The Red Checkers was the

aerobatic 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 ...

/precision flying Team of the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

. The Checkers fly the

Pacific Aerospace Pacific Aerospace Ltd (PAL) is an aircraft manufacturing company based in Hamilton, New Zealand. Along with its predecessors, it has produced around 600 utility, training and agricultural aircraft. History Pacific Aerospace was formed from ...

CT-4E Airtrainer. Previous aircraft used were the CT4B and

North American Harvard The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

(T-6). Until the year 1994 the Checkers were based at

Wigram Wigram is a suburb in the southwest of Christchurch, New Zealand. The suburb lies close to the industrial estates of Sockburn and the satellite retail and residential zone of Hornby, and has undergone significant growth in recent years due to h ...

. Aircraft used by the team had a nose painted in a red and white checkered pattern, but this has now been reduced to a small checkered stripe. In 1973 the team was disbanded due to a world fuel crisis but was formed again in 1980.

Incidents

Squadron Leader Nick Cree was killed when the CT-4 training aircraft he was flying hit the ground while practicing aerial display manoeuvres near

RNZAF Base Ohakea RNZAF Base Ohakea is an operational base of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Opened in 1939, it is located near Bulls, New Zealand, Bulls, 25 km north-west of Palmerston North in the Manawatu District, Manawatu. It is also a diversion landin ...

on 14 January 2010. On 1 March 2010 two aircraft touched during training with one aircraft incurring minor damage. The Red Checkers were grounded for the rest of the season.

Disbandment

The Red Checkers display team was disbanded following the arrival of the

Beechcraft T-6 Texan II The Beechcraft T-6 Texan II is a single-engine turboprop aircraft built by the Raytheon Aircraft Company (Textron Aviation since 2014). A trainer aircraft based on the Pilatus PC-9, the T-6 has replaced the United States Air Force's Cessna T ...

and retirement of the CT-4 Airtrainer. They were replaced by the

Black Falcons The Black Falcons is the aerobatic display team of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Original formation The team was first formed in 2000 using five Aermacchi MB-339CB aircraft from No. 14 Squadron, flown by 14 Squadron instructors. The firs ...

, who fly the

References

External links

Central Flying School
at the RNZAF website {{Modern aerobatic teams Units and formations of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Aerobatic teams