Midweek Update 20 June 2013
1 Weekend events.
2 Forthcoming events.
3 Oboronprom and Denel Aviation agree to expand service centre.
4 Ex South African PBY N427CV slated to fly to Oshkosh.
5 World's only flying example of a Fairey Gannet T5 at AirVenture.
6 Recovered Wildcat on Display at Oshkosh.
7 Russian Helicopters to Showcase Latest Innovations at Paris Air Show.
8 Upcoming Springbok Classic Air scenic flights.
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3-7 July. Sports Aerobatics National, Hoespruit. E-mail: change@mweb.co.za
20 July. Taildraggers and Fun & Precision Rally, Nylstroom. E-mail: maryd@expandingbranding.co.za
27 July. Pylon Time Trials, Parys. E-mail: flyboys@global.co.za
27 July East Rand Flying Club will be hosting its annual free fly-in breakfast from 08h00 onwards. Contact Paul Sabatier 082 413 4614 e-mail:
29 July to 4 August EAA's annual AirVenture to be held in Oshkosh USA. Camping on the airfield contact Neil Bowden. E-mail: neil1@telkomsa.net
9 & 10 August EAA of South Africa National Convention at Brits airfield. Contact Paul Lastrucci: 082 822 7018 E-mail: paul@airpowersa.co.za
9 to 11 August SAPFA Precision Team training at Brits airfield: www.sapfa.org.zaContact Mary de Klerk e-mail: maryd@expandingbranding.co.za
10 & 11 August Sport Aerobatics NW Regionals - Klerksdorp. Contact Annie Boon e-mail: chunge@mweb.co.za
9 to 11 August Race of Champions - Ulundi airport KZN. Contact Chris Briers 082 568 7988 or Mariska 082 253 5823 at AirTeam. Entry details and conditions on the website: www.airrace.co.za
24 August. Bela-Bela (Warmbaths) Breakfast Fly in. Contact Pieter 083 233 5295
Richards Bay - 22 June 2013
Pietermaritzburg - 29 June 2013
Margate - 6 July 2013
Durban - 13 July 2013
Paris / 17 June 2013 - Oboronprom, part of State Corporation Rostec, and Denel Aviation today signed an agreement to increase the range of services offered by the centre opened in South Africa earlier this year to provide maintenance and upgrade of Mi-8/17 helicopters. The agreement was signed at the Paris Air Show - Le Bourget 2013. The parties have agreed to significantly expand the functionality of the service centre, which opened in March 2013 at Denel Aviation's facilities in Johannesburg. It is planned that the centre will not only provide the comprehensive maintenance services offered at its launch, but also complete overhaul and upgrade of both commercial and military helicopters of the Mi-8/17 series.
“Oboronprom's partnership with Denel Aviation in helicopter servicing is beneficial to both sides - we are giving our colleagues unique competencies to repair and provide technical maintenance of Russian helicopters, and in return we will be able to broaden our commercial opportunities in the fast-growing African aviation market” - said Dmitry Lelikov, CEO of Oboronprom.
The agreement signed in Paris outlines the future development stages of the service centre, mandates its fitting-out with advanced equipment and defines the transfer of supporting technical documentation that Denel Aviation needs to service the fleet of Russian-built helicopters operating in sub-Saharan Africa. The Russian side will also send technical specialists to South Africa to provide assistance to the centre and to train the South African staff.
In March 2013, Denel Aviation and Russian Helicopters opened a dedicated centre in South Africa to provide maintenance services for commercial Mi-8/17 helicopters. Russian Helicopters provided the necessary equipment and prepared the centre for launch, and Denel Aviation staff underwent training at the Novosibirsk aircraft repair centre owned by Russian Helicopters.
“We look forward to continuing to develop our joint service project with Denel Aviation, which already provides technical support for Russian-built helicopters in Africa. Expanding the involvement of our South African partners will help us strengthen our position in the regional market, and lay the foundation for further promotion of Russian-built helicopters,” said Dmitry Petrov, CEO of Russian Helicopters.
The decision to establish the service centre was set out in a partnership agreement signed by Denel Aviation and Oboronprom in September 2012 at the seventh Africa Aerospace and Defence show in Pretoria.
“Today, Africa has a significant fleet of Mi-8/17 helicopters that need qualified and professional maintenance. We see a great opportunity in our partnership with our Russian colleagues, and all African helicopter operators will benefit from us working together” - said Mike Kgobe, CEO of Denel Aviation.
Under the plan, the Denel Aviation facility will become a leading regional service centre, and in future will provide after-sales care and maintenance services for all Russian-built helicopters in the sub-Sahara region.
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EX South African PBY N427CV slated to fly to Oshkosh
June 13, 2013 - When Jim Slattery, EAA Lifetime Member 1021734/Warbirds 594956, acquired his Consolidated PBY5A Catalina from two Americans in South Africa in 2010, he didn't expect it would take until 2013 to get her back to the United Sates. But after a six-year restoration, Slattery's PBY N427CV touched down in El Cajon, California, on January 15, 2013, and is slated to fly to Oshkosh next month to participate in AirVenture 2013.
The airplane was built S/N 11089 by Canadian Vickers in Cartierville, Quebec, Canada, in 1944 and delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force, which used it for anti-submarine patrols out of Reykjavik, Iceland. Post-war, the plane served at various locations around Canada before it retired from military service in 1962. It was converted to a water bomber and spent the ensuing 32 years as a fire fighting platform. N427CV was flown to South Africa in 1999. The restoration project was performed starting in 2006 at Springbok Aviation Services, Johannesburg.
During World War II, PBYs were used for anti-sub ops, patrol bombing (where the "PB" comes from), and convoy escorts, but most famously for air-sea rescue missions. In perhaps its most storied mission, a single PBY commanded by Lt. R. Adrian Marks rescued 56 surviving sailors from the USS Indianapolis that was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese sub after delivering critical parts for the first atomic bomb to Tinian.
It was a long haul back to California for Slattery's Catalina. The plane's cruise speed is 125 miles per hour and it was located halfway around the world - about 12,000 miles away. He sent three of his employees to South Africa to fly the plane home.
Mike Castillo, one of the pilots that flew the plane back, called it a trip of a lifetime. In a story about the plane earlier this year, he told the San Diego Union-Times, "I've done a lot of fun things, a lot of unique things in aviation, and this one takes the cake," Castillo said. "It was a dream trip."
The 16-leg, 12,000-mile journey departed South Africa with stops in Namibia, Angola, Cameroon, Liberia, then across the Atlantic to Brazil, French Guiana, Trinidad, Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Slattery met the plane at Brown Field Airport in San Diego and flew with the crew to the final destination at Gillespie Field in El Cajon.
There's a presentation being put together about the airplane for AirVenture, and we'll have further details when they're confirmed. Stay tuned, because this WWII hero will be a Warbird worth seeing.
Slattery is in the process of creating The Greatest Generation Naval Museum, featuring aircraft (all airworthy and flyable) from his vast collection and other memorabilia that demonstrate how WWII changed the way Americans live today.
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The dual control, contra-rotating turboprop operated from carrier decks and was later used for electronic countermeasure missions. It appeared here once before - in 1996 - as chronicled in the December 1996 edition of Sport Aviation - creating a scene whenever it folded or unfolded its wings.
To its owner, Shannan Hendricks, of New Richmond, Wisconsin, the plane is Janet the Gannet - so-named when people involved in her restoration decided she was a wonderful old lady deserving of a nickname. "We kept throwing around 'Janet the Gannet' as it rhymed," Hendricks recalled. "It stuck, and when people from around the world contact me about the plane, they ask me how Janet is."
Hendricks acquired Janet, which carries the military registration XT752, in 2003. "It was the right place at the right time," she said, purchasing the burly Brit from the former Polar Air Museum (Fisk/Amjet collection) in Blaine, Minnesota. After the purchase, a crew was in the process of flying it to the U.K. in 2004, but mechanical problems forced the crew to reverse course over Greenland and return to Goose Bay, Canada. There it sat for the next six years due in part to an ownership dispute.
When Canadian officials ordered that the plane be removed to avoid seizure, Hendricks explored a number of transport options before space was reserved on an AN 124 - which just happened to be flying to Minneapolis. (It would not fit on a C-5). It was then transported to a private hangar on the New Richmond airport via semi-truck, and has been undergoing restoration since then.
Janet was designed by Fairey Aviation UK, built as the first dual control T2 Gannet prototype in the world. It first flew August 16, 1954, and is the sole surviving prototype of any historic military aircraft flying in the world. Only a few others remain on static display in museums.
The prototype T2 became the Fairey factories only privately registered Gannet in history. Within five years it was completely rebuilt as a new prototype T5 dual control Gannet. After a year of being owned by Indonesia to train that country's Gannet pilots in the U.K., the plane was sold back to Britain in the 1960s to serve in the Royal Navy until 1978.
The plane is powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Double Mamba turboprop engine - essentially two Mambas mounted side-by-side coupled through a common gearbox. The engine is rated at 2,950 hp.
Other facts about Janet the Gannet: it's the oldest turboprop aircraft flying in the world of any type; the world's only Gannet to be owned by the U.K.'s Fairey factory; and the last Gannet in the world to land on an aircraft carrier when selected by the admiralty to fly on to the U.K.'s biggest aircraft carrier, Ark Royal, when Gannets were retired from military service.
Janet, resplendent in its original T5 paint scheme, was officially pulled out of the hangar on Saturday, June 8, in New Richmond so people could see it. Several people, including a number of EAA members, were on hand. Hendricks has also visited various EAA chapters over the last two years to talk about XT752.
The airplane is virtually ready for flight, awaiting a new canopy and some avionics work. Amazingly, Janet only has 1,500 hours of logged operations.
Plans are to fly the aircraft to Oshkosh on opening day July 29, make a fly-by, then be on display on Phillips 66 Plaza. Team members will be on hand to answer questions from attendees throughout the week.
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The FM-2 Wildcat, Bureau No. 57039, crashed into Lake Michigan in about 200 feet of water on December 28, 1944. Ensign William E. Forbes was about to make his third takeoff for his aircraft carrier qualification training off the USS Sable when the engine "quit completely." The airplane rolled off the bow of the ship and sank.
The accident was determined to be 100 percent material (engine failure). Ensign Forbes survived the crashed to continue his service in the Navy. Later in life he married and became a successful attorney.
The Wildcat will be presented at AirVenture just as it was recovered in December. Viewers will be able to see the damage from the accident, the corrosive effect of many years at the bottom of Lake Michigan, as well as the impact on the aircraft of becoming home to thousands of invasive Quagga mussels. Attendees will be able to learn of the Navy's aircraft carrier training operations that were conducted on Lake Michigan during World War II and on-going efforts to recover and preserve the once lost aircraft for the American public.
"Through the generosity of donors, such as EAA member Chuck Greenhill, who sponsored the recovery, we are able to preserve and present to the American public these aircraft that are so important in our nation's history," said retired Capt. Ed Ellis, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, corporate secretary of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "With the support of the Navy History and Heritage Command and the many patriotic Americans who recognize the importance of our efforts, we must continue to retrieve as many of these WWII aircraft as possible before they turn into dust at the bottom of Lake Michigan."
The recovered Warbird will be featured at the Friday afternoon, August 2, Warbirds in Review presentation, "Restoring the Wildcat." Attendees will get to see a Wildcat that's been completely restored plus this recovered plane, with discussion centred on what it takes to perform a restoration like this. The program begins at 1 p.m. at the at the special aircraft display area on Warbird Alley.
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Moscow / 14 June 2013 - Russian Helicopters, a subsidiary of Oboronprom, part of State Corporation Rostec and a leading global designer and manufacturer of helicopters, will bring an exciting line up of commercial and military helicopters to the 50th Paris Air Show - Le Bourget 2013, including the latest Ka-62 and Mi-171A2 for the commercial market. In collaboration with Rosoboronexport, the Company plans the first international demonstration of the latest Ka-52 Alligator reconnaissance and attack helicopter at the show, which runs from June 17-23. The Russian Helicopters display can be found in hall 2a at Stand C198.
The Ka-62 is a unique example of Russian Helicopters working in collaboration with global partners, which are currently working on components and parts for the new helicopter. The Ka-62 is fitted with two of Turbomeca's latest Ardiden 3G engines, while the gearbox and transmission are supplied by Austria's Zoerkler. Certification of the Ka-62 is planned for completion by the end of 2014, and the helicopter is scheduled for commercial launch in 2015. The first orders have been placed by Brazilian company Atlas Táxi Aéreo.
The medium Mi-8/17 series is the world's most popular helicopter, widely operated around the world with a justified reputation for reliability and ease of use. The new updated Mi-171A2 combines the best qualities of its predecessors with the latest technologies, introduced based on these helicopters' operational experience across various regions and in different climactic conditions. Completion of work on the Mi-171A2 and certification are expected in 2014, with serial production scheduled to launch in 2015.
European operators and their colleagues around the world have had the opportunity to appreciate the advantages of another of the Company's calling cards - the multirole coaxial Ka-32A11BC. The Ka-32A11BC is built to FAR29 and AP 29 standards and holds type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The Ka-32A11BC can fly a range of missions and is most successful in fire-fighting, search-and-rescue and for complex construction operations. In April it demonstrated its abilities at the Aerial Firefighting Europe conference in France, receiving top marks from experts in the field.
Russian military helicopters are used around the world and are highly prized not only for their reliability but also for their high specifications and operational efficiency. At the Paris Air Show, Russian Helicopters and Rosoboronexport plan to show the military transport version of the Mi-8/17, one of the most popular helicopters in its class. The Mi-8/17 has been built based on a 360-degree analysis of how Russian helicopters are used in military engagements in various global hot-spots.
Visitors will also have the opportunity to see the Mi-28NE Night Hunter, a day-night, all-weather helicopter that can fly search-and-destroy missions against tanks, armoured and non-armoured targets, and also enemy troops on the battlefield and low-speed aerial targets.
The new Ka-52 Alligator will be demonstrated for the first time at an international exhibition. The Ka-52 is an all-weather, round-the-clock military attack helicopter produced for the Russian Armed Forces and which Rosoboronexport offers for sale to foreign partners.
The Ka-52 Alligator will be showcased on 17 June at the Le Bourget conference centre in hall 2, pavilion 2C. The programme starts at 12 noon. The Ka-52 Alligator will be on static display and will also complete flight demonstrations to highlight the benefits of its coaxial rotor system and the unique capabilities of helicopters built by the Kamov Design Bureau.
In Paris visitors will also have the opportunity to see other Russian-built commercial models available to the international market in the light, medium and heavy classes, including the Ka-226T, Mi-17, Mi-35M and Mi-26T2.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2013, the Paris Air Show - Le Bourget 2013 is one of the most important events in the calendar for the aerospace sector and often is the stage for major aircraft debuts. For many years now the air show brings together leading global producers of space and defence technology, aircraft and aircraft components and equipment, commercial and military helicopters and airport equipment.
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29 June 2013 10:00 - 20 minute scenic flights over Johannesburg
Route:
We depart from Hangar 5 at Rand Airport, take off and fly in a westerly direction, passing to the south of Johannesburg CBD. We then turn above Gold Reef City and head in a northerly direction with Soccer City on our left. We cross over Northcliff Ridge and then turn east, to the south of North Gate Dome, and pass to the south of Monte Casino. Then we turn south, opposite Megawatt Park, passing east of Sandton City and across Wanderers and Ellis Park before returning to Rand Airport.
Book your seat for the flight with Ronéll Myburgh:
Tel: Landline +27 11 824 2142; Mobile +27 82 779 9421 or E-mail: info@springbokclassicair.co.za
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