Flight Details

What is an Air Armada?

An Air Armada is a term used for a large number of aircraft flying from one place to another on the same route at roughly the same time. Another more precise term is Balbo, which means a very large formation.

The RAAF Centenary Air Armada will be made up of two Balbos of 20 to 30 aeroplanes each. There will be different Balbos for different performance range aircraft. The two performance ranges are 90-110 knots (typically Warriors and 172s), and 115-130 knots (typically RVs and Bonanzas).

Each Balbo will be made up of formations ("elements") of six or seven aircraft. These elements will be pilots who have practiced together, and will normally be from the same aero club.

The diagrams below show how the elements of the Air Armada are going to be formed.