6 Imperial Iranian Air Force F-5Es in an arobatic exhibit

The Golden Crown ( ''Tāj-e Talāyi'') was Iran's first national

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...

display team and part of the former Imperial Iranian Air Force from 1958 to 1979. It was formed by Nader Jahanbani, an Iranian fighter pilot, and mainly inspired by the USAFE , an American aerobatics team. During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

this team successfully performed in many competitions. The Golden Crown was officially founded in 1958. Fourteen Iranian pilots were sent to

Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base ( German: "Fliegerhorst Fürstenfeldbruck" or "Flugplatz Fürstenfeldbruck") is a former German Air Force airfield near the town of Fürstenfeldbruck in Bavaria, near Munich, Germany. Fürstenfeldbruck became famous fir ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, for jet aircraft pilot training. Nine of them returned to Iran after a couple of months while five remained and underwent further training in order to become instructors. One of the five pilots, Nader Jahanbani, happened to observe a practice session of the USAFE Skyblazers at

Fürstenfeldbruck Fürstenfeldbruck () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, 32 kilometres west of Munich. It is the capital of the district of Fürstenfeldbruck. it had a population of 35,494. Since the 1930s Fürstenfeldbruck has had an air force base. Geography F ...

. After displaying interest, Jahanbani was allowed to fly in the backseat during several practice demos. This inspired him to create the IIAF's own demonstration team. With the Shah's blessing, Jahanbani and three of the four remaining Iranian pilots, Amir Hossein Rabii, Siamak Jahanbini, and Abdolhossein Minusepehr formed the Golden Crown aerobatic team. They were joined by Gen. Mohammad Amir Khatami, who became its fifth member. 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, they used nine F-84s. The team performed near

Mehrabad International Airport Mehrabad Interglobal Airport is an airport serving Tehran, the capital of Iran. Prior to the construction of the larger Imam Khomeini International Airport in 2007, Mehrabad was Tehran's primary airport for both international and domestic tr ...

and later, at Kooshk Nosrat, 100 kilometres from Tehran. During the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

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, Abdolhossein Minusepehr, Asghar Imanian, Bahram Hooshyar, Fereidoon Izadseta, and Yadollah Sharifirad. In February 2020, Aziz Nasirzadeh had announced the revival of the team.

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Golden Crown year by year
{{Modern aerobatic teams Aerobatic teams Imperial Iranian Air Force

See also

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