The
Asas De Portugal (
Wings of Portugal) is a
flight demonstration teamAerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment and sport...
created in 1977 integrated with
Esquadra 103 (103 Squadron) of the
Portuguese Air ForceThe Portuguese Air Force is the air force of Portugal. Formed on July 1, 1952, with the Aeronáutica Militar and Aviação Naval united in a single independent Air Force, it is one of the three branches of the Portuguese Armed Forces and its origins dates back to 1912, when the military aviation...
. They are
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
's national acrobatic flying team and fly two ex-
LuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956.Schweizer Luftwaffe is also the name of the Swiss Air...
Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha JetThe Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light jet attack and advanced trainer aircraft co-manufactured by Dornier of Germany and Dassault-Breguet of France.-Origins:...
. Their colour scheme is very dramatic and colorful and displays can often be compared to the synco pair from the
Patrouille de FranceThe Patrouille Acrobatique de France commonly referred to as Patrouille de France and sometimes abbreviated as PAF, is the precision aerobatic demonstration team of the French Air Force. Originating in 1931, it is one of the world's oldest and best demostration team...
.
In 1977, the aerobatic team
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 air festival, being this new aerobatics team created 25 years later after having already existed previously two teams of this type during the 1950s — the
Dragões (Dragons) and the
São Jorge (Saint George) aerobatic patrols.
The demonstration patrol that operated the Cessna T-37C for 13 years while integrated with the 102 Squadron
Panchos executed a total of 186 demonstrations, of which 40 were executed in international airshows.
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The
Asas De Portugal (
Wings of Portugal) is a
flight demonstration teamAerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment and sport...
created in 1977 integrated with
Esquadra 103 (103 Squadron) of the
Portuguese Air ForceThe Portuguese Air Force is the air force of Portugal. Formed on July 1, 1952, with the Aeronáutica Militar and Aviação Naval united in a single independent Air Force, it is one of the three branches of the Portuguese Armed Forces and its origins dates back to 1912, when the military aviation...
. They are
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
's national acrobatic flying team and fly two ex-
LuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956.Schweizer Luftwaffe is also the name of the Swiss Air...
Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha JetThe Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light jet attack and advanced trainer aircraft co-manufactured by Dornier of Germany and Dassault-Breguet of France.-Origins:...
. Their colour scheme is very dramatic and colorful and displays can often be compared to the synco pair from the
Patrouille de FranceThe Patrouille Acrobatique de France commonly referred to as Patrouille de France and sometimes abbreviated as PAF, is the precision aerobatic demonstration team of the French Air Force. Originating in 1931, it is one of the world's oldest and best demostration team...
.
History
In 1977, the aerobatic team
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 air festival, being this new aerobatics team created 25 years later after having already existed previously two teams of this type during the 1950s — the
Dragões (Dragons) and the
São Jorge (Saint George) aerobatic patrols.
The demonstration patrol that operated the Cessna T-37C for 13 years while integrated with the 102 Squadron
Panchos executed a total of 186 demonstrations, of which 40 were executed in international airshows. The restructure of the PoAF in the 1990s lead to the phase-out of the T-37 and to the interruption of the team's activities.
In 1997 the team was reactivated, being integrated with the 103 Squadron
Caracóis and equipped with
Alpha JetThe Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light jet attack and advanced trainer aircraft co-manufactured by Dornier of Germany and Dassault-Breguet of France.-Origins:...
aircraft, having a team of seven officer aviator pilots (PILAV) and a maintenance team. The first public appearance with the Alpha Jet was in June 27, 1997, at the commemorations of the 45th PoAF anniversary in
SintraSintra is a town in Sintra Municipality in Portugal, located in the Grande Lisboa subregion and the Lisbon Region. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on account of its 19th century Romantic architecture....
.
In 1998, the display patrol was deactivated for logistics reasons.
By occasion of the 50th PoAF anniversary, in 2001, the responsibility to prepare an Alpha Jet aircraft flight demonstration to integrate the commemorations was given to the 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 the 103 Squadron, based at Beja Air Base – BA11.
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