Hi all,
(For days 1 & 2 see the 'Rest of the World' part of the forum, as long as the item hasn't been moved by a moderator)
After a few days of warming up, today was the first of our base visits, so everybody was very eager to see wwhat the day would bring. In 2011 this (northeastern) part of the country suffered from heavy rainfall and flooding, even forcing us to change bus for two days as our touring car didn’t have enough clearance above the flooded roads. And during our visit at China Bay at the time there was no flying activity at all due to the weather. How different things were this time, the sun was out all day!
SLAF China Bay
1 Flying Training Wing (1 FTW):
SBT-150 Ce.150L
SBT-151 Ce.150L
SBT-152 Ce.150L
SBT-153 Ce.150L
SBT-154 Ce.150L
SBT-155 Ce.150L
SJT-740 K-8 c/n L83200219
SJT-744 K-8 c/n L83200222
SJT-746 K-8 c/n L83200224
SJT-748 K-8 c/n L83200315
SJT-1612 K-8
SJT-1613 K-8 c/n L83200206
SBT-181 PT-6A c/n 6432024
SBT-182 PT-6A c/n 6432025
SBT-186 PT-6A no mks, c/n 6432028
SBT-187 PT-6A c/n 6432029
SBT-189 PT-6A c/n 6432031
SBT-191 PT-6A c/n 7132004
SBT-192 PT-6A c/n 7132005
SBT-194 PT-6A c/n 7132006
SBT-196 PT-6A c/n 7132008
SBT-1162 PT-6A c/n 6832022
3 squadron:
SMR-843 Be.200T c/n BB-1314
(SMR-846) Do.228 serial assumed and given by Be.200 crew
Elsewhere:
CJ707 Jet Provost mk.51 pr gate
A great visit we had here, hospitality and openness couldn’t have been any better! At the FTW a large part of their inventory had been put outside especially for us, and was rearranged a couple of times on demand. To top it off one PT-6 did a demonstration flight (including lots of yellow smoke as they use when performing as the Blue Eagles display team), and a Ce.150 did an engine test and taxi run over the runway. All PT-6s have received a new colourscheme since my visit in 2011, so it was very nice to be able to photograph that now. And after asking around a technician provided a list of the (so far still unknown) construction numbers of the newest batch of PT-6s! Very valuable info for us of course.
Next it was time for some refreshments (which were welcomed as it was very hot), after which we visited 3 squadron. This is still a relatively new squadron with dedicated surveillance tasks. They have also one Y-12 assigned, but that was away for maintenance at Katunayake. A second Do.288 had already been returned to India allegedly. The Beech 200 flew a mission, giving us many options for action photography as well. Only downside was we were not allowed to photograph or even look at the Do.228, as this is still owned by the Indian navy. So the exact type and construction number remain unknown (anybody who knows more?).
When finally done here, we were invited to have lunch and spend the afternoon in a beach resort owned by the air force. Although the lunch wsa rather spicy, it tasted well, and the beach was great. At the end of the afternoon we drove back in the direction of Colombo, but we didn’t have to go too far as tomorrow we would be visiting our next airbase in the middle of the country. Tonight the group was divided over two hotels, due to shortage of rooms, and I was lucky enough to end up in the hotel that wasn’t too concerned about the non-alcoholic day the government had imposed. So we celebrated the success of our first base visit well, while the rest of the group had to stick to coke….
As always, additions, corrections and comments are welcome.
That’s all folks!
Patrick Dirksen
Tristar Aviation
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