Swiss Air Force PC-7 TEAM

With its dynamic, elegant and precise flight performance, the PC-7 TEAM proves to the public that the Swiss Armed Forces and Air Force are highly trained and capable of top performances. To cope with the high standards required for formation flying, all members of the PC-7 TEAM are professional military pilots who completed their training in the F/A-18 aircraft.

Over the past 25 years, the Swiss Air Force PC-7 TEAM pilots have continuously refined the programme and given the flying choreography the exquisite touch that has made the acrobatic displays by the nine Swiss Air Force pilots in their propeller-driven aircraft an exceptional aviation highlight. The constant improvement has led to success time and again, and not just in Switzerland. The show should be dynamic, precise and elegant, but flight safety is the top priority, ahead of any aspects of the flight manoeuvres.

In 1982, the Swiss Air Force purchased 40 of the internationally tried and tested Pilatus PC-7 turbo trainer aircraft, which are used for basic military pilot training. The Swiss Air Force pilot-friendly propeller trainer with its striking colour is a symbol for the beginning of any military pilot career. Through flying these aircraft, hundreds of talents from numerous air forces on various continents have been moulded into qualified young military pilots. Every year, the flying selection and the basic flight training take place at the Aeroporto Militare close to Locarno in the canton of Ticino in the south of Switzerland. Here, where pilot cadets begin their long and tough training regime with the aim of becoming Swiss military pilots, the renowned PC-7 TEAM has its roots as well.