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Lotus

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Anyone know what's happening with the SAAF Gripen fleet? how many still flying? Who many pilots current? in training?

 

Great aircraft, not so great for SA though IMHO.

 

Last I heard ( about three or four years ago) it was not just the pilots but also lacking ground crew.

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My granddad was a Brigadier is the SAAF until about 1990, and was at Waterkloof. Flew in the Bumbling Bees and Silver Falcons. Too this day, still think he has the most Impala hours.

 

I lived with him from age 2 - 5. Needless too say, I spent a lot of time on the base, flew in Buccaneers, Impala, C130s, Dakotas. Missed my chance to go up in a Canberra and Harvards though.

 

Thats where my love for aviation started.

My late father in law was with 8sq

 

maintained the imps at Bloemspruit and later at Hoedspruit

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When those okes did the water skiing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We were told stories of them returning to Langebaanweg with bent props from striking the swells doing low level training flights over the Atlantic.

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Swiss Van - were the Harvard pics taken at the Botswana airshow?? The light looks about 100 % the same as the year we flew in and they did a sort of impromptu evening show. With the sunset, the dust and the lights it looked phenomenal.

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Swiss Van - were the Harvard pics taken at the Botswana airshow?? The light looks about 100 % the same as the year we flew in and they did a sort of impromptu evening show. With the sunset, the dust and the lights it looked phenomenal.

 

I'm guessing it was Bloem, but not my post, you need to ask Jase619

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Swiss Van - were the Harvard pics taken at the Botswana airshow?? The light looks about 100 % the same as the year we flew in and they did a sort of impromptu evening show. With the sunset, the dust and the lights it looked phenomenal.

 

It was in Welkom in the Free State, every December the local publicity association organises some sort of a mini airshow. This year was the Harvards. 

 

Makes me miss when they actually organised a proper airshow at the local airport here. Used to be a massive thing.

 

It helps having Brian Emmenis as a local here, he has a lot of contacts that he uses to show his home town some love.

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We were told stories of them returning to Langebaanweg with bent props from striking the swells doing low level training flights over the Atlantic.

SAA still own 2 Harvards(lol 2 of the 3 aircraft we actually own) and sometimes the pilots "hire" them. Few years back the one pilot took one for the weekend, when it came back the one wing had scratches underneath it. He denied knowing anything about and said they must have been there before. The guys that maintain them here know them better than the back of their hands so knew it never left like that. So the one dude happened to know the pilot owned a farm up north somewhere so he took a road trip up to his farm. Lo and behold he gets there and one of the boundary fences is stuffed. Took photos and approached the pilot. Admits guilt and says he was doing some low level flying because he had been having problems with people jumping his fence and killing his game.

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SAA still own 2 Harvards(lol 2 of the 3 aircraft we actually own) and sometimes the pilots "hire" them. Few years back the one pilot took one for the weekend, when it came back the one wing had scratches underneath it. He denied knowing anything about and said they must have been there before. The guys that maintain them here know them better than the back of their hands so knew it never left like that. So the one dude happened to know the pilot owned a farm up north somewhere so he took a road trip up to his farm. Lo and behold he gets there and one of the boundary fences is stuffed. Took photos and approached the pilot. Admits guilt and says he was doing some low level flying because he had been having problems with people jumping his fence and killing his game.

 

Is the other one a Cessna?

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