Red Falcon
A PLAAF flying-school team on the Hongdu JL-8 jet trainer, formed in 2011, whose seven-ship formation flew the 2019 National Day parade over Beijing.
Red Falcon: how the team came to be and what it flies today
A training-school team
For half a century the August 1st team was the PLAAF’s only display team. In 2011 two flying-school teams were added: Sky Wing at the PLA Air Force Aviation University and Red Falcon, which Chinese Wikipedia attributes to the Air Force’s Third Flight College. Chinese sources date its formation to August 2011. Red Falcon flies the Hongdu JL-8 (K-8), a jet trainer developed jointly by China and Pakistan, which the PLAAF uses for intermediate jet training.
Over Tiananmen
By 2019 the team came under the Aviation University in Changchun, which in 2012 absorbed the 1st Training Regiment of the Third Flight College. At the military parade for the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic on 1 October 2019, the trainer formation included twelve JL-8s. Five came from the Xi’an Flight Academy and seven came from Red Falcon, flying a seven-aircraft wedge trailing seven coloured smoke trails. JL-8s from the team also flew at the Changchun air show in July 2023.
Red Falcon in numbers
The team
- Formation
- 7-ship formation
- Seven JL-8s at the 2019 parade
- Seven-colour smoke
PLA Air Force Aviation University.
航空機
- Flown
- Hongdu JL-8
- Hongdu JL-8 (2011–)
家
- Based at
- PLA Air Force Aviation University
- Changchun, Jilin (university headquarters)
The display
- Aircraft in the display
- 7
- Smoke
- seven colours
Every type Red Falcon has flown
| 航空機 | 年 | Number | 注記 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hongdu JL-8 | since 2011 | 7 | Seven aircraft flew in the 2019 National Day parade. |
Red Falcon, year by year
Red Falcon formed as a PLAAF flying-school display team.
The Third Flight College’s 1st Training Regiment is merged into the Aviation University.
Seven Red Falcon JL-8s fly in the 70th-anniversary National Day parade.
JL-8s of the team appear at the Changchun air show.
Everything people ask about Red Falcon
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Around Red Falcon