Author Archives: Jarryd Sinovich
“We take and we give”- Memories of 60 Squadron
60 Squadron SAAF is a squadron of the South African Air Force. It is a transport, aerial refuelling and EW/ELINT squadron. It was first formed at Nairobi in December 1940. During its first years the squadron flew the British Aircraft Double Eagle, Martin Maryland, de Havilland Mosquito, and the Lockheed Ventura.
The South African Airforces 60 Squadron came into existence upon thr renumbering of 62 survey Squadron on 29 December 1940.Completion of the survey around Garissa in Kenya started by its prescessor was the units first priority,then tasking being completed shortly before the BA Double Eagle was grounded for a major overhaul.With Both Ansons the aircraft had on strength were also grounded for maintaince and the need for spares in South Africa at the time.
60 Squadrons lamentable state was to be reminded with the arrival of a third Anson to the Squadron from the Union on 17 January when serial number 1107 touched down in Kenya Nairobi.
In June 1946 the unit was designated to a Medium Bomber Squadron and re-established at Airforce Station Zwartkop on the 21 August, known today as Airforce Base Swartkop, home to 17 Squadron a helicopter unit and the South African Airforce Museum Heritage Flight.
This was the time the Squadron were operating under the control of number 3 Bomber Wing with Lockheed B-34 Ventura’s on their strength. At least six of the De Havilland Mosquitoes are known to have been passed onto the bombing command.
Tasks under taken included survey work in the Eastern Cape, by a C47 Dakota detachment at Port Alfred in 1949 and a similar exercise in Cape Town during the time’s of the 1950s.
The acquisition of three Boeing 707s in March 1982 was the culmination of a ten year project undertaken to provide the SAAF with a dedicated air-to-air refueling and electronic warfare capability and it fell to 60 Squadron to assume the mantle of responsibility for this function when the unit was reformed at Airforce Base Waterkloof in Pretoria on July 16 1986 following the aircraft’s modernisation and modification programme.
A further two Boeing 707s were subsequently acquired while the task of maintaining the SAAFs electronic warfare and early warning capabilities were added to the units primary responsibility.
The Squadron provided highly effective ‘force multiplayer’ to 1 Squadron Mirage F1AZs until the F1AZ retirement in in November 1997.The squadron was still a vital asset to 2 Squadrons Cheetah C and D variants until 60 Squadron was disbanded and the retirement of the 707 from SAAF use in 2007.
The Squadrons contribution was rewarded with its colours during a parade at Airforce Base Waterkloof on 7 October1994.The following year the squadron record another first for the SAAF when it displayed a Boeing 707 at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom.
Today a Retired 60 Squadron Boeing 707 tail number 1419 can be viewed at Airforce Base Swartkop on monthly flying days and airshows.
South African Airways scales down capacity due to travel disruptions and restrictions caused by Coronavirus
JOHANNESBURG. 18 March 2020. South African Airways (SAA) has scaled down capacity in response to the low demand for air travel. The effects of the outbreak of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) have led to travel disruptions and restrictions across the world, leading to the grounding of aircraft, releasing employees, and cancelling flights for many airlines. SAA is not immune to these realities.
In the light of the substantial fall in demand for air travel, SAA has reviewed its flight schedule and has decided to operate flights only under circumstances where its load factors and other business considerations weigh in favour of scheduling flights. However, certain flights that have been negatively impacted more than others, are consequently cancelled.
“Notwithstanding the decline in demand, SAA continues to aggressively review its schedule to match capacity with demand to the extent possible. Where feasible, we will consider options that include cancelling and merging flights,” said SAA Chief Commercial Officer, Philip Saunders.
For the period 17 until 31 March 2020, SAA has cancelled a total of 162 flights. Of these, 38 are international and 124 are regional (destinations on the African continent) flights.
At the same time, the airline is continuing to provide a service on the domestic, regional and international networks for those passengers whose travel is essential and cannot be avoided. For the time being, the airline will continue to operate to and from destinations unaffected by travel restrictions aimed at combatting the spread of the Coronavirus.
“Our priority is to assist those travellers wishing to repatriate to their home countries to do so as quickly and efficiently as possible. Naturally, this includes South African citizens abroad wishing to return home,” Saunders explained.
Subject to the conditions set out in the travel ban announced by government in South Africa, SAA will also facilitate the transfer of qualifying passengers to or from the destinations it flies to, which have been classified as high-risk areas.
Appreciating the impact of travel restrictions emanating from the outbreak of the Coronavirus, SAA has demonstrated its commitment towards looking after its customers by providing flexible rebooking options.
“We have updated our Customer Reservation Policy to help our passengers defer their travel plans where possible. To this end, we have offered our customers one free ticket change, in acknowledgement of travel restrictions that are not of our customers’ own making,” Saunders elaborated.
The Updated Reservation Policy now extends to the entire SAA route network.
Below is a summary of the amended travel policy, which is available on www.flysaa.com.
§ Must rebook / reissue ticket/s by 30 April 2020.
§ Complete travel by 28 February 2021.
§ Rebook same booking class with no additional collection and change fees waived.
§ Additional fare collection and taxes will apply to cases of seasonality change, but change fees will be waived.
§ If same booking class is not available, upgrade to lowest applicable booking class. Additional fare collection and taxes will apply but change fees will be waived.
§ One (1) free change and ticket reissue permitted only.
§ Tickets to be endorsed “COVID-19 SA FLT/DATE”.
§ Applicable to all fare types.
§ Change of cabin will not be permitted.
§ Change of routing will not be permitted.
§ This travel advisory waives the 72-hour rule.
§ This policyis applicable to South African Airways flights only and does not apply to Mango, SA Express and Airlink, issued on SA (083) ticket stock and not on separate tickets of other airlines. This policywill apply when Mango, SA Express and Airlink forms part of the itinerary issued on SA (083) ticket stock.
§ No refunds are permitted as part of this advisory.
§ Other refunds are permitted according to the applicable fare rules.
§ Previous No-show passengers are not eligible for this waiver.
§ SAA reserves the right to withdraw or revise the terms and conditions without prior notice.
SAA regrets any inconvenience to our customers as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and we encourage all customers to visit our website www.flysaa.com for further updates.
Customers are advised to contact either their travel agents, or for direct bookings, the South African Airways Call Centre on +27 (0)11 978-1111 or 0861 606 606 or 0800 214 774 (South Africa only) or +27 (0)11 978-2888.
“We thank customers for their continued support and placing their trust in South African Airways with their travel plans,” concluded Saunders.
SAA will provide regular and timely updates through media statements and through our travel trade partners.
-Ends-
For media enquiries, please contact:
SAA Spokesperson
Mr Tlali Tlali
Email: TlaliTlali@flysaa.com
Mobile: +27 (0)82 333-3880
Office: +27 (0)11 978-2298
Customers to contact:
South African Airways Call Centre on +27 (0)11 978-1111 or 0861 606 606 or 0800 214 774 (South Africa only) or +27 (0)11 978-2888.
General Enquiries:
Website: www.flysaa.com
Twitter (Primary): @flysaa – https://twitter.com/flysaa
Twitter (Customer Service): @flysaa_care – https://twitter.com/flysaa_care
Facebook: www.facebook.com/flysaa
SA Express announces that it will suspend operations from 18 March 2020 until further notice.
17 March 2020, Johannesburg. In light of adverse recent developments including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, SA Express announces that it will suspend operations from 18 March 2020 until further notice.
This decision will impact both SA Express customers and staff in the following manner:
• All customers will be accommodated on alternative flights
• All non-critical SA Express staff will be placed on compulsory leave during this time
The airline will utilise this period to review its current network and streamline operations for improved efficiency.
SA Express will provide communication on any additional developments in due course.
South African Air Force Renders Support At Table Mountain Fires
On Sunday, 15 March 2020, the Fire Fighters from Air Force Base Ysterplaat worked throughout the night following a request to assist with the fire that ravaged the Table Mountain, Cape Town, in the Western Cape Province.
City of Cape Fire crews were alerted of the fire at 12:50 wherein they tried to contain the fire, but their efforts were hampered by strong gusting winds. The fire rapidly spread to Lion’s Head and Signal Hill.
It is as a result of the escalation of fire, that at approximately 19:52 the Chief Fire Officer of Air Force Base Ysterplaat, Lieutenant Colonel Kyle Jonker was alerted by the Acting Officer Commanding to be on standby for a possible response.
Five (5) Fire Fighters from Air Force Base Ysterplaat responded with the Atego HAZMAT vehicle to the fire scene upon activation at 21:20. The team joined other fire fighters and immediately commenced with firefighting throughout the night.
They used over 30 000 litres of water from 21:50 till 07:00 this morning. The team was relieved at 08:00 by a crew of four (4).
The crew consisted of Sergeants’ Wayne Wood, Neil Kirkwood, Safhiek Judd, Wayne Human, Samuel Mars, Cyril Lackey, Nicky Everson, Ashraf Madatt and Roual Splinter.
An Oryx from 22 Squadron is on standby for any eventuality.
15 Squadron Extract Sick Crewman Off Durban Coast
15 Squadron received a call saying there’s a male person on a ship with cerebral malaria. With the ongoing spread of Coronavirus the risk of the Ships being allowed to dock in the nearby Durban Harbour was a no go.
The vessel CONRAD is a Bulk Carrier built in 2017 (3 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of Liberia.
Bulk Carrier Vessel CONRAD
A SAAF Oryx Helicopter part of the 15 Squadron helicopter asset was to the Rescue as a need to get the patient off the ship. Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Fraser Officer Commanding 15 Squadron, Major Altaaf Sheik and Flight Sargent Ryan Naidoo together with three members from Netcare 911 flew out to the ship 12nm from the coast and hoisted members of the Netcare personnel onto the vessel (called the “Conrad”). The man was stabilized, ventilated and other other necessary precautions were put in place while the Oryx Helicopter remained in the holding position in the versinity of the ship.
20 minutes had passed and the Oryx was called back from a NSRI vessel which was also on scene to to communicate with both the Oryx crews, the ship and the NSRI. On the ship the patient was ready for extrication. The Oryx proceeded into the hover over the helipad again and hoisted the medics and the patient onboard and flew him to St Augustines hospital in Durban.
Once again 15 Squadron pulled off a successful sea extraction and saved a life. 15 Squadron is based at the old Durban International Airport and is home to Agusta A109LUHs and Oryx Helicopters, with their sister base in Airforce Station Port Elizabeth home to 15 Squadron “Charlie” Flight flying BK117s.
As 15 Squadron says
“The first 15 the rest are reserves “
SAA Adheres To World Health Organisation And IATA Protocols On COVID-19 Coronavirus
JOHANNESBURG, 12 March 2020 – South African Airways (SAA) assures customers that its operational health and safety procedures adhere to the World Health Organisation’s protocols to protect its customers and crew from contracting the COVID-19 (coronavirus) while flying with SAA.
SAA follows procedures, advice and guidelines from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organisation, International Air Transport Association (IATA), Civil Aviation Authorities as well as the airports and customs authorities’ directives to ensure the safety of its customers.
“The safety, health and wellbeing of our customers and crew is a number one priority. To ensure their wellbeing, we adhere to the following procedures:
· To clean the aircraft, SAA uses the disinfectants, which have been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and are effective against the COVID-19 (coronavirus).
· The cleaning protocols our teams use to clean our aircraft have been intensified and focus among other things, on high frequent touch points such as handles, seatbelt buckles, tray tables and armrests.
· Hard surfaces such as lavatories, galley units and window shades are also thoroughly cleaned with multi-purpose cleaners.
· The Airbus fleet is equipped with state-of-the-art, High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters that sift out and remove dust, bacteria, allergens and other unhygienic particles.
· SAA crew have been trained to handle situations involving communicable diseases or any other medical emergencies on board and they work closely with ground and inflight expert medical assistance.
· All our aircraft are loaded with bio-hazardous spill kits in case of a contamination event (or to handle a contamination event) and cleaning materials.
“We assess all our passengers and advise that if they are feeling ill, they need to follow recommendations offered by medical professionals,” SAA said in a statement.
SAA said that although it is following customs limits and guidelines, passengers are welcome to travel with antibacterial wipes and hand sanitisers.
SAA crew use officially approved and industry recognised disinfectants on all flights. Cabin crew (Flight attendants) use gloves sanctioned by the food industry. The airline uses sanitation procedures for all domestic, regional and international flights. Should a passenger show any respiratory symptoms on board, i.e. coughing, sneezing, our crew will provide a surgical mask to the passenger to prevent transmission of micro-organisms.
Should health authorities inform the airline that a person who travelled with SAA exhibited coronavirus symptoms, the aircraft will be taken out of service and put through a decontamination process.
While SAA takes all the necessary steps to ensure that their customers enjoy a healthy flying experience, the airline advises customers to also take precautions to stay healthy while flying.
The Global recommended Precautionary tips include:
- Wash hands with soap often;
- Use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser after touching any surface;
- Avoid touching eyes, face and nose;
- Avoid contact with coughing passengers by whatever means possible and
- Stay home if sick.
We thank customers for the support by continuing to place their trust in South African Airways with their travel plans.
Stellenbosch Ready for First Airshow for the Season in South Africa
The South African Airshow Season is ready to fly off with the first airshow for 2020 in Stellenbosh, home of many famous wine farms, the Stellenbosch Flying Club and a long awaited airshow in the Western Cape for many Aviation enthusiasts!
Stellenbosch Flying Club. Building on the success of 2019, FASHKOSH 2020 will be bigger and more exciting – held over two days, from 20 to 21 March 2020.
Fridays Airshow will also see a evening display from the Puma Flying Lions, which will be performing for the first time at Stellenbosch.
Other South African Airshow favorites such as Team Extreme, Goodyear Eagles Pitts, Boeing Stearman and many more will take part in the show.
The South African Airforce which are celebrating their centenary this year will have a 2 Squadron Gripen, also a first for Stellenbosch, the Silver Falcons Aerobatic Team led by New team leader Major Sivu Tangana and 22 Squadron will support with a Super Lynx 300 maritime patrol helicopter.
The program is still full of surprises including two different airliner displays which make great photo opportunities with the mountain backdrop.
Gates are open at 8am both Friday and Saturday.
Tickets can be purchased at https://www.viagogo.co.za/Theatre-Tickets/Shows-and-Awards/Stellenbosch-Airshow-Tickets
The 2020 Brakpan Airport Navigation Rally
With the National Rally Flying Championships only two weeks away, most of the existing Protea rally team members took part in the Class 1, or “Open” category of the sport at Brakpan Airport. It was also encouraging to see that after all the training sessions held by Mary de Klerk, Rob Jonkers and Jonty Esser, many of the previous “Fun Rallyers” stepped up to Class 1 as well.
Disappointingly, few of the local Brakpan pilots supported this event, even though one of the training sessions was held at the club recently. Hopefully more of them will be inspired to put their flying and navigational skills to the tests, especially as this sport improves general flying safety.
Organisers Frank and Cally Eckard kept the route fairly simple, so as not to discourage the first-timers. They all managed to complete the task sheet quite easily, except for one navigator who plotted the Start point from the wrong Brakpan Airport, which found his pilot heading off to start at the Finish point, and was surprised to find another aircraft flying directly towards him.
The “follow-the-feature” (a railway line) was easily managed by most of the teams, except for one who followed the wrong railway line. Frank did not include arcs in the route, as these require more skills, and will be incorporated into the next event.
The weather cleared in time for the scheduled take-off, and the winds were light, with just a very slight cross-wind over the run-way. It was decided to judge the landings after the rally, and the results showed that a lot of practise is required before the National Champs. For the first time in a SAPFA event, a helicopter set the record by winning the landing stage of the rally.
Apart from the Robbie 66, another aircraft of interest was the Mushak, which is featured in the latest Pilot’s Post.
The route took them to a Start Point near Ergo Slimes Dam, then South towards Heidelberg, to a point along the N3, then East towards Leandra, then back North along the railway line to Delmas, and home via Selcourt.
Although the results were far from what is required from a National standard, the selectors trust that the skills the entrants will pick up at Nationals will enable them to put together five “A” team and five “B” team partnerships to give SA the best chance of a good team result.
The full results are:
Landing Competition:
| Pilot | Navigator | Aircraft | Score | |
| 1 | Apie Kotze | Frederick Kotze | R 66 | 0 |
| 2 | Andre Kluytz | Don Lucas | C 172 | 10 |
| 3 | Antony Russell | Pamela Russell | C 172 | 20 |
| 4 | Jonty Esser | Sandi Goddard | C 150 | 30 |
| 5 | Von Hammon | Andy Gouws | C150 | 40 |
Class 3 (The Fun Rally section):
| Pilot | Navigator | Aircraft | Points | |
| 1 | Von Hammon | Andy Gouws | C150 | 974 |
| 2 | Hilton Wolf | Rob Osner | Mushak | 1374 |
| 3 | Roydon Gillies | Justin Dorrington | PA 28-140 | 1781 |
| 4 | Clarrissa de Costa | Kerry Mathysen | C152 | 1989 |
Class 2 (The Intermediate Section):
| Pilot | Navigator | Aircraft | Points | |
| 1 | Thys van der Merwe | Sally Shaw | C172 | 594 |
Class 1 (The Unlimited or Open Section):
| Pilot | Navigator | Aircraft | Points | |
| 1 | Jonty Esser | Sandi Goddard | C150 | 435 |
| 2 | Antony Russell | Pamela Russell | C172 | 539 |
| 3 | Rob Jonkers | Martin Meyer | C182 | 709 |
| 4 | Hans Schwebel | Ron Stirk | C150 | 741 |
| 5 | Andre Kluyts | Don Lucas | C172 | 1085 |
| 6 | Apie Kotze | Frederick Kotze | R66 | 1210 |
| 7 | Hendrik Loots | Jandre Loots | Sling | 1214 |
| 8 | Derek Bird | Quentin Taylor | Super Decathlon | 1586 |
| 9 | Milan Daniz | Caroline Koll | TC07 | 1856 |
| 10 | Piet Meyer | Adrienne Visser | Jabiru J400 | 1956 |
| 11 | Fanie Scholtz | Herman Haasbroek | Sling 2 | 2800 |
A score less than 2000 indicates that with the training and discipline the pilots experience at Nationals, they should be able to be selected to represent South Africa in Stellenbosch in November.
Nationals take place from Thursday 2 – 4 April, with training at your own discretion. Look out also for our very exciting Speed Rallies. Please see our website sapfa.org.co.za for our events calendar.
By Cally Eckard
Rolls-Royce Celebrates International Women’s Day By Signing Up For IATA’S 25by2025 Gender Diversity Campaign
As a member of 25by2025 we will deliver on the below commitments:
- Increasing the number of women in leadership positions to a minimum representation of 25 per cent by 2025
- Reporting annually on key diversity metrics
Rolls-Royce is celebrating International Women’s Day by announcing that we have signed up for IATA’s 25by2025 campaign, an initiative to advance gender diversity in the aviation industry by 2025. We are proud to be the first aerospace business, outside of the airline community, to support this campaign, which recognises the valuable contribution that women make to the industry.
By joining many of our airline customers in supporting this campaign, we confirm our commitment to diversifying our workforce and promoting more women into leadership roles.
Jacqueline Sutton, Rolls-Royce, Chief Customer Officer – Civil Aerospace, said: “With only three per cent of CEO positions in our industry held by women, we have a clear and recognised gender imbalance challenge that must be addressed. We are proud to be the first non-airline to participate in this exciting IATA initiative, which leads the way in taking the necessary steps to solving this issue. As a company, we are committed to the diversification of our workforce and to developing the many talented and gifted women among us into leaders of the future.”
Alexandre de Juniac, IATA Director General and CEO, said: “25by2025 aims to improve gender diversity in aviation. With Rolls-Royce joining, we are adding a new dimension to the campaign, which initially focused on airlines. Gender diversity needs to be a priority across the value chain. I hope that the leadership of Rolls Royce in signing up to 25by2025 will inspire more of our industry partners to join.”
About Rolls-Royce Holdings plc
- Rolls-Royce pioneers cutting-edge technologies that deliver clean, safe and competitive solutions to meet our planet’s vital power needs.2
- Rolls-Royce has customers in more than 150 countries, comprising more than 400 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces, 70 navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers.
- Annual underlying revenue was £15.3 billion in 2019, around half of which came from the provision of aftermarket services.
- In 2019, Rolls-Royce invested £1.45 billion on research and development. We also support a global network of 29 University Technology Centres, which position Rolls-Royce engineers at the forefront of scientific research.
- The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills.
SAA Extends Sale Offering Of Up To 20% Discount Across The Route Network
Johannesburg, 3 March 2020 – South African Airways (SAA) has extended its sale, offering discounts of up to 20% to major destinations across its route network.
These offers are available for sale from today to 5 March only so customers are encouraged to respond quickly to take advantage! The sale has been extended due to the positive uptake last week, where SAA recorded high levels of sales activity across its markets.
“Due to the tremendous response we received last week for our special offers, the sale is back by popular demand and we are extending it during this week,” said Philip Saunders, SAA Chief Commercial Officer.
The extended sale will be accessible on all SAA’s major distribution channels, at www.flysaa.com and throughout a network of travel agents both in South Africa and in other African and international markets the airline continues to serve.
“We are pleased that our customers and travel trade partners are showing renewed trust in our brand. We aim to build further on this trust by offering our customers more exciting offers over the months ahead,” said Saunders.
SAA’s sales have also been bolstered by the reinstatement of the Travel Insurance Consultants insurance services across the travel trade, which provides protection for customers choosing to fly with SAA.
The extended sale includes destinations such as New York, London, Washington DC, Perth, Frankfurt, Blantyre, Dar es Salaam, Kinshasa, Harare, Lilongwe, Lagos, Lusaka, Livingstone, Maputo, Mauritius, Nairobi, Victoria Falls and Windhoek.
Prices are all-inclusive and for return flights and are available in economy class, as well as for travel in business class.
Travellers can choose to fly between Johannesburg and New York, London, and Frankfurt from as little as R8 999. These economy class return offers are fully inclusive, providing a discount of up to 20% with Business class tickets also discounted at up to 20%, with fares to New York from R49 927, London from R37 178 and Frankfurt from R32 902.
For further information, customers can book on www.flysaa.com or contact their nearest travel agent. T’s and C’s apply.
The airline’s revised route network will ensure customers keep reaching their destinations while enjoying SAA’s 4-star experience along the way.