SA342J YU-HEV (cn 1393) Start and Depart
More Gaz drivers with Yorkshire accents!
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SA342J YU-HEV (cn 1393) Start and Depart
More Gaz drivers with Yorkshire accents!
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SA341F2 ZU-HHP (cn 1597) as seen at Durban's Virginia Airport in South Africa on 13th May 2016 (Photo: Brian Spurr)Comment
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Last year I bought this SA341G Gazelle from the Philippines, after some months of attention it is now airworthy again and registered as N341DT. It will get a fresh paint job, new interior finish and new avionics in the next couple of months.
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XB has mentioned he's not so keen on the present colour scheme of his latest Gaz, so let us suggest him an alternative - a tribute to one of the aircraft's original schemes when she flew with the German police, but using the Belgian colours!
Sorry for lousy drawing, I'm far from Photoshop expert
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Ah yes .. this was the scheme for the Nordrhein-Westfalen Gazelles but .. the best thing about that scheme were the colours .. which just happened to be the same as those for Italy!
N341DT: XB, have you test flown this aircraft yet? If so, can you write something about how she flies, is she as smooth as the X-Craft and are you pleased with her handling? She's looks like a 'clean' craft.
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As promised, John Biczok has sent us some more of his rare Gazelle photos and in relation to which he writes:
These photos were all taken in July 1978 at a small temporary camp established by Mattagami Lake Exploration Co. beside the Dempster Highway (a dirt road actually) in the northern Yukon.
We had a JetRanger from Shirley Helicopters on contract for the month but we made use of their Gazelle also. The guy with all the hair in one of the photos is me! We were all rather dirty and long-haired after a couple of months working in the Yukon mountains and in northern BC, but it was a wonderful experience.
Shirley Helicopters SA341G C-GSHL (cn 1200) as seen at Mattagami Lake Exploration Co.'s Dempster Highway exploration camp in the northern Yukon, Canada, July 1978. All photos by John Biczok.
Our great thanks to John for these wonderfully nostalgic photos!
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John,
If you are reading this then I would like to say a very big thank you for your contribution of these photos. You have helped to recover and save an interesting part of the Gazelle's history in Canada and for which we are very grateful!
Looking forward to see next result of your old storage boxes inspection!
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Some things remain beautiful even after 32 years!
The Shirley Helicopters Gazelle (s/n 1200) flying as N868DT (with XB's registration letters!) departing Cable Airshow on January 9th, 2010. (Photo: Trent Bell)
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Republika Srpska
Serb Republic Police Gazelle May 2016Comment
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YU-HEV
SA342J YU-HEV (cn 1393) as seen at Stapleford Aerodrome on 18th July 2014 (Photo: Cole Goldberg)
'HEV' has appeared a few times in recent posts, including featuring in a couple of short video clips. Here she is seen in 2014 at the MWH hangar at Stapleford undergoing maintenance. Some may recall from our 'Gazelles For Sale' thread that she was up for sale last year. Perhaps GazEngineer can tell us who is standing next to her in the orange coveralls?
With many thanks to Cole for his permission to post this photo which he took while visiting from Ohio.
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Gaz Memorabilia
In case any of our UK readers are interested in some Gaz memorabilia, there's a vintage Westland Gazelle brochure currently available on ebay Ireland.
If anyone does end up getting this, both Zis and I would be grateful for some scans.Comment
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Great stuff guys! As long as it ends up in the 'Gaz Family' (ie. with those who read Shrieking Gazelles .. lol) and if whoever gets it can arrange for it to be scanned then we'll put the photos up on the thread. I wouldn't mind writing up something about the aircraft which appear on the page which has six Gazelles on it.
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Helikopterski Servis Republike Srpske
Helicopter Service of the Republic of Srpska SA342
BAG's (British Army Gazelles)
SA341B XZ349 (cn WA1720) as seen at Greenham Common in June 1981
349 may potentially be available for civvie use in the future as my records state that she is currently stored at Shawbury.
British Army Gazelle providing post-war logistical support in the Falkland Islands in 1983
This service was commonly referred to by army personnel at 'TITS' this being the acronym for 'The Inter-island Taxi Service'.Comment
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I-PNIC as seen in Mergozzo, Piedmont
Pilot Training Courses now available (in tablet compatible format) see here.Comment
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French Gazelle at Tiger Meet in Zaragoza, Spain (May 2016)
Sorry, unable to find some bigger photo
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Russian Gazelles
Thanks to a recently published official Russian aircraft register the following Gazelle details have emerged:
RA-1324G SA341G, c/n ??
RA-1347G SA341G, c/n ??
RA-2520G SA341G, 1034, history F-WMHC, F-BUFB, I-LDAV, RA-2184G, RA-2520G
RA-05709 Westland SA341B Gazelle HT.1, 1184, history (G-BCHN), XX440(G), G-CHBJ, RA-05709
RA-05710 Soko SA341G, 55, history 12672(YU), YU-HDY, RA-05710
RA-05714 Soko SA341G, 52, history 12669(YU), YU-HDL, (4O-HJS), RA-05714
(All these registrations were hitherto unknown).
Cheers, Jos.
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Great stuff Jos.
I see you've been able to track down G-BCHN! If one could but find her sister-ship G-BCHM that would also be something - though some suggest she may have been used for parts.
Regarding 1034 (ex I-LDAV) we reported last year that she had become RA-2184G but your information is now showing that they've given her another allocation. http://www.aviafora.com/forums/forum...=3539#post3539
So, 4O-HJS which we were trying to track down on page 33, his now turned up in Russia! http://www.aviafora.com/forums/forum...=3454#post3454
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'Nellie'
SA342J(S) N624EL (cn 1094) as seen at Paris Issy-les-Moulineaux Heliport on 20th May 2016 (Photo: Paul Marais-Hayer)
'Nellie' as photographed yesterday in Paris.
.Read the latest news at ..
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YU-HEV
We're getting to see quite a bit of YU-HEV these days.
If anyone can identify the driver in the photo below, perhaps they can extend an invitation for him to join 'Shrieking Gazelles!'
YU-HEV and her driver
YU-HEV Departure: (Front Passenger View)
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YU-HEV was always a nice looking machine
http://www.aviafora.com/forums/forum...=2895#post2895
Pity there's no photo while she served in Kenyan AF, but probably was the same c/s
http://www.aviafora.com/forums/forum...=4707#post4707 -
Yes, she looked nice as F-GCCZ, especially in the Alps. I would say she almost certainly wore the same scheme while in Kenya given that the photo you linked was of her sister ship '402'. It can get a little confusing at times though, with both the Kenyan and Kuwaiti Air Force using 'KAF' followed by three numbers as their designation.
As mentioned at the bottom of the photo of '402', I am glad that the Kenyan's got to fly the 342 (given Kenya's generally hot and high conditions) as opposed to the 341's that the AAC were using there for years. I wonder whether 402 remains in Kenya?
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Gaz Art
Royal Navy Sharks performing the 'Roulette Break' by David LawrenceComment
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Unidentified African Gazelles
I have recently added these images to my collection but, I am not sure which defence Force they belong to.
If you look closely at the first image, there's another Gazelle behind it. Through the Perspex of the first machine can be seen a black-red-green roundel, colours which look like they could be Malawian. But I have no info about any Gazelles being operated by the Republic of Malawi!?
I would like to get confirmation about the identity of these Gazelles, especially because it looks like they could be refurbished UK military birds.
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Yes these are some of the 30 that were sold by the UK government. You are also correct in that they are Malawian. They also had UK civil registrations before going there.Originally posted by Zishelix View PostComment
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Hopefully this helps:Originally posted by Zishelix View PostSorry, unable to find a bigger photo.
L'armée de Terre SA342M 3862/GAL (cn 1862) as seen at Zaragoza Air Force Base in Spain on 20th May 2016 during the NATO Tiger Meet (Photo: Ricardo Aysa Calahorra)Comment
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Malawian Gazelles
I am awaiting additional feedback on this matter but from what I gather so far the Malawian Gazelles were part of a batch of five ex-British Army birds bought by the Paramount Group and which were sent to South Africa in 2014. All of these craft were put on the UK civilian register prior to their export.
The Gazelles bought by Paramount were:
CN. WA1999 ex-ZB688, ex-G-CHMF
CN. WA1237 ex-XX371, ex-G-CHLU
CN. WA1351 ex-XX409, ex-G-CHYV
CN. WA1409 ex-XX439, ex-G-CHLW
CN. WA1682 ex-XZ338, ex-G-CHZF
Unconfirmed reports are that four of these craft went to the Malawi Army Air Wing and one perhaps ended-up in the anti-poaching role.
In March 2014 we reported via 'Gaz News' see here that cn. 1999 had been donated by Paramount to the Kruger National Park's Anti-Poaching Unit and which means (in theory) that the remainer went to Malawi.
SA341B G-CHLW (cn WA1409) as seen at Waterkloof Air Force Base on 18th September 2014 (Photo: Gary Shephard)
CN. 1409 is seen above being showcased by Paramount at the 2014 Africa Aerospace & Defence Expo where they were marketing their Gazelles to various military customers.
If our guesses are correct then Malawi should have four 'new' serials, H-20 through to H-23 representing construction numbers 1237, 1351, 1409 and 1682.Comment
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SA342K KAF 514 (cn. 1341)
KAF SA342K
SA342K KAF 522 (cn. 1368)
KAF SA342K
SA342K KAF 522 (cn. 1368)Comment
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More YU-HEV
The photos keep rolling in for HEV, and for which of course we are most grateful:
SA342J YU-HEV (cn 1393) as seen at Ha'penny Green on 12th May 2016 (Photo: Robert Beaver)
The driver in this photo seems a little younger than the one in the last shot! Either way, if anyone involved with HEV happens upon this thread, please 'hop aboard' as it would be nice to keep seeing and hearing about this craft.
And one more for Zis ..
More from ..
L'armée de Terre SA342M 4146/GBY (cn 2146) as seen at Zaragoza Air Force Base in Spain on 20th May 2016 during the NATO Tiger Meet (Photo: Ricardo Aysa Calahorra)Comment
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ALAT SA342M 'GEI' (+1) 'Playing' at Château De Palayson Winery in Provence
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SA341C (cn WA1418) XX441 as seen at RNAS Yeovilton on 13th July 1996 (Photo: Rob Finch)
Seen here while with the Sharks display team in the year of their diamond jubilee. This craft went on to be exported to New Zealand where she became ZK-HBH and was thereafter sold to South Africa where she now flies as ZU-HBH.Comment
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Classic ALAT
L'armée de Terre SA342M 'AUS' as seen in Biltine, Chad in March 1984 (Photo: T. Laurent)
Still tracking down her construction number.Comment
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Yes it is a dump valve, but all Astazou engines have one. On the IIIN2 it's on the bottom of the engine pointing down.Astazou wrote: I think the vent is a dump valve for the extra air created by the 342 engine.
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Avia member Astazou has recently posted a number of comments on 'Shrieking Gazelles', to see his comments click here.
Agreed, skid fairings almost always make an aircraft more attractive and they are certainly designed with the view to providing a cleaner profile. The most dramatic example of the contrast (in terms of aesthetics) between wearing and not wearing skid fairings is the Hughes 500, which looks positively stork-like without them.I just love what the landing gear fairings do to the look of the helicopter. They are also rumored to pick up a mph or so....
Hopefully Steve, XB (or others) can get back to you but I image (as with most types with higher performance engine options) that the difference becomes more noticeable the higher you go. I think we've talked previously about the hourly fuel burn rates between the Astazou III and XIV but, I can't put my finger on that post at present. Perhaps someone can provide this information.Does the 342 fly better at sea level than a 341? I imagine that it drinks a good bit more fuel compared to a standard Gazelle.
Steve, have you heard of this company which recently set up business in York?Comment
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Yes it's a charter company set up by the corprate owner of the aircraft.
The pilot is also ex-mil and a Gazelle pilot called Steve! -
Ha ha, nice one!
Well, if ever you are invited to 'have a go' in the 429 please let us know as it is always interesting to hear different perspectives. I've heard that it is very pleasant to fly and has greater smoothness and stability than the EC135,
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XX415
SA341C XX415 (cn WA1367) CU/59 belonging to 705 Squadron c.1976
Shown above is the ill-fated XX415 which collided with XW859 on 13th June 1977 during a formation practice off Praa Sands in Cornwall. All occupants of both Gazelles (two in 415 and one in 859) were fatally injured in the accident. Two additional Gazelles which were part of the same formation practice landed safely despite having been damaged by flying debris.Comment
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