Active 1962 – present Role Aerobatic Display | Country China Nickname(s) Bayi | |
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Branch People's Liberation Army Air Force Garrison/HQ Yangcun Air Base (Meichong) ( 39°22′24″N, 117°5′42″E ) | ||
The August 1st or Ba Yi Aerobatics Team (Chinese: 八一飞行表演队) is the aerobatic demonstration team of the People's Liberation Army Air Force. It is named after the date of the founding of the PLA (August 1, 1927), and is a part of the PLAAF Beijing Military Region. The unit was founded in 1962 and has over the years performed more than 500 times for delegations from 166 countries and regions. Its first show abroad happened in August 2013 during the Russian airshow MAKS.
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Aircraft
The August 1st aerobatic team (Ba Yi aerobatic team) initially equipped the fleet with JJ-5 fighter-trainer jets, a Chinese version of Russian made MiG-17. In later years the JJ-5s were replaced by Chengdu J-7EB, then again was replaced by the newer J-7GB (2001). There are about 8 aircraft in the fleet, but only 6 are set for any airshow.
In May 2009, the team upgraded their jets to the much more advanced Chengdu J-10 multirole fighter.