The Royal Jordanian Falcons (صقور الأردن الملكية) is the national aerobatic demonstration team of the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; Romanization of Arabic, tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; Romanization of Arabic, tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levan ...
.
The team was formed on the orders of King
Hussein of Jordan
Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...
in 1976. It was initially led by American pilots
Dave Rahm and Steve Wolf, but Rahm was killed in a 1976 crash during a performance in front of Hussein.
The team used two and subsequently three
Pitts S-2A Specials before changing to
Walter Extra EA300s in 1992. Later, in 2007, the team's fleet was upgraded, the older Extra 300s were replaced by Extra 300Ls. The team displays with four aircraft and has a fifth as a backup. In 2018, the team switched to the Extra 330LX, replacing the older Extra 300L trainer aircraft.
The team was formerly based at
Amman Civil Airport
Amman Civil Airport ( ar, مطار عمان المدني, Maṭār ʿAmmān al-Madaniyy), commonly known as ''Marka International Airport'', is an unscheduled airport located in Marka district, Greater Amman Municipality, Jordan, some north-ea ...
, but has since moved to
Aqaba Airport
Aqaba Airport ❲also known as King Hussein Int'l Airport ❳ ( ar, مطارالملك الحسين الدولي) is an airport located in the vicinity of Industrial City (Aqaba International Industrial Estate – ), northern suburb of Aqaba in ...
, also known as King Hussein International Airport.
The Falcons are unusual in that the team is a joint military-civil venture. The pilots are all
Royal Jordanian Air Force
The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF; ar, سلاح الجو الملكي الأردني, Silāḥ ul-Jawu al-Malakī 'al-Urdunī) is the aerial warfare branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces.
History
Early days
Jordan gained independence in 19 ...
personnel and are selected competitively from the top RJAF pilots, to join the team for a 3–4 year posting. For the majority of the team's existence it has had five pilots and three to four engineers for each given season. The aircraft, however, are owned and maintained by
Royal Jordanian Airlines
Royal Jordanian Airlines ( ar, ; transliterated: ''Al-Malakiyyah al-'Urduniyyah''), formerly known as Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Jordan with its head office in the capital, Amman. The airline operates scheduled ...
.
The Royal Jordanian Falcons aim to promote interest in Jordan and its culture and to advance international goodwill. The Falcons have displayed at air shows and events in Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa. At a number of air shows they achieved various accolades, including winning the
Royal 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 ...
's Cannestra Trophy (best overseas flying demonstration) three times.
Royal Jordanian Falcons team (as of 2021)
*Maj. Riyad Ayyoub (general manager)
*Maj. Ghazi Sadoun (director of operations)
*Capt. Sharif Hatouq (chief pilot)
*Capt. Jamil Zayyad (formation leader)
*Maj. Tamer Majali (left wing)
*Maj. Ahmad Al-Rababa’h (right wing)
*Capt. Doraid Al-Lawama (solo/slot)
*Doraid Lawama (coach)
*Chief Eng. Riziq Haddad (chief of maintenance)
*Eng. Thaer Al Shoufi (engineer)
*Eng. Mohammad Malhas (engineer)
*Eng. Bassam Rahamneh (engineer)
*Khaled Sakarneh (engineer)
References
*
Royal Jordanian Falcons: History
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Royal Jordanian Air Force
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
Aerobatic teams
1978 establishments in Jordan