"90 Years on Golden Wings" Swartkop Airshow 2010
Report by Jens Frischmuth
Photography by Andre Vermeulen & Jens Frischmuth
The 2010 Swartkop Airshow was held at Air Force Base Swartkop outside Pretoria
on the 14th of August in front of a huge crowd of more than 50 000 spectators.
This year's theme was "90 Years on Golden Wings" as the day formed part of the
90th anniversary celebrations of the South African Air Force (SAAF), which was
established in 1920. Other historical events that were celebrated were the
75th anniversary of the Douglas DC-3 Dakota (which first flew in 1935), the
60th anniversary of the first delivery of the De Havilland Vampire (the first
jet fighter flown by the SAAF) to the air force in January 1950, the 50th
anniversary of the delivery of the Alouette II to the SAAF and the 60th
anniversary since the SAAF's 2 Squadron Flying Cheetahs left for Korea.
Proceedings on the day started with the opening parade in which all the emergency
vehicles participated, a display by motor gliders, a skydiving display by the
Golden Eagles (the elite parachute display team of the SAAF) and a solo display
by a CASA 212 light transport plane.
Before the air displays started in earnest, the crowd was treated to the fly-over
of an Air France Airbus A-380 Super Jumbo, whose run-in into OR Tambo International
Airport was diverted so that the jet could make a surprise appearance over Air
Force Base Swartkop.
The Gripen, South Africa's current air superiority fighter, was demonstrated in the
capable hands of Lt. Col. Charl Coetzee. This was the first air show appearance of
a South African single-seat Gripen C. The display plane was Gripen 3914, and
serial no. 3915 was on static display during the event. These two are the newest
two of six single-seaters (Gripen Cs) that have been delivered so far. The first
nine Gripen fighters delivered were the two-seater version (Gripen D) and a
further 11 single-seaters are still to arrive to fulfil the total order of 26
planes (9 two-seaters and 17 single-seaters). The Gripen should have flown a
formation display with the De Havilland Vampire (a formation display of the
newest and the oldest jets in the air force). However, the Vampire developed
a problem after the pilot was strapped into the plane already and would not
fly again during the air show.
An interesting formation display consisted of an Impala Mk1, a L-39 and a BAE
Hawk. Mike Weingartz in the Impala took off in formation with Pierre Gouws in
the L-39 from Swartkop and they linked up with the Hawk, which was operated out
of AFB Waterkloof. After the three jets performed various formation passes,
the Hawk performed a solo routine before returning to Waterkloof.
The museum's Mirage IIICZ, flown by Lt. Col. Glen Warden, is always a hugely
popular airshow attraction. Based at AFB Hoedspruit, this plane
was kept at AFB Waterkloof for the duration of the airshow and operated
from there. Glen flew two full displays during the day that included
touch-and-goes, high-speed passes and lots of fast paced action. The
Mirage also participated in the late afternoon Thunder Formation (see below).
Another morning highlight was a mass radial formation flypast that consisted
of nine North American AT-6 Harvards and the museum's Douglas C-47 Dakota.
The Harvards subsequently did their Tora Tora Tora display where they flew
behind each other and swooped on the airfield one at a time to simulate
a ground attack. This was followed by a display of the Dakota and then
the four Harvards of the Flying Lions, who participated in the mass
radial flypast, flew their morning display.
One of the day's highlights was the appearance of a Denel Cheetah D. This
was the first time that a Cheetah was seen at an air show since they were
withdrawn from service in March 2008. The display aircraft, serial 861,
is one of two kept flying by Denel Aviation as test beds, the others having
been placed in storage. Although initially scheduled to perform a fly-past,
the crowd was treated to a full display that included a touch-and-go in
the capable hands of Mike Weingartz, who is a Denel Aviation test pilot
and a highly experienced air show performer.
During the day, the museum put on two helicopter formation displays with an
Aerospatiale Alouette II, Alouette III and Puma. The formation was referred
to as the "Generals Formation" as Major General Hugh Payne, Brigadier
General Sakkie van Zyl and Brigadier General John Church flew the three
helicopters respectively. After the formation routine, each helicopter
was put through its paces on its own.
Other museum aircraft to fly on the day were the Piaggio Albatross, Atlas
Kudu, Siyandiza Harvard, Aermacchi Bosbok, as well as the Douglas C-47
Dakota that took part in the mass radial display with the Harvards.
Civilian displays consisted of a Tiger Moth owned and flown by Col. Jeff
Earle, the Sukhoi Su-29 piloted by Warren Haslam, the Mazda Zoom Zoom
Extra 300 flown by Brad Bennetts and the Gabriel Wings Aerobatic Team
of Scully Levin, Ellis Levin, Arnie Meneghelli and Stew Lithgow in
their Pitts Specials.
Also of great interest was a simulated Air Intercept Mission similar
to the ones that the SAAF performed during the recent FIFA Soccer
World Cup held during June and July in South Africa. The Air Force
was responsible for securing the air space during the event and was
tasked to intercept all aircraft that strayed into sterile airspace.
In this case, the "suspicious aircraft" was a King Air, which was
intercepted by a Gripen and escorted to the runway and forced
to landing at Swartkop. As soon as the plane was on the ground,
rapid response troops were dropped off at the scene by a C-130
Hercules and two Oryx helicopters. Soon, the suspicious plane
was surrounded by the troops so that the threat could be
neutralised and the plane stormed if necessary. Ambulances
and fire trucks stood by in case their services should be required
at any time. Once the situation was diffused, the troops were
whisked off in the Oryxes again.
Further routines flown by the air force included a dual display of an Oryx and an Agusta 109 helicopter and a solo display of a Cessna Caravan.
In the afternoon, the Silver Falcons performed a superb formation
fly-past with a South African Airways Airbus A-319. After the
fly-past, the formation approached the spectators from the front
and performed a formation break in front of the crowd. Thereafter,
the Silver Falcons went into a holding pattern so that the Airbus,
flown by Capt. Johnny Woods and Capt. Pierre Gouws, could do its
solo display. The Silver Falcons display took place as soon as
the A-319 had cleared the display box. For the team consisting
of Maj. Scott Ternent, Capt. Roy Sproul, Capt. Buti Tsebe,
Capt. Gerhard Lourens and Maj. Nico Frylinck, this was their
second display of the day, as they had flown in the morning
as well.
The Thunder Formation, consisting of the Mirage III, Impala, Hawk
and Gripen thrilled spectators in the late afternoon. This unique
formation flew a few circuits before it split up and each individual
jet performed a brief individual display and fly-past. The Gripen
filled in for the Vampire that had gone unserviceable earlier
during the day. As the Gripen had to perform a solo display
right after the Thunder Formation, it landed and was hot
refuelled in a few minutes. This offered everyone the
opportunity to see the quick turn-around times that are
possible with this plane.
The air show ended with a Twilight Show by the Flying Lions
in their Harvards. Equipped with tractor lights that shine
into the plane's exhausts, the visual effects of this act
are always very impressive. This was a fitting end to a
very well attended and successful event. Credit goes to
the staff of the SAAF Museum who made this event possible.
On a personal note, we would like to thank Maj. Ronel
Prinsloo and also Lt. Martin Matsetse for looking after us.
