Exciting year ahead for SAAF Museum
Date: 8 February 2014
By Janet Szabo
Signalling the start of an exciting new year for military aviation enthusiasts, the SAAF Museum’s first flying training day of 2014 showcased several unusual aircraft as well as witnessing old favourites like the Harvard trainers and the jet fighter Vampire being put through their paces.
Looking at the Museum’s plans for the year ahead, Museum Officer Commanding Lieutenant Colonel Mike O’Connor said the highlight would be the annual air show which was also a key fund-raiser for the museum. It has been scheduled for 10 May.
Colonel O’Connor said: “We need to have this air show to finance the rest of the plans for this year. The other plan we had was to cover the Boeing (707) and the C-160 (Transall) and the (Douglas DC-4) Skymaster. It’s going to cost us a lot -- about two or two and a half million. They are hammering us in terms of heritage asset management. We have to maintain the aircraft in the condition that we received it. And by them being parked out in the sun – twenty years for some of them – that’s not maintaining our heritage. So it must happen this year, then I’ve got everything under cover.”
Besides preserving the Air Force’s history, the museum at AFB Swartkop also promotes aviation awareness among the youth. O’Connor said: “We have got Mango (state-owned low cost airline) back on board and they have committed to an aviation awareness day the day before the air show. We will bus in about two-thousand children from rural areas and expose them to the Air Force and various careers in the SAAF and in the South African aviation industry.”
Another milestone of significance for the museum this year is the 20th anniversary of South Africa’s democracy. O’Connor said the museum hoped to complete the heritage exhibits of the former MK and APLA liberation movements and the former homelands of Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei, which will be housed in Hanger 4.
Among the more unusual civilian-owned aircraft in the line-up at AFB Swartkop was a Stampe SV 4 biplane sporting French Aéronavale (Naval Aviation) markings. Although it was never operated by the SAAF, the Stampe, which was designed in Belgium in the 1930s, was extensively used by the French Air Force.
The Stampe flew in a three-ship formation with two civilian-owned De Havilland Chipmunks. Unfortunately, the museum’s Chipmunk is still undergoing maintenance as is the Tiger Moth. Colonel O’Connor said the Tiger was to be completely repainted and that an offer had been made to finance the job. He said this was appreciated as finding the money to maintain and restore the exhibits and aircraft was always a challenge.
Staying with the French connection, aviation buffs had the chance to see an Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopter in action. This was the first rotorcraft to carry a fantail which completely replaced the conventional tail rotor. Although the SAAF never operated this craft either, it replaced the earlier Alouette light helicopter, also built by French company Aérospatiale, which was used extensively by the SAAF for over 40 years and both the Alouette II and III feature regularly during the museum’s flying days.
This was the first flying day in three months at the museum as the December event was cancelled following the death of former President Nelson Mandela.
The next flying training day will be on the 1st of March.
