Asas de Portugal

Wings of Portugal
Wings of Portugal
Asas de Portugal
	Asas de Portugalteam emblem
Active	1977–1990; 1997–1998; 2001; 2005–2010;
Country	Portugal
Branch	Portuguese Air Force
Role	Aerobaticdisplay team
Size	2 Pilots; 8 Support
Air Base	Air Base No. 11
Aircraft flown
Trainer	(1977–1992)Cessna T-37; (1997–2010)Dassault/Dornier Alpha

TheAsas de Portugal(lit. 'Wings of Portugal') was aflight demonstration teamcreated in 1977 integrated withEsquadra103(103 Squadron) of thePortuguese Air Force.It wasPortugal's national aerobatic flying team and flew two ex-German Air Force Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jets.

History

In 1977, Asas de Portugal was created by order of the Air Force Chief of Staff (CEMFA), with the objective to represent the Portuguese Air Force (PoAF) at theInternational Air Tattooair festival. This was the third aerobatics team established by the PoAF, after two teams of the 1950s — theDragões(Dragons) and theSão Jorge(Saint George) teams.

Asas de Portugal operated theCessna T-37Cfor 13 years while integrated with the102 SquadronPanchos.

The single fatal accident in the team's history occurred on 9 December 1990, when one of its T-37Cs suffered a catastrophic wing structural failure during a practice session, killing team pilot José Magalhães da Costa. The accident prompted a fleet-wide inspection which revealed that all but five T-37 aircraft in the PoAF inventory suffered from fatigue induced micro-cracks in the wings' structure. Repairs to airworthy status were considered financially inadvisable. This conclusion, together with a restructure of the PoAF in the 1990s, led to the phase-out of the T-37 and an interruption of the team's activities.

In 1997 the team was reactivated, being integrated with the103 SquadronCaracóisand equipped withDassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jetaircraft, having a team of seven officer pilots and a maintenance team. The first public appearance with the Alpha Jet was on June 27, 1997, at the commemorations of the PoAF's 45th anniversary inSintra.

In 1998, the team was deactivated for logistics reasons.

On the occasion of the PoAF's 50th anniversary in 2001, the responsibility to prepare an Alpha Jet flight demonstration for the commemorations was given to 103 Squadron. This resulted in the creation of a two-aircraft display team that represented Portugal with a 16-minute sequence of maneuvers in those commemorations, leading to the idea and plan of expanding the display.

In 2005, theAsas de Portugalwere definitively reactivated, being once again integrated with 103 Squadron, based at Beja Air Base. The team was deactivated again in 2010, before the start of the airshow season.

External links

Asas de Portugalofficial website(in Portuguese)
Recodando os Asas de Portugal - I Parte(Remembering the Asas de Portugal - Part I),Mais AltoSeptember/October 2002 issue(in Portuguese)
Recordando os Asas de Portugal - II Parte(Remembering the Asas de Portugal - Part II),Mais AltoNovember/December 2002 issue(in Portuguese)
Asas de Portugal- The return of the Alpha Jet Acrobatic Patrol,Nuno Martins, January 22, 2003(in Portuguese)
Asas de Portugal - 30 Anos^{[permanent dead link]},photographic gallery of theAsas de Portugal30th anniversary

History

See also

External links