Sabre Superb

Once proven structurally sound the Sabre was stripped ready for its flight to RAAF Richmond by C-130E Hercules where additional D series service work would return the aircraft to its original pristine condition. In the hands of 2AD, 983 assumed the livery of the famous Black Diamonds aerobatic team of the sixties. It was another cause for celebration when, on 26th March, 1981, Sqdn. Ldr. D. Leach flew A94-983 on a successful test flight over the Blue Mountains, declaring the aircraft fully serviceable. Three days later, 983 was the star performer at the Schofields air show – a new career had begun.

Today 983 is the star attraction at any air show. The shining Sabre is nowadays flown by Sqdn. Ldr. Gerry Keogh, a highly experienced pilot who has also flown F-15s while on a two-year stint with USAF in addition to flying both the F-16 and the F-18 during their evaluation programme in the early eighties. Gerry logged around 450 hours on Sabres before they were replaced entirely by Mirages and still to this day believes the Sabre to be one of the finest aircraft he has flown.

The RAAF historic flight Sabre is budgeted for 25 flying hours per annum. As a typical air show routine lasts for between ten and twelve minutes, this leaves the bulk of flying hours for routine training and transit from AMF Richmond to the various air shows. 983 is accompanied on all its missions by a Caribou complete with a seven-man support team. Gerry Keogh would like the Caribou in time to be replaced by one of the remaining RAAF C-47 Dakotas. “A Dak painted in WWII livery could be used as our support aircraft and as a part of the show, in addition to the fact that the Dak would be faster and quieter for the crew than the Caribou presently used. The Edinburgh-based ARDU is nowadays the only RAAF unit with Dakotas and it seems unlikely they will be letting their Daks go for some considerable time as for their needs, the aircraft is simply irreplaceable. There are still several ex-RAAF C-47s that were disposed of during the early eighties that are still languishing in civilian hands which could be purchased but this is all in the future,” stated Gerry.

Service is conducted on 983 on a mission basis rather than flight hours as nowadays the aircraft is flying one-tenth the annual flight time of a fully operational CA-27. This then means that a thorough D service needs to be undertaken every eighteen months while the extent of post-mission servicing is more intensive due to the age and value of the aircraft. Most of the support team from 2AD are volunteers, as are the dedicated enthusiasts who pour thousands of manhours each year into restoring the large fleet of historic aircraft at RAAF Point Cook near Melbourne.

Following a D service and thorough rebuild of the aircraft as a precautionary measure following its inadvertent forced landing at Bendigo last November, 983 is set for another eighteen months of major air shows. The Bendigo incident actually highlighted the age of the aircraft; at 26 years the Sabre is older than most of her minders, a fact which in an unusual way contributed to the flame out that 983 experienced that day.

Though it was never written into the official flight manual, it was always standard practice to ensure that minimum engine idle revs were pitched slightly higher than normal when the aircraft was to be used for low level aerobatics or ground attack work. As the years passed and the pilots with operational experience on Sabres either retired or were relegated to flying desks at Russell Hill, the grassroots expertise eventually ebbed away till when 983 re-emerged in RAAF livery, the only manuals to go by were the official manuals of the fifties and sixties. Hence a flame out as Gerry Keogh was on the downwind leg preparing for a ‘garbage roll’ (a roll with the gear down) as a finale to the show.

“With engine revs down low and about 180kts in hand at 400ft altitude, the Avon literally suffocated. I was halfway through a 180-degree turn to line up with the runway for the roll when I noticed the generator light on; I immediately went for the throttle to spool up the engine and then realised it had died. Too low to attempt a restart and long ago having taken a conscious decision not to eject from the aircraft during a show; I had no option but to call a Mayday and go for a dead stick landing. This was aggravated by two Tiger Moths and a Winjeel which were on the runway awaiting takeoff clearance, in addition to the runway being too short for the Sabre anyway. ”

“The aircraft on the runway responded to my Mayday instantly but Tigers are not the world’s most manoeuvreable aircraft on the ground. Well, I guess my wing went within inches of one of the Tiger’s struts, narrowly missing the aircraft itself. I noticed a few policemen near the runway diving for cover and a number of parked cars just where I hoped they wouldn’t be, though as the Sabre ran into the mud it slowed quickly and came to a stop virtually unscathed. The interesting thing though is that the next day my phone never stopped ringing, with half the world telling me how they had the same thing happen to them and how the Avon needed to be idled high for aerobatics,” recounted Gerry Keogh. A94-983, the world’s ‘last remaining airworthy CA-27 is truly a Sabre Superb!

STOP PRESS: As irony would have learnt as we go to press the RAAF is to ground its only airworthy Sabre. Because of a change in policy aircraft is unlikely to be flown again for some time as-a part of the official RAAF Historic Flight. Please refer to Newsdesk for more information.