All the Cheetahs positioned for the landing and in a short period of time Lt Col Glen Gibson in 365 led a trail of Cheetah C and D aircraft at very slow pace with almost no adjustments to the throttle while taxing. Each aircraft taxied into its allocated slot facing the crowd. The ground crew moved in to chock the front main undercarriage wheel. With engines idling under minimal power the already stationary aircraft waited for the remaining Cheetahs to move into their allocated parking slots. With the ground crew indicating “Clear” and all 14 Cheetah aircraft parked the pilots spooled up the engines. For the last time the familiar sound of the SNECMA Atar 9K50 could be heard before the single radio call for the mass engine shut down. As the Atar 9K50  spinned to standstill the flight crews started raising the canopies. It was suddenly very quiet and the harsh reality started settling in that this was the ultimate end as part of the SAAF for a type, with an illustrious history of brilliant fighter design. Not only for the Cheetah D and C aircraft but also for the original Mirage III type as the Cheetah C is regarded as the ultimate development of the original Mirage III concept. This brings the total number of years for a Dassault Delta aircraft or upgraded variant from the original design by a third party to serve with the SAAF to 45 years! The Cheetah served with the SAAF for 21 years in terms of the D model. The very first Cheetah no 845 survived for 21 years and took part in the final formation. It was the last use of the SNECMA Atar 9K50 engine as part of operational SAAF aircraft resulting in the SAAF being one of the last Air Forces to employ this engine. Hard to believe this engine type equipped the Mirage III R2Z more than 34 years ago. As for the armourers it was also the end of the DEFA canon in the SAAF.

Moments before the mass engine shut down

With crew ladders in place the safety pins were inserted into the ejection seats. The pilots exited the Cheetahs for the last time. Both the flight crew and primary ground crew came to attention in front of the aircraft before marching to the form up line for the salute and ensuing fall out. Against a fast setting sun the primary flight crews completed the log books while the ground crew started to “close-up” the aircraft. The Cheetah Ds were towed away immediately except for 861 which was placed on static in the wash bay area. Interestingly on the left hand of the centre line fuel tank were the words “45 Years Dassault Deltas”. The only other aircraft to carry this marking was Cheetah C no 370 known as “Vlaggie”. All participating Cheetah aircraft was fitted with the centre line fuel tank except for the soloist aircraft. Many of the guests remained in close proximity until total darkness forced them to join the ceremony inside the 3 ASU hangar.

Cheetah D no 861 on static

45 Years Dassault Delta's