5 heart-stopping moves of the Russian Knights squadron

The performances are highly dangerous, requiring skill and coordination among team members.

Russian Knight's Synchronized Twist and Face Cut

The Russian Knights are one of the famous aerobatic teams of the Russian Air Force, and are also the only aerobatic team in the world that uses only heavy fighter jets. Their signature aerobatic displays include maneuvers in formations of four or six aircraft, sometimes as little as one meter apart. The Russian Knights' aerobatic moves always thrill the audience with their danger, as well as their precision, according to RBTH.

Synchronous twist and face cutting

The barrel roll was one of the tail-cutting maneuvers used by fighter pilots to escape enemy aircraft during World War II. In the Russian Knights display, each fighter jet had its own flight path, but had to be synchronized with the rest of the formation to create the impression of a unified whole.

After completing the maneuver, the planes on either side split up. The two leading planes moved to fly parallel, before turning 270 degrees and crossing each other’s flight paths. This gave the audience the impression that the two fighters were about to collide.

Only the most experienced pilots of the Russian Knights were allowed to perform the cross-section maneuver, because a small mistake could cause two planes to crash into each other, or one to fly into the moving path of the other fighter and lose control.

Nesterov somersault

This maneuver is also known as acrobatic circles, named after Pyotr Nesterov, the pilot who created and performed the maneuver in 1913, marking the first time in the world that an aircraft could perform acrobatic turns in mid-air. The Russian Knights often perform circles in full formations of six aircraft, or in conjunction with the Swallows to form the famous "Kubinka Diamond" formation.

Russian Knight and Swallow perform Nesterov somersault

Similar to synchronized rolls, Nesterov rolls require a high level of concentration from the pilot, in order to maintain a formation distance of only a few meters between aircraft, as well as create unity when viewed from the ground.

Bell

This is one of the most classic maneuvers of Su-27, Su-30 and MiG-29 fighters. It is also known as "falling yellow leaves", which made many people's hearts stop when Soviet pilots performed it for the first time in 1988.

Russian Knights fighter performs bell maneuver

The bell is a difficult flying maneuver that demonstrates the pilot's skill and level and the aircraft's superior maneuverability. After soaring straight into the sky and reaching the optimal altitude, the pilot reduces the throttle to the minimum, causing the aircraft's speed to gradually decrease to zero. At that time, the fighter begins to free fall in the opposite direction, creating the feeling that it is flying backwards in the air. The pilot waits for the nose of the aircraft to drop and increases the throttle, ending the maneuver.

During their performance, the Russian Knights often drop heat traps to create a light show for the audience below.

Reflector

This heart-stopping move is an example of the pilot's precise maneuvering, while also demonstrating trust and understanding among squadron members.

Russian knight performs mirror gesture. Photo: Marina Lystseva.

As it flies past the audience, one plane flips over and flies parallel to the other, giving the impression that the two fighters are back-to-back as they fly. In reality, the upside-down fighter flies to the right and higher than the other, but the view from the ground gives the illusion that they are very close together.

This maneuver is highly difficult, requiring the pilot to concentrate on maintaining the flight path and avoiding collisions.

Guardian Angel

This is one of the signature maneuvers of the Russian Knights. The squadron first performed the maneuver in 2013 to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the team's founding.

Angel Wings Created by Russian Knights

The flight begins with a diamond formation of four fighters. They will pull up, the two in the middle of the formation will hold the flight path, while the remaining two fighters will circle to either side. This is combined with the firing of each heat trap with great precision, to guide the smoke in the right direction and create the image of giant angel wings in the sky.

According to VNE