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On 23/07/2007 Flight Lieutenant Dimitris
Stoilidis, 34, and Flying Officer Yiannis
Hatzoudis, 27, were killed when their
airplane came down in the area of Styra,
southern Evia. Stoilidis was a married father
of two twin boys. Hatzoudis was single.Flags
will be raised as a tribute to the heroic
pilots.R.I.P Brothers we'll miss you
all.Dimitris Stoilidis made this video during
his service with 112sqn.The Hellenic Air
Force or HAF (Greek: Πολεμική
Αεροπορία) is the air force of
Greece. Its mission is to guard and protect
the Greek airspace, provide air assistance
and support to the Hellenic Army and the
Hellenic Navy as well as humanitarian aid
(upon request) in Greece and around the world
In 1911 the Greek Government appointed French
specialists to form the Hellenic Aviation
Service. Six Greek officers were sent to
France for training, while the first four
"Farman" type aircraft were ordered. The
first Greek aviator was Emmanuel
Argyropoulos, who flew in a Nieuport IV.G
"Alcuin" fighter, on February 8, 1912. The
first military flight was made on 13 May of
that year by Lieutenant Demetrios Kamberos.
In June, Kamberos, flew with the "Daedalus",
a Farman Aviation Works aircraft that had
been converted into a seaplane, setting the
foundations of the Naval Aviation. That
September, the Greek Army fielded its first
squadron, the Aviators Company (Λόχος
Αεροπόρων).The Hellenic Air Force
participated in the Balkan Wars, World War I,
the Asia Minor Campaign, and World War II.
Initially it consisted of the separate Army
Aviation and Naval Aviation, but in 1930 the
Aviation Ministry was founded, establishing
the Air Force as the third branch of the
Hellenic Armed ForcesToday, the Hellenic Air
Force has a total fighter fleet of 275
modern, upgraded or under upgrade aircraft
and are due to retirement of some fighter
units that have ended their circle of
operation,HAF is looking forward to acquiring
new 3rd and 4th generation fighters in order
to reach a total number of 300 modern
fighters, according to the "2007 Supreme Air
Force Council Momentum" published earlier
this year. Such goal is to be gradually
reached until 2015. Prime candidates for a
4th generation aircraft, of which acquisition
is considered certain, are the Eurofighter
Typhoon, F-35 Lightning II (JSF) and Dassault
Rafale..The Bombardier (formerly Canadair)
CL-415 (Superscooper) is a Canadian
amphibious aircraft purpose-built as a water
bomber. It is the only aircraft designed and
built specifically for fire fighting and is
based on the company's CL-215.
The 415 can scoop up to 6 140 litres (1350
Can gal or 1620 US gal) of water from a
nearby water source, mix it with foam
suppressant if desired and drop it on a fire
without having to return to base to refill
its tanks. The 415 was specifically developed
to provide the capability to deliver massive
quantities of suppressant to a fire in its
initial stages, preventing it from getting
out of control.
The 415 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney
Canada PW123AF turboprops replacing the 215's
piston engines. The 415 has an updated
cockpit, as well.
It first flew in December of 1993 and the
first deliveries were in November of 1994.The
CL-415 design originates in a requirement for
a firefighting amphibious flying boat to
detect and suppress forest fires. The
aircraft is built for reliability and
longevity, with use of corrosion-resistant
materials. Water loads are drawn in and can
be mixed internally with fire reardants;
speed is essential and missions can take as
little as 10 minutes. The Bombardier 415
multi-role is available for use in a
paramilitary search and rescue role and
utility transport.
Tags : H.A.F Canadair CL-415 amphibious aircraft Mirage fighter jet F-22 787 Airbus A380 airplane pilot sky Sukhoi Su Mig war |
