18 minute read
HISTORIC A/C 40
two-speed, two-stage-supercharged Merlin 66. The ‘D’ included several design changes but visibly the most notable was probably the installation of a new Plexiglas ‘bubble’ canopy for improved all-around vision (the early canopies suffered with limited rear visibility). This most celebrated version flew at a maximum speed of 440 miles per hour and if left climbing could reach a ceiling of almost 42,000 feet (that’s above the service ceiling limits of most commercial jets!).
These aircraft proved a game-changer as the P-51’s performance, and therefore combat superiority, increased significantly. That, combined with the aircraft’s amazing range, meant the German Luftwaffe took a huge, unexpected knock as their recorded losses of Me109s and Fw 190s increased dramatically. Contrary Mary
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“This most celebrated
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A Plane of Firsts
Our stunning picture aircraft was built in 1944 as a P-51D and was one of the last Mustangs built by North American. Just before the Korean War it was converted to an F-51D and was shipped to South Korea where it served with the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Kimpo. But Mustangs were phased out in favour of jet technology, which in Korea took the shape of the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star jet fighter. So the Mustangs were retired back to the USA. You will have likely noticed already that the canopy on this one is elongated to accommodate a second pilot. During its restoration, between 2005 to 2007, it was converted to a training variant, so this is called a TF-51D (‘T’ for Training). There are two main conversions possible to add a back seat in a Mustang — one is a ‘jump seat’ and aimed to give people the ‘Mustang experience’; and the other is a full second cockpit and can be used for training pilots converting on to the type. Either way, getting airborne in a Mustang is something very special indeed. The livery is that of ‘Contrary Mary’ - USAAF 84th Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group USAAF (Duxford, UK) as flown by pilot Lt Col Roy B Caviness. Lt. Col. Roy Caviness was a highly decorated USAAF pilot. The Squadron was stationed at Duxford with its primary mission being to escort heavy bombers to Berlin. But they also took part in fighter sweeps and ground-attack missions.
The Mustang was the first US-built fighter to press into the European theatre after the fall of France. And it was the first single-engine aircraft based in Britain to reach Berlin.
In his comments about using the Mustang to escort bomber raids over Germany, Mustang ace Brig. Gen. Thomas ‘Tommy’ Hayes said that the Merlin-powered P-51 “had the three qualities you need most if you were going to escort bombers to Berlin – range, range and range!” Add to that Mustang ace Col. Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson’s comments about performance, when he said that the Mustang “went like hell!” It’s fair to say it was a very well-liked aircraft and it was nothing short of formidable in its military role. But one of the highest accolades formally recorded was following its review in 1944 by the Truman Senate War Investigating Committee who said [at the time] that it was “the most aerodynamically perfect pursuit plane in existence.”
The Mustang served the allied forces proudly right through to the end of the war. Not only was it capable of escorting bombers all the way to Germany (and able to return) but it’s all-round performance gave it superb qualities in a number of combat applications — it had speed, superb high-altitude performance, excellent low-altitude handling performance, and of course it had the range to get to Berlin and back. And, towards the end of the war, it could go head-to-head with Germany’s incredible jet fighter; the Me262.
But the story doesn’t end there as the Mustang continued its active service following WWII in multiple theatres, including notably as a ground-attack fighter in the Korean War (1950–53). During this time the ‘P’ was changed to an ‘F’ for Fighter. When the North American assembly line in Dallas, Texas finally closed its doors on Mustang production, more than 15,000 Mustangs had been built. In the European theatre the Mustang destroyed nearly 5,000 enemy aircraft and destroyed more than 4,000 targets on the ground, having flown very close to 214,000 missions.
Can I have a go!?
Yes! If you fancy getting your hands on Mary please contact www.warbirdflights.co.uk for the ultimate warbird experience. If there’s two of you, you could even go for a tail-chase with a two-seat Me109 or fly wingman with a two-seat Mk. IX Spitfire!
For information on owning a warbird or a vintage aircraft, please contact ww.TASCvintage.com
Spec:
Type: North American P-51D Mustang Wingspan: 11 m MGW: 5,490 kg Powerplant: 1,490 hp VNE: 440 mph (IAS) Cruise speed: 360 mph (IAS) Service ceiling: 41,900 ft More info: www.TASCVintage.com
AERIAL EUROPE
WORK MULTI MISSIONS • INTEGRATION • TECHNOLOGIES • SERVICES +44 208 255 4000 www.AvBuyer.com MARCH 2022
AERIAL WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
The Conservationists of Aerial Work Aviation
So commonly, we forget by definition that humans are animals, part of an ecosystem just like any other lifeform on the planet. With that, it’s critical that humans balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people, i.e., Wildlife Management. If you didn’t know, Aerial Work aviation is a significant player in this effort of protecting and preserving the species and habitats between humans and the environment of the world.
Every day, many men and women are committed to protecting species and habitats. In most cases, a handful of wildlife management professionals cover thousands of square miles on foot, SUVs, and horses across many diverse ecological corners of the globe to preserve the natural world we know. Unfortunately, they are at times out-manned and under-equipped in their efforts to end issues like poaching and illegal logging. However, when it comes to wildlife managers around the globe mitigating these challenges, the power of aviation is a critical tool in giving them the upper hand or chance to succeed. The Aerial Work aviation sector is working hard to provide aerial conservation services while taking direct responsibility to help defend endangered wildlife in remaining protected and remote areas by delivering specialised aviation capabilities to government agencies and conservation organisations. To better understand what this Aerial Work aviation sector actually does, we need to focus on what Wildlife Management and the types of Aerial Conservation aviation explicitly provide. Additionally, like other Aerial Work aviation sectors, we need to concentrate on the specific types of aircraft and technology they employ or ‘what works best’ for the Wildlife Management community to get the right results.
Wildlife Management Triad
In its basic form, Wildlife Management controls interactions among and between flora and fauna, habitats, and people to achieve predefined effects. It tries to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best available science. Wildlife Management can include wildlife conservation, gamekeeping, and pest control.
As mentioned before, today, wildlife conservation has evolved into a science. Still, its goal remains essentially the same, i.e., to ensure the wise use and management of renewable resources — maintaining a healthy relationship between the ecosystem of humans and the environment. Given the right circumstances and effort, living organisms that we call renewable resources in our world’s ecosystem can replenish themselves indefinitely. The bottom line is that conservation is the wise use of natural resources without wasting them. Simply, it’s a management environment that is built around 1. People, 2. Habitats, and 3. Wildlife — i.e., a ‘Triad’. Within this, there are two general types of Wildlife Management methods used: Manipulative Management, and Custodial Management: Manipulative Management
Manipulative Management acts on a specific wildlife population, either changing its numbers by direct means or influencing numbers by the indirect means of altering food supply, habitat, the density of predators, or disease occurrence. This effort is appropriate when a population decreases or increases to an unacceptable level. Custodial Management
Custodial Management is preventive or protective. Custodial Management aims to minimise external influences on the population and its habitat. For example, it is appropriate in a national park where one of the stated goals is to protect ecological processes through control mechanisms. It is also appropriate to conserve a threatened species where the threat is of external origin rather than being natural to the system, e.g., feeding animals by park visitors, which is generally discouraged.
Aerial Conservation Operations
So, what does this unique Aerial Work sector do to support the Wildlife Management Triad? From an obvious utility and essential perspective, Aerial Work aviation provides the means to mitigate the tyranny of distance, time, and expense associated with managing large areas of habitats and specific ecosystems. However, the specific types of services and flight operations routinely requested and conducted by aerial conservationists are much different from other Aerial Work sectors but designed to support the Wildlife Management community. Types of Services
Even though Aerial Conservation services are adaptable to all wildlife and conservation operations, the primary services provided to Wildlife Management government officials and managers included:
Analysis – Analysis delivers actual or near real-time situational information and monitoring of species and habitats for all key end-users as needed, e.g., helping assess risk, monitoring, and crisis decision-making. Prevention – Prevention provides better capabilities for an organisation to help reduce the likelihood of damaging or illegal activity associated with particular habitats and species. Intervention – Intervention is people’s deliberate and targeted involvement in changing wild species’ population, structure, or distribution, particularly terrestrial mammals and birds.
Transportation – Transportation moves humans, flora & fauna, plus equipment and technology associated with specialised wildlife management tasks, e.g., capturing, gathering biological samples, placing radio & satellite collars, and handling wild animals. To break this down further and as a sample, aerial conversationists routinely provide these types of focused services: • Habitat and Rangeland Evaluation • Aerial Census and Classification • Animal Capture through Herding, Drive Netting,
Corral Trapping, Net Gunning, or Chemical
Immobilisation • Feral Animal and Predator Eradication • Veterinary Services from Vaccination to
Transportation • Population Management • Fowl Nest Surveys •. And many more… Types of Flight Operations
As mentioned before, Aerial Conservation services undertake a wide variety of concentrated tasks. This could include aerial counts, drop-offs for ground surveys in remote areas, darting, chemical immobilisation, net gunning, taking, classification, herding, drive netting, corralling, and supporting research projects. To get a feel for what it takes to fly one of these operations, a typical aerial wildlife survey or count requires an aircraft to fly ‘low & slow’ so aerial observers can adequately identify their target species.
For waterfowl counts, fixed-wing aircraft generally fly 500ft between targeted waterbodies. When over the waterbody, aircraft generally descend to 100-150ft at a ground speed of 90 to 110 knots (22 knots for rotorwing aircraft) to correctly acquire, track and identify. When it comes to medium & large mammal counts (e.g., deer, wild pigs, goats, and even kangaroos), fixed-wing aircraft will be flown at a height of 250ft and a ground speed of 100 knots, while rotor-wing aircraft at a height of 150ft and a ground speed of 50 knots.
Aerial Conservationist
With an ever-growing human population and shrinking natural habitats worldwide, this onerous duty of Wildlife Management primarily lies with government bodies, charities, and privately hired gamekeepers and contractors.
When it comes to the aviators that support such organisations, the majority are non-profit groups, private aviation firms, or independent contractors hired to provide specific aerial services. Here are three Aerial Work organisations that genuinely specialise in or focus on Aerial Wildlife Management operations: Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Airwing The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Airwing was established in 1990 with more than 40 pilots to provide air support services to wildlife management efforts across Kenya. The airwing is based at Wilson Airport in Nairobi with an active fleet of 12 light and three medium aircraft, including a Bell 206 helicopter, Cessna 182, Cessna 206, Cessna 208 Caravan, and four Aviat Huskys. KWS Airwing provides law enforcement services and patrol flights, veterinary support services for research and translocation purposes, animal tracking, wildlife census, firefighting, rescue work, and transportation of rations and supplies, including ammunition for antipoaching operations. Canadian Wildlife Capture Canadian Wildlife Capture (CWC) was formed in 2012 to assist users in the ongoing management of wildlife. CWC is based out of Powell River, B.C., and works throughout Western Canada. CWC primarily uses MD500 helicopters to provide net gunning, darting, ear tagging, radio/satellite collar mounting, biological sampling, control/removal/culling, and animal relocations.
The Bateleurs Formed in 1998, The Bateleurs is a South African nonprofit company that provides decision-makers, researchers, educators, and other non-profit companies with an aerial perspective of the environment. Since its formation, the Bateleurs has coordinated several diverse missions throughout South Africa and Africa generally to support conservation and wildlife issues.
On 27 July 2021, eight African Wild Dogs were relocated successfully from South Africa and Mozambique to Liwonde National Park and Majete Wildlife Reserve, in an historic project to reintroduce this endangered species to Malawi. Bateleurs volunteers accomplished the translocation project flying a Pilatus PC-12 with its capabilities of providing a spacious cabin for eight sedated dogs, high-speed, an all-weather avionics system, and the ability to land on unpaved runways.
Aircraft & Kit Composition
to lighter-than-air (Aerostat) platforms. However, today’s predominant aircraft are still fixed-wing and rotary-wing manned aircraft. Manned Aircraft
The dominant aircraft types in the manned aircraft field are either single or twin-prop STOL/medium-lift airframes or modified light-lift rotary-wing platforms. In the task of habitat and rangeland evaluation, the most common aircraft are fixed-wing, such as: • ICP – ICP Savannah
• Cessna – C-172, C-180 • Pilatus – PC-12 Nothing matches a helicopter for animal capture through drive netting, corral trapping, net gunning, or chemical immobilisation. As mentioned before, helicopters can manoeuvre like a park ranger on horseback but with many more benefits. Some of the most common cost-effective but practical helicopters used today for aerial ‘down & dirty’ operations are: • Robinson – R22, R44 • Bell – Bell 407s • M.D. Helicopters – MD530FF
Unmanned Aircraft
In Wildlife Management, drone technology has become even more popular in recent years. Today, drones count animals that congregate, especially those in herds, such as snow goose and wildebeest. In addition, they’re used to finding and identifying animals in hard-to-access remote locations.
Additionally, drones are utilised in counter-poaching operations and to map habitats. The benefits of using such technology are evident in many fields, including environmental sciences.
Undoubtedly, unmanned Aerial Work aircraft are expanding in their support of the conservation sector. In addition, the unmanned aircraft industry sector is expanding its platform options to supply park rangers and researchers with an affordable option to make a difference between saving a species or failure. Like the manned aircraft sector, the unmanned sector is currently expanding in flying the skies over forests, oceans, and urban areas with both fixed-wing and rotary-wing unmanned aircraft, but on a much lower and smaller scale – for now.
Depending on the scale of the project, the current leading providers of data collecting platforms in the unmanned aircraft OEM sector are:
• Unmanned Research – Long Ranger 7, Osprey
Mark III (Gas or Electric) • DJI – Phantom 4 RTK
• SenseFly – eBee Plus
Summary
As you can see, the Aerial Work aviation sector plays a critical part in many global Wildlife Management efforts. Remarkably, both manned and unmanned aircraft of all types are used to protect and preserve the species and habitats between humans and the world’s environment. Because of the unique capabilities aircraft deliver, the Wildlife Management and Conservationist community are better equipped to make a difference.
Even though mankind is just one part of a more extensive ecosystem, it has more of the responsibility to ensure the balance between all creatures and things. Besides researchers, park rangers, veterinarians, and volunteers of all types managing species and habitats, the Aerial Work aviation sector will continue to stay in the field directly working with these conservationists to make a difference.
Until endangered and threatened species are fully protected, Aerial Work aviation will continue to fly in the most vulnerable habitats to help preserve our physical plant. ■
Special Transportation with a PILATUS PC-12
By Raymond Steyn Authorised Pilatus Centre Southern Africa, (PTY) Ltd.
Wild animals are frequently moved around by aircraft and helicopter in southern Africa, but it is not often, however, that a PC-12 is used to transport wild dogs. Such an unusual assignment is not without its challenges, as you will find out below.
Towards the end of November 2016, ‘The Bateleurs’ (see Box) received a request to move eight wild dogs by air. Five females and three males were to be relocated from KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa to the Northern Tuli Game Reserve in Botswana. The goal of the project was to expand the habitat of endangered African wild dogs in southern Africa, and also to increase the population in the region. To achieve this, they had been asked to assist in moving two groups of genetically unrelated wild dogs.
The PC-12: the Perfect Solution
Tim Webster and Raymond Steyn of the Authorised Pilatus Centre South Africa are both members of The Bateleurs, and volunteer both aircraft and piloting skills to the organisation. The centre agreed to do the transfer using a PC-12. The Swiss-made PC-12 was perfect for this job, which required all the characteristics that set this aircraft apart: a spacious cabin for the eight dogs, high speed for the relatively long distance, the ability to fly in bad weather if need be, and the option to land on unpaved runways. All in all, the PC-12 proved an indispensable ‘removal van’.
The move involved relocating five females from Tembe Elephant Park and three males from the UmPhafa Private Nature Reserve to the Northern Tuli Game Reserve. The project required meticulous preparation and good collaboration between the numerous organisations involved: the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), in care of overall planning, plus several wildlife protection organisations such as Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the WildlifeACT Fund, Colchester Zoo, Botswana Department of Wildlife and Veterinary services and the Northern Tuli Game Reserve.
Good Planning is Essential
The sun had not yet risen when the two pilots, Tim and Raymond, arrived at Lanseria International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, to prepare the PC-12 (ZSNYM) for the flight. Inside the cabin, all the seats except two, for the vet and his assistant, were removed. Plastic sheeting was also rolled out over the floor to prevent any animal fluids from contaminating the aircraft.
The two pilots were about to start on a very long day! The plan was to fly to Ladysmith to collect the three males and the vet before heading to Mkuze to collect the five females. Then there would be a stop at Polokwane International Airport to clear immigration and customs before the PC-12 could fly its precious cargo on to Limpopo Valley Airport in Botswana, where the wild dogs would be released into their new home.
Bad Weather and Sleeping Dogs
The team had to wait for a long time at Lanseria due to bad weather. A gap in the front finally allowed them to depart for Ladysmith to board the three males and their vet. Further bad weather forced the PC-12 to divert to Richard’s Bay Airport, 150 km from Mkuze, to pick up the five female wild dogs. Some time later, the PC-12 finally took off from Richard’s Bay with all eight wild dogs on board.
The next stop was Polokwane to clear customs and immigration. The airport officials were extremely helpful. Even for them, clearing wild dogs through customs and immigration was by no means an everyday experience. We suspect the nature of the ‘cargo’ probably helped to ensure that the stopover was completed in only 20 minutes! The customs officers were fascinated by the sleeping dogs, but also rather worried they might wake up before the PC-12 was off the tarmac again.
Successful Outcome
After the short stopover in Polokwane, the PC-12 continued on to Northern Tuli Game Reserve. Luckily, there were no veterinary emergencies during the flight and all eight dogs arrived at their new home in Botswana in good health, if still slightly groggy from the anaesthetic. The project has been a great success, and the dogs have settled down very well in their new habitat.
THE BATELEURS
Founded in 1998, ‘The Bateleurs’ (named after a breed of Eagle) is a South African non-profit organisation with around 200 volunteers. The pilots fly to preserve and protect the various ecosystems in this part of the world, and coordinate missions to support environmental projects. Assignments include wildlife protection flights, for example relocations and game counts.
