The Pelicans
Romania · Three ICP Savannah S formation
Aeroclubul României's ultralight display team turns low-speed control into a disciplined three-aircraft formation act, with close spacing, coordinated turns and carefully framed passes.
- Established
- 2009
- Operator
- Aeroclubul României
- Current chapter
- Since 2024
- Formation
- Three aircraft
- Display type
- Precision formation
- Status
- Active
The team
Precision at ultralight speed
The geometry is the spectacle: spacing, alignment and timing.
Aeroclubul României's ultralight formation
The Pelicans is the representative ultralight formation of Aeroclubul României, Romania's public sport-aviation organisation. It is a civilian demonstration team rather than a Romanian Air Force unit, and its purpose is to show what accurate formation flying can achieve with light, comparatively slow aircraft.
The team was formed in 2009 when four Ikarus C42B ultralights entered the Aeroclub fleet. Contemporary displays frequently used two or three aircraft, keeping the emphasis on tight formation passes, coordinated turns and smooth changes of position rather than high-energy aerobatics.
A new Savannah chapter
In 2024, The Pelicans returned in a new three-aircraft format flown by a younger generation of Aeroclub pilots and built around the ICP Savannah S. The new formation made its Bucharest International Air Show debut that August and has since appeared across the Romanian circuit as one of the operator's distinctive demonstration acts.
The Savannah's strong low-speed handling gives the pilots time to make the formation readable from the crowd line. Smoke can sharpen the outline of each pass, while selected evening presentations have added LED lighting without changing the act's precision-led character.
Display reference
Three aircraft, one clean line
- Formation entrance The three Savannahs arrive as one element and establish the display axis.
- Close formation passes Steady spacing and alignment make the three aircraft read as one shape.
- Coordinated turns The pilots preserve the geometry through banked turns and repositioning.
- Closing presentation A final pass or coordinated departure gives the formation a clear finish.
Core identity
Accuracy over aggression
The Pelicans routine is best understood as precision formation flying rather than a sequence of high-energy aerobatics. The challenge lies in keeping three light aircraft stable, evenly spaced and visually balanced while the formation changes direction in front of the crowd.
The current identity is a three-aircraft formation, although two-aircraft appearances can occur when serviceability or an event programme requires it. Smoke and LED lighting are presentation options for suitable events, not guaranteed features of every display.
The aircraft
Savannah S at the centre
The ICP Savannah S is an Italian-built, two-seat ultralight with an all-metal airframe, a high strut-braced wing and full-span Junkers-type flaperons. Its combination of strong lift, direct low-speed control and short-field performance makes it well suited to a formation display whose impact depends on steadiness and exact positioning.
In 2024, three Aeroclub Savannah S aircraft became the platform for The Pelicans' new formation. Compared with the team's original Ikarus C42B chapter, the change created a fresh visual identity while preserving the same ultralight, formation-first philosophy.
ICP Savannah S
- Role
- Two-seat ultralight · STOL
- Length
- 6.60 m
- Wingspan
- 9.00 m
- Height
- 2.58 m
- Wing area
- 12.87 m²
Performance
- Maximum speed
- 198 km/h · 107 kt
- Cruise speed
- 179 km/h · 97 kt
- Full-flap stall
- 49 km/h · 26 kt
- Rate of climb
- 1,200 ft/min
- Maximum ceiling
- 4,000 m · 13,100 ft
Power and weights
- Typical engine
- Rotax 912 ULS 2
- Power
- 100 hp
- Empty weight
- 286 kg
- Reference MTOW
- 450 kg
- Fuel capacity
- 2 × 36 L + 6 L reserve
Figures are ICP manufacturer references for a Rotax 912S-equipped Savannah S, not operating instructions. Weight, performance and permitted limits vary with equipment, registration category, national approval and the aircraft's approved flight documentation.
History
From the Ikarus C42B to a new Savannah era
-
2009
The Pelicans is formed
Aeroclubul României establishes its representative ultralight formation after renewing the fleet with four Ikarus C42B aircraft.
-
2010s
The Ikarus formation takes shape
Two- and three-aircraft C42B displays become a familiar part of Aeroclub events, using close formation to demonstrate the handling of Romania's ultralight fleet.
-
2015
Major-event visibility
The Pelicans appears at Bucharest International Air Show and alongside Romania's other Aeroclub demonstration teams during the European Advanced Aerobatic Championships at Deva.
-
2024
Three Savannahs, new formation
The team is revitalised with three ICP Savannah S aircraft and makes the new format's Bucharest International Air Show debut.
-
2025
Evening presentation
A Bucharest evening segment adds smoke and red, yellow and blue LED lighting, extending the formation's visual identity into the fading light.
-
Current
An active Aeroclub display team
The Pelicans continues as a three-aircraft Savannah S formation, with the exact number of aircraft and display effects adapted to each event.
Context
What defines The Pelicans
01 / Operator
Civilian Aeroclub team
Aeroclubul României operates the formation as part of the country's sport-aviation and flying-training structure, not as a military unit.
02 / Lineage
Two aircraft chapters
The Ikarus C42B established the name in 2009; three ICP Savannah S aircraft created the team's current visual identity in 2024.
03 / Character
Low speed, high precision
The Savannah's low-speed handling lets the crowd follow the spacing, alignment and turn coordination that form the heart of the act.
