Golden Crown
The Golden Crown was the first and national aerobatics display team of Iran and part of the former Imperial Iranian Air Force from 1958 to 1979. It was formed by Nader Jahanbani, an Iranian general, and it was mainly inspired by Sky Blazers, an American aerobatics team. During the cold war this team successfully performed in many competitions.
The Golden Crown was officially founded in 1958. Fourteen Iranian pilots were sent to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base, Germany, in order to learn aerobatics in jet aircraft. Nine of them returned to Iran after a couple of months and the remaining five went on to undergo further flying training. After 72 training sessions, the team performed its first aerobatic display in 1958. It was equipped with four Republic F-84G Thunderjet aircraft. By 1959, it had nine F-84s.
The team performed near Mehrabad International Airport and later, at Kooshk Nosrat 100 kilometres from Tehran.
During the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the team was disbanded after the dissolution of the Imperial Iranian Air Force.
IIAF ace, Yadollah Javadpour, was a member of the Golden Crown from 1975 to 1978. Other notable members include Mohammad Amir Khatami, Nader Jahanbani, Amir Hossein Rabii, Bahram Hooshyar, and Yadollah Sharifirad.
