Bahrain Airshow: Huawei Twister Duo return to woo the crowds

The single-seat Silence SA1100 Twister aerobatic team is made up of Peter Wells and Guy Westgate.

The pair (then flying under Scottish Widows sponsorship) caused a sensation at the last Bahrain International Airshow with their breathtaking dusk display – the two diminutive aerobatic aircraft leaving a trail of sparks as they crossed the darkening sky, finishing with a heart in the sky.

During yesterday’s practice run, the team took spectacular pictures of Bahrain’s international circuit being prepared for the forthcoming Formula 1 Grand Prix.

The Twister was designed in Germany by brothers Thomas and Matthias Strieker, who based the new aircraft on their own world-beating model aircraft design. The Twister’s elliptical wing makes it reminiscent of the classic Second World War Supermarine Spitfire, but the aircraft is a state-of-the-art, all composite, lightweight, single-seat aerobatic specialist.

The Twister Duo aircraft are equipped with aircraft-mounted floodlights and wingtip-mounted pyrotechnics. They are displaying three times each day – in the morning to the public enclosure, in the afternoon to the VIPs, and in the evening to the whole airfield.

The aircraft were shipped out to Al Ain in a single container – with wings, rudder, and spinner removed there is just two inches clearance for the pair of aircraft, according to Westgate, who is an airline pilot for British Airways as his ‘day job’.

Sponsorship from the global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider Huawei was organised for the Al Ain and Bahrain shows, but the pair quietly hope that a longer-term arrangement may follow.