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photo credit The Silhouettes

1. Who is behind The Silhouettes Air Display Team? 

The Silhouettes are a professional Australian Airshow Display Team recognised worldwide for awe-inspiring aerobatics.

Team pilots Enzo Iacono (Silhouette 1) and Joel Haski (Silhouette 2), each with 30 years of flying experience, bring a wealth of aviation wisdom, insight and aerobatic expertise into their displays—constantly pushing the boundaries on what’s possible.

For 10 years, they were officially sponsored by Red Bull, flying for VIP joy-flights, aerial advertising, display flights and promotional events. Other achievements include flying at the first-ever World Formation Aerobatic Championships (WFAC) in 2017 and performing three seasons across various International Airshows in China.

2. How did you guys come into contact? How was the team created?

We met during flight training in high school about 30 years ago. After completing our Commercial Pilot and Aerobatic training began flying as The Red Baron. However, everything went to the next level for us after being invited to WFAC in 2017. We flew shows until 2019, and on returning home, we decided to start a new chapter as The Silhouettes.

photo credit The Silhouettes 

3. What is your personal signature while flying as a duo that distinguishes you from other air display teams around the world? 

Double-loop rejoin; this involves a formation re-join manoeuvre that takes place during two inside loops.

Watch the video of us doing it here.

 

4. The most demanding acrobatic figures for you as pilots.

Mirror formation because it’s the close formation and the leader’s inverted and the formation stall turn because we’re low speed in the vertical and close to each other.

Aside from these, the most demanding aspects of flying manoeuvres and aerobatic sequences is show spacing and choreography—especially at high speed and low altitude, in formation.

photo credit The Silhouettes 

5. What are the biggest challenges to creating spectacular flights in your Extra 300?

International transport of our aircraft is a complex process. There’s a lot of logistics to consider. We have to disassemble the planes in Australia, then ship them. Planes arrive at the first show, and we have to assemble them in time to make the first show. The other challenges are that often the next show is in a different province, and we’re not allowed to fly there—we have to disassemble the aircraft (again), pack it up and transport it to the next location—and do it all over again. So aside from the actual flying, we spend much of our time in transit.

photo credit The Silhouettes 

6. Trust is probably the most important element in an aerobatic team; can you name another one?

We agree, trust paramount. To achieve the degree of trust required, team pilot practice and detailed de-briefings are a must. Another essential part of it is ensuring there’s complete transparency and clear communication between team members.

7. Can you tell us more about this new season and what we expect to see in the skies this year?

Having recently rebranded to The Silhouettes (from Red Baron Display Team), we’re investing much time and energy into building our next airshow display chapter.

We’re sharing a lot of new video content on our Instagram @Silhouettes_DisplayTeam featuring our formation training sessions, personal aero practice—alongside air displays for the local community and corporate events.

Come 2022; we look forward to gracing international skies with our presence.

For now, fly with us on the Gram.

photo credit The Silhouettes 

8. Describe a typical training day for you and your team in preparation for an event.

The main preparation is sequence walkthroughs (on the ground) and a thorough briefing—which every team does. After that, we pre-flight the aircraft and jump in.

Mental rehearsal is another integral part of any aerobatic pilot’s training. Pre-airshow, it’s about focusing on what’s going to happen during the flight. Because once the canopy is closed, you don’t think about anything else—it’s, be here and nowhere else. You can’t make any mistakes—not ever. You can’t turn the wrong way or cross the display line.

Again, the pressure for each pilot changes depending on their role. The leader is responsible for the shape, size, position of the whole sequence—they’re concentrating on heights and speeds and flying perfect figures for the wingman.

Being number 2 (wingman) is about being in position no matter what! He doesn’t care about height or speed—it’s all about maintaining a relevant position with the leader.

Here is a taste of our rehearsals. 

9. Do you work in the air also when you don’t fly with The Silhouettes?

Yes, we are Chief Pilots and Instructors at The Aerobatic School Sydney recognised as Australia’s leading flying school for Basic and Advanced Aerobatics, Formation Flying, Upset Recovery, Licence Training; plus Tail Wheel, CSU and Retractable Undercarriage endorsements.

We also run Competition Aerobatic Pilot Coaching for pilots seeking to take their aerobatics to a competition level.

10. Your dream airframe?

Joel - Custom Tri-Plane

Enzo - EXTRA 330SC

photo credit The Silhouettes 

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-Article by Ms Enzina Calascione

-We thank you Ms Monica Kade, the pilots  Mr Enzo Iacono (Silhouette 1) and Mr Joel Haski (Silhouette 2) for their cooperation and support.

- Follow The Silhouettes on their official account https://www.instagram.com/silhouettes_displayteam/