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The () was a flight demonstration team created in 1977 integrated with ''Esquadra'' 103 (103 Squadron) of the
Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...
. It was
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
's national aerobatic flying team and flew two ex-
German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...
Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jet The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced jet trainer co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform trainer and light attack missions, a ...
s.


History

In 1977, Asas de Portugal was created by order of the Air Force Chief of Staff (CEMFA), with the objective to represent the Portuguese Air Force (PoAF) at the
International Air Tattoo The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the world's largest military air show, held annually in July, usually at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England in support of The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust. The show typically attracts a to ...
air festival. This was the third aerobatics team established by the PoAF, after two teams of the 1950s — the '' Dragões'' (Dragons) and the ''São Jorge'' (Saint George) teams. Asas de Portugal operated the Cessna T-37C for 13 years while integrated with the 102 Squadron ''Panchos''. The single fatal accident in the team's history occurred on 9 December 1990, when one of its T-37Cs suffered a catastrophic wing structural failure during a practice session, killing team pilot José Magalhães da Costa. The accident prompted a fleet-wide inspection which revealed that all but five T-37 aircraft in the PoAF inventory suffered from fatigue induced micro-cracks in the wings' structure. Repairs to airworthy status were considered financially inadvisable. This conclusion, together with a restructure of the PoAF in the 1990s, led to the phase-out of the T-37 and an interruption of the team's activities. In 1997 the team was reactivated, being integrated with the 103 Squadron ''Caracóis'' and equipped with
Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jet The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced jet trainer co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform trainer and light attack missions, a ...
aircraft, having a team of seven officer pilots and a maintenance team. The first public appearance with the Alpha Jet was on June 27, 1997, at the commemorations of the PoAF's 45th anniversary in
Sintra Sintra (, ) is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of . Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populated ...
. In 1998, the team was deactivated for logistics reasons. On the occasion of the PoAF's 50th anniversary in 2001, the responsibility to prepare an Alpha Jet flight demonstration for the commemorations was given to 103 Squadron. This resulted in the creation of a two-aircraft display team that represented Portugal with a 16-minute sequence of maneuvers in those commemorations, leading to the idea and plan of expanding the display. In 2005, the ''Asas de Portugal'' were definitively reactivated, being once again integrated with 103 Squadron, based at Beja Air Base. The team was deactivated again in 2010, before the start of the airshow season.


See also

* Rotores de Portugal


External links


''Asas de Portugal''
official website
Recodando os Asas de Portugal - I Parte
(Remembering the Asas de Portugal - Part I), ''
Mais Alto ''Mais Alto'' is a Portuguese language aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, ...
'' September/October 2002 issue
Recordando os Asas de Portugal - II Parte
(Remembering the Asas de Portugal - Part II), ''
Mais Alto ''Mais Alto'' is a Portuguese language aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, ...
'' November/December 2002 issue
''Asas de Portugal'' - The return of the Alpha Jet Acrobatic Patrol
Nuno Martins, January 22, 2003

photographic gallery of the ''Asas de Portugal'' 30th anniversary {{Modern aerobatic teams Portuguese Air Force Aerobatic teams Military units and formations established in 1977 Military units and formations disestablished in 1990 Military units and formations established in 1997 Military units and formations disestablished in 1998 Military units and formations established in 2005 Military units and formations disestablished in 2010