The Formación Mirlo will relieve the Patrulla Águila with PC-21 aircraft on October 12

The farewell of the Patrulla Águila on June 15, after 40 years of performing acrobatics, seems like it will be a definitive goodbye.

The sad farewell of the Patrulla Águila to the C-101 Aviojet, the Spanish 'derradeiro' jet
Ascua: the story of the first official aerobatic patrol of the Spanish Air Force

Although other aerobatic patrols keep their names despite changing their aircraft (examples include the Blue Angels, the Thunderbirds or the Frecce Tricolori), it seems that this will not be the case for the Patrulla Águila, which has been the demonstration unit of the Spanish Air Force since 1985. The withdrawal from service of its CASA C-101 Aviojet jet trainers seems to begin to give way to a new aerobatic squadron with a different name.

In June, on the occasion of the farewell of the Patrulla Águila, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force (JEMA), Air General Francisco Braco Carbó, announced the creation of the Formación Mirlo (Mirlo Formation), made up of Pilatus PC-21 turboprops, to replace the role played by the CASA C-101s of the Eagle Patrol with their flyovers at various official events. At the time, it was noted that the new unit would begin flying over using only white smoke, thanks to the Sanders Smoke Technologies SCSG-5 smoke generators we saw here in April.

The JEMA also confirmed that the traditional Eagle Patrol flyover during the October 12 parade would be carried out by the Patrulla ASPA, made up of EC-120 Colibri helicopters. However, on September 14, the newspaper La Verdad de Murcia reported that the new Mirlo Formation will make that flyover in the October 12 parade in Madrid, but without smoke generators, still in testing: "Although the smoke system has already been tested at the Pilatus, the new unit will not use it in its first official appearance at the Hispanidad parade on October 12 in Madrid. This decision underlines the caution and the rigorous period of testing and adaptation that is underway".

However, on October 3, the Ministry of Defense published the traditional press kit for the National Day parade (see PDF), which states:

"This year, the 'Formación Mirlo' will be seen for the first time, composed of flight instructors stationed at the General Air and Space Academy and the newest Pilatus PC-21 aircraft in service.
This formation, made up of five aircraft, will be responsible for performing the flyover during the main event of National Day, using for the first time the colored smoke that simulates the national flag.
To ensure the greatest guarantee of success, pilots with extensive experience in this type of flyover have been chosen."

The dossier also stated that the Formación Mirlo will perform a "flyover with the colors of the National Flag" coinciding with the end of the prayer service at the ceremony in honor of those who fell for Spain. However, on October 1, Libertad Digital noted that the Mirlo Formation will not draw the colors of the Spanish Flag with smoke: "the installation of the smoke pods on the Pilatus PC-21 is still a great challenge at the moment, something that is not as easy as one might apparently think." The Ministry of Defense dossier adds that the Formación Murlo will close the air parade, in formation 18, forming a wedge (below these lines we see the image included in the dossier).

For now, the start of the new aerobatic unit has been eventful. On October 1, the Spanish Air Force reported that during the rehearsal for the air parade on October 12, "two birds hit one of the PC-21s that closed the parade formation. The aircraft has recovered without incident and neither the pilots nor the aircraft have suffered damage."

Regarding the name of the new unit, in June Cadena SER reported that the Mirlo formation is the name of the new training system implemented in the AGA with the arrival of the new PC-21 aircraft. The choice of name is curious. It should be remembered that "Mirlo" was the official nickname of the C-101 in the Spanish Air Force, a name rarely used compared to its factory name, "Aviojet", and the unofficial nickname given to it by the pilots: "Culopollo". Ironically, every page of the Ministry of Defense's dossier on this parade is illustrated with the image of two C-101s from the Patrulla Águila, an aircraft and a unit that will no longer appear at this event.

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Photos: Ejército del Aire / Ministerio de Defensa.