The Solo Display Team ( nl, Demoteam) was the

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

display team of the

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

(RNLAF) and consisted of three elements. The disbanded ''F-16 Solo Display Team'' used the fighter jet

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...

and the ''AH-64D Apache Solo Display Team'' uses the

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

AH-64 Apache The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin- turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night v ...

. The ''PC-7 Solo Display Team'' flew the low-wing tandem-seat training aircraft

Pilatus PC-7 The Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer is a low-wing tandem-seat training aircraft designed and manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. The aircraft is capable of all basic training functions including aerobatics, instrument, tactical and n ...

F-16 Solo Display Team

The ''F-16 Solo Display Team'' was last based at

Leeuwarden Air Base Leeuwarden Air Base ( nl, Vliegbasis Leeuwarden) is a military airbase used by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) - nl, Koninklijke Luchtmacht (''KLu''), . The airbase was formerly one of the two F-16 Fighting Falcon bases of the RNLAF ...

in the Dutch province of

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

and consisted of the pilot, two instructors and seven

ground crew In all forms of aviation, ground crew (also known as ground operations in civilian aviation) are personnel that service aircraft while on the ground, during routine turn-around; as opposed to aircrew, who operate all aspects of an aircraft whilst ...

. The members of the team were always seconded from a

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The last pilot, Kapitein (

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

) Jeroen "Slick" Dickens, flies with 323 Squadron. All members were operational military personnel and, apart from their tasks with the demo team, performed normal operational duties. The Dutch F16 demo team moved to another squadron and/or base every two years, season 2007-2009 having been the exception. From 2005 until 2009 the demo team was based at Volkel Air Base. In 2010 the team consisted of members of operational squadrons from Leeuwarden Air Base. They took over the orange F-16, J-015. In 2012 and 2013 the team was based at Volkel Air Base and returned to Leeuwarden Air Base in early 2014. The team was established in September 1979 with the first demonstration of an RNLAF F-16 during an

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show m ...

at Twente Air Base (now

Enschede Airport Twente Enschede Airport Twente is located outside of Enschede in Overijssel, Netherlands. It has one runway (05/23), though one of the current taxiways has been used as a runway (taxiway A, formerly runway 16/34). The airport is currently uncontrolled ...

). The team took part at air shows in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an countries and, in 2006, at

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...

in the United States. The team won the prize for the best display team in the jet category at the

held at

Reims – Champagne Air Base Reims – Champagne Air Base (french: Base aérienne 112 Reims-Champagne) is a former Front-line French Air and Space Force (french: Armée de l'Air) air base. The base is located approximately north of Reims; about northeast of Paris. Squad ...

in 2009. The team had no single colour scheme. The orange colour scheme used at the time of its disbanding was unveiled in April 2009. On 17 December 2018 it was announced that ''F-16 Solo Display Team'' had been permanently disbanded. The team had already been inactive since 2015 due to a shortage of personnel and material.

AH-64D Apache Solo Display Team

The ''Apache Solo Display Team'' is based at

Gilze-Rijen Air Base Gilze-Rijen Air Base ( nl, Vliegbasis Gilze-Rijen, ) is a military base, military military airbase, airbase in the south of Netherlands. It is located between the cities of Breda and Tilburg, which are both in North Brabant. The airport is mainly, ...

in the Dutch province of North Brabant and uses the four-blade, twin-engine

Boeing AH-64D Apache The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night visio ...

attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...

. The team was formed in 2002 as a one-off to take part in the air show that was held that year at its airbase. However, the team kept performing at airshows in the following years and, in July 2005, won the "Sir Douglas Bader Trophy" at 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 t ...

which took place at

RAF Fairford Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, United Kingdom, having performed the previous month at the air show held at their home base. The Apache Solo Display Team was inactive between 2005 and 2009 due to operational deployments but began to carry out demo flights again in 2010, the first of which took place at RAF Fairford during the Royal International Tattoo in July. The current pilots are Sqn Ldr Roland ''Wally'' Blankenspoor and Sqn Ldr Harm ''Kaas'' Cazemier, supported by a crew composed of member from 299 Squadron and 301 Squadron.

PC-7 Solo Display Team

The ''PC-7 Solo Display Team'' is based at

Woensdrecht Air Base Woensdrecht Air Base ( nl, Vliegbasis Woensdrecht) is a military airport between the villages of Woensdrecht and Huijbergen, about south of the city of Bergen op Zoom in the Netherlands. It is located near the A58 motorway and the border with ...

in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It flies one of the thirteen single engine turbo trainer Pilatus PC-7 of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The team consists of the pilot, two instructors and the ground crew. The ''PC-7 Solo Display Team'' has two aircraft at its disposal, unlike the ''F-16 Solo Display Team'', one operational, the other functions as backup. The team was established in 1995 and performs at air shows in Europe. The colour scheme used for the aircraft is predominantly black, with a single yellow line along the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

and the

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...

. The yellow line is repeated on the underside and the top of the wings. Currently (2008–2013) there is no PC-7 solo display active. All PC-7s and instructors are needed for training at the Elementary Flight School EMVO (Elementaire Militaire Vlieger Opleiding).

References

External links

Website of the ''Apache Solo Demo Team''
{{Modern aerobatic teams Aerobatic teams Royal Netherlands Air Force Culture in Leeuwarden