Nome: Spirit of Wilderness
Matricula: ZS-DLI
Tipo e Modelo: Piper Super Cub modelo PA18
Ano:1955
Estas fotos chegaram-me via Celestino Gonçalves um expert em Fauna Selvagem que viveu em Moçambique.
Aqui mando a fotografia onde estou em primeiro plano, com o Paul Dutton, ecologiosta sul africano que trabalhou em Moçambique, junto do seu avião que ele batizou de "Spirit of Wilderness".Foto tirada em 1982, na Reserva de Caça de Pilenesburg, Boputotswana, quando o Paul ali foi fazer um trabalho de reintrodução de rinocerontes.
Aqui mando a fotografia onde estou em primeiro plano, com o Paul Dutton, ecologiosta sul africano que trabalhou em Moçambique, junto do seu avião que ele batizou de "Spirit of Wilderness".Foto tirada em 1982, na Reserva de Caça de Pilenesburg, Boputotswana, quando o Paul ali foi fazer um trabalho de reintrodução de rinocerontes. Com este mesmo avião fizemos vários trabalhos de reconhecimento da fauna bravia em Moçambique, de 1973 a 1990.
O Paul vive na região de Durban e colabora ainda com Moçambique nomeadamente no Projecto Carr Foundation - Gorongosa, como consultor permanente, pois é considerado um dos melhores especialistas de fauna bravia em África. Pode vê-lo na minha crónica da nossa recente ida ao Parque, em http://my.gorongosa.net/
Cub in original colourYellow Cub ......... Spirit of the Wilderness was imported from the USA in 1995 by a mission station in Northern Zululand in its original colour of ivory. It is now Yellow to conform with the remaining 20 Super Cubs still flying in South Africa. The painting was also necessary to hide all the injuries that the aircraft has suffered over the past 52 years!
Cub on Alaskan Lake Dec05I had the privilege of converting to a float plane when visiting Alaska in 2005. This was a smaller version of the PA 18, a Piper Cub powered by a small 90HP Continental engine. Water landings require great care because of the difficulty of judging ones altitude over a mirrored water surface.Get it wrong and you drown!
Cut my head off but I aint going 8Mar07Spirit of the Wilderness and a number of other aircraft have lost our airstrip to make way for a large international airport scheduled to be finished in time for the World Soccer Cup. Corruption is driving the project.
Fligh over Baz 1994I flew Spirit of the Wilderness each year starting 1989 over the inner bay of the Bazaruto Archipelago in order to census the last viable population of Dugongs (Peixe mulher) on the southern African coast. They were then over 200 and now less than 30 due to their drownings in gill nets (rede de rasto) set for shark harvesting.
MishaponBazaruto Island1995The landing strip on Bazaruto Island in Mozambique was more often suitable for water birds than for landing Spirit of the Wilderness
PRANGATVAALCOLOUR The shortest landing I ever accomplished in Spirit of the Wilderness when I flew into 30 000 volt powerlines near my fathers farm in South Africa's Transvaal Province in 1982
Ulf and Paul Pondo land 12Aug05Spirit of the Wilderness flew Ulf Doener who is a campaigner for the environment from Germany. We are trying to prevent the mining of sensitive coastal dunes on South Africa's unspoilt WildCoast.
Yellow Cub
Pelican flowerSpirit of the Wilderness has flown many missions for conservation and the environment such as counting White Pelicans on St Lucia Wetland Park in northern Zululand. How many would you estimate the number to be in this feeding frenzy looking like a flower.
Fotos e legendas: Paul Dutton
A TAP deixou de operar o modelo 727 da série 200 para a Madeira, passando apenas a operar o 727-100, 5 metros mais curto e com capacidade para menos 60 passageiros.
