Recently the small fleet of remaining T-38s still in aerobatic service as well as all other active Talons have been upgraded and redone to stay up to date with the changes in technology.

Currently the Jackets and the Wrights are looking for a suitable replacement for their old and worn out European built Alphajets. Options are still TBD.

The Wrights have began their farewell tour, starting with a demonstration at Yeager alongside the Golden Eagles, while the Yellow Jackets begin their show season with a duet flight with the newly founded Wings of Fidelis.

The Simple Planes Marine Corps have formed their new flight demonstration team, called the Wings of Fidelis, meaning the wings of loyalty, a not to the Marines’ moto, Semper Fidelis. The Wings of Fidelis enroll only the best of the best and have a high amount of discipline, the most out of any team so far. Much like their Navy counterpart, this team has also gone to war, only they’re still in it along with the Yellow Jacks joining in. But Yeager has been cleared of any hostile threats for the time being but the teams performing there will fly a flat show. For Wright, it’s far enough to be classified safe so the 2 teams there can run a high show.

The Yellow Jackets have joined Simple War III, all other teams are on hold with their pilots enrolled in past squadrons.

Phase 1 was used between 1946 and 1956 in the ages of the
P-51B. The P-51D brought with it Phase 2 which was used between 1856 and 1961, then the T-38s stole the show with a new paint scheme, Phase 3. Phases 1 and 2 had a white base with minimally decorated red and blue highlights. But Phase 3 emphasizes the red making it the base with blue and white highlights, used between 1996-2023. But Phase 4, completed in 2023, emphasizes the blue for the first time, with the 3 stripe nose design being redone into a longer 2 stripe nose. The “expiration date” for Phase 4 is still unknown.

Phase 4 has been completed, thus bringing the Falcons to the Wrights. For their farewell season, the Pigpens will be painted in Phase 4 for their final year as Wrights as the F-16s will fall into place in late 2023. As for their trainers and transport aircraft, they will be repainted later. But their donated Wasp will likely remain in Phase 3.

2023: The Yellow Jackets have formed a “alliance” with the U.S.S. Beast, thus making it the first team to operate off of an aircraft carrier. Their pilots are the most proficient at the Naval level and will really test them. However, the U.S.S. Beast will serve as a holding place and as a maintenance place.

2023: The Wright rebuild program will see the Falcons in 4 phases, those being all the paint schemes they Wrights have used over the years. The Pigpen will continue to fly for the Wrights as the Falcons aren’t expected to become the official aircraft until mid to late February, March at the latest. All Pigpens will be repainted into each phase on their farewell tour, the last being phase 4 as the perfect Segway into the Falcon age, which should be able to be with the team for at least a decade.

2023: The Wrights have been using Pigpens for over 26 years and have decided to make a change. The F-16 Fighting Falcon was the main choice. However, many pilots aren’t used to the advanced avionics int he Falcons ordered. So the Yellow Jackets decided to donate one of their Legacy Wasps with updated avionics to help train the pilots for what’s to come.

2022: Some big things ahead. Both teams were having issues with training. They were struggling with some spare unused T-38s from the olden times. They had to find another suitable trainer to fit the bill. They settled on the Alphajet, a European trainer. They also needed a transport plane to travel internationally without having to arrive early to wait for the supplies. They found some twin-props to fit the job description.

2021: 2 big things to 2 big teams. The Wrights celebrate their diamond anniversary with a refurbished throwback, keeping the triple ring nose design on the red tail scheme, however the white has been replaced with a bright blue, resembling the color of a diamond. The Yellow Jackets made a swap from the Wasp to the Super Wasp. After the Wasps reached the end of their service life of 30 years, they started to have major problems. They needed to make a change. The Super Wasp was the main choice.

2017: The diamond anniversary of the Yellow Jackets. The Wasp, reaching the end of its useful service life, saw 2 anniversaries in its lifetime as a Yellow Jacket.

1996: The Wrights’ golden anniversary. And the new Pigpen was the first and the only one to sport the new golden gadget paint job to celebrate 50 years of Wright flight. The Pigpen has undergone multiple upgrades and enhancements to keep them in the air. They’ve lasted from ‘96 to today.

1991: To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Yellow Jackets, they decided to make the change from their near 30 year old Talons and exchanged them for Wasps. Their first Wasp delivered was done up in a special 50th anniversary scheme. The Wasps would last for nearly 30 years before they reach the end of their useful service life.

1971: The Wrights celebrated their 25th anniversary with a classic paint scheme. The return of their well known red tail style paint job made its return in 1971 and will each and every anniversary. However the white will be replaced with a certain color, depending on the anniversary, in this case silver.

1966: The Yellow Jackets celebrate their 25th anniversary in 1966 with only their 5th year using the T-38. They decided to start a new tradition, reversing the blue and yellow color scheme for every anniversary from that point on.

1961: When the T-38s rolled out, both teams decided that it was time to make a change. Both collectively decided to switch over to the Talons. The Wrights decided to alter their paint scheme, switching their main color from white to red. They adopted the red, white, and blue nose cone as well in a 3 stripe scheme.

1956: The Wrights, after having a multitude of problems with their P-51B Mustangs, decided to switch over to some D models, donated from the Yellow Jackets, thus forming an alliance between the 2.

1946: This sparked a big year for the country when the Warbirds were founded just shortly after the Yellow Jackets switched from their minimally painted P-51s to their completely painted Mustangs. The Warbirds sported a white plane with red and blue highlights, similar in style to a redtail.

1941: At the beginning of the Second Simple War, the S.P. Navy bought a fleet of multiple P-51D Mustangs for their first fighter squadron, the Yellow Aces. The Aces were the top tier pilots at the time and were the most dare devilish. The squadron sported the typical silver base with some blue and gold highlights. Towards the end of SPII, the team was renamed the Yellow Jackets. At the end of the war in 1945, the team organized a flight demonstration to commemorate the win.