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Post by Marcus on Aug 9, 2011 5:19:12 GMT 12
Hi all
Long time since my last post. Thought you might like the following. Taken during two flights in the backseat of Cub BQV.
Groete
Marcus
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Post by Marcus on May 22, 2011 19:19:33 GMT 12
By the way, where did Rhodesia get the Hueys from? They got them from Israel in very poor condition. They had to get them refurbished locally before they could use them operationally. This when Rhodesia still had sanctions imposed against them. Once operational the RhAF made extensive use of them, especially in cross-border raids against ZANU and ZAPU bases in Mozambique and Zambia. The RhAF made use of SAAF Pumas until they were withdrawn after the old SA government stabbed Rhodesia in the back in 1978, hence the need for a "heavy" lift chopper to replace the Pumas. SAAF Allouette II's and III's and a large contingent of SAAF aircrew were also operational in Rhodesia during the country's "Bushwar" years. Several of these Puma's and Allo's were lost in operations.
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Post by Marcus on Feb 11, 2011 18:52:14 GMT 12
Hi all
The following might be of interest considering the RNZAF will be getting their own 109's soon.
By Dean Wingrin
The South African Air Force is investigating the future use of the Agusta A109 light utility helicopter (LUH) it purchased as part of the 1999 Strategic Defence Package (SDP).
The A109 LUH was purchased to replace the elderly Eurocopter SA-316/SA-319 Alouette III helicopter which had been in service since 1962 in the light utility role. Delivery of the 30 A109 helicopters purchased from the Anglo-Italian AgustaWestland helicopter company under Project Flange commenced in 2005 and has been beset with difficulties and delays. An option for a further ten was not exercised.
The SAAF required the type to take pressure off its Denel Oryx medium utility fleet. The Air Force has long had the need for a platform more capable than the Alouette III but less expensive and more efficient than the Oryx for the bulk of taskings. The A109 was expected to fill that niche. The A109 was also expected to allow the SAAF to pass-on its Eurocopter BK-117 helicopter flet to the South African Police Service Air Wing.
At a press briefing at the Air Force Day Parade held at Swartkop airfield near Centurion on January 28, Lieutenant General Carlo Gagiano, Chief of the Air Force, said the SAAF is still holding on to their BK-117s and that they were looking to define a new role for the A109. "We have quite a large number of these helicopters (the A109) and indeed, we have to define a new role for them because they cannot really do the work of a BK 117," Gagiono confirmed. "The BK 117s are doing a great job in the Eastern Cape," he added.
According to the SAAF, typical missions for the A109 includes training, search and rescue, rope extraction & rappelling, trooping, medical evacuation (casevac), cargo transport, border patrol, peacekeeping, communications and urban operations.
Although the first five A109 aircraft were manufactured in Italy, the balance of the 25 helicopters was assembled by Denel Saab Aerostructures. By 2008 deliveries were four years late, leading to the imposition of a R90 million penalty, the only one imposed under the "arms deal". It has been reported that offsets were tardy and the platform has failed to live up to expectation.
Although one of the stated uses of the new helicopter was for pilot training, the SAAF was experiencing a critical lack of qualified flying instructors soon after the initial aircraft were delivered. As a consequence, in mid-2006 the SAAF outsourced basic helicopter flying training to Starlight Aviation in Durban. At the time, it was rumoured that the A109, with its advanced avionics and equipment, was too complex to convert newly qualified pilots onto helicopters.
The Air Force announced in March 2007 that the A109 had been cleared for command-and-control, casevac, trooping and cargo-slinging duties. The helicopter is capable of being equipped with a search light, FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red), external hoist and a cargo-sling. However, operational reports suggest the type is, depending on one's point of view, underpowered or alternatively too heavy with too low a payload to fully fulfil these tasks. The helicopter can neither carry operational loads in high heat conditions nor fly in strong wind. Other reports suggest that a fully-charged battery is required as the helicopter cannot be started manually, but the battery has a habit of going flat. Despite this, the crew love flying the A109.
It had always been the intention of the Air Force to replace the BK-117 helicopter, operated by 15 Squadron at the coast in Durban and Port Elizabeth, with the A109. In January 2008, it was decided to keep the BK-117 in service for a further year, as it had lower operating costs compared with the more advanced A109 LUH.
The UK journal AirForces Monthly noted in September 2008 that the A109 LUH should have been fully operational in both the landward and seaward roles by that January, allowing for the transfer of the BK 117 to the SA Police Service Air Wing. However, airframes fitted in a seaward configuration (with emergency water flotation gear) were then not available. The first aircraft in a seaward configuration (serial 4001) became available in May 2008 and underwent an Operational Test & Evaluation (OT&E) phase at 15 Squadron. Clearly, the OT&E did not find the A109 suitable for the seaward role either.
Gagino said that the matter of the retirement of the BK 117 had to be addressed soon. "If we phase the BK 117 out, as the plan is for this year, then we have to put more Oryx in the Eastern Cape because the A109 will not be able to do the work that the BK 117 is currently doing," the Air Force chief continued.
Gagiono stressed it was not a mistake to purchase the helicopters - for R2.451 billion, but the Air Force just needed to find the right role for the A109. This could include command and control. A further observation role may be allocated to the A109 since the SANDF has once again taken over responsibility for border protection.
Three of the helicopters have been involved in serious accidents. In the first accident, three crew members were killed in May 2009 when their helicopter crashed into Woodstock Dam, near Bergville in KZN. A further two helicopters were damaged in November and December 2010, fortunately with no loss of live. These two airframes may be rebuilt in due course. The results of the investigation into the cause of the fatal crash has not been made public, while the investigation into the other two crashes is not yet complete. However, it is believed that there was no common cause between the three crashes.
As the cause of the most recent accident in December may have been as a result of mechanical failure, all the A109s were grounded, pending inspection. Gagiano has confirmed that while some of the aircraft are flying again, not all had been checked. In a reply to a Parliamentary question in January this year, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Lindiwe Sisulu said that 4% of the final associated logistic support for the A109 purchased as part of the SDP was still outstanding. This included the implementation of a few minor engineering changes.
Other South African companies involved in the project include Saab SA, Denel Optronics (now Carl Zeiss Optronics), Tellumat and Waymark.
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Post by Marcus on Jan 12, 2011 13:35:28 GMT 12
Hi all Went for a flip last week with a parent of one of the pupils I teach. We flew from Te Kowhai. Lots of fun as he was doing circuits and bumps in preparation for flying a tail dragger he is building. (Actually it was mostly about the fun and enjoyment of flying!!) Here are some pics of the said Cub: And then yesterday spent some time at Raglan and snapped the following:
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Post by Marcus on Dec 17, 2010 12:23:09 GMT 12
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Post by Marcus on May 9, 2010 12:40:55 GMT 12
Hi all
Thought I would share the following two video clips I made of my daughters graduation parade. I had to wait a few weeks before I could post them to Youtube as I was not sure if I was allowed to do it. The Navy gave me the go-ahead recently. Thank you Navy!
Regards
Marcus
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Post by Marcus on Apr 25, 2010 9:26:55 GMT 12
Hi all
I wrote the following soon after I got home from this mornings Dawn Parade. I wrote it it before knowing about the fatal Iroquois crash this morning. With the news of the tragic accident the short piece that I have written has taken on even more and deeper meaning for me!
My condolences to the families.
I went to our local ANZAC Day, dawn parade here in Hamilton, this morning. At a stretch I would say there was about 2 000+ people at the service. What struck me was the large number of young, school going, kids that made the effort to come to the pre-dawn gathering. All attending in a dignified respectful manner.
Hamilton is known for its misty mornings and this morning was no exception. At 5:50 with the march-past of the veterans completed all the surrounding street lights were turned off with only four spotlights highlighting the top of the cenotaph. The mist and throng of the silent crowd giving the scene an almost surreal feeling. As soon as the Chaplain had finished his short introduction a lone bugler, out of sight, started to play the Last Post. At that exact moment a RNZAF Hercules C 130 flew low over the parade. The timing was absolutely spot-on!!! Although we could not see the aircraft the sound of its engines above the haunting notes of the Last Post sent shivers down my spine!!!! As the sound of the Hercules grew fainter I closed my eyes remembering those that paid the highest price. Just as well that it was dark and the people standing around me could not see why I had to suddenly clean my glasses.....
I am very, very glad that I made the effort to get out of bed at 4:00 this morning. Even though as ex-SADF, Gallipoli does not have any direct, personal, relevance, I once again realised the kinship that exists between all soldiers no matter what side you fought on. Is it not strange that many, maybe most of us who served hold no lasting grudge against our past foes and more often than not are able to reconcile with our "enemies" far sooner than most non military people would expect.
Regards
Marcus
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Post by Marcus on Apr 17, 2010 23:12:02 GMT 12
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Post by Marcus on Apr 10, 2010 10:32:35 GMT 12
Hi all My daughter finished her 13 weeks of Common Basic Training at Devonport yesterday. Leandrie is the short one in the middle: She then took part in the PT demonstration: Leandrie is on the left of the top three. Later the day HMNZS Otago arrived from Australia on her (very) delayed delivery voyage. One of the inshore patrol boats. Not sure which one though?
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Post by Marcus on Mar 26, 2010 18:52:37 GMT 12
Hi all Found the following very interesting. First time I have heard about it? Anybody know anything more? alturl.com/wih9Regards Marcus
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Post by Marcus on Mar 24, 2010 21:03:14 GMT 12
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Post by Marcus on Mar 20, 2010 21:18:50 GMT 12
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Post by Marcus on Mar 20, 2010 13:54:46 GMT 12
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Post by Marcus on Mar 14, 2010 8:24:10 GMT 12
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Post by Marcus on Feb 25, 2010 20:37:56 GMT 12
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Post by Marcus on Feb 16, 2010 20:59:19 GMT 12
Hi all The following link might be of interest as the RNZAF will be operating similar aircraft fairly soon. It is interesting to read the comments on the original post. Most of the comments are from highly qualified, hi time chopper pilots... www.flyafrica.info/forums/showthread.php?t=25636Marcus
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Post by Marcus on Feb 13, 2010 18:46:16 GMT 12
Hi all Here are two of three video clips I made at the airshow. I will work on the third during next week.... I wont be able to work on it tomorrow as we are going to see my daughter at Devenport where she is doing her basic training (Navy). She has been in for five weeks now... Cant wait to see her again! Back to the vids. Good video spots, giving good field of view were hard to come by during the show... Did not get any footage of the last part of the show... thus no Corsair... damnnnn!!! www.youtube.com/user/marcduv#p/a/u/0/owx8BiqBmqIwww.youtube.com/user/marcduv#p/a/u/1/Kqt_Ls7lYncGavin... once again mate, awesome photos. Love the pic of the Harvard in the loop! Thanx for sharing them with us! Whenever I take stills nowadays I find myself wondering: "How would Gavin take this shot... "
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Post by Marcus on Feb 12, 2010 21:47:18 GMT 12
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Post by Marcus on Feb 8, 2010 20:05:58 GMT 12
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Post by Marcus on Jan 22, 2010 16:39:58 GMT 12
Hi all
I would like to start my posting by saying that I think no and I mean NO photos of our SAS or any other countries special forces should be be printed or electronically displayed. Unfortunately we are living in a materialistic world and photographers, editors, bloggers, webmasters of pay-sites etc... will do just about anything to make money. If that means printing photos of our SAS troops that will not phase them one iota.
We must also keep in mind that as has been said previously on this thread that the originals of these photos have been posted to the web for all to see on a US website. The photos are in the public domain, if we in NZ like it or not. I don't agree with what the Herald did but they did not have an exclusive on the photos...
What I am thinking is why in a news hungry, media saturated environment like Kabul did the SAS guys not cover up? They should be aware that they stood a very good chance of bumping into news photographers or TV reporters... I do realise that in a combat environment where in all probility our SAS were involved in direct action against the militants, covering up, was the last thing on their minds. Staying alive is more important then looking out for photogs!
We know they (SAS) are in Afghanistan... and I doubt if anybody can be so naive to think they will not be involved in combat operations. This is not the first such case of spec forces being outed... thinking here of the YouTube clip of the Brit SAS fighting in Afghanistan. The sooner we set the issue to rest the better for the chaps at the sharp end.
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