85 Combat Flying School is a unit of the South African Air Force (SAAF). It is a jet flight-training and combat operations school, it was first formed in 1982 at AFB Pietersburg (It was known as Advanced Flying School from 1967).[1] It relocated to AFB Hoedspruit on 1 January 1993 due to the closure of AFB Pietersburg.[1] The school also has a wartime reserve role, although it has publicly been stated that the school will not be used operationally unless a very urgent need arises.[1]
| 85 Combat Flying School | |
|---|---|
 SAAF Bae Hawk Mk. 120 | |
| Active | 1982 - Present |
| Country |  South Africa |
| Branch |  South African Air Force |
| Type | Jet flight-training and combat operations school |
| Current Base | AFB Makhado, Louis Trichardt |
| Motto(s) | Detrimento Sumus (Destruction is our Business)[1] |
| Anniversaries | Received Unit colours 4 October 1988, Received national colours 1989 |
| Aircraft used currently | BAE Hawk Mk.120 |
| Engagements | SWA/Angolan conflict.[1] |
Aircraft used previously :
- Mirage IIIEZ/DZ/D2Z
- Canadair Sabre Mk.6 1975 - 1980
- Atlas Impala Mk.I/II 1972 - 2005
The school has been relocated to AFB Makhado from AFB Hoedspruit into a new purpose-built facility with state-of-the-art computer-aided flight training instruments. The school shares this facility with the SAAF Gripen community.
During October 2007 there were several pilots that went solo on the Hawk Mk.120.[2]
The squadron also participated in the annual South Africa National Defence Force preparation exercises and fired live cannon rounds and dropped live bombs. They also had a successful weapons deployment exercise to AFB Bloemspruit in 2007.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e History of 85 CFS, www.af.mil.za, Retrieved 2013-10-06
- ^ "Thumbs up for 85 CFS". Archived from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2007.