San Javier. Tribute to Aviation.

 There are absences that are felt in the air, but there are legacies that are eternal. Walking through Santiago de la Ribera today is to encounter a permanent tribute to those who were our ambassadors in the sky: the Patrulla Águila (Eagle Patrol).

Although we no longer look to the sky for their wedge-shaped formation, their trail remains here, engraved in the street furniture and in the hearts of all of us who grew up admiring them. The Patrulla Águila stopped to fly on 2025, after 40 years of service. The Eagle Patrol (Patrulla Águila) has been replaced by the Blackbird Formation (Formación Mirlo). The former have retired the planes, and new propeller planes have replaced them.

It's worth noting that the General Air Academy is located in San Javier, and it serves as the flight school for the Spanish Air Force.

Here you can watch their last flight. Or, here, when they turned 30 years.