Çelik Kanatlar Flight Demonstration Team: A Globally Acclaimed Brand Bridging the Gendarmerie Aviation Directorate`s 500,000-Hour Flight Experience with the S-70 Helicopter
The formation of the Gendarmerie Çelik Kanatlar (Steel Wings)team coincided with the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary Ceremony in October 2018. As part of this event, a special ceremony was organized to honor the graduating Pilots and Technicians from the Gendarmerie Aviation School Command. An extraordinary moment unfolded during the graduation ceremony when a remarkable milestone was achieved: a captivating aerobatic display featuring a Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk Helicopter.
The Gendarmerie Aviation Directorate, playing a pivotal role in internal security operations, counter-terrorism efforts across different regions, as well as search and rescue missions and public assistance activities, has started to exhibit its prowess and expertise in helicopter operations through the Gendarmerie Çelik Kanatlar Flight Demonstration Team. Consequently, following in the footsteps of SOLOTÜRK and TÜRK YILDIZLARI, the first and only helicopter flight demonstration team of Türkiye emerged, introducing a novel dimension to aerial acrobatics with the deployment of Black Hawk Helicopters.
The Gendarmerie Çelik Kanatlar Flight Demonstration Team, with its objectives of promoting the Gendarmerie General Command, cultivating public trust and engagement in the Gendarmerie, and fostering aviation enthusiasm among the youth, has successfully executed demonstration flights across various cities within Türkiye. These appearances have encompassed notable events such as the TEKNOFEST Aerospace and Technology Festivals and the Sivrihisar Airshow, following its inaugural display in October 2018. Çelik Kanatlar has become an aerial acrobatics team that pushes the boundaries of helicopter capabilities through its impressive flight demonstrations. The synchronized and harmonious maneuvers executed by two S-70 Black Hawk Helicopters during Çelik Kanatlar's demonstration flights have garnered immense admiration and appreciation from the spectators.
The Gendarmerie Çelik Kanatlar Flight Demonstration Team is comprised of two pilots and one technician in each helicopter. All pilots are instructor pilots with more than 5,000 hours of experience for first pilots and over 3,000 flight hours for second pilots. Prior to each demonstration, the flight crew meticulously plans every aspect of the performance, and the maneuvers to be executed are chosen based on various factors, including the prevailing weather conditions at the demonstration site.
The Çelik Kanatlar Flight Demonstration Team, also dedicatedly participating in the Gendarmerie General Command's Internal Security Operations, has a future goal of showcasing the Gendarmerie Aviation Directorate internationally by conducting flight demonstrations abroad in the forthcoming years.
The Çelik Kanatlar Flight Demonstration Team, our country’s first and only helicopter demonstration team within the Gendarmerie Aviation Directorate, which embarked on a journey 55 years ago guided by the motto "We will leave no one behind," and proudly says today, "We left no one behind," continues to rehearse regularly for their future demonstration flights.
