Announcement

**Savoia** · 10th January 2019, 09:46

G-GAZA

The Aerospatiale SA341G Gazelle (c/n 1187) dates back to 1974. And for a helicopter that is already more than 44 years old this one looks good! Well, the colour scheme could have been more attractive, but this helicopter has a sexy look. The French designers succeeded well at that time!

Between 1967 and 1996, 1,775 copies of the Gazelle were built. Many of them have been given a military function, including at the Royal Air Force in the UK. However, the G-GAZA is not an old military box, it was originally manufactured for civilian use, as evidenced by the type designation SA341G.

The Aerospatiale SA341G Gazelle was the first helicopter that was allowed to make a Cat.1 IFR landing with only one pilot. This device was therefore usable in most weather conditions.

The G-GAZA has a long history in England. However, the career started in the US. There it flew until 1982 as N87712. Then it was registered as G-SFTG with the Specialist Flying Training, a flying school. In 1986 the British rally driver Malcom Wilson became the owner of the aircraft. That party lasted until September 1988, when the helicopter was written from the British register. It was reportedly confiscated because of drug smuggling.

It took until 1992 before this Gazelle was registered again, then as G-GAZA, and with that registration it still flies now. This heli has now made more than 2,650 flight hours.

On September 4, 2018 we found the G-GAZA at Stapleford (EGSG). A field where incidentally (unfortunately behind closed doors) dozens of old RAF Gazelles are stored.

This article first appeared on AirOnline.nl on 4th January

http://www.aironline.nl/weblog/2019/...stapleford-uk/

This model depicts the unique SA341 'C' which exists within the history of Lower Saxony as a civilian variant of the Gazelle.

Unfortunately, the information accompanying some photos is so oblique that it is nigh on impossible to figure out any clear details. However, I 'think' this model may be housed at Hubschraubermuseum Bückeburg, which is to say Bückeburg Helicopter Museum, which is located in Bückeburg, a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the border with North Rhine Westphalia, situated some 30 miles (48 km) to the west of Hannover.

**Savoia** · 10th January 2019, 10:18

Gazelle History Challenge!

Having read about G-GAZA (above) reminded me of the investigation we performed on the old Nostalgia Thread to find the UK-based JetRanger which had remained in single ownership the longest. I believe we settled on G-CTPS, the Agusta-built 206 delivered to Tony Aspinall, owner of Hothfield Carpets in Skipton, Yorkshire, and who owned her from June 1978 until July 2011, a total of 33 years.

Elipix, with your extensive Gazelle ownership records, could you help us identify which Gaz has remained in single ownership the longest?

I am suggesting G-GAZA from the above post, registered to the 'Auster Aircraft Company' (ie. Ivor Vaughan, CBE) since October 1998, making 21 years this year.

**xbdt** · 10th January 2019, 17:49

Gazelle and Fenestron Designer Passes Away

Sad news, last night, René Mouille (94) died.

René Mouille was chief engineer at Sud-Est, later Sud-Aviation then Aerospatiale. He designed the Alouette, Puma and Gazelle helicopters, as well as the fenestron.

https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/news...-industry.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Mouille

http://www.helico-fascination.com/re...e-du-genie-a-l

https://vtol.org/news/vfs-remembers-...BB59Gj7LxiRWqY

**Zishelix** · 11th January 2019, 08:52

..........

**Savoia** · 11th January 2019, 09:40

SA341C ZK-HTB (WA1299) as seen at Christchurch on 27th September 2006 (Photo by Hugh Mitton)

Interesting to observe the 70° angle (or thereabouts) of the collective. That angle is a wee bit more pronounced than some of the types I've flown, even in the hover.

**Savoia** · 12th January 2019, 10:43

SA341B G-HSDL (WA1227) as seen recently at an unknown location (Photos by Jack Havery)

An Englishman in Portugal

SA341G G-IZEL (WA1098) as seen at Faro, Portugal on 29th May 1993 (Photo by Pedro Aragão)

The above photo is a newly released and different view of a similar shot taken of the same aircraft by the same photographer.

G-IZEL is of course the ex-McAlpine bird G-BBHW which sadly crashed on 10th January 2012 as G-WDEV, evidently due to a loss of engine power.

**Savoia** · 14th January 2019, 10:57

Serbian Air Force Gazelle (Photo by Dragan Trifunovic)

**Savoia** · 15th January 2019, 10:41

SA342 blade check

**Savoia** · 16th January 2019, 09:51

Roger Bennington and Stratton Motors

For Roger Bennington of Stratton Motor Company, the sky is literally the limit as his multi-franchise car sales, restoration and race-preparation business also includes a helicopter and fixed-wing charter division.

Roger with G-GAZZ

Car sales, naturally enough, provide the core business. As an official Lotus and Morgan dealer - with the official stamp of approval from Aston Martin Heritage - Stratton Motor Company can always offer a selection of pre-owned cars from these brands. In addition, there are usually many other high quality models from Porsche, Ferrari and Bentley, well-prepared and priced to suit most budgets.

Founded in 1972, the company has expanded over the years from a village filling station into a multi-million-pound business occupying over eight acres: three for the car sales and five for storage, racing support and aviation.

Heritage Racing Support, formed in the 1990s, not only prepares racing cars for clients, it also operates an ‘arrive and drive’ operation and even runs its own race series.

Aston Martin

The Aston Martin brand lies at the heart of the company. Appointed as an Aston Martin service dealer back in 1976, Stratton Motor Company is now one of the oldest and most experienced Aston Martin Heritage dealers in the world. In 2012, business is as busy as ever with the iconic ‘DB’ and 1970s/80s V8 models now collectors’ favourites and modern GTs, such as the DB9 and V8 Vantage, a popular pre-owned purchase. On any day, a typical stock sheet might list several modern ‘Gaydon cars’, a number of 1980s V8s and a selection of classic DB4/5/6s. A peek into the busy workshop will find various restorations in progress including, on the day we visited, a DB5 and a DB6, with another DB4 ready to enter the Aston Martin-approved paint shop.

Lotus

The Stratton Motor Company is established as one of the UK’s leading representatives of the Lotus brand (including Motorsport) and can boast a wealth of knowledge and experience in both sales and aftersales. With a customer base stretching to the far reaches of the globe, and a parts department able to satisfy demand from the owners of all Lotus cars produced, Stratton Motor Company is a true one-stop shop for all Lotus enthusiasts.

The Stratton Motors showroom in Norwich

Morgan

Morgan joined the Stratton Motor Company stable of British brands in 1999 and has increased in size and reputation year on year. Having recently celebrated its centenary, Morgan is an increasingly important part of Stratton Motor Company’s car sales activities.

Stratton Motorsport

Stratton Motorsport now runs six GT4 Astons in the Aston Martin GT4 Challenge Series, and 2012 will see the company looking after four Lotus Evora GT4s which will be raced in both the UK and Europe. These cars are a mixture of customer-owned and Stratton’s own race cars hired out to drivers. The race support team looks after everything from the preparation of the racing cars to the booking of accommodation and hospitality for customers, guests and staff.

Cheqair

Finally, Cheqair is the aviation side of Stratton Motor Company. Cheqair currently operates four aircraft of varying size and range that are available for all purposes and occasions: from that all-important faraway business meeting, to a day at the races or transferring racing drivers to circuits, Cheqair has the machine to suit. Particularly popular are the shuttle flights in and out of the British Grand Prix, which ensure a guaranteed journey time back to your car, high above gridlocked Northamptonshire roads.

This article first appeared in 'Classic Driver' in February 2012

https://www.classicdriver.com/en/art...-motor-company

Classic X

While on the topic of Gazelles and classic cars, how about a couple of shots of the X-Craft?

SA341G N341AS (cn.1042) as seen at Bûzet Airfield in Belgium on 20th May 2017

**Savoia** · 16th January 2019, 10:12

Montenegrin Air Force display

SA341H ZU-RZM (cn.022) as seen at Rand Airport in South Africa on 12th January 2019 (Photo by Bruce Perkins)

Ex HA-LFO.

**Savoia** · 17th January 2019, 10:38

SA342M 'CYH' as seen at Aéroport de Strasbourg, Entzheim in June 1988 (Photo by Paul Schaller)

**Zishelix** · 17th January 2019, 10:49

More CYH ..

SA342M c/n 4114 was with 1RHC coded CYH back in 1988. Photographed at the same location & date by Herr Schaller

**Rotorspot** · 18th January 2019, 09:08

Antenna Identification Question

Gazelle YU-HFF has an unusually shaped antenna fitted to the bottom of the tail boom, see photo below:

Does anyone know what exactly that is?

**Savoia** · 18th January 2019, 20:22

AAC SA341B XZ290 (WA1489) as seen departing Manchester Barton Aerodrome on 9th January 2019 (Photo by Mike Powney)

**Savoia** · 19th January 2019, 09:31

The French Aérospatiale Gazelle, as fast and graceful as its name implies, could become an interloper in the American light- helicopter field.

by John Fricker

American light helicopters have had the commercial market pretty much to themselves, and in the utility field has their supremacy been seriously challenged by the French Alouette series. Since the first Alouette II took to the air in 1955, the Aérospatiale company has sold more than 2,300 of these five-seaters, together with the seven-seat Alouette III, and sales of both are still going strong. That's a lot of helicopters, so when Aérospatiale comes up with a proposed successor to the Alouette II in the elegant shapre of the new SA341 Gazelle, you can be sure that operators throughout the world are sitting up to take notice.

You have to pay a large premium – both in initial cost and then operating expenses – to be able to take off and land vertically. After all, the average American light helicopter takes four people from A to B at little more than 110 knots, performance (hover capability apart) this is not much better than something like the Cherokee 180 – except that it costs nearly eight times as much to buy and operate. But there just isn't anything else quite like a helicopter, and if that's what you want, you have to pay for it.

At $198,500 basic, the new French Gazelle is even more expensive – by something over 50 percent – than the first generation of light turbine helicopters, but it can be shown to be correspondingly cost-effective. Its 600-shp Turboméca Astazou IIIA fixed-shaft turbine gives it at least 50 percent more power than the latest American light helicopters, and, in conjunction with some radical design features, makes the Gazelle the world's fastest helicopter in its class. This was demonstrated in May 1971, by thee officially observed flights at 169 knots, over 15/25 km, 168.36 knots over three km, and 159.82 knots over a 100 km closed-circuit course. These beat the previous records established by the Hughes OH-6A by up to 24 knots, but of equal significance was an unofficial flight the next day, with an average speed of 159 knots over 15 km – with all five seats occupied.

Denis Prost, project test pilot for the Gazelle, who flew the record runs, was my mentor for the most extensive of my three evaluation flights from the Cannes Airport.

Aérospatiale makes its helicopters not far away, at Marignane, near Marseilles, where more than 3,000 turbine-powered choppers of French design have now come off the line. Many of these are finding a ready market in North America, through Vought Helicopters, the Aérospatiale distributor.

Even a quick look at the Gazelle on the ground reveals many of the unusual features that contribute to its spectacular performance. Most obvious, of course, is the shrouded tail rotor, of 'fenestron', used for the first time on the Gazelle. In place of the usual large-diameter, two or three-blade tail rotor, with complicated joints and hinges, the fenestron has 13 short, forges blades with only self-lubricating feathering bearings. They are inset in the big vertical fin, which is cambered to provide all the necessary stability in forward flight. This means that the fenestron can be tailored solely for use at slow speeds and at the hover. It then takes a little more power than a conventional tail rotor and has to run a lot faster, but still comes out with many advantages.

It is a lot less vulnerable, for one thing, than the conventional tail rotor, and it can fail in cruising flight almost without the pilot noticing. In fact, Denis Prost told me that you can fly the Gazelle normally and even make a run-on landing at 50 knots without any rudder control at all. The fenestron doesn't waste any power during cruise, with represents about 90 to 95 percent of any helicopter's total flying, and is far better suited to high-speed flight.

There was no doubt from the beginning of Gazelle development, some six years ago, that Aérospatiale was on to a good thing, with the fenestron, but the French company had a tougher time with the development of its unusual main rotor. It started off using a Bölkow-designed rigid rotor with fiberglass blades, but the prototype, the SA340 soon ran into pitch-up and control problems at 130 to 135 knots. The rotor head was therefore changed to a semi-articulated system; it actually incorporates both flapping and drag hinges, but the blades are restricted from angular movement in azimuth by dampers at the roots. The flexible fiberglass blades, which contribute to the good stability and control of the Gazelle, are designed for an infinite fatigue life, but will probably start with a theoretical 5,000 hours.

More unusual features become apparent when you take a look inside the Gazelle's spacious and unobstructed cabin, which seats two in front (pilot in command on the right) and three passengers on a roomy bench seat behind. There are twin doors on each side that can be removed before flight, and by an ingenious arrangement, the rear bench can be quickly folded down in two sections into the lower fuselage well, leaving a completely flat floor, with tie-downs and some 80 cubic feet of space for around 1,100 pounds of freight. The left rear seat-back can be moved up to expose the 15.9-cubic-foot baggage compartment, which helps accommodate longs loads such as ambulance litters, and also has a small external access door. An external cargo hook under the bells has a maximum capacity of 1.320 pounds, and a rescue winch that can lift up to 390 pounds can be mounted on the left side of the cabin.

There were three people on board for my main evaluation flight in the Gazelle, weighing a total of some 530 pounds, plus 88 pounds of baggage; basic equipped weight was 2,100 pounds. With a little more than half fuel (maximum capacity is 120 gallons), our takeoff weight was well short of the current 3,747-pound maximum gross. The Gazelle has been flown and will probably be certified eventually at a maximum gross of 3,968 pounds, but even now, it can lift a full load of five people over a distance of 350 nautical miles at 3,000 feet in two and a half hours with 20 minutes reserve. In the cargo role, the 1,100 pounds on board plus pilot, the range is still 170 nm at 2,000 feet, with 20 minutes reserve. As a flying crane, lifting 1.320 pounds externally, the Gazelle can cover 5 nm; while at the other extreme, with a 24-gallon auxiliary tank and two crew-members, endurance becomes four and a half hours with 20 minutes reserve, at the normal average consumption of about 30 gph, for observation or patrol tasks.

Continuing his preflight briefing, Denis Prost pointed out the control system of the Gazelle, which uses hydraulic servo boosters on every circuit, including the collective lever and the tail rotor as well as the cyclic stick – an unusual feature in small helicopters. The controls have a manual standby system, he explained, and the Gazelle can be flown fairly comfortably without its hydraulics at a reduced cruising speed of about 100 knots. In normal operation, he cautioned, the controls are extremely light and responsive, but to limit the flight loads that might be inadvertently applied, the servo jacks are designed to stall above about 2.5 Gs, depending on ambient conditions, or 1.8 t0 1.9 Gs at gross weight and low temperatures.

Yet another unusual feature of the Gazelle is the fact that no trimming system is provided, in view of the lack of an appreciable force gradient in the hydraulic control system. A simple variable-friction adjustment is considered an adequate substitute, although a Sfena stability-augmentation-system (SAS) is also offered as an optional extra. As in American helicopters, SAS is more of a stick-positioning device that tends to hold any selected attitude, hands off, but the Gazelle also gets a high degree of stability in forward flight from its big horizontal and vertical tails, except in roll. The Gazelle will eventually be certified for IFR operation, for both civil and military use, with an autopilot.

Like the American light helicopters, the Gazelle was developed with military requirements very much in mind. So far, more than 300 of the 350 Gazelles on order are for military customers, but increasing civil interest has followed French certification in mid-1972 and FAA type-approval last September. Westland, in the UK, has a 65-percent share in the total Gazelle production program.

Military influence is discernible in the extreme ruggedness of the Gazelle's allow honeycomb sandwich-panelled fuselage, and the simplicity of it maintenance requirements. There are no greasing points at all on the Gazelle, all bearings being sealed and life-lubricated, and all servicing and inspection points have been brought to the right side of the fuselage, to reduce maintenance time. Oil levels for the main and tailrotor gearboxes, rotor head and engine, as well as the hydraulic fluid level, are immediately visible through sight gauges.

If, in view of this military background, our workout in the Gazelle in the hills behind Cannes proved more of a tactical evaluation, it is perhaps not surprising. But this exploration of the more extreme corners of the flight envelope, during which I exceeded 200 mph in a helicopter for the first time, and experienced more Gs than ever before in a rotary-wing aircraft, certainly conformed the following observations.

The Gazelle is tough. It's extremely fast, with no tendency to blade stall. It has a far better power margin than any other helicopter in its class, but is not proportionately noisier or more vibratory. Even without SAS, it is more stable than the average light helicopter. Its controls are so light and sensitive that is feels more like a jet fighter than a helicopter.

Engine starting is automatic, apart from manual selection of ignition, with the fuel-flow lever in the overhead set to 'idle'. When the Astazou is turning at about 26,000 rpm, the optional rotor brake is checked 'off' and clutch engagement smoothly started via another roof-mounted lever. At around 32,000 engine rpm, the tach needles join up, with the rotor running at 280 rpm or so; and with the fuel-flow lever opened to 'run', the Astazou accelerates to its governed setting of 43,500 rpm. Thereafter, it maintains constant speed with the main rotor governed at 375 rpm, and since there is no throttle, apart from the two-position fuel-flow lever, that's the end of your engine-handling chores.

The key instrument in the Gazelle's center pedestal for power datum is therefore the small torquemeter on the right side, which replaces the Alouette's more complex power computer. The torquemeter is graduated to 100 percent and redlined at 100, and also has a red warning light in the center that flashes when limiting torque is approached, according to ambient conditions. This is one of several safeguards incorporated in the Gazelle to prevent overpitching.

John Fricker flies Aérospatiale's Gazelle from London's Battersea Heliport

First, of course, is the big power margin offered by the Astazou turbine. It is called upon to produce only 55 percent of the 600-shp one-hour rating to hover the Gazelle out of ground effect at maximum gross weight and sea-level ISA conditions. To ensure that the pilot can call on maximum available power for marginal takeoffs without having to monitor his instruments, the central collective lever has two adjustable stops that can be set by a knurled wheel at the end of the quadrant, as indicated by outside air temperature and altitude. The first stop is normally set to limit collective pitch for takeoff to perhaps 12.5 degrees, and once past, say, 100 knots, you can increase pitch (and torque) to 14.5 degrees up to the second stop. Maximum pitch that can be pulled in the Gazelle is around 15 degrees, and both stops can be overridden in an emergency. Position of the collective-pitch lever thus becomes a primary power datum.

Unlike most American helicopters, the main rotor of the Gazelle rotates counter-clockwise when viewed from the cabin, which means right instead of left rudder application when lifting off. Almost full right rudder, in fact, because of the lower efficiency of the fenestron. As soon as you are airborne, the hair-trigger sensitivity of the Gazelle's servo controls makes it difficult to keep steady at first, but you soon learn to use minuscule movements of the cyclic in the hover. I finally managed to perform some reasonably accurate hover maneuvers at about 75-percent torque, with an outside air temperature of 70° F., and found that the Gazelle would also hang about hands-off for brief periods, as long as the SAS was engaged.

After a few turns and basic hover maneuvers, I was able to bring the Gazelle back to earth reasonably tidily, before lifting off again to the first stop, and climbing away at 13.2 degrees pitch, 88 percent torque, and indicated 50 knots and 1,800 fpm. At 2,500 feet, power was increased to the second stop – to 14.2 degrees and 100-percent torque – and the rate of climb leapt to over 2,000 fpm. The noise and vibration levels were moderately high, but they got higher when Prost half-rolled from 3,500 feet into an almost vertical dive.

The rugged Provençal landscape mushroomed through the front bubble as the speed flicked around to the 168-knot redline and kept on going. We were indicating about 175 knots when Prost eased back on the stick and crushed us into our seats in a 2.5-G pullout. At high G loadings, the airspeed falls off rapidly and the stick pulls to the right as the servo limit is neared. We pulled up into a near-vertical climb and zero-speed stall turn, demonstrating a degree of response and structural integrity usually associated with fixed-wing aircraft.

"That's for the military people", observed Prost as we resumed straight-and-level flight at normal cruise. "We could easily aerobat the Gazelle" he added, "but we don't wish to encourage this sort of thing with a civil helicopter." At around 14.5 degrees pitch, the Gazelle indicated 130 knots, or 145 knots with the new low-drag landing skids. At maximum cruise, fuel consumption is 2.3 pounds per nautical mile at sea level ISA, although maximum range can be stretched to 410 nm without reserves at 9,000 feet and 130 knots. Stability is exceptionally good, even without SAS, because of the Gazelle's airplane-type tail group and the resistance of the main rotor blades to divergence.

Even though the main rotor constant-speeds in normal flight, it has a very wide tolerance for autorotation – between 310 and 420 rpm. We tried a conventional autorotation from about 3,000 feet, and got a very moderate 1,300/1,400-fpm rate of descent at 65 knots. Prost took over and demonstrated a somewhat unorthodox pattern at an extremely steep 150 knots. The Gazelle's responsiveness is such, however, that it adapts itself uncomplainingly to either type of treatment.

Truly, the Gazelle was in its element, but as I later found in the more urban environment of the London Heliport in the same machine, it can be a much more sedate beast when required. Wearing out executive hats, we were in a group of five people who lifted off from the Battersea pad for a jaunt along the Thames. With this sort of load, which included 42 gallons of fuel, we needed plenty of collective – just under 15 degrees – to cruise at around 135 knots, with a fair amount of noise and vibration.

For city-center use, the Gazelle can be considered a good neighbor, since the fenestron arrangement reduces tail-rotor buzz, while turbine noise can be decreased a considerable nine decibels by the installation of an intake muff as an optional extra. other optional equipment, apart from military armament, includes such things as a 53-gallon ferry tank, float or emergency flotation gear, high skids, engine intake anti-icing, dust filters, cabin heater and an adjustable landing light. Obviously versatile, the Gazelle has already started setting new standards in the light helicopter field.

Flying Magazine, February 1973

**md600driver** · 20th January 2019, 14:38

Originally posted by Savoia View Post

Regarding the civilian market, I think the craft's fuel burn and engine overhaul costs were important factors in limiting her impact, issues of course which were resolved with the Ecureuil. Another observation is that it seems as if there may have been some initial scepticism surrounding the fenestron, and if as Fricker stated, near full rudder is required to effect a regular take-off, one can see how when evaluating the craft, it would not be unreasonable to question what margins might remain at high altitude and with high gross weight, again something addressed with the Ecureuil through the employment of a conventional tailrotor.

I mention the Ecureuil in association with the Gazelle and the civilian market, because the timing of its development ('hot on the heels' of the Gazelle) was to me an admission by Aérospatiale that the Gazelle wasn't going to 'overturn' the JetRanger's dominance of this sector. But, boy oh boy did they get it right with the 350, in constant production since 1975 and still going strong — another tribute to the late René Mouille!

I was always under the impression that when Aerospatiale joined up with Sud, the board (mostly ex-Aerospat) at that time decided to keep their newest helicopter (the 350) and just support the Gazelle for the military who have deep pockets.

**Helipixman** · 20th January 2019, 18:22

G-KEMH Westland SA341B Gazelle AH.1 (1284) ex XX386 Registered to MW Helicopters Ltd, 15.1.19

This is one of the batch from Witham Specialist Vehicles Ltd and roaded to Stapleford Tawney for storage in 2010.

Helipixman

**Savoia** · 21st January 2019, 08:44

SA342J I-PTEC at Sassuolo Airfield in Italia

One for Nosco!

SA341G G-SFTE (cn.1109) as seen at Carlisle Airport on 17th March 1984 (Photo by Derek Heley)

**xbdt** · 21st January 2019, 11:21

YU-HVZ Black Pete Flight

**Savoia** · 22nd January 2019, 09:42

A new book by Guy Warner

British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) is situated in Alberta, amidst the dry, semi-barren, rugged and undulating Canadian prairie, where the Blackfoot, Cree and Sioux tribes once hunted buffalo and engaged in combat. The training area measures 39 miles west to east and 32 miles north to south, with a total area of 1038 square miles. It is slightly larger than Luxembourg and seven times the size of Salisbury Plain.

The prime purpose of BATUS is to provide realistic all-arms, battle group manoeuvre training with live firing. Four major `Prairie Storm' exercises are held every year between April and October, involving infantry, armour, artillery, aviation and support arms. Up to 2500-3000 personnel may be on the ground, along with as many as 1200 vehicles of all types from Main Battle Tanks to 4x4s. BATUS was formally established in 1972; making up for the loss of training areas in Libya in 1969.

Right from the start it was envisaged that there would be an Army Air Corps element. The original aircraft were replaced by Westland AH1 Gazelles in 1977, they continue in service 40 years later with 29 (BATUS) Flight, which is now part of 5 Regiment Army Air Corps.

Click here to order your copy.

BATUS Gaz over Calgary

Simulated CASEVAC in 2016

A BATUS Gaz assists in controlling a prairie fire

BATUS Gaz with tank

BATUS Scout with army personnel alongside Canadian police after locating a marijuana crop along the South Saskatchewan River in 1979

BATUS Gazelles at AAC Open Day in 1983

Canadian Defence Minister goes Gazelling in 1981

A BATUS Gaz perched above the Saskatchewan River

A BATUS Gaz in the Canadian mountains

All photos by Guy Warner, seen above in ZA731

**Zishelix** · 22nd January 2019, 20:09

Fancy Interior

Btw, any fresh pic of #1307 G-OLDH around?

http://www.aviafora.com/forums/forum...=8702#post8702

**wiltshirespotter** · 23rd January 2019, 09:38

G-SFTA at Thruxton not long after it was imported.

**wiltshirespotter** · 23rd January 2019, 10:53

I was working at Heliworks at the time prior to joining the RAF, it would have been spring 1983.

Had two others come through us prior to going to SFT but for some reason I don't have photos!

**wiltshirespotter** · 23rd January 2019, 10:59

A slightly more recent photo, N341GL (cn.1413) in 2017 in a hangar with some other classics.

**wiltshirespotter** · 23rd January 2019, 14:04

Sadly no news on it, was just passing through on my way to Oshkosh. However given it is on a trailer to move it about, and there was a good collection of interesting fixed wing types in the hangar, I would suggest it was in use, hangar owner was a keen aviator!

**wiltshirespotter** · 23rd January 2019, 20:16

For the ones that arrived at Thruxton while I was there, they were packed into ISO containers still in US marks, and for some reason I did not take photos...

**Savoia** · 24th January 2019, 09:42

Originally posted by wiltshirespotter View Post

I was working at Heliworks at the time prior to joining the RAF ..

Originally posted by Savoia View Post

I remember Heliwork's Don Donnelly inviting the Colonel to fly G-SOLY in order to provide feedback on its performance as part of their publicity for the Soloy conversion ..

SA341D XW902 (WA1199) as seen at Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany in June 1988 (Photo by Paul Schaller)

Now known as the 'Gerbil' (G-RBIL).

**Savoia** · 25th January 2019, 10:18

SA341D G-BZYB (WA1272) ex-XX382 as seen at the Coach House, Tadcaster c.2004 with N600PV behind (Photo by Elipix)

This craft became UR-CSAG but is now cancelled.

Now I know that Stefano shared with us which was his first Gaz, but I cannot recall whether this is the bird. If not, she must surely be among the first of the Crabtree Gazelles, even if technically a 'Coach House' Gaz!

**md600driver** · 25th January 2019, 10:29

Originally posted by Savoia View Post

Now I know that Stefano shared with us which was his first Gaz, but I cannot recall whether this is the bird. If not, she must surely be among the first of the Crabtree Gazelles, even if technically a 'Coach House' Gaz!

Yes, it’s my first Gazelle at my home before I moved to Crabtree.

Beleive it it or not, in that small garden I had an MD600, an MD900 and a Gazelle at one time. I didn’t land the 900, it appeared there one afternoon whilst I was out. I jokingly said to my wife that the 600 and the Gazelle had a big baby while we were out. She wasn’t that pleased, saying I had too many helis and that big one had to be adopted!

**Savoia** · 26th January 2019, 09:44

SA341H ZU-RZM (cn.022) as seen at Rand Airport on 12th January 2019 (Photo by Bruce Perkins)

Another take on RZM, ex-HA-LFO.

Announcement

Shrieking Gazelles

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