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Written by Anton Dyason - IPMS SA Media Group
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Wednesday, 25 July 2007 |
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Page 5 of 5  Mirage III CZ 800 |  Mirage III BZ no 817 | | Another surprise was the return of the Mirage III BZ no 817 painted in the colours of the new National flag. “Skydancer” was last displayed at the Virginia air show of 2005. A dedicated crew ensured the aircraft was ready for the Hoedspruit air show. As Glen Warden was already displaying the Mirage III CZ no 800, a display pilot was required for the BZ. This honour fell on Koos Kieck who is no stranger to delta wings. One of the highlights was the delta Mirages formation take-off with a Mirage F1 AZ in quick succession. After take-off they formed up in a vic formation for a fly-past followed by an echelon formation. |  Formation take-off |
In both formations it was only fitting the Mirage F1 AZ acted as the leader. During this time Frans Dely made use of the opportunity to photograph this thoroughbred formation with the use of ZU-TEE (L-39) as camera ship. Upon landing the taxiways around Hoedspruit allowed all three Dassault aircraft to taxi past the crowd with a brief halt to offer the crowd a better view of these very popular aircraft. Needless to say they received a standing ovation.
Sonic Boom: | Keeping the Mirage F1 AZ no 233 low over the initial part of the runway Johannes (Blokkies) Joubert with the screaming power of the 9K-50 engine started his power climb to above 30 000 ft. Disappearing from view it was all of a sudden very quiet over Hoedspruit and even Capital Sounds did not broadcast during this time. At height the AZ was pointed towards Hoedspruit and Johannes Joubert advanced the throttle for the supersonic run towards Hoedspruit. As the chief Gripen test pilot for the SAAF he timed it to perfection for exactly 16h00 and with the advantage of ideal conditions a VERY LOUD sonic boom was heard by all who attended the air show. |  Mirage F1AZ no 233 |
This was certainly the loudest ever heard at an air show in recent years – granted the conditions were perfect. In that one loud boom everything Hoedspruit ever represented was once again relived. The sonic boom did once again return to its rightful home. To top it all no 233 closed the show with a spectacular full burner show at dusk. Once again timing was everything and Johannes Joubert displayed the AZ in a spectacular routine which saw the back-end light up beautifully against a disappearing sunset. This was simply breathtaking and despite the burner the routine was simply perfect and for many the highlight of the show. The displays of the Mirage F1 AZ no 233 were sponsored by Aerosud who currently use the aircraft for systems testing. It is still painted in the colours used for the Citroen commercial with the addition of the Aerosud logos.
 Hunter arriving on Friday evening. No display due to radio failure. |  Sunset at Hoedspruit |
Despite Hoedspruit not featuring a fast jet Sqdn at the moment, the organisers organised a credible show where the public was offered the opportunity to view some very rare aircraft. This number of jet aircraft displays where last seen at Fighter Meet Makhado 2005 and in part at AAD 2006. Still a fighter base just delivers that little extra to make it an incredible show. Who knows… as the SAAF is about to enter the Gripen era, Hoedspruit might be able to capitalise on this venture with a permanently based jet fighter Sqdn to do once again justice to this marvel of a fighter base. Top photos: A. Dyason & E. Kotze'. Photo manipulation: A. Dyason All photos: C. Hugo, F. Hugo, P. van Schalkwyk, E. Kotze', H. Burger, J. van Zyl & A. Dyason Artwork-Sqdn & AFB badges: P. van Schalkwyk. Additional photos: 2 Sqdn  Gallery Opens in New Window
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 August 2007 )
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