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Post by davebasing on Feb 18, 2020 10:35:10 GMT
Family holiday to Sri Lanka flying both ways on A330 4R-ALO. Some aeronautical notes which may be of help to anyone visiting this truly lovely and diverse island. Stored for the past 9 years on the civil side east of the bizjet ramp is this Ivory Coast registered Lanka Cargo Boeing 727 which I first saw back in 1983 in Dallas as N6837 of American AL, then as N315NE of the US Postal Service at Goodyear, Az in May 2004. IMG_9370 by dave tompkins, on Flickr Colombo Katunayake Airport is of course dominated by Sri Lanka AL (saw all but two of their short haul fleet on just my arrival and departure visits) but with a few other Asian & M East airliners of interest. IMG_9929 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9933 (2) by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9932 (2) by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9934 (2) by dave tompkins, on Flickr The Sri Lankan Air Force operate from the far side of the single runway. At about mid-point are the hangars of the Engineering Wing and the Mil 17 & 171 helicopters of 6Sq. On a pan just to the east of the helicopter hangars is a line of five Mil Hinds which have been stored there for some years. A single rotorless Mil 171 was in that line on arrival while an additional rotorless example had joined the line on departure some two and a half weeks later. Not sure if these two are instructional frames from the Engineering Wing or are simply in for maintenance. IMG_9396A by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9938A by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9936 (2A) by dave tompkins, on Flickr Another pan behind the helicopter hangars but visible from the runway holds three Mig 27s also stored for some time, while a single Mig 17 is preserved on the parade ground. IMG_9394A by dave tompkins, on Flickr Further west close to the 04 threshold are the pens & hangars of 5 & 10 Fighter Squadrons with Shenyang FT7s (Chinese built Mig 21s) and former Israeli IAI Kfirs, and 2 Sq with the two former RAF C130Ks and the three surviving active An32s. CR880 is the former XV203 while CR881 (XV213) was hangered engineless. IMG_9948 (2) by dave tompkins, on Flickr In downtown Colombo a Kfir is preserved on a pole outside the AF HQ and a Jet Provost just inside the Air Force Convention Hall, both easily visible from the road. At Koggala near Galle on the SW coast, BAe 748 SCM3101 is preserved at the Catalina Grill and sits beside the road between the runway and the beach. SCM3102 is similarly preserved at the Eagle Café beside the airport at Weerawila (It was at the 1978 Farnborough show as G-BDVH).IMG_9870 (2) by dave tompkins, on Flickr A third 748 is at the superb Air Force Museum at the former international airport at Ratmalana a few klicks south of Colombo city which will be the subject of Part 2 to follow.
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Post by gtf4j2m on Feb 18, 2020 15:40:22 GMT
Excellent photo's Dave, Thanks for posting. Always nice to see content from out of the way places
Graham GTF4J2M
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Post by Jeff on Feb 18, 2020 20:11:04 GMT
Lovely, thanks Dave
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Post by davebasing on Feb 21, 2020 14:53:29 GMT
Part 2. Officially opened in 2009, the Sri Lanka AF Museum is situated on the former Colombo international airport at Ratmalana just south of the city and once served by the likes of BOAC Comet 1s. It is still active both as a civil and military airfield and domestic and short haul international services from there have recently been permitted. The civil side has a Cessna 404 4R-SEA preserved outside the terminal and a Lake LA4 (4R-CEA with parts of –CEB) preserved slightly further on towards the museum entrance. In addition to light aircraft, the civil ramp held ATR72 4R-EXN (one time EI-RED) recently acquired by based FitsAir; a former Lion Air (Sri Lanka) AN24 marked “training aid” (anyone know its identity?); and a real surprise in airworthy NAMC YS11 RP-C2252 still in basic Japan Air System colours (advertised for sale at a fly away price of just 45,000 Euro!). The military are on the far side with King Air 200, Harbin Y12 and Bell 206,212 & 412 choppers. If you ever see Bell 412 SH-4201 you will never know which one it really is as all of the VIP flight Bell 412s carry this serial to confuse would-be terrorists as to which one is actually carrying the VIP in any given formation flight!! This colourful Air Force Nanchang PT6 departed while I was there. IMG_9442 by dave tompkins, on Flickr Entry to the museum is the equivalent of $15 US for foreigners. Very well laid out and maintained but the vegetation sometimes makes photography (which is permitted but not of the active military ramp) of the larger types rather difficult. There is also a nice gift shop (Baseball caps under £1 , T Shirts under £2 and I bought a rather nice aircraft motif tie for around £2.50). Just a few shots from the museum. If you’re wondering why a seemingly Cayman registered Auster is preserved there, VP-C was the pre-independence sequence for Ceylon. A civil Kitfox and Hiller UH12 are also on display. As a former British colony, many of the aircraft displayed are of UK build, Doves, Herons (one a Riley conversion), Jet Provosts, Balliols, BAe 748, Tiger Moth, SAL Pioneer, Westland Dragonfly and a selection of Chipmunks (2 of which remain airworthy). This rather modified Dove is in the children’s play area while the Heron fuselage is in use as a café/bar. IMG_9456 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9467 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9452 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9409 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9422 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9424 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9458 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9468 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9487 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9507 by dave tompkins, on Flickr There are no less than 5 SF260s displayed (2 of which remain airworthy), including CT127 which was the former demonstrator I-TPTP which appeared at the Farnborough show in 1982. IMG_9506 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9427 by dave tompkins, on Flickr Russian and Chinese types are displayed as is an Argentine built Pucara one of 4 acquired in 1992 for counter insurgency duty. The other surviving Pucara is preserved just south of the airport at the Defence University which also has a Cessna 337 and 3 further SF260s. 2 Israeli built Kfirs; and 2 SA365 Dauphins are also there among the US built choppers. IMG_9485 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9421 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9490 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9489 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9488 by dave tompkins, on Flickr IMG_9479 by dave tompkins, on Flickr Perhaps strangely there is a display of crashed Sri Lankan AF aircraft containing the mortal remains of an AN32, SF260, Chipmunk and a Nanchang PT6. IMG_9428 by dave tompkins, on Flickr Also displayed is the wreck of a Tamil Tigers Zlin 143 (Tamil Ealam Air Force serial 905 c/n unknown) which crashed fatally due to artillery fire short of its target at Ratmalana in 2009 during the civil conflict while on a suicide mission with 215kg of explosives on board. Although it was being chased down by a Sri Lankan AF Chengdu F7 at the time, it is displayed in a diorama being pursued by a Kfir (in this case one which crashed on landing at Ratmalana in 1997 and was re-built for the museum using some rather non-standard parts). IMG_9434 by dave tompkins, on Flickr Not an exhibit but while there this rather large Land Monitor (relative of the Komodo Dragon) decided to cross my path. Went on to see many more on the holiday, plus over 80 species of birds, leopard, wild elephant etc. All in all a really lovely island to visit. IMG_9515 by dave tompkins, on Flickr
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Post by davebasing on Feb 21, 2020 15:06:01 GMT
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Post by filair on Feb 21, 2020 17:44:21 GMT
Thanks Dave,what a super looking museum. And a Balliol as well!!
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Post by gtf4j2m on Feb 21, 2020 22:48:15 GMT
Brilliant but how could forget an Auster. I shall to think about a visit
Graham GTF4J2M
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Post by davebasing on Feb 22, 2020 8:39:45 GMT
Thanks Dave,what a super looking museum. And a Balliol as well!! Not just one Balliol, there's another one inside - IMG_9493 by dave tompkins, on Flickr
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Post by jargon on Feb 22, 2020 11:56:22 GMT
Hi Dave Your Antonov 'training aid' defies my attempt to identify it, but I did manage to find this picture after a relentless google (the third slide on the slideshow at the bottom of the screen) which I'm guessing is the correct aircraft. Maybe an email request will elicit the details?? www.airport.lk/rma/flight_info/asian_aviation.phpRegards John
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Post by graham on Feb 22, 2020 12:05:59 GMT
Superb Dave, thanks for taking the time to post the photos and narrative
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Post by davebasing on Feb 22, 2020 19:02:49 GMT
Hi Dave Your Antonov 'training aid' defies my attempt to identify it, but I did manage to find this picture after a relentless google (the third slide on the slideshow at the bottom of the screen) which I'm guessing is the correct aircraft. Maybe an email request will elicit the details?? www.airport.lk/rma/flight_info/asian_aviation.phpRegards John Many thanks for your efforts John and for the link. Much appreciated. That matches my picture through the fence of the back end of the beast which carried no visible registration. Lion Air (Sri Lanka), which was based at Ratmalana, ceased some years ago after losing another AN24 which was EW- registered so my machine has probably been sat there for some time though perhaps not in the open as it now is. Best wishes Dave
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Post by davebasing on Feb 22, 2020 19:30:32 GMT
Hi Dave Your Antonov 'training aid' defies my attempt to identify it, but I did manage to find this picture after a relentless google (the third slide on the slideshow at the bottom of the screen) which I'm guessing is the correct aircraft. Maybe an email request will elicit the details?? www.airport.lk/rma/flight_info/asian_aviation.phpRegards John John , you encouraged me to do some more digging. My AN24 turns out to be UN-46655 (c/n 47309301) which Lion Air acquired from Air Kazakhstan in 1998 not long before Lion ceased trading. It was seemingly initially just abandoned at Ratmalana but acquired by the engineering company at least by 2010 and has indeed spent most of the time inside their training hangar. Looking more closely at my crafty shot taken through a fence and trees its wings have been removed just outboard of the engines.
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Post by jargon on Feb 22, 2020 20:31:46 GMT
Hi Dave Your Antonov 'training aid' defies my attempt to identify it, but I did manage to find this picture after a relentless google (the third slide on the slideshow at the bottom of the screen) which I'm guessing is the correct aircraft. Maybe an email request will elicit the details?? www.airport.lk/rma/flight_info/asian_aviation.phpRegards John John , you encouraged me to do some more digging. My AN24 turns out to be UN-46655 (c/n 47309301) which Lion Air acquired from Air Kazakhstan in 1998 not long before Lion ceased trading. It was seemingly initially just abandoned at Ratmalana but acquired by the engineering company at least by 2010 and has indeed spent most of the time inside their training hangar. Looking more closely at my crafty shot taken through a fence and trees its wings have been removed just outboard of the engines. Well done Dave pleased you found it, I was getting nowhere on the internet which was surprising bearing in mind the size of the Aircraft and the airfield it's on, but as you say it may have been mainly hangered. Regards John
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Post by graham on Feb 23, 2020 12:40:45 GMT
Morning Dave, this is the "based" list according to PlaneBase, might help to ID a few?
Airport : Ratmalana 4R-ACE PA-34 200T Seneca II 34-7770102 Private VCCC 4R-ACJ 152 15283386 Private VCCC 4R-ASC R44 Astro 0085 Sakurai Aviation Ltd VCCC 4R-CEB Buccaneer LA-4-200 999 Private VCCC 4R-EXO 208 EX 208B5455 Fits Aviation VCCC 4R-KKP 172M Skyhawk 17267000 Private VCCC 4R-MAL R66 0068 Millennium Airlines Ltd VCCC 4R-MDB 152 15284996 Private VCCC 4R-MSS Squirrel AS.350 B3 7200 Air Senok VCCC 4R-MVS Squirrel AS.350 B3 7201 Air Senok VCCC 4R-RSW 172N Skyhawk 17271542 Private VCCC 4R-SEA 404 Titan 404-0833 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC 4R-UAB 152 15284335 Private VCCC CH-520 412 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC CH-521 412 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC CH-525 Ka-26 7001410 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC CH-529 412 EP Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SUH-547 212 31236 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC CH-578 Sioux H 2061 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC CH-579 Sioux H 2062 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC CH-581 Mi-17 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC CH-582 Mi-17 V-5 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SMH-595 Mi-171 59489611073 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SMH-596 Mi-171 Sh 59489611084 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC CA-603 Pucara IA.58A 102 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SMH-4419 Mi-171 Sh Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SMH-4420 Mi-171 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SMH-4421 Mi-171 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SMH-4422 Mi-171 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SMH-4425 Mi-171 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SMR-843 King Air B200 BB-1314 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SCL-852 Y-12 II 0014 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SCL-853 Y-12 II 0015 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SCL-854 Y-12 II 0018 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SCL-855 Y-12 II 0019 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SCL-858 Y-12 II 0022 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SCL-859 Y-12 II 0027 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SCM-860 An-32 B 3501 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SCM-863 An-32 B 3508 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC CR-866 An-32 B 3601 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SCM-868 An-32 B 3410 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SCM-869 An-32 B 3504 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SMR-2202 King Air B200 BB-1900 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SCL-3124 Y-12 IV 037 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SCL-3125 Y-12 IV 038 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC SCL-3127 Y-12 II 0038 Sri Lankan Air Force VCCC UN-46655 An-24 RV 47309301 Lionair
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Post by davebasing on Feb 23, 2020 17:50:53 GMT
Thanks Graham, much appreciated. Confirms my AN24. Pucara CA-603 is the one outside at the Defence University just south of the airfield. The AN32s are based at Katunayaki (the main Colombo airport) rather than at Ratmalana though some parts of the wreck of CR866 which was written off at Palaly in 2003 were dumped at Ratmalana (It used to be just outside the museum fence but I didn't see it when there). Cessna 404 4R-SEA was never an Air Force aircraft, it was bought by Aero Lanka in 2003 ex N404AM and is the one preserved outside the civil terminal. Sioux CH578 and KA26 CH-525 are actually in the museum. If anyone goes there it might help them to know that King Air SMR-2202 is white while SMR-843 is the grey one.
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