S. Korean Aerobatic Team to Debut T-50s

South Korean air force's Black Eagles acrobatic flight display team will re-debut with a fleet of eight T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic trainer jets at the international air show here in October, the service said April 30.The team retired its Cessna A-37 Dragonflys after the 2009 Seoul Air Show. The new T-50s will make the Black Eagles one of the few air force aerobatic teams to use indigenously designed and manufactured supersonic aircraft, the service said in a news release.
Since its 2006 arrival, the T-50, South Korea's first indigenous supersonic aircraft, has been the world's only high-performance supersonic trainer jet in production. State-funded Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is the prime contractor, Lockheed Martin the principal subcontractor, assisting with development and international marketing. The $25 million aircraft has a top speed of Mach 1.5.The South Korean air force is buying 82 T-50s, including 50 advanced jet trainers and 22 TA-50 light armed aircraft. In May 2010, the Black Eagles will receive 10 T-50Bs modified for aerobatics through the addition of smoke oil tanks, spray nozzles, switches, lights and other gear, according to the release. The air force picked a jet-black color scheme crowned by an eagle design in a two-month contest that drew 260 entries, it said.
In this year's air show, renamed the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (Seoul ADEX 2009), the Black Eagles will perform aerial maneuvers both independently and jointly with the U.S. Thunderbirds acrobatic team of six F-16 aircraft, according to the release. The weeklong event is expected to draw about 300 aerospace and defense firms from 300 countries worldwide, Air Force officials said. The South Korean aerobatic flight display team was first established in October 1953 with four F-51 Mustangs after the three-year Korean War. The team operated until 1958, and a new team called the "Blue Sabres" was formed in 1962, flying four F-86 Sabre jet airplanes.In 1966, the Black Eagles was organized and operated seven Northrop F-5A Freedom Fighter aircraft through 1978. The team was reformed in 1994 with the A-37s.

Posted in: Training aircraft