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THE FLYING TEAM
MIGUEL "PAY" PADILLA
Chief Pilot & Team Manager
From Sevilla, Spain, Pay has spent most of his life living in Jerez de La Frontera. With over 20,000 flight hours, he is the Chief Pilot and Team Manager, responsible for the team's strategic decisions as well as all aspects of the display, from running the training program to choreographing the show.
Pay is a highly experienced former fighter pilot, with more than 18 years of flying in the Spanish Air Force and 4 years in the Spanish Navy. During his military career he flew the C-101 Aviojet as an instructor as well the F-5A, Mirage F-1, F-18A and AV-8B Harrier II Plus.
While on the front line, Pay took part in multiple exercises both is Spain and abroad, including a tour with the U.S. Marine Corps, flying the AV.-8 Harrier II with Marine Attack Squadron 542. During his time in the Navy, he completed more than 100 carrier landings.
In his civilian career, as an airline Captain, he flew several Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and Airbus types for Spanair and Iberia Express. He also worked as an investigator for the National Civil Aviation Accident Commission and was qualified as a Display Director at some of the most prominent Airshows in Spain.
PATRICK KOCH
Yakstar1
Flight Position: Flight Leader
From Madrid, Spain, Patrick is a charismatic pilot and one of the most experienced members of the team, with nearly 20 years of aerobatic and formation flying experience on the Yak-52.
In 2022, he was selected as Flight Leader of the YAKSTARS, becoming the first pilot without a military background to lead the team—an achievement that reflects his outstanding skill, leadership, and dedication.
Patrick’s passion for aviation began in childhood. He achieved his dream in 1996 by obtaining both single-engine (SE) and multi-engine (ME) private pilot licenses. Since then, he has built a diverse flying portfolio that includes single- and multi-engine aircraft, taildraggers, radial-engine airplanes, Citation jets, and advanced aerobatic platforms such as the Extra 300 and 330.
He is also a recognized Yak-52 formation flying supervisor and an accomplished competition pilot, having earned gold medals in CEVA championships in both the Sportsman and Intermediate categories.
In addition to aerobatics, Patrick has participated in air racing, competing in the inaugural Cascais Air Race in 2014 and returning in 2016 and 2018.
Beyond the cockpit, Patrick plays a key role as team manager for Juan Velarde’s professional racing team—one of the most respected teams in the Red Bull Air Race circuit.
NICO GOULET
Yakstar 2
Flight Positions: Right Wing & Solo
Nico was born in Mallorca, Spain, into an Irish-Canadian family. In his professional life, he is the co-founder and managing partner of a technology venture capital firm, Adara Ventures.
Nico began flying gliders at a very young age in Boston while studying Aerospace Engineering at MIT, later transitioning to powered flight in Paris at the start of his professional career. Throughout his aviation journey, he has remained actively involved as both a competition and display pilot. He has flown over 20 different types of aircraft and holds qualifications in 15 of them.
He is an experienced Yak-52 pilot, with more than 1,000 flights in his distinctive “Blue Devil.” Nico has flown this aircraft in aerobatic competitions and displays, both solo and in formation, across the Iberian Peninsula. He also has significant competition experience flying the Extra 300S.
With over 23 years of competitive flying, Nico has earned silver and gold medals at CEVA and Copa Triangular competitions in Spain and Portugal, competing at the Sportsman, Intermediate, and Advanced levels. He is also a pilot member of the Infante de Orleans Foundation, dedicated to preserving historic and vintage aircraft in flying condition.
Nico shares a strong passion for formation flying with the rest of the YAKSTARS team, and since 2022 he has flown the “Blue Devil” as #2 (Right Wing).
TIAGO CORREIA
Yakstar 3
Flight Position: Left Wing
Tiago was born in Lisbon, Portugal, and is a former student of Pupilos do Exército, a prestigious military school. He dreamed of flying throughout his childhood, absorbing as much knowledge as possible from books and films.
Tiago is currently a Captain flying the Airbus A319/320/321, with over 10,000 flight hours across a wide variety of aircraft. His experience ranges from touring and firefighting operations to single- and multi-engine airplanes, turboprops, radial-engine aircraft, and taildraggers—you name it, he has likely flown it. He has been qualified on 55 different aircraft types, including the military version of the Pilatus P-3.
During his career, he also worked as a crop-dusting pilot and as a cargo pilot flying the Boeing 737.
Tiago first flew the Yak-52 early in his career while working as a Flight Instructor (FI) at a local flight school. Since then, he has developed a deep passion for the aircraft, and for the past 15 years he has been actively flying aerobatics and training with the team to refine his formation flying skills.
He currently flies as #3 (Left Wing).
LUIS ALVAREZ
Yakstar 4
Flight Positions: Right Wing and Right Outer Wing
From Badajoz, Spain, Luis joined the team in 2024 and is qualified to fly as #2 (Right Wing) and #4 (Right Outer Wing).
Luis began flying gliders at the age of 16 and has never looked back. He later joined the Futura Program at the Lufthansa Flight School in Bremen and Arizona, where he obtained his commercial pilot license. His early career took him to Equatorial Guinea, flying for Air Consul, followed by a role with AirTruck as a cargo pilot, and later Lufthansa. He eventually joined Iberia, where he has enjoyed a highly successful career for the past 27 years. He previously served as an A320 TRI/TRE and currently flies the A330/A350 as a Line Training Captain.
An accomplished aerobatic pilot since 2009, Luis has participated in numerous competitions, including the Spanish Aerobatic Championship and the Copa Triangular at the Advanced level.
With a strong passion for vintage aviation, Luis is also a member of the prestigious Infante de Orleans Foundation, a flying museum based at Madrid–Cuatro Vientos, where he regularly flies classic and historic aircraft.
Over the course of his professional career, he has accumulated more than 16,000 flight hours.
FERNANDO MARINHO PEREIRA
Yakstar 5
Flight Positions: Flight Leader, Slot & Left Outer Wing
Fernando was born in Aveiro and raised in Alenquer, Portugal. He has logged over 19,500 flight hours, including more than 3,000 in formation flying and low level aerobatics. With the YAKSTARS, he flies in the Slot position, Left Outer wing and also serves as a Flight Leader.
He graduated from the Portuguese Air Force Academy and earned his pilot wings after completing Undergraduate Pilot Training with the USAF. In the Air Force, he flew the Chipmunk, T-37, T-38 and served as Ground Attack Pilot flying the FIAT G-91 with the 301 Tiger Squadron. He later became an Advanced and Weapons Instructor flying the ground-attack version of the Alpha Jet. During his Air Force career, he also served as #3 and #5 pilot with the Portuguese aerobatic team "Asas de Portugal."
After leaving the Air Force, Fernando became an airline pilot flying the Airbus A319/A320/321 and A340. As a Captain, he qualified as Type Rating Examiner (TRE), Type Rating Instructor (TRI), Line Check Captain (LCC), Line Training Captain (LTC) and Maintenance Check Flight (MCF) pilot.
In parallel with his airline career, he has worked as a certified Flight Instructor (FI), Formation Flying Supervisor, Air Racing Pilot, and accomplished aerobatic and display pilot, with over 500 airshow performances to his name. He has flown a wide variety of aircraft, ranging from military jets to Extras 300/330, Pitts Specials, Yaks, PZLs, RVs, Huskys, etc. He also performs displays in the Antonov AN-2, the largest single-engine biplane ever built.
DAVID JIMENEZ
Yakstar 6
Flight Positions: Solo, Left & Right Outer Wing
David is a native of Madrid, Spain, and is one of the team’s solo pilots. He also flies in the Left and Right Outer Wing positions.
His passion for aviation was ignited at the age of 11, when his father took him flying for the first time. Since then, he has spent most of his life either in the air or around an airfield.
David obtained his first pilot license as a teenager and soon began training in aerobatics. Flying aircraft such as the Sukhoi Su-29M and the Yak-52, he competed in several aerobatic championships, achieving top results and being crowned champion in multiple categories.
Over the years, he has accumulated more than 10,000 flight hours and is qualified on a wide range of corporate and commercial aircraft, including the Cessna Citation 525, Learjet 35, Bombardier Global Express 6000, and Boeing 757. He previously served as a Type Rating Instructor (TRI) on the Airbus A320, A330, and A340 families and currently flies the Boeing 737 NG/MAX as a Captain.
