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Little known outside the Greek borders, the "Zeus" F-16 Solo Demo Team was trained by the Americans of the Viper West Demo Team (the "other" F-16 Demo Team) in a record 28 days in January 2010. The American trainers were amazed because it had taken more that 3 months for them to accomplish that same training.

The Team uses an F-16C Block 52+ with CFTs, the only acrobatic team in the world to do so. It is interesting to add that prior to that, only Lockheed Martin had used a CFT-equipped F-16 for a display. It is also the only acrobatic team to use a Ground Display in Europe, similar to that performed by the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels.

The Fighting Falcon # 536 is flown by Captain E. Karahalios who has over 1'400 hours on the type.

Here are some pics taken during the Open House day at Tanagra Air Base near Athens in November 5-7:






























Do note the "Remove Before Demo" tags as opposed to the usual Remove Before Flight.

For further info, please visit their official site: http://www.haf.gr/en/demoteam/index.html

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- This is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by. - Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.

Nice pics Tomcat. I'm thinking of going to a show in Greece/Turkey/Portugal etc next year to get some blue sky in my pics! Well pissed off I missed the 100 years Turk show this year.

As for F-16 displays, I've seen a lot of different nations perform and they were all pretty similar since they were all, obviously, governed by the dynamics of the airframe/engine. Are the Greeks any different in their display?


And since it would be remiss of me to pass up the opportunity to post something which features the world's finest airplane ( ), here's a Greek F-4 demonstrating what flying is about!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9Yso73uIG4

And if you like the song, here's a bunch of musicians giving AC/DC a run for their money!
http://youtu.be/iWGiWpNyKng
(Yours truly on bass)

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For more information on identifying Breitling replicas, please visit my web site
http://f4buz.com/watches/breitling/fakes/fakes.html

Thanks Sharkie but pics 1 to 3 are courtesy of N. Fazos.

The Greek F-16 is in effect different first because of the different dynamics procured by the CFTs as it is the only Demo Team to use them. They had to make some tests first before being assured that they could actually use it for that purpose. The use of the CFTs allows the Greek Demo Team not only to take off from its base, fly to the show at a distance of up to 200 miles, perform the show and return to its base safely but, more importantly, to dispose of a "clean" aircraft thus having the possibility to use the F-16s capabilities to the extreme.

Second, the Block 52+ uses a Pratt engine as opposed to the GE found in Blocks 30 to 50 which give it not only more power but also unique acoustics which are really worth to hear.

If you compare the Zeus Demo Team to the Belgians or the Dutch (to stay in Europe), the latter two propose a clearly longer show with especially painted aircraft and the use of flares or smokewinders. The Greeks having been trained by the Americans, they maintain their philosophy: a shorter show but one that underlines the F-16s capabilities. All figures performed in the Greek program (except the High Alpha Pass) are figures actually used in real combat but they are done with higher speeds, hence much higher gs (a maximum of up to 9.5g). There is not, for example, a roll with wheels down which might be impressive but has no practical application in combat or a touch-and-go, a figure that can be performed even by an airliner but which, again, finds absolutely no use in real combat. The Greeks have chosen to show the F-16s characteristics, especially with the Pratt engine, including high degree turns, speed and high degree acceleration, high degree turning radius, high degree and speed of climb etc. So, the Greek show might be a little less spectacular but is more like a profile demo. Please visit their site to see all the figures performed.

Sadly, due to the economic reality, several participation of the Team abroad were canceled, among them a US Tour (invited by the Viper West Coast Team) or the participation at the recent Breitling Sion Air Show (where the three contenders for the Swiss Air Force were preferred). The only presence abroad has been the one at Sierpnia Radom in Poland in August 27-28 this year (pics and videos on their site). Here is a poster created for the occasion as well: http://www.haf.gr/el/demoteam/2011_rado ... poster.pdf

One thing is certain: given the actual economic situation on one hand and the constant intrusion of Turkish fighters in Greek airspace (some as much as 300 miles inland) on the other, Air Shows like the one I had the chance to assist (made especially the trip from Switzerland) really boost the public's moral. I can only tell you that when Captain Karahalios had finished his show, he parked his F-16 just in front of the barriers where thousands of people applauded him for over 10 minutes. Having gotten out of his exquisite tool and off his g-suit, he decided to pass over the barriers and into the public. I can hardly describe in words what happened next. He was literally swallowed by the public. Everybody wanted to touch him, speak to him or see him up close. He signed numerous autographs and made so many people happy. From the little 5-year-old boy dressed in a future pilot uniform to the old granny who thanked him with tears in her eyes. Despite his relative fatigue after his performance and in sweat, he remained among the crowd and his face was illuminated by the fact that he had given all those present 13 minutes of instant pleasure and allowed them to dream a little. "I did nothing", he kept saying, "I just entertained the public". But having gotten to know the guy personnaly, he's so much humble and down to earth you won't believe it. It took him over an hour and a half to get " freed" and able to join his booth at static. I have assisted to over two hundred shows during my "career" but never, ever, have I seen something like that. Quite a unique experience.


As for the video you mentioned, it is really cool but I would have preferred GE music rather than AC/DC.

As for the group itself, it's one of the favorites of the females in the family.

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- This is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by. - Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.

Thanks for all the info. Very interesting read and I'll check out the links.

With the current Euro crisis, I doubt that foreign displays are high on the list of priorities but it would be nice if they made it to Fairford next year.

_________________

For more information on identifying Breitling replicas, please visit my web site
http://f4buz.com/watches/breitling/fakes/fakes.html