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March 27, 2024

The SAA Museum Society’s preserved Jumbos

Smoke On Go

Once regarded as one of the finest airlines in the world, South African Airways/Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens, known as SAA, was for many years an industry leader, and an integral part of its 90-year history was its relationship with Boeing’s iconic 747 series of airliners, with which it enjoyed a rich and fondly-remembered relationship.

Words and images: Michael Thomson

A brief history

South African Airways was founded in 1934 and soon the airline was operating a growing route network from its hub, initially in Durban, and later Rand Airport in Germiston, just south of Johannesburg.

SAA emerged from World War II with a fleet of Lockheed Lodestars and Avro Yorks which were soon augmented with Douglas DC-3 Dakotas and later DC-4 Skymasters operating from a temporary international airport at Palmietfontein, which had been established while the new international airport – Jan Smuts – was being built.

Long-range routes were being pioneered and SAA’s first intercontinental route linking Johannesburg and London was inaugurated in 1945 (the flight included stops at Nairobi, Khartoum, Cairo and Castel Benito). This became known as the Springbok Service.

In 1950, SAA introduced the new Lockheed Constellation, cutting the flying time on the Springbok Service from 34 to 28 hours.

SAA soon began jet operations with two leased de Havilland Comets in a joint venture with BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation).

In 1957 SAA introduced the Douglas DC-7B, the ultimate evolution of the piston powered airliner, further reducing the flying time on the Springbok Service to 21 hours and allowing for ultra long-range route expansions to Australia via Mauritius.

1960 marked a very significant milestone in SAA’s history with the delivery of its first Boeing 707s which are regarded as the first mainstream jet airliners. The 707s allowed new destinations such as Rio de Janeiro and New York to be added to their growing and impressive network.

At this stage it must be noted that SAA developed not only as an incredibly well-equipped carrier, but also as a carrier fortunate to have truly outstanding pilots, many of whom had immense experience and had served with the South African Air Force (SAAF) in World War II. Among these were legendary Captain Salomon “Pi” Pienaar and Captain Theodore Purchase, who were heavily involved in integrating the 707 – an aircraft of the future – into the fleet.

In 1963, due to political opposition to South Africa’s racial policies, many African states banned SAA aircraft from their airspace, necessitating a long detour around the bulge of West Africa to reach the numerous destinations in Europe that SAA served.

For the next seven years, SAA continued using the 707s on these routes, but on 6 November 1971 a new era began for the airline when it took delivery of its first Boeing 747. The 707s remained an integral part of SAA’s route network for years to come; however, the 747 introduced far greater payload and range capabilities.

SAA’s 747s

The first 747 was registered ZS-SAN and named “Lebombo” (all of SAA’s 747-200s and later its 747SPs were named after South African mountain ranges). In 1976 the ultra long-range 747SP arrived. SP stood for Special Performance and this type, although slightly shorter, had an incredible 12,325km range. The first SP, ZS-SPA named Matroosberg, set a record on its delivery flight from Seattle to Cape Town covering the distance in a time of 17 hours 22 minutes. It operated the first SP service between Johannesburg and Athens via Lisbon and Rome on 24 April 1976.

In 1983, SAA took delivery of two 747-300s, which featured stretched upper decks. The first of these was registered ZS-SAT and named Johannesburg. In 1991 the 747-400 entered service when ZS-SAV Durban arrived. Interestingly, all of SAA’s 747s prior to the -400s were powered by Pratt & Whitney engines, while the -400s ordered new by SAA were powered by Rolls-Royce RB211 engines. Two more -400s which joined the fleet later from Philippine Airlines had General Electric engines. Overall, SAA operated 25 747s of all models.

SAA’s 747s were ambassadors of the country, proudly carrying the classic orange and blue livery to every corner of the globe, from Taipei to New York, from London to Perth and even to secondary cities such as Manchester. On one occasion SAA sent a 747-200 to Male in the Maldives when the usual chartered A300 could not do its required en route fuel stop in Mauritius due to a cyclone.

The orange tail livery was later replaced by the new South African flag in 1995, and SAA continued flying its fleet of 747s until, in 2004, the final 747 was retired.

South African Airways Museum Society

Over the years various SAA staff collected bits and pieces of the airline’s history, including old uniforms, newspaper clippings and several aircraft.

As the collection of historic aircraft grew it became clear that an organisation was needed to independently administer the assortment of aircraft, artefacts and memorabilia and, in August 1986, the SAA Museum Society, a nonprofit volunteer organisation, was born. Its aim was to collect and preserve the history of SAA and general civil aviation plus create an awareness of the greatness of South African civil aviation, and the role it has played in society.

With the retirement of the 747 fleet, SAA donated 747-200 ZS-SAN Lebombo to the Museum Society in 2002 and a site was acquired at Rand Airport in 2004.

5 March 2004 was a truly remarkable day, as it was the day that Lebombo arrived at Rand, making it by far the largest aircraft ever to land there. Two previous attempts had been made in February, but due to poor weather, a third attempt was postponed.

To land on Rand’s short, narrow runway, minimum safe fuel (still, almost 20 tons!) was carried.

A highly experienced flight crew consisting of Captain Dennis Spence, Captain Stuart Lithgow, Senior First Officer Phil Parsons, Senior Flight Engineer Dennis McDermott and Chief Flight Engineer Peter Kiely was selected. The plan was to land on runway 11; however, because the taxiways were far too narrow to accommodate a 747, the aircraft would need to stop before the intersection of runway 11/29 and 17/35 and then be towed to the main apron.

The landing was spot on and the aircraft came to a stop at precisely the right position. The engines were shut down for the last time and the aircraft was towed by a tug under the guidance of a team of SAA Technical ground engineers. The tug, however, struggled to grip the surface and it was decided to start the aircraft up again and taxi her under her own power to the apron.

Meanwhile, SAA was in the process of scrapping or selling its remaining 747s, and just before she was due to go to her new owner in 2003, the sale of 747SP ZS-SPC Maluti fell through. With no buyer forthcoming, the Museum Society applied in 2005 to SAA for her to be donated to the museum for preservation and, on 30 September 2006, ZS-SPC Maluti arrived at the Museum Society at Rand Airport. She was again piloted by Captain Spence, together with Captain Joe Maartens, Flight Engineer John Froneman, Flight Engineer Richard Hunt and accompanied by Safety Officer Phil Parsons.

Preservation

No aircraft better exemplifies the peak of SAA’s golden era than the majestic Boeing 747 and no other museum can boast two 747 aircraft in one place. Lebombo and Maluti are both on static display at the Rand Airport premises and maintenance and upkeep work is regularly undertaken to keep them in a state of preservation that will ensure they remain in displayable condition well into the future.

A dedicated group of highly passionate volunteers – mostly with aviation backgrounds – gives of their time in all aspects of running the museum and preserving the aircraft in their care. No state funding whatsoever is allocated to the museum and it relies on visitor revenue and volunteer assistance.

Open from Tuesday to Sunday, 9am to 3.30pm, visitors can go on board Lebombo, on a guided tour through the cabin which still has its original interior, take a behind the scenes look at the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, see the galleys and even see the crew rest area, where cabin crew took their mandatory rests during ultra long-haul flights.

Externally, one can marvel at the sheer size of the 747, touch its immense undercarriage legs and enormous engines. It truly is a “hands-on” experience.

Of particular interest is the famous “fifth engine”, fitted to Lebombo to illustrate the 747’s unique ability to transport a spare engine anywhere in the world on a pylon tucked under its port wing.

Maluti is also open for periodic Technical Tours, in which aviation engineers take visitors around the aircraft and plug it in to ground power to operate the flaps, open the cargo doors and explain the many fascinating systems and features the 747 has.

Inside the museum’s buildings visitors can find a wealth of fascinating information, memorabilia and some truly magnificent models from SAA’s long and beautiful relationship with the 747.

A trip to the SAA Museum Society is highly recommended for any aviation enthusiast and it is a fantastic place for a family outing.

FACTS:

On shutdown after her final flight, Maluti had accumulated 82,313.23 flying hours, an incredible 9.4 years of solid flight in her 28 years of service.
Lebombo had flown 107,690 hours, equating to 12.29 years of flight. She had completed 20,304 landings.
In her career, it is estimated that Lebombo burned 962.2-million kilogrammes of JetA1.
Lebombo carried more than six million passengers in her 33-year career.
On 24 June 1995, Lebombo performed a low flypast over Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg just prior to the Rugby World Cup final with the slogan “Good Luck Bokke” displayed under her wings and belly. South Africa went on to beat New Zealand 15-12.
Runway 11 at Rand Airport is 15m wide. The 747’s undercarriage is 14m wide, meaning that the pilots had to land Lebombo and Maluti with a margin of 50cm either side of the outboard main landing gear to stay on the runway.
SAA named all its 747s. Here are the names its fleet carried:

747-200:

ZS-SAL Tafelberg

ZS-SAM Drakensberg

ZS-SAN Lebombo

ZS-SAO Magaliesberg

ZS-SAP Swartberg

ZS-SAR Waterberg

ZS-SAS Helderberg.

747SP:

ZS-SPA Matroosberg

ZS-SPB Outeniqua

ZS-SPC Maluti