Debut of Huey helicopters

As a follow on the brilliant pyrotechnic display there were a few prevailing fires which needed to be extinguished. As Nelspruit and the surrounding areas house extensive forest areas in South Africa - a bush fire could therefore destroy a vast area if not effectively extinguished in the shortest possible time. Due to the topography of the area, the use of aircraft has proved an effective solution over the years. Naturally, Nelspruit feature one of the more prominent air bases for fire fighting in South Africa. In total there are more than 15 teams located throughout South Africa. The Working On Fire organisation set itself the goal of co-ordinating forest fire fighting with the use of ground teams, aerial wide area water dispersal with aircraft and aerial pin point water delivery with the use of helicopters. In the Nelspruit area the venerable Bell Huey is operated by a division of Executive Helicopters based in Cape Town on behalf of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and Bird Dog Aviation based in Nelspruit. Apart from the water delivery demonstration with the use of the Bambi bucket slung under the Hueys, Mark Jackson of Bird Dog Aviation gave an extensive display for the airshow debut of the type in South Africa. The particular Huey now painted in a bright yellow colour scheme served for two years in Vietnam as part of the 187 Airborne Division. And what an impressive sound the wide twin blade main rotor produces as the blade tip passes through the speed of sound during certain manoeuvres. Mark Jackson also participated in the tsunami relief effort.

Bell Huey	PZL Dromarder (Camel)
Fire fighting - slight judgement error	Fire Base