Sherdils Sherdils ( Urdu : ﺸﻴر دﻋﻝ ) is the aerobatics display team of the Pakistan Air Force Academy based at the PAF Academy , Risalpur , Pakistan . The team flies nine K - 8 Karakorum trainer aircraft and used to fly the T - 37 " Tweety Bird " . Its pilots are instructors from the PAF Academy ' s Basic Flying Training ( BFT ) Wing . History . The team was officially formed on 17 August 1972 as a result of efforts by an Academy instructor , Sqn Ldr Bahar - ul - haq . The team was formed on the lines of Red Pelicans , the aerobatics team of RAF College , Cranwell where Bahar had been on an exchange tour . It was decided to put up a brief show on graduation parades as a demonstration of the professional skills of Academy instructors . After several trials of candidate instructors , a team was formed under the command of 1965 War hero , Wg Cdr Imtiaz Bhatti . He was the Officer Commanding of the BFT wing at that time . Other formation members included Flt Lt Aamer Ali Sharieff , Flt Lt A Rahim Yusufzai and Flt Lt Niaz Nabi , the latter becoming a most durable master of the ‘ slot ’ position . The initial performances of the team were highly successful . The " Tweety birds " performed at air shows for foreign dignitaries , including heads of state and military officers . Initially , the team had no name . The personal call sign of the leaders also denoted the team ; it flew as ‘ Sherdils ’ for the first time on 19 September 1974 . The Sherdils have transitioned from the T - 37 which had virtually become their trademark , to the newer and more modern Hongdu K - 8 " Karakorum " trainer jointly developed with China . The public debut was during PAF High Mark 2010 exercise in April 2010 . Another public display using the K - 8s was soon after , during the graduation ceremony at PAF Risalpur in November , 2009 . Formation style . The type of formation and sequence has virtually remained the same since the team ’ s inception – line astern to diamond formation during a loop , then clover - leaf , steep turn , barrel roll and finally , the breath - taking bomb - burst . Attempts were made to increase the number of aircraft in the team , but engine thrust demands were excessive for the outer formation members to cope with . A four aircraft diamond has thus remained the basic formation of the ‘ Sherdils ’ . However , the Sherdils have flown in formations involving more than four aircraft during fly - pasts . Paint scheme . Appreciating the important quality affecting display aircraft i . e . , appearance , the T - 37s were painted all red . However , maintenance of the red - painted aircraft without the costly polyurethane coating became a problem . The team reverted to the all - metal finish , with only the nose , wing tips and tail painted day - glow orange . In 1980 , with the induction of six ex - USAF T - 37s , which were polyurethane - coated all white , ‘ Sherdils ’ became a logical choice for a new titillating appearance . The dramatic ‘ sunburst ’ paint scheme was adopted , red rays on an all - white background . Later , the aircraft were again painted red , but with the rays in white , a scheme that is in vogue today . Coloured smoke has been used to enhance the aesthetic qualities of the formation ; smoke trails give the impression of multi - coloured ribbons twirling in the sky . Accidents and incidents . On 8 October 1978 during a practice session , the team leader Flt Lt Alamdar Hussain went down in a mid - air collision involving his slot man . He was posthumously awarded the Sitara - i - Basalat .