Are we geared for snow?

[putt for dough]

At my house now, no jokes, its snowing. Sure they are
tiny snowflakes, but snowflakes none the less. :)
Brings back memories of 1981 I think when a reasonable
amount of snow fell in Joburg.
So now I gotta ask the people in the know, whether
our airports are geared for a desent snowfall? Are there
procedures in place at ACSA incase this "freak incident"
were to happen in SA? Do we have the snowplows, aircraft
de-icing equipment etc on standby if it were to snow
heavily enough in our country?
Would be very interesting to find out :confused: :confused:

[SIC]

How can I put this ..... how many snowploughs have you EVER seen ANYWHERE in SA????

I ve operated in snow - you need a lot before snowploughs become necessary. And generally snow wont cause icing issues on aircraft. Especially not the kind we get in JHB that basically melts immediately and doesnt really build up.

There was a rumour about a year ago that one of our newly minted 35 hour total time CAA flight inspectors wanted to ground SAA after doing a checkflight on a domestic SAA route and discovering that ( oh horror ) SAA has no equipment or procedures in place for de icing in SA.

[4HolerPoler]

Ahh, my son, you remind me of a long forgotten tale. When the Yanks & the boys from Jerusalem sold Lennox Sebe (of Ciskei fame) his wonderful airport at Bisho it came with two snow ploughs. So if you're ever in Bisho & you're caught in a bilzzard you can rest assured you'll be able to dispense with those contaminated runway charts.

I wonder what happened to those snow ploughs (probably chicken coops) . Or the airport at Bisho (probably still there). Or Lennox himself (Who gives a ****?). Tut-tut, I digress.

4HP

[cavortingcheetah]

:hmm:

Ahhhh 4HolerPoler; that too, reminds me of a long forgotten tale.
It must have been in September 1981 when it snowed in JHB and it really dumped it down. I well remember driving to FAJS in my Peugeot 404 in the late afternoon, from whence I was due to fly to LHR that night to start a 748 course.
Only one aircraft left FAJS that night.
Here is the rumour, lest I be accused of libel.
The El Al flight to Tel Aviv must have been commanded by a man with a lust for the home fires. All other flights, including mine of course, were cancelled.
El Al very slowly taxis the whole lengh of 03 (no left and right in those days).
Then nips speedily back down the taxiway, lines up wheels in tyre tracks on snow covered 03 and whilst it is still snowing, blasts off home, to the warmth of Ben Gurion.
Further rumour tells the tale that the man was in serious trouble upon arrival back home. This I know not.
Better get the log fire going, marshmallows for toasting, and fur rug for romping on in preparation of evening fun and delectation. You might not get the chance for a romantic evening like this for the next fifteen years and by that time you, might, be too old?:p ;)

[makeapullup]

Was there also not a tale of a BA B747 that was sprayed with water by the firecrew to get rid of ice. Was most likely due frost not snow but still great story!

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Snow?:ooh:

Jislaaik, tjom!

This is SA. We're not even geared for winter....:rolleyes:

[putt for dough]

Ja thats true, its stopped now but
bloody cold! :{ :{

Wish it would snow here, its bound to
liven things up on the highveld :E

[6-String]

Jusus oke, that brings back some mammories! Those toys have long been stripped and used in various violent crimes nationwide..! Wish I was there... :ok:

[GULF69]

Ceres:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/TIAAN/snow/image012.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/TIAAN/snow/image008.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/TIAAN/snow/image006.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/TIAAN/snow/image005.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/TIAAN/snow/image004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/TIAAN/snow/image002.jpg