The Roulettes are the Royal Australian Air Force's aerobatic display team. The Roulettes have become a six aircraft, seven member team which completes two display seasons each year (a season runs for six months). The Roulettes pilot the Pilatus PC-21 – one of the most advanced training aircraft in the world. Roulette displays are flown all around Australia and consist of a number of manoeuvres flown in various formations at low level. They are an extension of formation, aerobatics, low level flying, and airmanship skills, taught to Air Force pilots and developed throughout their career. The Roulettes fly as low as 250 feet (80m) at speeds of up to 370 knots (685km/h) and pilots can experience up to 6 ‘G', or 6 times, the force of gravity during a display. Flying as close as three metres apart, the team showcases the level of visual judgement and hand-eye coordination that pilots in the Air Force are able to achieve. The Roulettes perform two different kinds of demonstrations depending on the atmospheric weather conditions. If weather is bad, they perform a demonstration which lasts only 12 minutes and includes a limited number of low-altitude aerobatic maneuvers. If the weather is clear, they will perform their full demonstration which lasts 15 minutes and includes 18 aerobatic maneuvers performed at a separation distance of less than 3 meters from aircraft to aircraft. The team aircraft differ from the normal training aircraft in their overall colour scheme (white and red), the letter "R" is painted on the vertical stabilizer, and by the presence of a smoke generator which releases white smoke. Unlike the smoke generators used on jet aircraft, on this system fuel, which is injected at the end of the engine's exhaust pipe, is used to generate the smoke.




126.200 
133.900 
136.200 
264.500 
274.300 
335.800 
361.200 
375.400