The Finnish Air Force’s participation will bring a versatile fleet of aircraft and exciting programs to the event, with displays consisting of the Midnight Hawks, Hawk solo, Hornet solo, and Grob solo.
The Midnight Hawks, the Air Force’s aerobatic team, will captivate the audience with their skillful and spectacular display, seamlessly combining precision aerobatics and the beauty of formation flying. This four-ship formation of Hawk jet-trainer aircraft is known for its tight formations and impressive, impactful maneuvers.
The Hawk solo will be performed by Captain Eemeli Vähäsöyrinki, with Captain Miika Luukkonen as the backup pilot. The program includes demanding maneuvers and quick turns that showcase the performance and agility of this jet-trainer. All Air Force pilots undergo a training phase with the Hawk before transitioning to the Hornet.
The Hornet solo offers the audience an unforgettable experience of the capabilities of Finland’s top aircraft, the F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighter. The display includes top-tier performance, incredible speeds, and impressive moves that demonstrate the Hornet’s versatility and power. “I have included maneuvers where the nose points either directly or diagonally towards the audience. In these maneuvers, the aircraft’s trajectory and maneuverability are much clearer to the audience than in those performed along the display line. I shortened the length slightly from last year, which makes the plane lighter at the beginning of the routine due to the smaller amount of fuel and subsequently improves performance,” says the Air Force’s main display pilot for 2024, Captain Petteri “Loudeater” Kairinen. The backup display pilot for the Hornet solo is Captain Paulus Kärnä.
