The Huey is a great helicopter and the Huey Xtreme Club have many fans including myself. There are a number of Cape Town based fans that have stood by the Huey through thick & thin, supported it and defended it from criticism, albeit controversial at times, and that included me. At this time, as a fan, I can only comment on what I have personally observed during the past few months from visits to the Club's facilities.
It has become apparent to me that the owners have lost interest in maintaining the status of the Huey as the number one "flying tourist" attraction in Cape Town. On numerous visits to the Club's Headquarters at the Waterfront, the Huey was just parked there, and not flying. Sometimes there was no pilot to fly it, or it was'nt flying because the wind was to strong, or it was plagued by maintenance problems. The media reported extensively on those problems, the subsequent court cases and the fact that the High Court ruled that it could fly.
Recently it was rumoured that they have again had major delamination problems with the main rotor blades, resulting in the cancellation of flights and excessive down time of the Huey.
Its a shame that this is happening, and that the Huey is not as often in the skies as it used to be. Its also a shame that the owners are not applying their resources to keep the Huey in a tip top flying condition. There are rumours in abundance that the Huey is in bad shape, that it is kitted out with timex parts monitored by the owner as "on condition", and that there is no qualified engineer maintaining the bird.
***News 24 reported in the media this last week that Mr. Gary van der Merwe appeared in the Belville Magistrate Court on 8 charges of fraud and tax evasion of at least R12million. He appeared with his secretary Ms. Karin Hoge, who is also facing 8 charges of fraud, and two former directors of World Online Limited and Wellness International Network Limited, Mr. Paul Killian and Tyrone Oates. All 4 have been released on bail varying from R20 000 to R60 000. The provisional charge sheet imply that investors lost approximately R6million in a scam by investing in World Online Limited, a Mauritius registered Company. There are also several charges against the four for VAT fraud and tax violations. Mr. van der Merwe's legal team asked for a postponement of the matter in order to obtain more particulars on the matter. The accused will re-appear in Court on 22 April. **