South African Defence Force Douglas C-47TP Dakota, 6840, with Table Mountain in the background, seen just a couple of weeks before the accident. Irene McCullagh

South African National Defence Force Douglas C-47TP Dakota 6840 crashed in bad weather near Giants Castle in the Drakensburg Mountains of KwaZulu-Natal on December 5, killing all 11 people on board. The machine was flying a transport mission from Waterkloof AFB, Pretoria, to Mthatha Airport in Eastern Cape Province. Operated by 35 Sqn, the Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprop-powered machine had only recently returned to service following overhaul. It was based at Ysterplaat Air Force Base, Cape Town, in the dual roles of general military transport and as the support aircraft for the national aerobatic display team, The Silver Falcons, in whose colours the Dakota was painted. The aircraft had served the South African military for 68 years: it started life as C-47A 43-48050, for delivery to the RAF as Dakota III KG767 in July 1944, but was transferred straight to the South African Air Force in August 1944. The aircraft served on the African continent and in the Mediterranean Theatre during the Second World War, and in the early 1990s was modified to C-47TP configuration, which included the fitting of the PT6A engines and a four-foot fuselage extension, and was subsequently used for maritime patrol work off the South African coast.

The PAC’s 1966-built Zlin Z-526A Akrobat c/n 1001/EC-BDS leading CASA 1.131 EC-FUU (centre) and EC-DAV at the Patrona of the Virgen of Lorento Air Festival at Sabadell on December 16. Jose Ramon

On December 16, 2012, at Barcelona Sabadell Airport, the Parc Aeronautic of Catalunya (PAC) Aeroclub, staged the Patrona of the Virgen of Lorento air festival to celebrate the patron saint of all aircraft and aircrews. The display was staged in front of PAC’s newly acquired 107,700ft2 site, close to the threshold of Sabadell’s runway 13, where a new 27,000ft2  hangar and museum is due to   be constructed this spring to house the PAC fleet.

The PAC is a non-profit foundation which promotes the use of vintage and veteran aircraft, and during 2013 will stage a flying event on the third Sunday of every month at Sabadell. The fleet ranges from a pair of airworthy CASA 1.131s (Spanish-built Bücker Jungmann) to a North American AT-6 Texan F-AZDU, and Dornier Do 27 EC-CHQ. Static exhibits include ex-Spanish Air Force Lockheed-T-33 E.15-48, McDonnell F-4C Phantom C12-26, and a Douglas C-47, EC-ASP, which flew as KK202 with 52 Sqn during 1944-45 from Dum Dum, Calcutta, and in 1946 was operated from Mingaladon, Burma.

Canadian Vickers PBV-1A Canso N427CV, seen during a test flight from Rand Airport, Johannesburg, in mid-December. Bruce Perkins

During January, combat veteran Canadian Vickers PBV-1A Canso N427CV began a ferry flight from Rand, South Africa, to San Diego, California, for owner Jim Slattery, who plans to eventually incorporate the amphibian in a purpose-built museum alongside several other warbirds.

Springbok Aviation Services at Rand has restored the machine to airworthy condition, and finished it in a representational pre-war US Navy scheme. The epic flight, taking the southern route, was to see N427CV stage through Walvis Bay, Namibia, then on to Luanda, Angola, Cameroon and Monrovia, Liberia, before crossing the South Atlantic to Natal, Brazil.