|
TFDC Airshow 2007 - 20th Anniversary |
|
|
Written by Anton Dyason - IPMS SA Media Group
|
|
Sunday, 13 January 2008 |
|
Page 6 of 8 The highly anticipated missile firing(s)  Cheetah D 845 with 2 V3S missiles | Fitted with two V3S air to air missiles Lt Col Jannie Scot senior test pilot for the SAAF taxied at slow pace from the operations hangar at TFDC to the safety holding area. The moment the ground crew completed their safety inspection and removed the red corded safety pins it was as if the crowd came alive with anticipation. Any regular airshow attendee will tell you, the schedule does not mean much; as the final participation will only be known on the day. With the removal of the safety pins it was a clear message the “LIVE missile firing was a GO….” Following brake release Cheetah D no 845 as the regular D of TFDC climbed away before turning for a flypast showcasing the large V3S missiles. Any moment now...
The crew completed the required air safety checks out at sea and then appeared as a very quiet dark grey dot low over the horizon. In a shallow angle no 845 pitched up on the run in and while the Atar 9K50 engine became audible; the artillery fired the flare which serve as the target, out towards the sea. In a loud roar followed by a plume of bright white smoke the starboard V3S streamed of the launcher rail towards the target flare. Following slight course adjustments the missile hit the dropping flare followed by the explosion of the warhead. The crowd jumping with joy followed by an instantaneous applause – once again the airshow at TFDC delivered something unique or as a pioneering show display. This has been the trademark of TFDC ever since the first airshow was staged in 1997.
As is only human once you had the first chunk of the chocolate slab you gotta have more. The attending public wanted a repeat with TFDC indicating the remaining missile would be fired later in the afternoon. BUT what the unsuspecting public did not know - TFDC was already planning an improvement on the morning missile firing. 845 emerged again from the operations hangar sporting twin V3S missiles. Initially thought to be a spare missile in case of launch failure it was announced two missiles will be fired at a single target. This caused a sensation amongst the crowd. |  1st missile away |  2nd missile ignition |  2nd missile away |
| At the controls of 845 was Maj Genl Des Barker who is no stranger to test flight or missile test firing. As SA’s most experienced test pilot he completed his 50th V3 missile launch on 06 March 1997 (10 Years and a few months to the day). This was achieved with a Mirage F1AZ No 231 launching a V3C air to air missile at a high speed drone. Thereafter he served for a large number of years at TFDC as test pilot and later in the capacity as OC. |  Des Barker prior to the launch of his 50th missile |
 HIT !
| The same procedure was followed to the letter with the first missile fired while the Cheetah D was climbing in a shallow pitched up profile flying towards the artillery launched flare. With the first missile well underway a second ignition plume could be seen under no 845 followed by the V3S streaming away in a stream of white smoke towards the target. The missiles produced such an amount of smoke that the Cheetah D disappeared for a moment or two before appearing on top of the smoke stream. The first missile hit the target flare following a few kinks to adjust its course. The warhead detonated and within moments the second missile struck the target area followed by the second warhead exploding. A few course adjustments were also performed by the second missile and judging by their performance are highly intelligent missiles despite being infra red guided. Interestingly despite the first missile impacting the target flare, at no point did the second missile deviate from its path towards the target area due to the intelligence of this advanced missile. Needless to say the crowd enthusiastically applauded the twin hit of the V3S missiles.
|
|
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 14 January 2008 )
|
