History
The Blue Eagles were formed in the spring of 1968 by instructors at the British Army Air Corps centred at Middle Wallop who practised in their spare time. One year later the team was permanently established with five Bell-47G3B1 Sioux helicopters. Despite no official formation flying training from the army, the team achieved growing success and by 1974 they were including venues as far apart as the Channel Islands, Scotland and Germany. Nonetheless, the Army could not afford to maintain the Blue Eagles on a full-time basis and the team disbanded. Enthusiastic pilots at Middle Wallop were left to continue the team on their own time, and they kept the team and expertise alive. The team performed under a variety of names including the Eagles, Army Eagles, and Sparrow-hawks.
In 1982 the team briefly officially reformed as the Silver Eagles for the Army Air Corps' 25th anniversary. During this time the team flew the Bell/Augusta, the Aérospatiale Gazelle, the Westland Lynx, and the Westland Scout helicopters and occasionally even incorporated fixed-wing aircraft into their displays.
1992 saw the Eagles equipped with four Lynx helicopters which amazed crowds with their unprecedented versatility and power. However the Army needed Lynx helicopters elsewhere and could not justify the expensive flying time for an unofficial team. Thus the team adopted its current configuration of four Gazelles and one Lynx in 1993. The team experienced a strong resurgence and won the prestigious Wilkinson Sword at the Royal International Air Tattoo. Following this success the team was allowed to return to the Blue Eagles moniker in 1994, though the team is still composed entirely of volunteers.
In 2001 the team included the very first British female Military display pilot, Sgt Julie Wiles.
The team continues to fly out of Middle Wallop and its repertoire includes formation flying, loops, rolls, breaks, and many other standard aerobatic manoeuvres.
Read more about this topic: Blue Eagles
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“To a surprising extent the war-lords in shining armour, the apostles of the martial virtues, tend not to die fighting when the time comes. History is full of ignominious getaways by the great and famous.”
—George Orwell (1903–1950)
“My good friends, this is the second time in our history that there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And now I recommend you to go home and sleep quietly in your beds.”
—Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940)
“There is one great fact, characteristic of this our nineteenth century, a fact which no party dares deny. On the one hand, there have started into life industrial and scientific forces which no epoch of former human history had ever suspected. On the other hand, there exist symptoms of decay, far surpassing the horrors recorded of the latter times of the Roman empire. In our days everything seems pregnant with its contrary.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)