AFB Hoedspruit

Air Force Base Hoedspruit is an airbase of the South African Air Force. It is located adjacent to the Kruger National Park. In the late 1990s an unused portion of the base was converted into a civilian airport known as Eastgate Airport.

Units Hosted

* 19 Squadron - Helicopter squadron
* 85 Combat Flying School - Jet training
* 101 Squadron - Light transport (reserve)
* 514 Squadron - Security services
* 7 Aircraft Servicing Unit - Maintenance support
* Lowveld Airspace Control Sector - Airspace control
* Air Force Command and Control School - Training

History

The base was officially opened on 1 July 1978. It was designed from the start to be a highly-protected wartime base. As such, it has armoured and underground hangars, with revetments placed close to the runways for aircraft on immediate take-off standby duty.

The base is teeming with wildlife, being surrounded by the 25 km² AFB Hoedspruit Game Reserve. Keeping the runway clear of animals was a massive problem. This led the base to introduce three cheetahs on the flight line, with the end result that animal incursions onto the runway have decreased by 90%. Another SAAF base, AFB Makhado, has since also adopted this concept.

It is an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle. [ [http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/facility/sts-els.htm Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Sites ] ]

In the late 1990s an unused portion of the base was converted into a civilian airport known as Eastgate Airport.

The base gained international media attention in 2000, when it hosted the United States Air Force's rescue contingent as part of Operation Atlas Response, the mission to provide rescue and humanitarian support to areas of Mozambique devastated by the severe flooding caused by Cyclone Eline.

The base motto is "Pro Nostrorum Pace" (Peace for our People).

Eastgate Airport Scheduled Services

*South African Airways (Johannesburg)

References