Skywatch Friday - The sky was also nice

The Black Widow is always a hit at the local South African airshows and is is a lot easier to photograph on the ground than in the air. She is a Mirage IIIC, a single-seat interceptor and first flew in October 1960.

By the way it was a beautiful day with bright blue skies, in case you did not notice.

 
You can view many great pictures from around the world at the Skywatch site

Jesting with jets

I was quite pleased with the photograph I had taken of an L37 Albatross at last years airshow, so understandably sent a copy to my son, who is a pilot, while we were chatting online one evening.

His scornful reply, "The albatross does not fly, it converts fuel into noise energy and the earth repels it".



As a jet, it may not be in the same class as the Mirage or the Cheetah (click to see previous posts), but I still like the photo.

M for Mirages and a mouse

The Black Widow
What is it about jets that cause them to attract so much attention? Is it the raw power, or the speed, or the look…..? Whatever it is they have me hooked.

These pictures were taken at the Port Elizabeth Air Show in October last year.

The Black Widow as she is called, is the only flying Mirage III CZ in the world. In other words, she is the last of the South African Mirage CIII’s still flying.

The Mirage IIIC, a single-seat interceptor, first flew in October 1960 and was used in French Air Force until 1988. It was exported to South Africa and designated the Mirage IIICZ. These jets are used in many air forces around the world and they contributed to the success of the Israelis in the “Six-Day War" of 1967 (for those of us who can remember that far back).

Some of the specs for those who are interested are - speed: Mach 2.2; ceiling: 59,055 ft; range: 900 nm; fuel consumption: I don’t know – just glad that I don’t have to fill her tanks

Click on the picture for a really good view of her lines

I went to boarding school in a village called Settlers, on the Springbok Flats about 100 kilometres north of Pretoria in the Limpopo Province. It was there, in the early 1960’s that I first saw the Mirage.

Settlers was on the flight path to the air force base at Pietersburg, so they often flew past. Sometimes one would stop by and give us an aerobatic display. Occasionally we would hear the sonic boom as one broke the sound barrier.

If a Mirage flew past when we having lessons, the boys would all leap up and run to the windows to catch a glimpse of it – for some reason the teachers (even the old dragons) we quite tolerant of these disruptions to the lessons.

Over forty years later I still run out if a jet flies past – some things will never change.

The Black Widow is maintained by the South African Air Force Museum and long may she fly.

And a mouse.......................

Who can resist a mouse, especially a little striped field mouse. This one was photographed at the Addo Elephant National Park hoping for a hand out.

In case you are wondering what the relationship is of the field mouse to the Mirage, it is simple - neither hang around long enough for you to compose your picture. Locate........point,,,,,,,, shoot..... and hope for the best.

Cheetah

These photos were taken at last years airshow in Port Elizabeth. The Cheetah fighter jet was built on the frame of the Mirage III's, South Africa bought from France in the 1960s. The Cheetah will be replaced by the Swedish Gripen fighters. I hope that they will be kept operational by the Airforce Museum and continue to do the rounds at the annual airshows.





I just love the raw power and speed of these jets. The only problem is trying to photograph them. I had a big collection of fuzzy pictures and blues skies after the last show. I have developed the greatest respect for aviation photographers.