Microlighters

Does anyone know the history of the Antenov at Bapsfontein?

Have you tried Uncle Ray on the Avcom forum ? His knowledge knows no limits !

I just love that old plane standing there. I whish I had space and and Antenov to park in my yard. Will just sit in it every day

How the hell can that piece of grass be so green this time of the year?

Hi Bob, I'll copy this thread over to Avcom... Uncle Ray will almost certainly know... haha

EDIT: Follow the thread on Avcom..

http://www.avcom.co.za/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=80824

Interesting... from Avcom.

Mystery plane raises eyebrows

25/10/2005

Pretoria - The police and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) were investigating the mysterious presence of an old Russian aircraft that seems to have sneaked into the country unannounced and undetected and has been sitting at an airfield near Johannesburg ever since.

The police's border control unit confiscated the aircraft at the Bapsfontein airfield. It was sealed off until more information could be obtained.

Superintendent Frans Kloppers, provincial chief of this department, on Tuesday said the investigation would determine whether the aircraft was in legally the country.

The control tower at Johannesburg International Airport informed the police about a suspicious aircraft in the country.

Owner is in Russia

No record of the aircraft's entry into the country could be traced since it had landed at the airfield two weeks ago.

The ancient Antonov 2 attracted attention when it filed a flight plan from Richard's Bay to Bapsfontein.

The two pilots returned to Russia shortly after landing with only one passenger on board. The aircraft was apparently registered in Lesotho, but the owner lived in South Africa.

The owner was at present also in Russia. According to Kloppers investigators were waiting for his return so that he could hand in the necessary documents regarding the aircraft's presence in the country.

Kloppers said the CAA would investigate whether the aircraft was fit to fly in South Africa's air space.

The air space authority apparently also had no record of when the aricraft entered the country.

Specialists in the industry were of opinion that the aircraft could have come from Madagascar, since several of these models were in use in that country.

"The aircraft is ideal for taking off and landing on short runways and on any surface. The other possibility is that it flew from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Tanzania, and from there along the coast to Richard's Bay," a source said.

The Antonov 2 is between 30 and 40 years old and one of the first models built under this name in Russia.

Conrad boet, check the dates on the photos, was a looong time ago that that grass was green

Yes, I took those photos in May this year. Seeing that nobody knows anything about this plane, can I get a ATF done and then fly it while they wait for answers as to who it belongs to?

Anybody have lots of dollars (no, not Zim Dollars) that would like to sponsor the fixing of this plane I have a license to fly it but the documents are in Russia but you can take my word for it

Aaaaahhh then egg is on my face, - sincere apologies I interpreted the date as eleventh of may 2006 - not the other way round... Anyway it's a fantastic idea but I think you could be facing a VERY steep mountain of paperwork trying to get that litte baby restored...

Gentlemen - I have solved the puzzle...

It is the training aircraft for SANTACO, before they take to the skies!

alkemac, with an avatar like yours you make this comment????

Thanks fot posting this on avcom Alan.
So ... Basically, it will lie there to rot indefinetly.
Shame!

I read the posts on avcom. It seems that nobody really know why it was abandoned. I have heard stories about drug deals, movie props etc.
It must have cost someone a lot of money, which begs the question ..... Why was it abandoned?