Korea. IL2 Series: Unique Aerobatic Team Liveries

Unique Aerobatic Team Liveries for MiG-15, F-86 Sabre & F-84 Thunderjet

• "Red Five"

  The Red Five Air Demonstration Team was formed in 1935, and its first performance was at an air parade in March of that year. The group consisted of five test pilots, including the famous Soviet pilots Stepan Suprun and Vladimir Kokkinaki. The group started out flying Polikarpov I-16 fighters and, after the war, its pilots first flew Yak-15 jet fighters and then the latest MiG-15s. The MiG-15s were painted in the group's classic colors: the top of the aircraft was red, and the bottom was light (in the case of the MiG-15, it remained unpainted metal, only varnished). The division of these colors differed from aircraft to aircraft, and we chose the option that seemed the most dynamic to us.

• "Thunderbirds"

  In 1953, the U.S. Air Force established its second aerobatic team, the Thunderbirds (the third military aerobatic team in U.S. history). This was the separate 3600th Aerobatic Squadron based at Kelly Air Force Base in Texas. The team started with F-84G Thunderjet fighter-bombers, and it can be assumed that the team's name is associated with its first aircraft. Interestingly, the color scheme chosen for the Thunderbirds at that time has remained unchanged to this day. However, their aircraft have since been changed four times (F-100 Super Sabre, then the F-4 Phantom II, then the T-38 Talon, and finally the F-16 Falcon). In the game, this color scheme can be seen on the F-84E fighter-bomber, which is quite acceptable - the 'E' is very difficult to distinguish from the 'G' in appearance; the main differences between them were in the engine and equipment.

• "Skyblazers"

  This was the second American military aerobatic team, and the first of the USAF after the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels. It was founded in 1953 to participate in shows in Europe. Initially, it used F-80C-10 Shooting Stars, but a year later, in 1954, the 48th Fighter-Bomber Wing was reequipped with the latest F-86F jets, including the Skyblazers. The group existed until 1962, when the Thunderbirds received aircraft capable of long-range flights, and the need for a separate European aerobatic team disappeared. The game features an F-86A painted in the colors of this aerobatic team, which is somewhat of an assumption, but we couldn't pass up this beautiful paint scheme.