Episode 143 – The Black Falcons RNZAF Display Team

Guests: Squadron Leader Brett Clayton RNZAF (Falcon 1) Flight Lieutenant Dan Pezaro RNZAF (Falcon 2) Squadron Leader Hayden Sheard RNZAF (Falcon 4) Flight Lieutenant Mike Williams RNZAF (Falcon 6) Host: Dave Homewood Recorded: 14th of April 2017 Released:  20th of April 2017 Duration:  15 minutes 50 seconds In this episode Dave managed to grab a short interview with four members of the very busy Black Falcons, the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s premier aerobatic display team. This was recorded during the recent Yealands Classic Fighters Omaka Airshow, which the team displayed at in the Friday evening show and then opened both days on the Saturday and Sunday with their highly polished routine. The Black Falcons team members are all instructors with the Central Flying School of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (who train the flying instructors and maintain flying standards across the Air Force), or with No. 14 Squadron RNZAF who train the new pilots. Their team practices and displays are all done in their own time outside their regular work hours. The other two team members, Flight Lieutenant Stu Anderson (Falcon 3) and Squadron Leader Sean Perrett (Falcon 5) were unable to join the interview as they were flying in the airshow display in other types, Stu in the RNZAF’s famous Harvard NZ1015 which we watched together just after this interview, and Sean in Brendon Deere’s Spitfire. Quick Links: •  The Black Falcons Aerobatic Team Webpage •  The Black Falcons Aerobatic Team Facebook Page •  The Black Falcons on Wikipedia •  The Royal New Zealand Air Force Website •  The Royal New Zealand Air Force Facebook Page •  The Beechcraft T-6C Texan II on Wikipedia Above: The four members of The Black Falcons who appear in this episode. Left to right are FLT LT Dan Pezaro (Falcon 2), FLT LT Mike Williams (Falcon 6), SQN LDR Hayden Sheard (Black 4) and SQN LDR Brett Clayton (Falcon 1). Falcon 6, Flight Lieutenant Mike Williams, commentating during The Black Falcons display at Yealands Classic Fighters Omaka Airshow on Saturday the 15th of April 2017. The following photos were taken by Dave Homewood during The Black Falcons’ displays at Yealands Classic Fighters Omaka Airshow on Saturday the 15th and Sunday the 16th of April 2017. The following clips were filmed by Dave Homewood during the Saturday and Sunday of the Classic Fighters Airshow.