This year’s National Day Parade is sure to wow the crowds with aerial displays performed by the largest fleet of aircraft in almost 40 years.
For the first time, Singaporeans will get to watch 20 F-16 jets forming the number ‘50’ and vertical climbs as part of the Salute-to-Nation segment, which will be rounded off with an aerial bomb-burst and a fan-out manoeuvre executed by the Black Knights. There’s no doubt that this will be a heart-stopping display of aerobatics.
In memory of the late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, ace pilots from the Black Knights, the RSAF’s aerobatics team, will kick off the NDP show with a "Five Stars" Tribute Aerial Flypast. This formation signifies Singapore's ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality, while the traditional flypast of the State Flag will take place during the National Anthem.
Orchestrating and manoeuvring the huge fleet within Singapore’s congested airspace is no easy feat, which is why only the nation’s best were chosen to fly the aircraft, and also to prevent any horrific public accidents — certainly not something to be proud of on the nation's jubilee celebrations. Training has been stepped up since May, with one to two flights a week and a whopping hundred hours of flying to execute a flawless display. To date, the aerial manoeuvre has been performed successfully about 10 times, and the pilots could probably perform it with their eyes closed.
Fighter jets are not just a boy’s toy, as Major Lee Mei Yi would say, as she will be the first female fighter pilot to fly in the fighter jet formation. Everyone can soar through the skies once they set their mind to it.
Photo credits: Shermeee via Flickr
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This year’s National Day Parade is sure to wow the crowds with aerial displays performed by the largest fleet of aircraft in almost 40 years.
For the first time, Singaporeans will get to watch 20 F-16 jets forming the number ‘50’ and vertical climbs as part of the Salute-to-Nation segment, which will be rounded off with an aerial bomb-burst and a fan-out manoeuvre executed by the Black Knights. There’s no doubt that this will be a heart-stopping display of aerobatics.
In memory of the late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, ace pilots from the Black Knights, the RSAF’s aerobatics team, will kick off the NDP show with a "Five Stars" Tribute Aerial Flypast. This formation signifies Singapore's ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality, while the traditional flypast of the State Flag will take place during the National Anthem.
Orchestrating and manoeuvring the huge fleet within Singapore’s congested airspace is no easy feat, which is why only the nation’s best were chosen to fly the aircraft, and also to prevent any horrific public accidents — certainly not something to be proud of on the nation's jubilee celebrations. Training has been stepped up since May, with one to two flights a week and a whopping hundred hours of flying to execute a flawless display. To date, the aerial manoeuvre has been performed successfully about 10 times, and the pilots could probably perform it with their eyes closed.
Fighter jets are not just a boy’s toy, as Major Lee Mei Yi would say, as she will be the first female fighter pilot to fly in the fighter jet formation. Everyone can soar through the skies once they set their mind to it.
Photo credits: Shermeee via Flickr
brightcove.createExperiences();