We have previously showcased the U.S. Navy Blue Angels’ flight demonstration team that flies the F-18 Hornet. We have also provided you with articles about the Thunderbirds, the U.S. Air Force aerobatic team who fly the F-16 Viper. These teams are great recruiting tools for the United States military. Many other countries have their own demonstration teams. New Zealand has the Black Falcons who fly T-6 Texan. Chile has the Halcones, Chilean for Falcons, and they fly the Extra 300. Another would be Al Fursan of the United Arab Emirates Air Force who fly the Aermacchi MB-339. Then there are the Black Eagles, the Republic of Korea Air Force’s premier aerobatic team.
T-50B Blackeagles Aerobatic team / Air to Air shot during airshow / Photo by Dokunaga (2011)
The Black Eagles were originally formed in 1953 flying F-51 Mustangs until they were disbanded in 1958. In December of 1994, the aerobatic team would be created again and this time they flew the Cessna A-37 Dragonfly. The Black Eagles would once again disband in 2007 only to be reformed once more in 2010. Since 2010, they have flown the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle in their aerial performances.
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the Republic of Korea’s national aerospace company, builds the T-50 in a partnership with Lockheed Martin and the government of South Korea. The T-50 is a two-seater aircraft that is powered by a single GE F404 afterburner turbofan engine that produces 11,930 lbf of thrust. This gets the supersonic aircraft to a top speed of 1141 mph, or Mach 1.5.
Their combat version of the T-50 is nimble multirole, light combat aircraft. It can manage 8 Gs and has a rate of climb of 39,000 ft/min. It is armed with a single 20 mm 3-barrel rotary cannon and has a total of 7 hardpoints for carrying a payload of 8,250 lbs of weapons. The T-50 can deliver Sidewinder and AMRAAM missiles or a variety of bombs and rockets.
Like other premier aerobatic teams, the Black Eagles fly tight formations and perform high-speed maneuvers to amaze their crowds. In the video below, you can enjoy just one of the many videos of their performances that you can find online. This one is of a practice session at Osan Air Base and the video is dated from 2013.
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Korea Air Force – Black Eagles Aerobatic Team
Also watch: Jet Friday: Video of Insane Footage Takes You Inside the Cockpit
