The Blades

Leaping For Joy - Photo Chris Lord

2011 is The Blades' sixth display season and a great one. The Blades are among the world’s best aerobatic pilots, flying the ultimate in high-performance piston aircraft. Over the past five years, The Blades have flown over 300 displays in front of more than 18 million people, carried over 1,000 corporate flying event passengers and reached hundreds of millions of people through the media.

The Aircraft

The new EA-300 LP is made from carbon fibre and is certified to +/- 10 times the force of gravity. Unlike some of its competitors, it is also certified to fly anywhere in the world. The aircraft was designed by Walter Extra. As a successful competitive aerobatic display pilot Extra decided, in 1980, to design his own aircraft with an optimum structure, weight and performance for aerobatic displays. The aircraft was so successful that the Extra sells around 40 aircraft a year from its factory in Germany.

Engine: 300HP Lycoming AEIO 540

Propeller: 3 Bladed MT propeller

Range: 350 miles

Maximum Gross Weight: 950 Kg

Standard Empty Weight: 667 Kg

FAA Certified Load Factor: +/- 10G

Never Exceed Speed: 220 Kts

Manoeuvring Speed: 158 Kts

Length: 6.94m

Height: 2.62m

Wing Span: 8m

Seats: 2   Designed by pilots, for pilots!