Thunder City
Encyclopedia
Thunder City is an aircraft operating and maintenance company based at the Cape Town International Airport
Cape Town International Airport
Cape Town International Airport is the primary airport serving the city of Cape Town, and is the second busiest airport in South Africa and third busiest in Africa. Located approximately from the city centre, the airport was opened in 1954 to replace Cape Town's previous airport in the suburb of...

 in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. It owns the largest civilian-owned collection of former military jet aircraft
Warbird
Warbird is a term used, predominantly in North America, to describe vintage military aircraft.- Naming :Although the term originally implied piston-driven aircraft from the World War II era, it is now often extended to include all military aircraft, including jet-powered aircraft, that are no...

 in the world. These aircraft are used to perform in airshows and can also be hired by the general public for novelty flights, including going supersonic
Supersonic
Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...

 and climbing to altitudes around 50,000 feet.

The company's other activities include upgrading older models of the Aerospatiale Puma
Aérospatiale Puma
The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter. The Puma was originally manufactured by Sud Aviation of France.-Development:...

 helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

 with modern avionics and renovating airframes and engines.

Company Structure

Thunder City Holdings (Pty) Ltd. is the parent company of several subsidiaries:
  • Thunder City Aircraft Company
  • Thunder City Aircraft Maintenance Company
  • Thunder City Education
  • Thunder City Aircraft Entertainment
  • Thunder City Flying Company
  • Thunder City Property Company

Fleet

Some of the aircraft are the only examples of the type in airworthy condition.
  • Three English Electric Lightning
    English Electric Lightning
    The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...

    s, including the only airworthy two-seater and two single seaters used in airshows. One T5 was lost in an accident on 14 November 2009.
  • Three Blackburn Buccaneer
    Blackburn Buccaneer
    The Blackburn Buccaneer was a British low-level subsonic strike aircraft with nuclear weapon delivery capability serving with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force between 1962 and 1994, including service in the 1991 Gulf War...

    s, the only currently (October 2008) airworthy examples.
  • Seven Hawker Hunter
    Hawker Hunter
    The Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...

    s.
  • One BAC Strikemaster.
  • One Aerospatiale Puma
    Aérospatiale Puma
    The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter. The Puma was originally manufactured by Sud Aviation of France.-Development:...

    , a demonstrator of the company's upgrade and refurbishment services.

Non-airworthy aircraft

  • One Gloster Javelin
    Gloster Javelin
    The Gloster Javelin was an "all-weather" interceptor aircraft that served with Britain's Royal Air Force in the late 1950s and most of the 1960s...

     FAW Mk.1 (RAF
    Royal Air Force
    The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

     No. XA553). Mounted as a "Gate Guard" on display at the entrance to the company premises.

AAD 2008 Controversy

During a display flight at the 2008 African Aerospace and Defence show in Cape Town a pair of Thunder City Lightnings flew close to the city at supersonic speed. Only the higher one of the pair was planned to fly supersonic as it was considered to be high enough so as not to cause alarm, however the lower aircraft also broke the sound barrier. The resulting sonic boom
Sonic boom
A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shock waves created by an object traveling through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding much like an explosion...

 brought many complaints from the public.

Lightning crash 14 November 2009

An English Electric Lightning T5, ZU-BEX, (RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 No. XS451) was destroyed in an accident during the biennial South African Air Force
South African Air Force
The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...

 Overberg Airshow held at AFB Overberg
AFB Overberg
AFB Overberg is an airbase of the South African Air Force and is the host of the 525 squadron and the Test Flight and Development Centre. It is placed under command of the Air Office in Pretoria, Gauteng....

 near Bredasdorp
Bredasdorp
Bredasdorp is a town in the Southern Overberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa, and the main economic and service hub of that region. It lies on the northern edge of the Agulhas Plain, about south-east of Cape Town and north of Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa.-History:The...

on 14 November 2009. Veteran Lightning pilot Dave Stock was killed in the crash.

Suspension of Flight Operations

On 9 September 2010, it was reported that the Thunder City fleet would no longer take paying passengers. The South African Civil Aviation Authority suspended its operating certificate in March 2010.

On 22 August 2011 3 Lightnings, 3 Buccaneers and 4 Hunters were listed as 'for sale by private treaty' with Go Industry. The closing date for bids is 30 November 2011.
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