Patrouille Suisse at ILA 2010
The Patrouille Suisse was founded on August 22nd, 1964 with four Hawker Hunters. Two displays were also flown 1968 with the Dassault Mirage IIIS under the name “Patrouille de Suisse Mirage”. Other that those shows the Patrouille Suisse retained the Hunter. In 1970, a fifth aircraft was added to the team, followed by the sixth shortly thereafter. In 1977 a smoke system was introduced.
The team flying Hawker Hunters in 1991
The Patrouille Suisse flew its Hawker Hunters for the last time in 1994 and transitioned to the faster and more maneuverable Northrop F-5E Tiger II adding smoke systems in 1996. In April the following year, a Pilatus PC-6 Porter single-engine turboprop light aircraft was assigned as a support aircraft, painted in the team’s colour scheme.
In February 2013, the Swiss Minister of Defence, Ueli Maurer, stated that the Patrouille Suisse would be disbanded by early 2016 due to the withdrawal of the F-5 from service. One possible plan was to equip the team with the F/A-18, but since the decision not to buy 22 Gripen Es was made, the air force will have insufficient F/A-18s to do this.
La Patrouille Suisse
As of the summer of 2014 the new plan is that by the end of 2016 the team will move from six F-5Es to four F/A-18Cs. Fewer air displays will be flown and the aircraft will probably not receive special paint. There are still plans by the Swiss Air Force and in the Swiss parliament to operate eighteen F-5E and four F-5F until 2018. This would also include the continued operation of the Patrouille Suisse flying the F-5E until 2018. A unique Flight Demonstration was performed by the Patrouille Suisse on September 7th, 2014 at the Air14 Air Show in Payerne as they flew a 15-plane display with the PC-7 Team.
La Patrouille Suisse
The Patrouille Suisse normally operates six Northrop F-5E Tiger II aircraft out of total of twelve F-5Es that are maintained in team colors. Since 1996 ten aircraft are able to accept one of the eight smoke generators that were made by RUAG. When fitted with a smoke generator, including the two 40 litres (8.8 imp gal; 11 US gal) bottles of diesel, the right gun of the F-5E is disabled.
The teams F-5Es are also used for other purposes such as training and as target tugs flown by Target Squadron 12, facilitated by their high visibility colouring.
A Pilatus PC-6 V-622 “Felix”, painted in Patrouille Suisse colours, transports the commander, announcer and the team groundcrew.
The team’s Pilatus PC-6 V-622 Felix
On June 9th, 2016 two of the Northrop F-5E Tiger II collided in mid-air, while training for the Royal Netherlands Air Force airshow at Leeuwarden Air Base. One aircraft crashed in a pond near Beetgum after the pilot safely ejected, while the other was damaged, but landed
Northrop Corporation F-5E Tiger II of the Swiss Air Force arrives at the 2016 RIAT, England
Hobbymaster New Model Announcement.
A new release Hobbymaster model has just been announced and is available to pre-order at Flying Tigers .
Don’t forget NO DEPOSIT necessary with Flying Tigers and if you order with your debit or credit card your payment is not taken until your model is available to dispatch.
Please click on the image / link below to go straight to the model page, or CLICK HERE to see all Hobbymaster Future Models.
Hobbymaster Model Arrivals Next Week
The following Hobbymaster models are arriving at the end of next week. Allocations are nearly complete on these pre-ordered models, so now is your chance before they sell out before arrival. Please click on the images below to go straight to the model of your choice or CLICK HERE to see them all.
I am sorry HA3525 F-18 and HA3542 CF-18 have already sold out ! All pre-ordered models will be supplied as usual.
Flying Tigers End of Year Sale !
Flying Tigers End of Year Sale is here again ! Loads of models included in the Sale so grab yourself some bargains. I have split the Sale into FIVE sections so it is easier to shop for the models you want. Some of the models have very limited stocks, so first come …first served.
Extra models will be added to the Sale over the course of the next few days. It will be worth an extra visit to see what has been added. If you want to add to an existing order over the weekend, you will not be charged the additional postage… it will be refunded to your PayPal account or your credit card will be refunded.
Please click on the images below to go to the Sale Section of your choice.
Flying Tigers opening hours over Christmas and New Year.
Flying Tigers website is open for business 365 days a year 24 / 7.
Flying Tigers office / shop will be closed New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Flying Tigers office / shop will be open Friday 28th of December and will be open for business as usual from Wednesday 2nd January 2019 !
A very big thank you to all Flying Tigers’ customers for their support during the year. Here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !
Thank you for reading this weeks Newsletter.
Richard.
