case saying that Patrulla Águila would never fly an aircraft that was not of Spanish origin.
Speaking to Europa Press, Commander José Javier Sánchez said that the new aircraft will perform similarly to the C-101 in terms of altitude and speed, but with technical differences that add more complexity to the performances.
The team will also have to adopt a new smoke system, as there is no certified exhaust smoke system for the type. Existing teams using the PC-21, such as the Roulettes and Qatar Air Academy Display Team, use External Smoke Generators mounted under each of the wings.
Those who wish to see Patrulla Águila flying jets for the final time will want to attend Aire 25 in San Javier, billed as the largest European airshow of the year. A base open day on the 14th June will be followed on the 15th June by a major seafront airshow in Santiago de la Ribera, featuring Patrulla Águila, Patrulla Aspa, the Patrouille de France, Patrouille Suisse, Red Arrows, Frecce Tricolori and Turkish Stars, as well as various other Spanish military aircraft including the AV-8B Matador II+, EF-18A Hornet, Typhoon and Tigre. 500,000 spectators are expected to attend.