THE COUNTRY NOW has available only a fraction of the capacity that it had as recently as ten years ago thanks to years of under-funding.
Despite facing the likelihood of both more frequent and more devastating natural disasters in the future as a result of climate change, we have continued to allow our capabilities in disaster response to degrade. If current trends continue it won’t be long before we’re unable to provide any state-owned rescue helicopters for a disaster at all. So, it’s important to recognise the risk and implement steps to reverse this trend.
Although the South African Air Force (SAAF) has since been able to contribute a handful of Oryx, A109, and BK117 helicopters to the rescue and recovery efforts in KwaZulu-Natal, it has had to do so by gathering both the aircraft and crews from bases around the country. Precious time was lost, so a response that should have begun within hours, instead took days.
Similarly, three South African Police Service (SAPS) helicopters fitted with hoists joined the SAAF helicopters at Durban’s Virginia Airport after a few days, but the service was unable to provide an immediate rescue response either as a result of aircraft and crew non-availability.
Denne historien er fra May 2022-utgaven av SA Flyer Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra May 2022-utgaven av SA Flyer Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Iris - her early years: IRIS FLIES ACROSS SUDAN
Laura McDermid continues her stories about Iris McCallum's early years in East Africa and the Sudan. In part 1 of this story she recounts how she had to fly a bunch of Belgian Missionaries to Aweil, a city in northwestern South Sudan, from Wilson in Nairobi in her old mate 'ARN', the Piper Aztec 5Y-ARN.
UGLY IS PRETTY: LEAR 25 VS PILATUS PC-6
When you go to a party where you don't know anybody, you should always go for the 'Ugly' girl, because she will be happy that you chose to spend time with her.
CIRRUS G7 LAUNCHED IN AFRICA
What makes one aircraft better than another? Range, Speed, or carrying capacity, short field performance, operating costs, high wing, low wing, side stick, traditional control yoke?
PRESIDENT'S TROPHY AIR RACE 2024
The annual Presidents Trophy Air Race (PTAR) is the highlight of the year for many competitive general aviation pilots.
THE ABSA LOWVELD AIRSHOW 2024
This year marked the thirtieth edition of the Lowveld airshow – and it was widely acclaimed as the best ever.
PREVIEW: AFRICAN AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE EXPO(AAD)
Guy Leitch finds out from AAD Exhibition Director, Ms Nakedi Phasha, how the buildup to this year's biennial expo is going, and what visitors and exhibitors can expect.
APRIL 2023
April has been a very quiet month on the local aviation marketplace with only nine new registration allocations and three deletions, according to the officially-supplied register review.
PIPISTREL PANTHERA FINALLY HERE
One of the world's most eagerly awaited piston single engine aircraft designs has finally arrived in South Africa. ZU-KTR is a long awaited Panthera, proudly owned by Bertus Kritzinger, a Free State trucker, and based at New Tempe in Bloemfontein, where the well-known Ferriera Aviation has assembled it.
STAGGERWING - ALREADY OLD WHEN NEW
The Staggerwing was the climax, and the end, of an era.
The Aim of Bombing
In modern warfare it's not the soldiers who die - it's the civilians. One of the best examples of this is carpet bombing.
