Turkish, Saudi aerobatic teams to feature in PAF's Independence Day air show

Published August 13, 2017
Renowned Turkish aerobatic “Solo Turk” flies F-16 aircraft during the rehearsal of air show to be held on Independence Day. —APP/File
Renowned Turkish aerobatic “Solo Turk” flies F-16 aircraft during the rehearsal of air show to be held on Independence Day. —APP/File

Aerobatic teams from Turkey and Saudi Arabia will be part of Pakistan Air Force's (PAF) largest-ever show being held tomorrow to mark Pakistan's 70th anniversary.

“Solo Turk”, the famous Turkish aerobatic team of Turkish Air Force, and the internationally acclaimed “Saudi Hawks” of Royal Saudi Air Force will be featured in the mega event alongside PAF aircrafts.

The members of the two teams in a media interaction on Sunday expressed happiness to be part of Pakistan's Independence Day celebrations.

“We will hold a demo flight in order to show infinite brotherhood between Turkish and Pakistani nations,” Emrah Bayri, First Lieutenant of Turkish Air Force and a member of Solo Turk team told the media.

The Solo Turk team will consist of two pilots, Captain Erhan Gunar and Captain Serdar Dogan, who will fly the demo aircraft in sequence, supported by 11 personnel.

“The whole show has been developed without the support of any other demo team," said Bayri.

Gunar and Dogan said that they were very happy to be a part of Pakistan's Independence Day celebrations.

Col Mousa Al, who is heading the “Saudi Hawks”, said, “We feel honoured and happy to be here to take part in Pakistan's Independence Day celebrations." The Saudi team will consist of six pilots.

Prior to the two teams' display, JF-17 Thunder will perform in the air show.

Mirage, SAAB-2000, and Augusta-139 from PAF and MI-17 and PUMA helicopters from Army Aviation will perform during the show in Islamabad at 1pm, while F-16, PAF aerobatics team Sherdil, P-3C Orion, Z-9, Alouette-III and Sea King helicopters are set to entertain the audience at Sea View Karachi on August 14 at 2:30pm.

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