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Ground Instructional in Pakistan
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Ground Instructional in Pakistan
Written by & courtesy of Eddy de Kruijff and Fred Willemsen
Qasim
is Pakistan's major army aviation base. The base accommodates five
active flying units, including the VVIP-flight, as well as the Army
Aviation School. In all there are six types of fixed-wing aircraft and
six types of helicopters at Qasim from a wide variety of sources:
France, Russia, China, the US and Pakistan itself. No. 30 squadron
flies most fixed-wing aircraft (Chinese-built Y-12 light transport
aircraft, Mushshak light trainer licence-built in Pakistan,
Aero Commander and a Cessna 421).
The helicopters are flown by No. 8 squadron, which operates Alouette
III and Lama helicopters as well as a number of fixed-wing Mushshaks,
No.27 squadron has half a dozen Mi-17 Hip helicopters and No.
25 squadron flies most of the Pumas in Pakistan's inventory.
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Above:
Two Lamas are in the compound of the Engineering School. At least six
Lamas were purchased via Romania. Others were supplied direct from
France. The Lama is used by No.8 squadron in support of the
Kashmir-based garrison, which operates at high altitudes in the
Himalayas. Several Lamas have crashed, some with loss of life. Because
of its sometimes hazardous operations, No. 8 squadron is the most
decorated unit in the Army Aviation.
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The
VVIP Flight has three air-conditioned Pumas (the troops have
to do without this luxury…) , a King Air 200 and a Citation
V with a passive defence suite for the sole use of the
President of Pakistan. That makes an interesting collection of
aircraft and helicopters.
Left:
SA330 Puma, used for VIP flights.
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Engineering
School
But
interesting from a historic point of view is the collection of ground
instructional airframes that the Army Aviation Engineering School
EME keeps in a compound to the north of the airbase at the Centre
Ordnance Aviation Depot. The School is commanded by Lt.Col. Obaid, who
explains: -
"The
school trains the future aircraft engineer in his trade. We also
undertake schooling of qualified engineers to learn about new systems.
In particular the new students make use of the ground instructional
aircraft."
All
those aircraft are kept in the open. The biggest is the Mi-8
helicopter that was withdrawn from service together with the other
Mi-8's already in 1986. The Mi-17's that are currently in active
service were delivered in 1996.
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Two
Lamas and an Alouette III that suffered a hard landing are
also in the inventory.
Left:
A sorry-looking Alouette III after a hard landing on a
mountain slope, from which it was recovered as an underslung
Puma load. Pakistan's Alouettes come from different sources:
Aerospatiale (now Eurocopter) from France delivered 24.
Additional IAR-316B's were also acquired from Romania.
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One of the very first Mushshaks is there, one of the original
fifteen MFI-17B's that were delivered from the SAAB factory direct to
Pakistan in 1974. PAC Kamra, the state-owned aviation plant, has since
produced some 162 Mushshaks from scratch.
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Right:
A dozen Bell 206B's were acquired in 1975, followed later by
three civilian Jet Rangers III. This Bell 206B was replaced by
a batch of Bell 206L's, which still serve the Army Aviation at
Multan in two squadrons.
Also
present is a Bell 206B; the Bell 206L is still in regular
service. Surprisingly, the tail boom of a Soviet Mi-24 Hind
is also present. It is whispered to have come from
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Afghanistan! Pride of the fleet is a Cessna O-1 Bird Dog, the only
aircraft that is kept in airworthy condition, although it is rarely
flown according to LtCol Obaid. The 26 O-1A and 64 E models of the
Bird Dog have been out of use since 1994. Some of them are still for
sale to private owners.
Four
types withdrawn
Pakistan's
Army Aviation gained autonomy from the air force in 1958 and gained
full corps status in 1977. Since it began in 1958 only four aircraft
types have been withdrawn from use. Its initial inventory were a
number of Auster Mk5 and Mk6 and O-1 Bird Dogs, which were then in the
process of delivery.
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Left:
Cessna O-1A Bird Dog is kept in good condition at the gate of
the Engineering School, even though the tyres are so porous
that they deflate within a matter of hours.
"We
don't bother with the tyres anymore; but we do keep it shiny
as if new", says an engineer.
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The Austers were soon considered inferior to the O-1 Bird Dog,
moreover as an element of local pride came into the equation as
Workshop 503 at Qasim (then still called Dhamial) produced 60 per cent
of Bird Dog locally. It was still designated L-19 locally at the
time. None of the Austers have been preserved, but some of the O-1's
have. One appears in the nearby Army Museum at Rawalpindi and another
as gate guard to the Army Aviation Engineering School. The last is
parked in front of the C/O's office at Qasim.
Another type that fails to live on is the Bell 47G, two of which can
be found preserved at Qasim. One is the airbase gate guard and another
is a monument at the Engineering School. Still another can be found at
the Army Museum. The latest type to be withdrawn was the Mi-8 in 1986,
which suffered from poor spares support. The change of the Mil plant
in the former Soviet Union from a state company to a privately owned
one was sufficient for Pakistani confidence to order the upgraded
Mi-17 almost ten years later.
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When
the rotors only serve as an object of study, you might just as
well take them off and put them on trestles in a school
building. Already in 1968 were a dozen Mi-8's delivered to the
Pakistan Army Aviation only to be withdrawn from use in 1986
when spares support had become erratic. Apparently, the Mi-8's
basic design had been appealing: in 1996 the first six Mi-17VM
helicopters were delivered, followed by another six a year
later.
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