The modern-day Blue Impulse aerobatic team originated from a three-plane F-86F aerobatic flight performed at the Hamamatsu North Air Base Air Festival on October 19, 1958.
On April 16, 1960, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force established an "Air Maneuver Research Team" at the 1st Air Wing at Hamamatsu Air Base. This aerobatic team, using the F-86F Sabre, was initially known as "Tenryu." The team later changed its name to Blue Impulse, using its call sign, and became world-famous for drawing the Olympic rings and the EXPO '70 logo in the sky.
The team continued to perform numerous aerobatic displays across Japan. In the 1982 season, the team replaced its aging F-86Fs with the domestically produced T-2 jet trainer. The T-2's high-speed aerobatics captivated many fans. Since the 1996 season, the Blue Impulse team has been using the latest all-Japanese jet trainer, the T-4, which it continues to use today.
The T-4, capable of air maneuvers on par with the F-15, performs even more sophisticated and exhilarating displays for spectators.
Specifications:
- Crew: 2
- Wingspan: 9.9m
- Length: 13.0m (including pitot tube), 12.0m (not including pitot tube)
- Height: 4.6m
- Engine: Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries F3-IHI-30
- Thrust: 1,600 kg x 2
- Standard Takeoff Weight: 5,530 kg
- Maximum Speed: Mach 0.9 (at 10,000m altitude)
- First Flight (XT-4 No. 1): July 29, 1985