Instructors on Hawks

The team takes its name from Jupiter, the call sign of Indonesian Air Force flying instructors; Indonesian Wikipedia expands it as Juru Pilih Terbang. It was formed in 1996 on the initiative of instructors flying BAE Hawk Mk 53 trainers, and first displayed in public in the autumn of 1997 — Indonesian Wikipedia gives 5 October 1997, the armed forces’ 52nd anniversary at Halim Perdanakusuma, with four Hawks, while English Wikipedia gives 23 September 1997. By 1998 it was flying eight Hawks with coloured smoke.

Revival on the KT-1B

According to English Wikipedia the team merged in 2001 with Elang Biru, the air force’s F-16 team, as Jupiter Blue; Indonesian Wikipedia says activity stopped in 2002. Instructors of Training Squadron 102 at Adisutjipto revived it early in 2008 on the Korean KAI KT-1B Woongbi turboprop, flying four aircraft at the flying school’s wings day in Yogyakarta on 4 July 2008 and appearing in Jakarta that November. In 2010 the team trained with the Australian Roulettes, and on 16 March 2011 it unveiled six aircraft in a red and white livery modelled on the national flag.

Collision before LIMA 2015

On 15 March 2015, while practising for the LIMA show in Malaysia, two of the team’s KT-1Bs, numbers five and six, touched in mid-air and crashed. All four crew ejected with minor injuries; one aircraft set fire to an unoccupied house. The air force withdrew the team from LIMA 2015.

A national team again

The team has since displayed abroad and at home on a larger scale. Indonesian Wikipedia records displays at the Singapore Airshow in February 2022, over the MotoGP races at Mandalika in March 2022 with seven KT-1s and 57 personnel, over the presidential palace for the armed forces’ 77th anniversary on 5 October 2022 and at Indo Defence 2022. The leader also commands Training Squadron 102, and all pilots are serving flying instructors.