AFB Overberg (TFDC) Airshow 2009
Date: 1 December 2009
By Greg Pullin, with additional contributions by Dean Wingrin
Boscombe Downe, Edwards AFB, Paxutent River, TFDC; the names send the pulse quickening. The prospect of another air show at the Test Flight and Development Centre (TFDC) at AFB Overberg, Bredasdorp was positively exciting.
Saturday 14 November 2009 was taking too long to arrive. Finally, the great day arrived and even the clouds and rain couldn't dampen the anticipation.
The air show was preceded by an evening air show on the Friday night, for those who had bought tickets for the wine auction, wine tasting and dinner function (in aid of charity), which was a lot of fun (except for the auction part, which was too drawn out). The night air show itself was an amazing spectacle: the Thunder City Blackburn Buccaneer S Mk 2 (ZU-AVI, flown by Mike Beachy-Head) performing against the sunset and darkening sky, followed by the SAAB Gripen D (07, flown by Lt. Col. Charl ‘Basset' Coetzee) and then the Thunder City English Electric Lightning T Mk 5 (ZU-BEX, flown by Dave Stock) with afterburners blasting the aircraft down the runway and through the ether. The show was ended with a spirited display by the Augusta A109 (4006, flown by J O'Connell), which, despite the warning by the commentator, did not shoot flares. This was a great pity as it is always a great showpiece and was eagerly anticipated by the photographers.
The day started off well with the eager crowds arriving by the thousand. It was one of the largest crowds in years (some 36 000) and they were not disappointed. There were some traffic jams, clogged roads and some parking issues: the secret was to get there early and leave late.
One of the big attractions was the chance to win a flight in the two-seat Lightning by a lucky ticket holder - an opportunity of a lifetime.
Static displays
There was plenty to see on static display: retired Cheetah D 849, the Impala simulator, AMS Pilatus PC12 air ambulance, helicopters from Rotorway, the South African designed and built Airplane Factory D6 Sling ZU-TAF which, fitted with extra fuel tanks, undertook a round-the-world flight in July and August 2009, and the aircraft parked along the taxiways and hard stands. There was a Korean War display, mannequins with flying suits, an instrument panel and various aviation art prints, models and trophies on display in the VIP building. Where the aircraft were parked was great viewing for spectators (and photographers) and it was impressive to see the various aircraft starting up and moving to and from the active runway. It was very interesting to see the 125kg bombs being loaded on to the Hawks.
The Silver Falcons aerobatic team had a tent which sold memorabilia and where the pilots signed posters and autographs. They are truly the "cockpit ambassadors" of the SAAF. TFDC also had a tent selling memorabilia. There were adequate numbers of food and drink stalls and toilet facilities.
I wanted to walk down the taxiway where all the +/- 140 civilian fly-in aircraft were parked, but never got around to it. This was a great pity, as there were many interesting aircraft parked there, such as the restored SA 313/SA 318 Alouette II helicopter and a civilian registered C185 ZU-BMD (ex-SAAF 752) in SAAF camouflage colours.
Flying
The show opened with a paradrop by the SAAF Golden Eagle Parachute Display Team from an Oryx helicopter (flown by K Meyer). The SAAF eagle on the canopy and the South African flag trailing behind always brings out that moment of patriotism and pride. Then the BAE Hawk Lead-In Fighter Trainer (LIFT) 267 (flown by J Scott) took off and gave a display more befitting a fighter than a trainer aircraft. The runway in use was 28 which is parallel to the crowd line, albeit some way away. At least this year the bush and scrub between the spectators and the runway was very low and did not interfere with the viewing of the aircraft using the runway.
South Africa's "cockpit ambassadors," the Silver Falcons gave their usual polished display in the Pilatus PC-7 MkII Astra, with the smoke sometimes being lost against the clouds, then standing out against the patches of clear blue sky, as the aircraft pirouetted through the display sequence. The "smoke" trailed by the aircraft (diesel injected into the exhaust) loses its effectiveness against cloud. The manoeuvre of the opposing single aircraft flying through the "box" was particularly exciting. The Team 70 Display Pilots are:
- Falcon 1: Maj Scott Ternent: Callsign: "Martian": Positon: Leader.
- Falcon 2: Capt Roy Sproul: Callsign: "Cougar": Positon: Right Wing.
- Falcon 3: Capt Buti Tsebe: Callsign: "Karima": Positon: Left Wing.
- Falcon 4: Capt Gerhard Lourens: Callsign: "Venom": Positon: Slot Pilot.
- Falcon 5: Maj Nico Frylinck: Callsign: "Whisper": Positon: Soloist.
Serial and tail numbers of the Silver Falcons aircraft were recorded as follows: 2023/1, 2020/2, 2024/3, 2018/4 and 2027/5.
The Gripen D 07 (flown by Lt. Col. Charl ‘Basset' Coetzee) then strutted its stuff with a hard turn to starboard just as it got airborne, showing the afterburner to the group of photographers next to the runway and proving just how agile the aircraft is when not heavily laden. The short landing run was equally as impressive.
Two Harvards, the blue "Navy" ZU-AZW (ex-SAAF 7650, flown by J Ferreira) and the yellow ZU-SAF painted in the U.S. Air Force T A-577 scheme (ex-Mozambique) were next up, their Pratt & Whitney R-1340-49 Wasp radial engines emitting their familiar growl. Pure nostalgia.
Next was the red and white Pilatus PC-7 MkII Astra (2036, flown by G Muller). We are now used to seeing the Silver Falcons in their new blue and white colour scheme, so it was refreshing to see a "traditional" Astra. Not much noise and speed, but graceful.
Owned by Mike Honsa , the Aero Vodochody L-29 Delfin ZU-DNW (flown by K Kieck) is painted as The Austrian Eagle, an amazing paint scheme (with an American flag!). The L-29 is portly and not as sexy as the Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatross, but this paint scheme certainly made up for that and the owner and artist can be congratulated for making it visually exciting.
Dassault Mirage F1AZ 233 (flown by Lt Col J "Blokkies" Joubert) is painted in a dark blue colour scheme with a yellow cheat-line and silver/natural metal under-fuselage, with Aerosud titles and is part of the SAAF Museum collection. It is pleasing to see this aircraft perform as it trails contrails off the wingtips, which makes a great photo opportunity. Certainly very different to the camouflage ones we were all used to seeing many years ago, before they were withdrawn from service.
The Robinson R44 helicopter (flown by John Huddelstone) and locally designed and built MX2 aerobatic aircraft continued the civilian participation in the air show; the R44 displaying the capabilities of this helicopter and the MX2's polished aerobatic sequence made me dizzy watching the aircraft being rolled so many times in quick succession.
The Denel Rooivalk 674 (flown by Petri van Zyl) was aggressively displayed with the helicopter performing manoeuvres that gave the impression that it was fully aerobatic. The Rooivalk has been fully tested and cleared for squadron service, after an exhaustive test program. It was great to see the Rooivalk at all angles, as we are so often treated to the undersides of the jets, with very few sustained top surface views. I cannot understand how crowd safety would be compromised if an aircraft does a long curved sweep around the flightline, at a reasonable angle of bank for that glorious top surface view.
Next up was the Thunder City Puma ZU-PUM (ex-SAAF 157), which has been described as a glass cockpit demonstrator (flown by J Caudwell). It does take some getting used to to see a Puma in its civilian colours of blue and white, instead of the military camouflage. However the paint scheme is tasteful, compared to some other corporate helicopters.
Oryx 1238 (flown by A Mathieson of 22 Squadron) and Lynx 191 (flown by Brian Bell, also of 22 Squadron) with SA NAVY proudly displayed on the sides, continued the helicopter theme. Of interest is that Oryx 1238 was in standard SAAF camouflage, having recently been repainted from the red and white scheme used for operations in the Antarctic.
RIP Dave Stock
Shortly after noon, Dave Stock (test pilot with 15 900 flying hours) in the natural metal English Electric Lightning T Mk 5 ZU-BEX, took to the skies. He was mean to fly the single seat Lightning F.6 (ZU-BEW, grey colour scheme), but the aircraft developed a snag that morning and was replaced by the two-seater. The Lightning display was magnificent, heady stuff indeed! Some of the overseas visitors had come specifically to see this. Then tragedy struck, with the unfortunate loss of Dave Stock.
During the display, the crowd was advised that there was a hydraulic problem with the aircraft and the emergency services vehicles stationed themselves alongside the runway.
Dave, a test pilot who previously served in the SAAF and SAA, heroically flew the crippled Lightning to the east of the airfield, away from the airbase and any built-up areas. Sadly, the mechanical problems worsened and Dave was unable to control the aircraft, which entered a dive. Although it is reported that he attempted to eject, he was unsuccessful and was killed in the ensuing crash.
We are still stunned by the tragic accident with Lightning ZU-BEX and the loss of Dave Stock. While the accident was tragic, we can be thankful that it did not happen on the airfield or into the crowd. South Africa had lost a great aviator and gentleman. Our condolences to his family: RIP Dave.
The air show was put on hold while the designated helicopters and emergency services were at the crash site. During this time, SAAF Pilatus PC-12 (8030) arrived overhead with VIP passengers and landed.
The show must go on
I am sure that Dave would have wanted it to continue. Even though the spectators were kept informed of the accident, the two hour delay was too long and many people left after thinking that the air show would be cancelled.
The show started up again with two Hawks (250 and 267) dropping bombs over the range, in an upward toss manoeuvre, which permits an aircraft to run in at low level, then release them in an upward climb and then turn away from the target. Then one Hawk released a string of flares in an upward climb, looking like diamonds in the sky. Just a pity that the photographers were not warned beforehand. This introduced the Air Capability Demonstration, the set-piece "attack" which demonstrated to the public the capabilities of a combined SAAF and military operation. Troops deployed from Oryx 1238 with plenty of smoke, action and noise! "Covering fire" pyrotechnics was provided by the Rooivalk. Augusta A109 4006 winched the "injured" person aboard, demonstrating its humanitarian role capabilities.
Some of the displays seen in the morning were repeated by the L-29 Delfin, The Austrian Eagle and the Robinson R44. Looking like a Russian fighter with its camouflage and large red star on the tail, the Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatross ZU-KIM (owned and flown by Dave Mundel) gave its usual polished display. The red and white Astra and the Lynx displayed again.
Dubbed as the old v new generation fighter fly-off, the Mirage F1 v Gripen fly-off clearly showed the manoeuvreability of the Gripen over that of the earlier generation Mirage F1. Lots of noise, afterburners and action!
This was followed by the Rooivalk and Augusta A109 demonstrations, then a water drop from Oryx 1238 with the Bambi bucket system. This system enables helicopters to place a limited amount of water on, or in front of, mountain fires. What then followed was one of the pleasant surprises for me: the very impressive SAAF helicopter formation flight consisting of the Rooivalk, Oryx, Lynx and A109. It was great to see them flying in a formation and then hovering, in formation, facing the crowd line. Another one of the several great photographic opportunities! Following this, Hawk 267 gave a final display.
To close the show, the Silver Falcons performed again; Falcon 3 had a snag, so the replacement aircraft without a tail number, was used. The display ended with a "missing man" formation in tribute to and as a sign of respect for Dave Stock, to the sounds of "The Wind Beneath My Wings;" emotional moments indeed.
As the air show ended, many of the civilian aircraft departed, the sun set and the anticipation of November 2011 started.
Summary
While it was a great air show (except for the tragedy of Dave Stock), to me it was still a very "thin" air show: SAAF participation did not include the C-130 (401) which arrived and departed on the Friday afternoon, there were no SAAF transport aircraft participating, no TP Dakota or Casa, which was disappointing. Also, there were no other SAAF Museum aircraft, except for the Mirage F1. Unfortunately, there were also no other mass SAAF aircraft formations. Despite the delay in resuming the show, some sequences were duplicated in the afternoon due to the limited number of aircraft participating.
Each air show has its unique share of challenges; I had hoped for more, but realize that with the current economic conditions, we were privileged to see such a show at all. It is very expensive (in cost and airframe hours) to fly aircraft from Gauteng to the Cape for an air show. Also the SAAF is heavily engaged in more important matters, such as the utilisation of aircraft in various peacekeeping operations in Africa.
As an aside, I still dream of seeing Avro Shackleton MR Mk 3 1722 in her element, the sky and hearing the purr of her four Rolls Royce Griffon engines as she flies majestically and serenely by...if only!
My personal list of good points and challenges is:
Good points (in no particular order):
•1. Two Hawks dropping bombs.
•2. Mirage F1 v Gripen fly-off.
•3. Helicopter formation flight.
•4. Friday night twilight air show.
•5. Hawk releasing a string of flares in an upward climb.
Challenges (in no particular order):
•1. Lack of other aircraft formation opportunities.
•2. No SAAF transport aircraft display.
•3. No mass firing of flares from the Lynx.
•4. The Buccaneer did not fly on the Saturday due to a snag.
•5. No Hawker Hunter.
•6. What about a South African flag-draped Hawk?
•7. The inclement weather was a challenge to the photographers.
Commentary was provided in the usual immaculate way by Brian Emmenis and the Capital Sounds team.
Congratulations to Lt Col Marius Van Den Heever (acting Officer Commanding TFDC), the organizers and the media centre. We would like to express our sincere appreciation and thanks to WO2 Marius Nel, the TFDC 2009 media officer and his team for the excellent media facilities, flow of information, the media photographic position and raised stand, and the movable raised stand, which was towed by a tractor to the runway on Saturday morning for some great photo opportunities. This report would have been far more difficult (impossible) to produce without such support.
We look forward to the next TFDC show.
