The SAAF Forum

SAAF Museum warbird centenary airshow on Saturday 12 May by Lt Col O'Connor

The 2012 SAAF Museum airshow scheduled for next Saturday will be celebrating the theme 'Warbird Centenary', celebrating a centenary of Military Aviation. The following information is an abridged version of the flying proceedings on the show day:

A group of 62 Microlights / Motorised gliders are getting airborne from AFB Waterkloof early in the morning and will be flying a square pattern to Swartkop and return to Waterkloof. This display will coincide with the annual vehicle cavalcade. As well as the SAMHS Pipe Band display at the control box, the SAAF Band at Hangar six and the SAPS Band at the VIP enclosures.
The Golden Eagles will land and present the CAF with the scroll for opening the event. The CAF has then been requested to officially declare the airshow open.
The show will display aircraft of various eras by means of flypasts, whilst the later flypasts in the day will include mass jets, radial types and helicopters.

The civilian participating aircraft on the day include of the following:
1. 13 X Alloutte II
2. 2 X Alloutte III
3. 1 x Bell 47
4. 2 x Austers
5. 8 x Bosboks
6. 1 x DC3
7. 3 x Kudus
8. 1 x Chipmunk
9. 14 x Harvards
10. 1 x Cessna 17
11. 7 x Tiger Moths
12. 1 x Stumpe U
13. 2 x T-28s
14. 3 x Albatross
15. 2 x Extra 300s
16. 6 x Yak 52s
17. 3 x L-39s
18. 1 x L-29s
19. 1 x T2 Buckeye
20. 1 x Impala
21. 1 x Cheetah
22. 2 x Vampires
23. 1 x Hunter
24. Scully Levine - Gabriel Pitts Special team
25. Arnie Meneghelli - Eqstra Harvard team
26. Dennis Spence Goodyear Pitts Special team
27. Brad Bennetts Mazda Zoom Zoom team.

From African Pilot Newsletter
SAAF participating aircraft include the following:

1. 1 x Gripen
2. 2 x Hawks
3. 2 x Oryx helicopters
4. 1 x Rooivalk helicopter
5. 2 x Cessna Caravans
6. 1 x Casa 212
7. 1 x Dakota C47TP.
8. 6 Astra (Silver Falcons)
9. 1 x Hercules C-130

SAAF Museum aircraft participating include the following:

1. 2 x Alloutte IIs
2. 2 x Alloutte IIIs
3. 1 x Puma
4. 1 x Albatros
5. 1 x Kudu
6. 1 x Bosbok
7. 2 x Vampires
8. 4 x Harvards

All the above aircraft will participate in fly pasts, per era. The concept is to utilize aircraft in formation fly pasts, loose or staggered depending on pilot ratings.

Ground activities include the following:

1. 100 x food vendors in place
2. 45 x exhibitors including African Pilot
3. Lost children facility
4. Two children play parks
5. 1 x bar facility for public with big screen for rugby
6. SAAF Museum beauty pageant
7. SAAF Museum fund raising project for shelters and restoration of the Spitfire to static condition at 2 ASU
8. 7 x VIP tents
9. Aircraft static displays
10. Armour formation static display.
11. SAMHS static display
12. Netcare 911 display

The SAPS Wierdabrug and Community Policing Forum members (140) will be patrolling surroundings regarding theft of motorcars and theft from motorcars. Secure parking will be available at the old SAAF Gym. A simulated battle will take place using the Pretoria Military Airsoft Club on the day of the airshow. A race between a Bentley car and a Bell helicopter will take place on the day.
Pre-events will be as follows: a media briefing will take place at the SAAF Museum WAAF mess on 08 May at 11h30 2012. Preceding this briefing is a race from Midrand to Centurion with a Gautrain and an ALO III. Members of the media will be at Centurion station and witness the race end as a promotion / marketing stunt. After the race the media will travel on the Gautrain bus service that will be available on the day of the show to the Museum for the media briefing. They will travel as per the route that they will be using on the show day. After the media briefing the media will be returned to Centurion station by the bus service. This service of using the Gautrain and then bus service is available to all making use of the Gautrain on 12 May 2012. Gautrain is marketing the event at their stations in Gauteng. A KykNet TV advert is presently running till the show.

VIP Tents for the day are as follows:
1. Museum Tent
2. Coin Security
3. Breitling / Bentley
4. Eqstra
5. Denel
6. Gourmet Exposure (who are offering VIP Tickets to members of the Centurion Business Forum and others)
7. Paramount Group

A shuttle service will be available for VIP's entering from the VIP parking area just outside the northern gate to Swartkops. VVIP's will enter from the Legsato gate and VVIP parking will be allocated to them, a shuttle service is also available for VVIP members to get to the VIP tents.
Editor comments:
What an incredible line-up for what must certainly be one of South Africa's best ever airshows. There can be no doubt that since ABF Swartkops won the 'best airshow' award in 2011, the Swartkops SAAF management team is hell bent on retaining this converted African Pilot trophy. Don't you just love competition? In my mind it certainly brings out the very best of performance and this is what is needed in South African aviation. On behalf of the entire African Pilot team we wish the organizers of the SAAF Museum all the very best for their 'Warbirds Centenary Airshow.'

Just ons thing, the Cheetah, thought none is flying. Or is it another aircraft.

Definately not the mictolight type
Denel Cheetah will be operating out of OR Tambo to Zwartkops.

The "programme" as published by African Pilot has duplicated some items and left others out.
Geoff

and left others out

Geoff, Please tell more about

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