Aire25: Spain's Patrulla Aguila bids farewell to iconic Airbus C-101 jet

Spanish Air Force Patrulla Aguila aerobatic team.

After 40 years of powering Spain's Patrulla Águila's aerobatics, the C-101's journey came to an end at the Aire25 exhibition. One of its pilots told Airbus about the emotional significance of this iconic aircraft, recognisable to generations of Spaniards.

"The C-101 is much more than just an aircraft. With the exception of the last two graduating classes, all Spanish Air Force pilots have learned to fly in this aircraft, and it has been the Patrulla Águila's identity for four decades. A very special era is drawing to a close," said Lieutenant Óscar Sanz.

He is one of over a thousand military pilots trained in the CASA/Airbus C-101. Sanz and his teammates from the Patrulla Aguila flew the aircraft for the final time during the air display at the Aire25 festival, held at the San Javier air base in Murcia last weekend. Alongside flights by combat aircraft such as the Eurofighter, Aire25 marked a milestone in the annals of Spanish aviation with the farewell to the C-101.

The C-101 was retired with 285,000 training flight hours and over 500 displays under its wings. Sanz recalled his first steps with the Patrulla Águila: "As fighter pilots, we all have experience of flying in close formation, but at first, you don't believe you'll achieve it. The hardest part for me was the barrel roll [a complete 360-degree rotation on the aircraft's longitudinal axis]. You repeat it over and over... until I finally managed it, perhaps after 300 attempts!"

The C-101's flight envelope is broad enough to allow for a complete aerobatic display, while also offering a wide speed range. "The C-101 has a more limited engine than aircraft in other European aerobatic teams, but it compensates for this lack of power by feeling like an aircraft born to teach you how to fly. It is perfect for formation flying: we pilots say it's a very 'noble' aircraft," Sanz highlighted.

The 'noble' aircraft that became the 'Culopollo'

The C-101 is a two-seater jet featuring a low wing and a single engine. Its tandem double cockpit, with the rear seat elevated, is a configuration optimised for flight instruction, with nearly all controls duplicated in both cockpits.

The aircraft boasts a particularly reinforced landing gear, designed to withstand the structural stresses of basic instruction, and a high tail that prevents damage during landings with an excessive angle of attack. This high tail, positioned above the nozzle, is why Spanish pilots affectionately nicknamed it "Culopollo" (literally "Chicken's Butt"), a moniker that went viral within the military and among aviation enthusiasts. "I believe for most of us, 'Culopollo' is more than just a machine. All the pilots and mechanics are very fond of it; it has 'taught' us a great deal. It's something of a legend," said Sanz.

From CASA to Airbus: the C-101 as a launchpad for Spanish aerospace

Developed by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA), the C-101 represents a pivotal chapter in the history of what is now Airbus in Spain.

The concept for its development originated in the early 1970s. The aim was to find a successor for the T-33, T-6, and HA-200 Saeta, which were then in service as training aircraft across various Spanish Air Force units. "With the C-101, CASA and Spain made the leap to becoming a true independent designer and manufacturer of military jet aircraft, as all manufacturing until then had focused on licensed models," explained Ángel Sánchez, Head of Historical Heritage at Airbus in Spain.

In the aircraft's development, CASA collaborated with Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) from Germany and Northrop from the United States. The C-101's design emphasised simplicity, economy, and versatility. Its modular configuration has always facilitated maintenance and its adaptability to evolving training requirements through regular updates. "These principles of international collaboration and modularity, which the C-101 incorporated, later became hallmarks of major European aerospace consortia, such as Airbus," Sánchez highlighted.

The new chapter of pilot training in Spain

The Spanish Air and Space Force replaced the C-101 with the Pilatus PC-21 turboprop as its basic training aircraft in 2022. Meanwhile, Turkish Aerospace Industries' Hürjet has been chosen for advanced flight training for jets such as the Eurofighter and F-18. Airbus is leading a Spanish consortium with plans for local assembly of the Hürjet and the integration of Spanish systems into future batches. This collaboration was formalised with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding during FEINDEF 2025, the International Defence and Security Exhibition, which took place in May 2025 in Madrid.

Source: Airbus

Images: Ejercito del Aire, Airbus