Base Aérea de Boa Vista – Força Aérea Brasileira

Author: Ian French
Photography: Ian French & Força Aérea Brasileira

Base Aérea de Boa Vista (BABV) was commissioned in 1984 and shares its facilities with the civil Atlas Brasil Cantanhede International Airport.

The civilian airport, which was opened in 1973, was named in 2009 after Atlas Brasil Cantanhede (1917-1973), a pilot and politician who in the 1950s pioneered aviation in the Roraima state. It is the northernmost Brazilian airport served by scheduled flights and the only Base Aérea in the northern hemisphere.

Base Aérea de Boa Vista reports to the Amazon Air Command (VII COMAR) and is home to Ala 7 and its single unit, 1 Esquadrão 3 Grupo de Aviação.

1° Esquadrão 3° Grupo de Aviação (1/3° GAv)
“Escorpiao”

1/3 GAv was formed in 1984 as 1° Esquadrilha do 7º ETA at Base Aérea de Boa Vista, Roraima with Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante (C-95B) from 1984 to 1988. The Cessna C-208 Caravan (C-98) was operated from 1988 to 1995.

In 1995 the unit received its present name and became a fighter/attack unit with Embraer EMB-312 Tucano (AT-27). These were replaced by the Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano (A-29) from 2004. The unit operates both the single seat (A) model and the twin seat (B) model.

Aviation Press would like to thank the Força Aérea Brasileira for their assistance with the article.

Aviation Articles:

Anatolian Eagle 2025

Author: Ian French Photographers: Paul Witty & Jon AstleyAnatolian Eagle is an international training exercise based at Konya Air Base in the centre of Turkey. The first exercise was held in 2001 although its roots could be linked back to the 1980s when Turkey began...

Greece – Andravida Air Base

Author: Ian French Photographers: Jon Astley, Mark Forest, Ian French, Paul Witty & Hellenic Air Force117 Pteriga Machis (Combat Wing), moto "Defend yourselves against the enemies" was established in 1960 at Andravida as 117 Combat Group with 339 Mira transferring...

Photo Reports:

Aero India 2025

Author & Photography: Ian FrenchAero India is a biennial aviation exhibition and air show held at the Yelahanka Air Station at Bengaluru, India. The first edition was held in 1996 and the 2025 edition was the 15th.Aviation Press would like to thank 4Aviation for their...

Polish Air Force 100 Year Anniversary

The Polish Air Force celebrated its 100 year anniversary in late August 2018. Celebrations included a families open day at Dęblin-Irena followed by an airshow at Radom-Sadków. Ian French produced this photo report. All rights belong to Aviation Press Limited....