Golden Crown

The Golden Crown (Persian: تاج طلایی Tāj-e Talāyi) was Iran's first national aerobatics 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 Skyblazers, an American aerobatics team. During the cold war this team successfully performed in many competitions.

Imperial Iranian Air Force Aerobatic Team Golden Crown
Golden Crown insignia
Active	30 October 1958-11 February 1979
Disbanded	after 1979 Revolution (revival is still ongoing)
Country	Iran
Branch	Imperial Iranian Air Force
Role	Aerobatic display team
Part of	part of 1st Fighter Interceptor Squadron
Garrison/HQ	Mehrabad (THR) Khatami Air Base
Colours	■□■ (three colours of the flag of Iran)
Commanders
Leader	Nader Jahanbani (1958-1962,1969) Amir Hossein Rabii (1963,1968) Abdolhossein Minusepehr (1964-1966) Bahram Hooshyar (1970) Ayat Mohaqeqi (1971-1972) Vahid Kimiagar (1973) Mahmoud Imanian (1974) Manouchehr Khalili (1975-1979)
Aircraft flown
Fighter	F-84G Thunderjet (1958-1960) F-86F Sabre (1960-1967,1969) F-5A Freedom Fighter (1968,1970-1975) F-5E Tiger II (1976-1979)

6 F-5Es of the Golden Crown display team

The Golden Crown was officially founded in 1958. Fourteen Iranian pilots were sent to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base, Germany, 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. After displaying interest, Jahanbani was allowed to fly in the backseat of one of the team's F-84s 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 and later, at Kooshk Nosrat, 100 kilometres from Tehran.

During the Iranian Revolution 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, Asghar Imanian, Bahram Hooshyar, and Yadollah Sharifirad.

In February 2020, Aziz Nasirzadeh had announced the revival of the team.