Roulettes have the ability to make our heads spin. It does not come as a surprise then that the Royal Australian Air Force chose this name for its aerobatic display team. The patrol performs about 150 flight shows a year, in Australia and abroad. After years of flying, their PC-9s are to be retired, but not without a last display of their skills. Luckily, their next stop from RAAF might be closer than you think.
The Roulettes team is part of the RAAF Central Flying School (CFS) and is based at RAAF Base East Sale in Victoria. They are not the first attempt of the CFS at creating an aerobatic team. In 1962, the school created the Red Sales, a team flying on De Havilland Vampire fighter jets. Sadly, on August 15, 1962, four pilots and two passengers, all part of the team, crashed as they were training for a RAAF Open Day Display that was to take place the next month. A year later, a new team was created, the “Telstars”, first flying on Vampire jets, then on Italian-made Aermacchi MB-326. But in April 1968, the team was disbanded after budget restriction.
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