Local media reports say the Patrulla Aguila is set to change its mount to the Pilatus PC-21 after 40 years and over 500 shows with the Spanish-made CASA C-101.
This year, after 40 years and over 500 shows with the CASA (Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA) C-101 jet trainers, the Spanish Air Force’s Patrulla Aguila will start its transition to the new Pilatus PC-21 turboprops.
This makes the Patrulla Aguila the first European demo team, and second worldwide, to replace jets with turboprops, after the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) Roulettes who replaced their MB-326s with PC-9s in 1989. This will also mean that the aircraft flown by the Patrulla Aguila will no longer be operating Spanish-made aircraft.
The C-101s will make their last displays with the Patrulla Aguila on Jun. 14 and 15, 2025, at the Aire 05 Festival in San Javier that will celebrate the team’s 40th Anniversary. The same event will be also attended by the Red Arrows of the UK’s Royal Air Force, the Frecce Tricolori of Italy’s Aeronautica Militare, the Patrouille de France of France’s Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace, and the Patrouille Suisse of Switzerland’s Swiss Air Force.
The team’s commander said to local media that the PC-21 will perform similarly in terms of altitude and speed, but with different technical nuances that will add more complexity to the performances. “Both aircraft move within more or less the same parameters, but there are differences that add a little more difficulty to the displays,” he said. The team is initially set to receive five PC-21s, although there are plans to increase the formation size.
The team, based at the AGA (General Air Academy) in San Javier, was formed on Jul. 4, 1985, and has used the C-101s since its inception. The team is assigned 17 C-101s, although in demonstrations only seven fly at one time. The team is famous for their formation landings, as well as being the only European team to use yellow smoke.
The PC-21, whose deliveries to the Spanish Air Force began in Sep. 2021, has already replaced the C-101 and ENAER T-35 in the training role of the Spanish Air Force, so the announcement of the transition was not too surprising. Spain intends to operate 40 of these trainers.
The Spanish Air Force is also acquiring 24 TAI (Turkish Aerospace Industries) Hurjets from Turkey to replace its SF-5M jet trainers. Although there still has been no mention of it being used by the Patrulla Aguila in the future so far, it would certainly be very interesting should that happen.
The C-101
The C-101 was developed and built by CASA with help from Germany’s MBB (Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm) and the U.S.’ Northrop, and had its maiden flight in Jun. 1977. It then entered service with the Spanish Air Force on Mar. 17, 1980 with a limited attack capability – something that would be improved upon in later aircraft.
The C-101 was exported to Chile, Honduras, and Jordan. The majority of the C-101s that were in service with the Spanish Air Force retired after the type made its last training flight on Jul. 29, 2022, and were replaced by the PC-21, and now only the jets attached to the Patrulla Aguila remain in a flying role.
Initially, the C-101s were supposed to be replaced by a mix of the Pilatus PC-21 and the AFJT (Airbus Future Jet Trainer), but budget cuts meant that the AFJT program did not go through and now only the PC-21s are in service with the Spanish Air Force. There were also plans for the Patrulla Aguila to be equipped with the AFJT.
