Mayday

Down the line... Hopefully these taps will not get feet... plastic does not have the same scrap value as brass... the line is 75mm and should deliver enough water for 10 pressure washers. I still do not know why Dirt Bikes need to be washed between races? It just does not make sense to me? Maybe the chain and number plates but come on guys, no need to wash that machine to concourse standards... this is not a beauty contest! it is a Motocross Race!
Here are some pictures of race day...






We had some drama medic wise but after some frantic phone calls our problems were resolved... the rest of the day was awesome, especially for the spectators, they had the opportunity to watch some great MX racing and had a grand view of the air show as well! In reflection this was a trail run for the National later this year... should be no problem to get that going smoothly now that we know where the hitches were.
"You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might also pray in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance." Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931)

Goodbye to a great cat...

Today was the last flight of a legendary aircraft, the Cheetah. Currently being replaced with the JAS 39 Gripen, somehow I do not see a Griffon wearing spots...

"April 8, 2008: The South African Air Force has retired the last of its Cheetah jet fighters, with the last fourteen of them being withdrawn from service."
This is my small salute to the machines and the men that flew them, so to all that flew with Spotty... Hamba Gahle.
They truly lived up to the Air Force motto...
Per Aspera Ad Astra wich means: Through Adversity to the stars.

Thunder from the sky

Several bloggers like Ahab, AD and Skywriter have memed or mentioned their best aircraft, here are mine as well as the reasons why they have a place in my memory;
The Allie - SA-316 / SA-319 Alouette III

The Puma/Oryx
Both these Choppers were operated by 17 Squadron as well as others but I think 17 Sqd. are the blokes that pioneered Border Operations. To a soldier on the ground there was no better sound than that of the choppers coming in for a Casevac, bringing in supplies or support troops or causing Mayhem to the terrorists with the .50 Brownings or 20mm Cannon on one of the Allie Gunships of the Romeo Mike force at Ondangwa.

The Imp - AEROMACCHI ATLAS MB326M IMPALA MARK I AND MARK II
"Eagle One this is Zero Three Delta! Acquire target at Romeo Victor... Green smoke Foxtrot Foxtrot!" and then the boys in Blue would do the rest while the troopies hunkered down in hastily dug slit trenches and hoped the pilot was not colour blind.
The Dak - DOUGLAS C47 DAKOTA
Our lifeline in many ways, these old warbirds would drop the Bats during ops. and do the milk runs between bases as well, many a letter from home was brought north from Grooties in the belly of a Dakota.
The Herc - LOCKHEED C-130 HERCULES
There is nothing like blasting off from Mpacha airfield using JATO in one of these birds and watching some of the troopies turning green while you enjoy the G forces. The landings were pretty awesome as well, pilots used to use evasive tactics and dropping down in steep dives was one of them. Leaving your innards at 20 thousand feet is quite a thrill.
The Mirage - DASSAULT-BREGUET MIRAGE F.1, Mirage III, 111EZ, AND 111CZ
These were our ultimate backup and a few Cubans regretted tangling with our Top Gun's.





Sabre - CANADAIR CL13B SABRE MK VI
Korea was the proving ground for Jet Warfare and our pilots were in the thick of things once again.


Mustang - MUSTANG P-51D-20NA
As a kid I always wanted to fly one of these, only later did I learn that my mom's first fiancee was killed in Korea flying one...






Harvard - NORTH AMERICAN HARVARD
Tough and temperamental, I was told if one could learn to fly this critter one could fly any plane after that... if you survived that is...
Most of the pics come from the SAAF Museum site.
Still need to tidy up the code and formatting of the page but I think you get the picture?
The quote sums up my feelings on having to use these wonderful machines, great as they were would it not have been better to have used the energy for peace?
"We merely want to live in peace with all the world, to trade with them, to commune with them, to learn from their culture as they may learn from ours, so that the products of our toil may be used for our schools and our roads and our churches and not for guns and planes and tanks and ships of war." Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 - 1969)