Updated: Mirages roar back into the sky, head back home
Updated, Adds video - The two Libyan Mirage fighter jets which were flown to Malta by defecting pilots a year ago, roared back into the air just after Noon today and are heading back home.
The planes arrived in Malta unexpectedly a year ago yesterday, when their pilots Colonel Ali al-Rabti and Colonel Abdullah al-Salheen, defected to Malta after refusing to bomb fellow Libyans in Benghazi.
The two pilots were given protection in Malta for the duration of the Libyan uprising and the fighters were decomissioned as Malta fended off demands by the Gaddafi regime for their return.
The two pilots were back at the controls this morning. They acknowledged Malta's assistance with a low-level flypast before finally heading south.
The planes were due to fly back yesterday, on the anniversary of the defection, but they were grounded by bad weather over Malta and Libya.
Sources said the jets could not be flown back because the pilots’ inactivity meant they could not renew a special licence to be able to fly in bad weather, which made them depend completely on instrumentation.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday handed the pilots their helmets and praised them for their courage.
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Peter Azzopardi
Feb 23rd, 19:15
what a waste of money.
Wally Vella-Zarb
Feb 23rd, 11:05
@ Joseph Scicluna
Għaliex ma tgħidlix fejn huma ċ-ċuċati mela?
Saviour M Garzia
Feb 23rd, 11:01
These 2 jet fighter bombers should have been named Malta and Ghawdex to honour the Islands that gave the pilots sanctuary during the turbulant period that took place in Libya. During WW2 two Spitfires were bought to defend Malta, but they were never delivered. All the british forces had to do was to put the same names on another 2 aircraft that were in Malta.
Joseph Scicluna
Feb 23rd, 07:23
@wally vella zarb
tghidx cucati!
MANUEL FARRUGIA
Feb 23rd, 07:19
nice aircraft
Adrian Barnes
Feb 23rd, 00:06
GREAT VIDEO! :D
Mr Adrian Vella
Feb 22nd, 22:58
just a fly past and no airborne salutation ????
Alfred Farrugia
Feb 22nd, 16:22
Were these killing vehicles supposed to fly past during the launching of the noise pollution white paper? I assume that if the weather were fine yesterday, the Hon. Prime Minister would not have had a problem with noise pollution, in the same way that several commentators do not seem to have been offended by the noise today!
Let us hope that the noise pollution white paper will not be used against recreational or sports vehicles when the highest authorities and several people do not seem to have problems with the sound of killing vehicles – judging by today and several instances last year.
Bernard Pollacco
Feb 22nd, 19:04
oh come mr farrugia !!!! can't believe im actually reading this comment !!!
Justin Spiteri
Feb 22nd, 23:53
I'm sure that there will be no restrictions on recreational vehicles. Of course, recreational vehicles should be used for recreation and / or sports, and not as transport on public roads.
Karl von Brockdorff
Feb 24th, 10:33
Lol what do you want them to do? Put silencers on the jets?
Pule' Carmel
Feb 22nd, 15:50
Rich mixture and a bad carburising flame burning in that burner! Later it seemed to settle down fairly nicely.
I heard them over the univesity but they flew over the low lying clouds. Those turbines must have been reving over 60,000 revolutions per minute. Nice music to an engineer even if my old ears cannot handle frequencies
above 12,000 hetz. I regard the jet engine as a new wonder of the modern world, much bigger in mental size than the pyramids of Egypt, wher the Egyptians not the Greeks, then, could not even handle the logic of an arch, the Romans did however, and I believe this was the begining of intelligence in the human being where he began to realise that the most beautiful things around us are invisible like the compression sycle in a jet engine where with no seals it cann attain a compression ration of 30 to 1, higher than diesel engines which prides itself with a compression ration of 22 to 1 with an silly piston andulating in a cylinder compressing in a resiprocating manner rather than a continuous flow system, which will take a lot to beat. Poor Whittle, no one believed that it would work and the old piston engine developers told him," Well if it ever works, the power that you may getout of it will be enough to skim the whey from the top of a cup of milk.
My estimate of jet power is usinf a rule of thumb. From an air aperture on a carburator of 25 square centimetres one can obtain 100 horse power. I shall let you imagine the disapponintment on Whittle's enemies when the power obtained is estimated by considering a man six feet high to stand at the intake of a jet/turbo powering the a 380 or the Dreamliner profucing a thrust of almost 50 tons per engine.
I shiver when I imagine the burn in that burner and that hot air going around the hot turbine blades. This is pushing metal to its limits and people never think about such issue when they fly. It is such a pity that the society never appreciate the work of the engineer but the pilots and the doctors and surgeons and lawyers andpoliticians who work with fooling society with personalities rather than products have busts made for them in our Parks. Engineers live a lonley life. It is about time that all Maltese household would throw away all the pictures on the wall in thier houses and instead to hang and respect a turbine blade or a piece of metal handling the burn in a jet engine burning stage or perhaps a shape that would reduce the velocity after the commpressor stage so that the expenaing gasses will flow through the back rather than escape through the front. I wonder how many know of the wonderful shape of the diffuser stage in a jet engine so necessar for a working proposition. Beautiful, ad beautiful as an Mattia Preti or a Caravaggio, but who have the insight to see it all??????????????? Lovely sound is not enough an appreciation of a jet engine.
I am being carried away with this intoxication, I am drunk, but only a few will appreciate my drunkiness with this technical spirit. Such a pity that such a spirit is not produced in our schools as arts are still so popular being visual and audio. I estimat that I have to wait another 100 years to teach scientific and mathematic art in our schools, meanwhile, while other enjoy the shape and noise, there are a few who can appreciate what cannot be seen and what is more in silence. To many what I said is like trying to find a black cat in a dark room ar night with your eyes closed.
Yes those Mirages are very nice, but the true picture of their beauty cannot be depicted by any camera. It takes education to appreciate a spirit which does exist. It is such a pity that many Maltes and Libyan people still dream of other spirits to assist them, It is my spirits which power the world and it is such a pity that social spirits are more appreciated that scientific spirits which eventually are housed in engineering feats as the Mirages which just left us.
Incidentally a modern turbine in a power station can handle 500, Megawatts, now try to fathom that one out.
The engines on one Mirage is wnough to power six Gozo Channel Line ferries, No we cannot afford them, at half trhrottle those engines use over 45 gallons in less than one minute more close to 30 seconds. Thirsty they are,. I am wondering wondering how many gallond of fuel make a gallon of water at our osmosis plants. Now that is an expense we cannot afford and it is better not to use high technology and listen to Marco Cremona and use natural technolofy to make our water and not to run jet engines which run electric generators and then run high pressure pumps to force seawater through membranes. Incidentaly there is a nice new device which recuperate the power in the exhaust of the water pumps to pump water.It is a wonderful way of achieving high pressure from a flow at lower pressure. Engineering is fascinating and it should adorn our homes, which it does but in such silence not appreciated by many hjome owners. Pity.
It is said that the emotions of a nations is measures bythe manner it treats it animals, well the intelllligence of a nation is measured byt the manner it understands all that is silent and unseen and invisible. So , were the Egyptians and the Greeks intelligent if between them they could not enen work out the logic of an arch!
Let us leave it there for to day and t hink what is the power behing the powerful sound emmitted by those Mirage. Incidentallly during my days at university I worked on how to silence those jets and I thought of by passing the high velocity air from the comressor stage and enclose the fast jet exhaust in cylinder of bypassed air . It is the same as an exhaust on a car or a motorcylse, instead of having a cylinder of steel around the exhaust to have cylinders of lower velocity air around the central exhaust. It works and not they do it with having a larger turbine at the fronst as in the R900 and R1000. Pity that Rolls Royce went through a bad patch with those burners which in a room the size of 45 gallo tank one has to burn the fuel that run the Delimara power station. I shiver to think about being a Rolls Royse engineer trying to dsign a single burner for all that where the flame must not touch the metal that encloses it. I would faint to do it!!
Jesmond Micallef
Feb 22nd, 23:46
Now then, how could one make a turbine blade work in a environment where the temperature is higher than the melting point of the turbine blade's material ? Perhaps Christinu of Rabat did not think much of it back then, poor fellow !!
Compressor Stall is a very peculiar phenomenom in gas turbine engines. A good book is that by Pampreen which I went through when I wanted to know more about it in order to conceptualise the design of an active axial compressor without compressor bleed valves !! What a waste I thought !!
Yes, the science is all there alright but it takes human ingenuity to apply it in the right order. And that's the secret of the art, if not pure Talent !!
Just a small teaser, Professor Pule', long time no speak ;-))
Phil Zammit
Feb 23rd, 05:07
Mr. Carmel,
Your passion is admirable and intelligent. Do yourself and those who admire engineering (as much as you) do a favour - cut your palaver by 80% and you get a bigger bang for your buck.
Jeremy Cordina
Feb 23rd, 08:12
Hi Mr.Pule good morning,I really enjoyed reading your article.It shows that few people on these islands appreciate the aviation world. I do have the privilege to work on a turbune engine day in day out. Believe me it's such a beauty.
Joe Galea
Feb 22nd, 15:13
Many of you seems that they are writing their comments without the slightest hint of thinking before they write.In Maltese we say "nirrepetu dak li ghid haddiehor bhal pappagalli."
Have you ever thought that these two men and their machines are licensed to kill? They got their license back not to fly pass and give us air shows and make you feeling happy.They retained their license because they are obliged to exercise their duty to full capacity when the need arise and according to what they are licensed for.Although the new Libyan "regime" commended these men for defecting while doing their job, now this same regime is expecting that they will not repeat it and defect again while under their command.They are under explicit instructions that when they are called they should follow orders of their superiors.
Since these two brave men accepted their job back ,they are ready and willingly to do their duty according to what they are licensed for - KILLING -.
Do not ever forget that history tends to repeat itself, especially under Arab nations.
Martin Cole
Feb 22nd, 15:38
"without the slightest hint of thinking before they write.In", Soldiers are expected to defend their country against external threats not to kill their own civilian countrymen!
Wally Vella-Zarb
Feb 22nd, 17:03
Not quite, Martin Cole:
"I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic..." (United States Armed Forces)
"...and that I will as in duty bound honestly and faithfully defend Her Majesty, her heirs and successors in person, crown and dignity against all enemies ..." (British Armed Forces)
...and so on with other nations. It is the ruling power that decides who is 'the enemy'. We experienced this directly when we were occupied by the British forces.
Howard Hammond-Edgar
Feb 22nd, 18:05
@Wally Vella-Zarb
When was Malta 'occupied' by British forces? I can't find any reference to such an event.
Wally Vella-Zarb
Feb 23rd, 00:01
@ Howard Hammond-Edgar
During the years between the Treaty of Paris, legalised in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna (note that no Maltese were present), until the 21 September 1964 when we gained Independence. After that they became paying tenants until 31March 1979. During the second half of this tenancy their rent was financed by NATO.
Alfred Gatt
Feb 22nd, 14:53
Great video shots.
Omar Mintoff
Feb 22nd, 13:49
Has anyone a clip of the jets taking off or in flight??
Johann Tonna
Feb 22nd, 14:21
http://youtu.be/ujNtx9_e4gs
carmel muscat
Feb 22nd, 13:29
nifrah min qalbi liz zewg pilotti ghal kuragg li urew u ma obdewx l ordni li inatatillom ghax kieku wetqu l attack kif kienu ordnatti jaghmlu Alla bis jaf kemm kienu jinqatlu nies innocenti - - - - -- -- --
roberto bordino
Feb 22nd, 13:10
I saw them flying over Qawra. Impresive sight and sound. God spead and safe journey back to Lybia
Karl Consiglio
Feb 22nd, 13:04
i saw them pass by outside my window.
James Tyrrell
Feb 22nd, 13:03
Really nice photograph from Paul Spiteri Lucas.
Adrian Barnes
Feb 22nd, 12:51
END OF A CHAPTER! they will truly be missed gracing P5.
For your own info, they could not leave yest because weather in Libya was worse than here, which poses other problems!
Carmel Garcia
Feb 22nd, 12:47
Maltese gemgem....
George Attard
Feb 22nd, 12:43
I heard it in Santa Venera and raced to the balcony but they were well gone by that time! What a sweet sound! Fly home safe! You are heroes.
Christian Sciberras
Feb 22nd, 12:42
There goes that ounce of defense Malta might have had....
William Calleja
Feb 22nd, 13:41
are you kidding me? The mirage's operational range is pathetic compared to most modern fighter jets. Who are we going to protect ourselves from? the akkadians? no matter how many guns and jets and tanks and bombs malta has, we are one missile launch away from total annihilation so stop worrying, there's nothing anybody can do to protect us.
Victor Laiviera
Feb 22nd, 12:41
So two sophisticated machines whose only purpopse is to kill are back in action.
Of course, now they will only be used against the bad guys - right?
carmel muscat
Feb 22nd, 13:37
so what???????
William Calleja
Feb 22nd, 13:39
Just thank the two pilots that when they were given orders to murder civilian with their war machines from a superior officer under the command of a known mass murderer, they decided to do the decent human thing and refuse to toss bombs and missiles all over their copatriots. Besides, it doesn't take a jew fighter to kill humans in droves, politicians do it every day with pens and words. It takes a decent human being on the righ tside of the trigger to say 'No'
Ms Maria Vella
Feb 22nd, 13:41
Get a life and start smiling for once
Lawrence Camilleri
Feb 22nd, 13:48
comment undesrved for two heroes. God bless them.
carmel parnis
Feb 22nd, 13:53
Well Mr Laiviera maybe you could just give us a hint why we were provided with arms and ammunition thanks to a secret agreement with the North Koreans Naturalment biex jghamlulna zizi
Johann Tonna
Feb 22nd, 14:19
EVERY machine could be used as a killing machine, we have enough proof on our roads!!
John Azzopoardi
Feb 22nd, 12:36
Such a big fuss by the Maltese media over nothing.
Adrian Barnes
Feb 22nd, 13:13
Looks like you are making the fuss!
carmel muscat
Feb 22nd, 13:31
over nothing ?/// mela ma kontx tejx malta sena ijlu siehbi? - - - - - - -
Omar Mintoff
Feb 22nd, 13:55
John you can thank god that Malta is a haven of peace ... and believe me its a very big deal. Both Libyan personnel are returning home with memories of a peaceful and FREE MALTA ... that for me is a price worth paying .... good luck boys ... have safe flight home.
Robert Teuma
Feb 22nd, 12:34
Yes the Mirages just left, flying over Mosta and turning back for high flyby to show their appreciation to all the Maltese who accepted the pilots into our community for a short period of time until the war was over in Libya
Ġ. Agius
Feb 22nd, 12:33
I firmly believe that our government should have pressed the Libyan government to give us at least one of them which might have come in handy for the defense of our island, especially with the all too real threat of immigration.
M Mamo
Feb 22nd, 13:16
Yeah I am sure the Libyan Government will give a million dollar worth aircraft for free especially when it got a huge fleet of THREE! do you think before writing? -.-'
William Calleja
Feb 22nd, 13:37
Freebie from an impoverished country that just came out of a very severe civil war? surely you jest
Ġ. Agius
Feb 22nd, 13:43
Its only fair, we took care of their sick, we sent them provisions, we helped them, the least they could do is give us one.
After all, there is a much bigger difference from 0 to 1 than from 2 to 3.
Johann Tonna
Feb 22nd, 14:13
If they gave us one, the only thing it could be good for would be as an exhibit at the Aviation Museum.
The Mirage F-1 is a 70s aircraft, first prototype made its maiden flight on 23 December 1966!!
Its an old aircraft, and the AFM surely cannot afford to maintaign such an aircraft airworthy!
BUT next month we should be receiving our second Kingair ;)
Ġ. Agius
Feb 22nd, 14:26
but a 70s aircraft would suit Malta's purposes just as well!
Johann Tonna
Feb 22nd, 16:24
I highly doubt it will stand a chance against a Typhoon, F-22 or any of the new generation fighters!
Robert Teuma
Feb 23rd, 02:28
umm seriously people......a plane like that alone costs $23 million US Dollars, it is a fact.
I think Libya would be doing a terrible mistake by selling these aircraft. There is only 10 planes left under the Libyan flag, in total they had 75 aircraft including Sukhois, Migs and ofcourse these Mirages. They need all they can to defend their defenceless country
Darren Webb
Feb 22nd, 12:28
yes they did - then turned around and effected fly pass
Damian Fenech
Feb 22nd, 12:18
Did they just leave?
If not something very powerful just passed over H'attard.
Glenn Borg
Feb 22nd, 12:33
Yes they just did.
Jeremy Cordina
Feb 22nd, 12:39
Hi Mr. Fenech,Yes they just left at around noon. Many people in Libya are still alive thanks to these 2 Pilots.
Maria Victoria Bezzina
Feb 22nd, 12:47
Yes, they left just a couple of minutes ago.
Mark Demicoli
Feb 22nd, 13:02
int bis serjeta???? mela xi dhalt taghmel fl-artiklu, xi qrajt????
tal-biza........
M Mamo
Feb 22nd, 13:13
Mark Demicoli ... ll-iskola qatt qalulek xi tfisser UPDATED li hija l-ewwel kelma tal-artiklu? lili ghallmuwieli primarja!
Damian Fenech
Feb 22nd, 13:14
@ Mark Demicoli,
Please show me where the time is written in the article.
Also the article has been updated since I posted my comment.
Have a nice day!
Michael Sammut
Feb 22nd, 12:17
Just flew over San Gwann.
Mr Tony Gatt
Feb 22nd, 12:00
I was curious as to why these modern fighters could not fly in bad weather. All is explained.
M. Bezzina
Feb 22nd, 12:35
Mr.Gatt read properly.....''Sources said the jets could not be flown back because the pilots’ inactivity meant they could not renew a special licence to be able to fly in bad weather, which made them depend completely on instrumentation''
Not because every pilot has a license can fly to any airport...for eg if you go to Reggio u need special skills due to the landing pathway ...when there was kai-tak airport functioning in Hong Kong the pilots needed special trainining due to the approach.If there is a pilot(reading this) who may elaborate I will be grateful too....
Mark Bugeja
Feb 22nd, 13:23
Mr Bezzina, funnily enough I'm in the UK at the moment waiting to undertake this exam needed though for commercial purposes, to fly in "bad weather". It is called an Instrument Rating. The term bad weather is badly used, as one needs an instrument rating if he/she is expected to fly in certain airspace, and flight which forecasts entry into cloud and bad visibility where instrument approaches and flying rather than visual are expected. The need for such a rating arises from the fact that as human being we suffer from a lot of illusions from our vestibular apparatus (l-ilma ta' widnejna) and therefore, when you go into cloud, you cannot tell if you are upright, upside down, banked etc, due to the fact that you have no visual reference. This is why we do this instrument rating .. and hopefully i get my first time pass next week :)
carmel muscat
Feb 22nd, 13:35
kif ma taf ghaliex ma setux itijru f temp hazin ????/mela ma qratux l artiklu sew ghax kiku kont tkun taf ghaliex dan kass li hafna taqbdu u tibdew tikumentaw bl addocc minghajr ma tkunu tafu il fatti kif inhuwma - - - - - - - - - -