AFB Hoedspruit Air Force Base Hoedspruit
IATA: none – ICAO: FAHS
Summary
Airport type		Military
Operator		South African Air Force
Location		Hoedspruit, Limpopo, South Africa
Elevation AMSL		1743 ft / 531 m
Coordinates		24°21′17″S 31°03′01″E / 24.35472°S 31.05028°E / -24.35472; 31.05028 (AFB Hoedspruit)Coordinates: 24°21′17″S 31°03′01″E / 24.35472°S 31.05028°E / -24.35472; 31.05028 (AFB Hoedspruit)
Website		www.af.mil.za
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
09/27	6939	2115	Asphalt
18/36	13095	3991	Asphalt

Air Force Base Hoedspruit (ICAO: FAHS)^[1] is an airbase of the South African Air Force. It is located adjacent to the Kruger National Park. In the late 1990s an unused portion of the base was converted into a civilian airport known as Eastgate Airport. It is also an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle.^[2]

Contents 1 Units Hosted 2 History 3 Eastgate Airport Scheduled Services 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Units Hosted

• 19 Squadron - Helicopter squadron
• 101 Squadron - Light transport (reserve)
• 514 Squadron - Security services
• 7 Aircraft Servicing Unit - Maintenance support
• Lowveld Airspace Control Sector - Airspace control
• Air Force Command and Control School - Training

[edit] History

The base was officially opened on 1 July 1978.^[3] It was designed from the start to be a highly-protected wartime base. As such, it has armoured and underground hangars, with revetments placed close to the runways for aircraft on immediate take-off standby duty.

The base is teeming with wildlife, being surrounded by the 25 km² AFB Hoedspruit Game Reserve. Keeping the runway clear of animals was a massive problem. This led the base to introduce three cheetahs on the flight line, with the end result that animal incursions onto the runway have decreased by 90%. Another SAAF base, AFB Makhado, has since also adopted this concept.

The base gained international media attention in 2000, when it hosted the United States Air Force's rescue contingent as part of Operation Atlas Response, the mission to provide rescue and humanitarian support to areas of Mozambique devastated by the severe flooding caused by Cyclone Eline.

The base motto is Pro Nostrorum Pace (Peace for our People).^[4]

[edit] Eastgate Airport Scheduled Services

• South African Airways (Johannesburg)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• AFB Hoedspruit on Google maps

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