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89 CFS

Written by Anton Dyason - IPMS SA Media Group

Friday, 26 July 2002

	89 Combat Flying School

	Motto:	EXERCITATI DELENDO

	Meaning:	Trained to kill

Badge from Cheetah D no 840.

89 Combat Flying School (today "2 Sqdn Training Flight") is an elite flying unit within the SAAF - a unit which only accepts the "Best of the Best". The unit originated due to the arrival of the first dual seater Mirage III DZ aircraft in August 1964. All Mirage IIIs were at that stage placed with 2 Squadron, AFB Waterkloof, and the unit were also responsible for pilot conversion training on the Mirage III. This training commitment placed a huge drain on 2 Sqdn's resources for force preparation and utilisation.

A separate unit was needed to take over the operational conversion of Mirage pilots. The arrival of the new Mirage III D2Z aircraft in 1974 made the establishment of a new Mirage unit a viable proposition. The first Mirages were ferried to AFB Pietersburg in October 1984, where 85 Advance Flying School was in the process of being established. Apart from a training role, the unit has an operational commitment, which is primarily in the air to ground role but also an air defence, in the secondary role. Since 1979 the unit has played an important role in various operations, such as Rekstok and Protea as part of operations in the Border War conflict.

Due to the demands on both Impala and Mirage flights of 85 Combat FS it became totally impractical to administer and command the unit as a single entity and in December 1984 Ministerial approval for the establishment of a new flying school to encompass the activities of the Mirage Flight, was granted. Up until that time the double seater Mirages were utilised as a separate entity within the unit and normally referred to as "Mirage Flight" of 85 Combat Flying School. It was with pride that on 30 October 1986, 89 Combat Flying School received its unit colours from the Minister of Defence, Gen M A de M Malan. The unit emblem depicts the griffon from Greek mythology, holding a double edged battle-axe and the motto "EXERCITATI DELENDO" describes the proud role of this unit, "Trained to kill". The new Sqdn 89 Cmbt FS formed when the Cheetah D entered service with the SAAF, although in the early years a few double seater Mirage III remained operational with the unit. But the unit did not last long, although it was responsible for some of the best trained fighter pilots anywhere. When AFB Pietersburg was closed, 89 Cmbt FS was transferred to AFB Louis Trichardt (AFB Makhado) as part of 2 Squadron in January 1993. This was due to rationalisation within the SAAF.

Due to the size of 2 Sqdn the Cheetah Ds are hosted in a separate area at AFB Louis Trichardt. The old 89 Cmbt FS effectively disbanded and the unit is nowadays referred to as "2 Sqdn Training Flight", but "89" is still sometimes used, although unofficially.While the unit officially still forms part of 2 Squadron, very little of 2 Squadron's facilities are used and the Training Flight operates autonomously. Cheetah Ds from the Training Flight intercepted the Red Arrows and welcomed the "Reds" officially into South African airspace as part of SAAF 75th anniversary.

The pilots cloth badge at the time of the units disbandment.

89 Badge on flight suit and tail fin of Cheetah D.

The unit is responsible for all fast jet pilot training in the SAAF, which include operational flight training. In addition the Flight regularly deploys to various AFBs around South Africa for air-air, tactical, supersonic and weapon delivery exercises. The Flight also participates in airshows around South Africa on a regular basis. In order to become a supersonic instructor, it is necessary to have thorough operational experience, which in reality-means that the majority of instructors at the Training Flight are an older bunch with a number of years of combat experience. Such a vast experienced instruction basis pays huge dividends in the students that successfully complete the extremely demanding course. A well trained fighter force is essential to ensure a nation's status as a member of the free world. Not well known, but this Training Flight provide advanced operational flight training courses to a few foreign air forces. In all they benefit from the SAAF's vast combat experience. The very professional ground crews are also an elite component and ensure that on any given day a minimum of six aircraft can be utilised for training flights. All operational Cheetah Ds are currently assigned to the Training Flight.