AEROBATICS COLLECTION

The second formation aerobatic team on the F-6 (Mig 19) fighters of the PAF was called “The Tigers”. Like its predecessors “The Rattlers” (1969), the second team was also formed at Sargodha Air Base. The F-6 was a high energy fighter of its time on which formation aerobatic displays were especially demanding because the F-6 needed skillful piloting during low airspeed manoeuvres. The first official display by “The Tigers” was given at Sargodha Air Base before a visiting foreign defence delegation.

The first ever formation aerobatics on bombers were performed at Peshawar during an air display on 27 October 1964 – at which Air Marshal Omar Dani, C-in-C of the Indonesian Air Force, was the Chief Guest. The 4 B-57s were led by Wing Commander Nazir Latif with Squadron Leader Altaf Sheikh and Flight Lieutenants Abdul Basit and Shams as team members. The team executed loops, rolls and wing overs, the first two manoeuvres being unheard of in such a heavy class of aircraft as the B-57, which was not really designed to perform aerobatics even singly. Their precise but apparently effortless station-keeping throughout the demonstration effectively concealed the intense concentration, and physical exertion that all four pilots went through۔