Awesome Rooivalk

[marc perkins]

Am I alone here?

I thought the Rooivalk display at the Ysterplaat show was definately the finest helo display I have ever seen.

I would have missed it if it wasn't for my nephew, who has developed a finely tuned ear to the awesome sound of Chopper blades breaking the sound barrier. Ran outside the hangar to catch the display; didn't catch the pilots details at first but thought I recognized the style of the display.

Turns out my suspicions were correct and the pilot was in fact Tertius Graham, presently at Bloemfonteins 16 Squadron. He was my senior at Durbans 15 Squadron by a few years, and had the pleasure of seeing him display a BK117 at the Virginia Airshow in 97'. Very similar in style to his display on Saturday and equally impressive.

Good one Tertius; put back the warm "proud to be a Chopper Jock" feeling in my stomach!

I'm sure 90% of all fixed wing drivers will be converting to "True Flight" shortly !!! :} :E :ok:

[Gunship]

Lo Marc !

Well I was welcomed back - so I can officialy welcome you back as well :ok:

I hope everything is ok with you and all the dust has settled.

Please mail me at kasi @ sierratel dot sl (just confusing the spammers )

Back to the Rooivalk. Various sources mentioned hte great display.

Here are some web sites with pics :

John Dovey: http://lib.sun.ac.za/gallery/Ysterplaat2003
Steve Crane: http://craniac.afraid.org/ysterplaat2003/
William McIntosh: http://galleries.wheels24.co.za/special/airshow

and then this one a splendid one .. ;)

http://craniac.afraid.org/ysterplaat2003

Enjoy and send some news mate.

Cheers Gunssss

[126,7]

Tks for the pics Guns. Looks like that was one moer of a nice airshow. :ok:

[B Sousa]

It seems thats all I hear about is the Rooivalk at Airshows. Is anyone using it for Combat Roles??

[Gunship]

Once again to my knowledge : No, purely for training / airshows ... readiness platform.

What is the latest rumour about Spain buying it ?

What we need is a "testing platform" .. how about Iraq / Afghanistan ? Presume the Americans will never allow that in any case as they will see the limited capapbility of the AH - 64 Bert. :E

[126,7]

Apaches and Tigers may reign in Spain



Spain could be the first nation to field both the Eurocopter Tiger:



and the Boeing AH-64D Apache.


Spain is likely to make a decision on a proposed purchase of attack helicopters by October and could become the first nation to field both the Boeing AH-64D Apache and the Eurocopter Tiger.

The Spanish government is still debating the make-up of the 30-aircraft purchase as it grapples with the contrasting demands of military and local industry leaders. The Spanish Army is a strong supporter of the Apache, but Spain’s largest aerospace venture, formerly CASA, is now an integral part of EADS, the parent of Eurocopter.

Offset proposals will be crucial in the debate, which would swing the pendulum in favour of Eurocopter, although a compromise deal involving a lease of AH-64A Apaches is also on the table.

If that idea was adopted, Spain would lease six US Army AH-64As as an interim measure until 12 Longbow-equipped AH-64Ds were available in 2006. The remaining buy would then be made up of 18 armed reconnaissance versions of the Tiger.

Spain’s decision will be a good barometer of just how much progress Eurocopter has made with the Tiger in its bid to oust the Apache from its position at the head of the attack helicopter market.

Throughout most of the 1990s the Apache consolidated its reputation with international deals in places such as the UK, the Netherlands and more recently in Israel, Singapore and Egypt among others.

Although the Apache was selected by Japan in its AH-X competition, the Tiger won the protracted Air 87 contract in Australia and is in the process of adding a number of new systems designed to improve further the aircraft’s capabilities.

A transmission upgrade is being studied to improve hot-and-high performance, which is particularly important given upcoming competitions in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Eurocopter is also talking to Lockheed Martin about offering its Hawkeye target sight system, while the manufacturer is assessing an automatic target-detection and classification system to process ground and aerial threats.

Apaches and Tigers may reign in Spain

[Gunship]

Tx,

So from this I pressume that is the end of the Rooivalk rinning for a possie there ?

Strange I just read it somewhere the other day.

Ah well pressume politics again .. America's first two war partners = Uk and Spain ! :yuk:

Have a good one .. now ;)

Gunnsss

[The Claw]

The condition was if the SA Navy bought their ships from Spain! SA took their business elswhere, so Spain did the same!

Problem with the Rooivalk is the support of the product, which is nowhere near that of the Apache. When going to war you need spares like yesterday!:hmm:

[marc perkins]

Think you have a close grip on the dilemma facing the Rooivalk project Claw! Excuse the punn:E

Not to mention the weapon systems and various armaments that need to be competed with. Unfortunately the Yanks have got far to many toys in their Christmas stocking, for the Rooivalk to realistically compete in any long term Arms deals. If I remember correctly, some while back the Yanks threatened to withdraw their Hell Fire missile from a huge deal that both the Apache and the then newly released Rooivalk were bidding for! Needless to say the Apache wonn the bid by a mile! :{ :{ :{

Howzit Gunns :ok: ; great to see you back on these threads; many a ppruner has been pining for your return:cool: ! Sent you a mail , so please let me know if it comes through bsuccesfully!

Like I said, the Rooivalk display was something else! I have seen it displayed on many occassions, but this was something special. :D Next step, some international deals to show it's true potential!:confused: