Contribution by Chris Bester and Fred Brons Goodness knows there have been some interesting times in the history of Safair and we’ve had to employ some interesting tactics from time to time. I recall an instance where we had provided technical support services to a local passenger operator who had fallen well behind on theirContinue reading “Going Nose-where”
Tag Archives: Chris Bester
Three Structural Achievements
Contribution by Chris Bester The backbone of the technical department who do maintenance on Herc aircraft is the Structures Group. During my time we were very proud of the capabilities of our structural technicians and the leaders in this group were sent to Lockheed for Advanced Structures courses. Three occasions where structural techs played aContinue reading “Three Structural Achievements”
Shake Bottle Well Before Pouring
Contribution by Chris Bester In aviation, as in life, small things can sometimes make a huge difference. We learnt this lesson in an interesting way thanks to some large drums of engine oil. At one point in our operations, Safair used to purchase engine oil for the Herc engines in two pint tins. Due toContinue reading “Shake Bottle Well Before Pouring”
Mortar Attack in Ethiopia
Contribution by Chris Bester Our adventures on the Hercules aircraft have seen our teams operate in some pretty severe circumstances, and perform some interesting repairs as a result. Rapid decent operations meant that flap track replacements were a pretty regular task and bad runway conditions often resulted for pork chop fitting replacements. One interesting repairContinue reading “Mortar Attack in Ethiopia”
Leaders in Maintenance Innovation
Contribution by Chris Betser One thing that’s never changed in aviation is the fact that the profit margins for aircraft operators are wafer-thin, and the same was true for the Herc operations. Every possible effort had to be made to ensure that we reduced operating and maintenance costs without jeopardising the airworthiness of the aircraft.Continue reading “Leaders in Maintenance Innovation”
Moving the Drop Zone
Contribution by Chris Bester Safair has been involved in humanitarian aid and relief work for a long time and one of the tasks that we’ve often performed using the Hercs is food drops. At one point we were operating these food delivery contracts on behalf of an international agency in support of people in foodContinue reading “Moving the Drop Zone”
Fleet Expansion Program
Contribution by Chris Bester In the mid 1970`s the Safair Board of Directors decided to expand the fleet of commercial L382 series from eight to sixteen aircraft. At that time the board had also chosen to modify 4 of the new aircraft such that they were able to perform dual roles as a passenger aircraftContinue reading “Fleet Expansion Program”
Freighter to Passenger Conversion
Contribution by Chris Bester In the mid-1970s the Safair board had taken the decision to expand the fleet of commercial L382 series from eight to sixteen aircraft. They had also decided to convert four of these new aircraft from freighters into passenger configurations. At the time, I was working in the United States as theContinue reading “Freighter to Passenger Conversion”
Free Willy Free Fall Flights
Contribution by Chris Bester During the mid-1980s Safair was requested to provide two passenger Hercs to take part in the World Free Fall sky jumping competition in Quincy Illinois in the United States. A detailed inspection by the US Federal Aviation Authority took place at the airport of entry into the USA to ensure complianceContinue reading “Free Willy Free Fall Flights”
Safair Herc Tales 