The Huey in Capetown (including Huey down)

[B Sousa]

Re: The Huey in Capetown (including Huey down)

HEADLINE AUTHOR DATE SECTION
Vietnam-era choppers fly into the flak again Johan Schronen 16 January, 2006 South Africa
Police are again probing the Cape Town helicopter company operating a former US military-type Huey after the Civil Aviation Authority complained it was flying illegally and ignoring a CAA grounding order.
[Full Story...]

Actually there is a slug of articles on the Huey. One has to be a subscriber to get the full Monty..
Seems they have articles dating from when the Huey first blessed the soil in SA.

[Gunship]

Re: The Huey in Capetown (including Huey down)

Originally Posted by glimmerman_alpha

Big article in todays Cape Argus on the whole Huey Saga....
Seems like the CAA is now instructing the SAPS to enforce some action.
Anybody got the full article?

Online it is locked with the headline : VIETNAM -ERA CHOPPERS FLY INTO THE FLAK AGAIN

Will see if I can get an Argus (one printed on paper)

page 8 apparently

[Deanw]

Some recent articels from the Cape Argus:

16 January 2006:

Vietnam-era choppers fly into the flak again

By Johan Schronen

Police are again probing the Cape Town helicopter company operating a former US military-type Huey after the Civil Aviation Authority complained it was flying illegally and ignoring a CAA grounding order.

A Huey Extreme Club helicopter has allegedly been seen flying regularly lately.

But CAA spokesman Phindiwe Gwebu has confirmed no Extreme Club Huey helicopters were allowed to fly and a complaint has been lodged with police.

The Huey Extreme Club's former Vietnam-era helicopter was grounded in December 2003 by the CAA, which said it was not airworthy.

At the time, Huey Extreme Club owner Gary van der Merwe, arguing the Hueys were among the safest aircraft in the world, went to court and had the grounding order set aside so his chopper could fly again, operating out of the V&A Waterfront.

Then, in January 2004, the CAA issued a second grounding order, which Van der Merwe ignored on the strength of the Cape High Court ruling setting aside the first order.

The Waterfront then joined in the action and took the club to court, claiming it had endangered visitors to the popular tourist and shopping hub when it took off and landed from the helipad "in contravention of the second grounding order".

The Extreme Club however, won the case and continued operating, prompting the Waterfront to appeal against the order.

Then in September 2004 the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered that the company stop operating from the Waterfront, pending the lifting of the second grounding order.

But Van der Merwe, alleging the CAA supported the Waterfont's efforts to enforce the grounding, has taken the issue to the Constitutional Court.

He is hoping for a favourable decision on the basis that the Waterfront has allegedly been acting on behalf of the aviation authority.

Meanwhile, Van der Merwe, who had been arrested earlier for flying one of his helicopters illegally, has been cleared of charges and said he was considering legal action against the CAA, which was responsible for his arrest.

After the State withdrew charges brought against Van der Merwe in February last year, his lawyer, Brad Allison said: "It is always unfortunate when individuals or bodies resort to criminal prosecution to achieve what they cannot in civil litigation."

Allison has not responded to requests for further comment.

Litany of civil and criminal cases
December 2003: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) grounds a Huey helicopter belonging to the Huey Extreme Club, claiming it is not airworthy.

December 2003: Owner Gary van der Merwe hits back in the Cape High Court, which overturns the CAA grounding order.

January 2004: The CAA issues a second grounding order, but Van der Merwe ignores it.

February 2004: The V&A Waterfront takes Van der Merwe to court in a bid to prevent him from operating from their precinct. Van der Merwe wins the case.

September 2004: The Waterfront goes to the Appeal Court, which overturns the February High Court decision and kicks out Van der Merwe.

November 2004: The Huey does a "precautionary" landing on the West Coast and the CAA impounds the craft.

December 2004: The CAA is ordered by the High Court to return the Huey airframe on the grounds that it was illegally seized.

February 2005: Van der Merwe is cleared of criminal charges that he illegally flew a grounded helicopter and considers suing.

November 2005: Van der Merwe takes the CAA and the Waterfront to the Constitutional Court. A decision is awaited.

December 2005: The Huey lands at Ysterplaat with apparent rotor trouble and is impounded by the CAA.

December 2005: The Huey company is evicted from the Waterfront for allegedly failing to pay rent.

18 January 2006:

Police to hand in Huey report soon

By Johan Schronen

POLICE investigating the Huey Extreme Club in Cape Town, which is allegedly operating a former military Huey helicopter illegally, are expected to hand a report to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) this month.

Meanwhile it emerged that a Constitutional Court application brought by the club last year against court orders grounding the helicopter has failed.

The Cape Argus has received several complaints from readers claiming they had spotted the Huey flying low over the beaches in Blouberg and Table View although they believed it was not permitted to fly.

A police source, who asked not to be named, said officers were also probing the possibility that the pilots flying the grounded Huey, or Hueys, were contravening aviation laws.

The CAA last week confirmed that none of the Extreme Club's Hueys were allowed to fly and it had lodged an official complaint with police "in the interests of justice and the community".

Huey Extreme Club's former Vietnam-era military helicopter first made headlines in December 2003 when it was grounded by the CAA, which claimed it had not been airworthy.

But Extreme Club owner Gary van der Merwe then went to the Cape High Court and had the grounding order set aside, allowing his helicopter to fly again, operating out of the V&A Waterfront.

In January 2004 the CAA issued a second grounding order, which Van der Merwe ignored on the strength of his high court ruling setting aside the first grounding order.

The Waterfront then joined in the action and took the club to court, claiming that it had endangered visitors when it took off and landed from the helipad "in contravention of the second grounding order".

The Huey Club however won the case, and it continued operating, prompting the Waterfront to appeal against the order.

In September 2004 the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered that the company stop operating from the Waterfront pending the lifting of the second grounding order.

But Van der Merwe had then taken the issue to the Constitutional Court hoping for a favourable decision, but this has now failed.

The CAA said it would decide on further action and make a statement in due course.

18 January 2006 (Letters to the Editor):

Bring in expert to decide on Huey airworthiness

I am incredulous about the brouhaha over the Huey helicopters in Cape Town (Cape Argus, January 16).

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has declared them not airworthy, whereas their operator, Gary van der Merwe, declares otherwise.

This ridiculous and thoroughly unintelligent spat has to stop. I really don't know who has the lesser sense of the two.

Does the CAA know that the South African Air Force turbojet Dakotas we occasionally see flying overhead are very old?

I used to see these aircraft in Britain in Surrey during the war years, and that's more than 55 years ago.

So age does not necessarily mean scrap.

The aircraft division of Denel might have changed the engines of many of them to turbojets, but they weren't built in South Africa, that's for sure.

Instead of continually agreeing to disagree, and thoroughly irritating many of us with their stupidity, the CAA and van der Merwe should agree for once and bring in a US expert in aircraft (helicopter) airworthiness to express an independent opinion.

Whoever manufactured them, or any of the other US helicopter manufacturers, will have experts who could very soon establish their airworthiness.

If people are complaining about the noise they make - really, how much louder are they than other helicopters?

It's time the CAA pulled out of the game on a subject that is not its core business or concern, otherwise its intervention is sheer, unadulterated harassment.

the City of Cape Town should also be prepared to accept its responsibility to establish guidelines for the Huey operations.

Mike Thurgood
Milnerton

19 January 2006:

SMS views
I'm worried about planes flying over Koeberg. Isn't that area supposed to be a no-fly zone?
I wonder if the Huey Extreme Club would be under investigation if it was a BEE initiative.

19 January 2006 (Letters to the Editor):

Helciopters are a load of Huey

It is totally selfish of the helicopter operators to fly noisy vintage aircraftover residential areas at low altitude.

The constant clatter of these machines, in particular the notorious Huey, reverberates through our homes, disturbing the peace and frightening pets.

A few months ago a Huey went down on the West Coast and had to be rescued.

Then, just recently, the Huey was grounded at Ysterplaat airbase.

I was under the impression that that would have ended this saga. However, there it goes again, banging and crashing over our suburbs at low altitude on a daily basis.

Can nothing be done to clip the wings of the helicopter owner? It's sad when a greedy businessman is able to hold a city hostage.

G Laser
Cape Town

[Gunship]

Originally Posted by Deanw

Some recent articels from the Cape Argus:

Mr Wingrin ... how did you get them ?

Subscriber ?

[Deanw]

Aah, it's my job to get information ...

[B Sousa]

It's time the CAA pulled out of the game on a subject that is not its core business or concern, otherwise its intervention is sheer, unadulterated harassment

Excuse me..........I do believe Airworthiness should BE their job... unfortunately that is not happening.

Instead of continually agreeing to disagree, and thoroughly irritating many of us with their stupidity, the CAA and van der Merwe should agree for once and bring in a US expert in aircraft (helicopter) airworthiness to express an independent opinion.

Experts. Defined as who pays the most money. I know what Bell/Textron would say, but then one could always get an ex-whatever to qualify as an "expert"...lets see how about Gary Fox....Now theres an idea..

[SASless]

Latest FAA AD on Huey engines...cost 97,000 USD!

The boys have 90 days or 100 flying hours to comply with this AD if SA requires compliance with FAA AD's.

http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory...0?OpenDocument

Wonder how they will get around this one?

LH never did say what maintenance schedule they were using for the machine...wonder why that is?

[B Sousa]

Sasless
I dont think you fully understand this situation in totality. These Aircraft have No Historicals to begin with . ADs, etc are the least of their worries.
CAA originally bought off on one, but has since taken that away.
Interesting for sure.

[Latent Heat]

"QUOTE" LH never did say what maintenance schedule they were using for the machine...wonder why that is?


Nothing i say here about our maintenance schedule will satisfy the majority of you. The only way to put this to bed is for those of you in the area, you'r welcome to pop down here and see for yourselves.

Maybe we should ask Mr Dean W to come over and do an audit then he can brief the rest of you on his findings. (Just an idea - any comments?)


Cheers All

[B Sousa]

LH
You are so correct. After all that has been said there, nobody will take ANYTHING from Helibase as Gospel. Rightfully so.
Nothing against Dean, but why would an audit from him reveal anything to do with the Airworthiness of the aircraft??
Paint doth not make it anything but pretty........
We know there are some good folks there that do good things. I saw some of Dog Pounds work last year, quality sheet metal stuff. Problem is he or nobody else there should be toying with things like Fuel Controls etc. Many of those items require specialized equipment. So much so a few of the items have to go back to the factory. Problem is if they DO go back, they will be red tagged.
Enjoy it while you can.

[Deanw]

26 January 2006: Cape Times

Noisy helicopters leave outraged residents in a spin
By Leanne Raymond
Outraged residents and the Table Mountain National Park have had enough of noisy helicopters which they said were flying "irresponsibly" low over protected areas and Cape Town suburbs.
Fiona Kalk, park spokesperson, said: "Under the Protected Areas Act, all aircraft must be 1 500ft above the highest point of the park. In the park that is McClear's Beacon on top of Table Mountain."
Although helicopter companies insist they do keep to this regulated height, Kalk said, helicopters in fact do not abide by this regulation.
JP Smith, ward councillor for the Atlantic Seaboard, said: "Some helicopter operators are unsafe, irresponsible and fly too close to Table Mountain."
He said they were an incessant irritation to residents of his ward.
Steve Gordon, a "born and bred" resident of Clifton, said helicopters fly low over the bay.
"The volume has increased so rapidly there is a need for air traffic management for issues of safety and because these are Marine Protected Areas (MPA)," he said.
However, Kalk said, Marine Protected Areas are controlled by the Marine Living Resources Act, which does not specify a general height restriction for aircraft. She said the park would like to have the height restrictions that apply to the park territory extended to the MPA.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) helicopters must be 1 000 ft above the highest obstacle on land, but there are no height restriction when flying offshore. However, helicopters without flotation devices must be within safe auto-rotation distance from shore.
According to Neil Petrie, a pilot and a manager of Base4 helicopter company, that means helicopters must be high enough to glide to a landing area should something go wrong out to sea.
According to Smith, there are regular low-flying offenders, "but the Huey is the worst".
"It breaks every rule in the book and continuously undermines the culture of civil aviation."
The controversial Huey is owned by businessman Gary van der Merwe and has been under grounding orders from the CAA since December 2003. The CAA has handed the case over to the police, who are investigating the matter.
Liz Berry, DA ward councillor for Milnerton and Table View, said residents of these areas had also complained about the Huey.
"I have photos of the Huey flying lower than the kitesurfers' kites. One shows people's hats flying off because the Huey was so low over the beach.
"The noise of the Huey is intense."
Sean Puotz, a manager of Helicopter and Marine Services, which runs the Huey Extreme Club, said although the Hueys did not fly over the park, they flew about 15 metres above the sea off Blaauwberg and Table View.
"From a safety point of view, that is within auto-rotation distance from the beach," he said.
Petrie, however, said: "Base4 pilots are not permitted to fly that low as it takes the helicopter beyond its operating limits in the event of an emergency."
CivAir said its pilots stayed above 305m for safety reasons.
Kalk said helicopters flying low over national parks and Marine Protected Areas disturbed birds, animals, whales and dolphins.
"Sea birds nesting on cliffs are disturbed and other birds come and eat their eggs. Other nesting birds get so traumatised they don't go back to their nests," she said.
"Small family groups of animals, such as klipspringers, scatter when they are disturbed.
"The young often lose their parents and are vulnerable to predators. Herds, like eland, suffer continuous stress from the noise and eventually leave a popular grazing area because of it."

[MysticFlyer]

Yes, and to think, some people add guns to these allready ferocious machines!

Ludicrous.

[Gunship]

Originally Posted by MysticFlyer

Yes, and to think, some people add guns to these allready ferocious machines!
Ludicrous.

Somebody calling ???

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Nee, boet...

We were thinking in your case to add Guns to a kas Tassies for extra humour, skop, skiet en donder....

[MysticFlyer]

Yes, let's get this baby into the Campfire and try raise it further on Tassies & Coke or beer and see what happens then....

[B Sousa]

Glad to see Shaun has been promoted to safety expert for the company...
Hope these experienced Marine Services Huey drivers there can catch it in time should the engine take a dump over the water. They autoroate great, but one has to realize they have a problem BEFORE they get wet.
A few months ago, I watched some of the other tour helicopters going back and forth to the mountain. Luckily no problems as they all would have gotten wet. more than likely with no PFDs either....
Its all about the money..

[Deanw]

Cape Times:

Save the Hueys
January 27, 2006

The familiar "wup-wup-wup" of the choppers' rotors as they cut through the overhead green canopy was music to the ears of thousands of United States troops in the Vietnam War... From AJD Veitch, Lakeside

The Huey helicopter has become one of the greatest names in non-fixed-wing aircraft, as a gunship, troop carrier and air ambulance. It performed every task admirably.

Even while being shot to bits, in all weathers, it delivered 110%.

We Capetonians have the rare privilege of hearing and seeing the last flying Shackelton growl overhead, and some of the truly great wartime jet aircraft from Thunder City howl down the Peninsula. We also have a few immaculately restored Hueys.

This collection of flying aircraft is almost exclusive to Cape Town. Aviation enthusiasts travel from throughout the world to see these aircraft fly, a wonderful tourism bonus.

Capetonians should hope that the Civil Aviation Authority, the V&A Waterfront and rival helicopter companies see the value in letting the Hueys have space in the skies above Cape Town.

AJD Veitch
Lakeside

[MysticFlyer]

Message to AJD Veitch,

Yes, I agree, we are privilaged, indeed. But safety is something that goes hand-hand with these operations, should he know anything behind flight safety.

99% of vintage aircraft are commercial operations, thus money made from operating them. Thus, said money could be used for getting said aircraft safe, international accepted levels thereof!

Period, no green monster etc. Safety first, lest these things not drop on your house in Lakeside, Benoni?

MF

[glimmerman_alpha]

"We also have a few immaculately restored Hueys."

That must be the quote of the year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guess that what happens if you leave the opinion open to the public.

hahahahahaha. still cant stop laughing What is this? Stand up Comedy??!!!

[Heli_Sticktime]

In the News again!

See page 5 of this mornings Cape Times, Supervan should be paying for all the exposure he gets

Clearly he is also deaf, quote from Cape Times....

van der Merwe "I live there myself. I don't even know when (a Huey) has gone past," he said.