The Patrulla Águila display team pilots in action. Photo: Salvador Salas | Video: Pedro J. Quero

Watch as the crack Spanish Air Force aerobatics display team wows the crowds in Malaga

This Saturday's free display in the skies above the city’s La Malagueta beach ended with the Patrulla Águila pilots painting Spain’s national flag in the sky with smoke trails

Rossel Aparicio

Malaga

Saturday, 25 March 2023, 18:22 | Updated 18:31h.

Hundreds of people, many of them with mobile phones in hand to capture the moment, witnessed a colourful display by the Spanish Air Force’s Patrulla Águila (eagle patrol) aerobatics display team this Saturday afternoon, 25 March, in Malaga.

At around 2pm the seven highly trained pilots that make up the team performed some of their most dangerous manoeuvres above the city’s La Malagueta beach where hundreds of people were out enjoying the good weekend weather. The free flying display could also be seen from other vantage points in the city such as Muelle Uno, which was also crowded with tourists and locals from Malaga.

Imagen principal - Watch as the crack Spanish Air Force aerobatics display team wows the crowds in Malaga — Photos: Salvador Salas

Imagen secundaria 1 - Watch as the crack Spanish Air Force aerobatics display team wows the crowds in Malaga — Photos: Salvador Salas

Imagen secundaria 2 - Watch as the crack Spanish Air Force aerobatics display team wows the crowds in Malaga

The seven CASA C-101 planes taking part in the show first did a joint overflight performing various aerobatic manoeuvres with different types of formation, to then move on to a more dynamic phase in which the formation was broken up and the planes separated into three groups: the solo, pair, and rhombus.

The thrilling exhibition of precision flying lasted for half an hour and there included formations made up of all the planes, with descriptive names such as eagle, wedge, delta and blackbird, among others, and more than 20 small group manoeuvres, with names such as heart, crossing the rhombus, looping in poker, T-pass and blackbird pass.

The display ended in a traditional manner with the Patrulla Águila pilots painting Spain’s national flag in the sky with smoke trails.