Seeing the Cheetah as a little kid at airshows is what sparked my love for aviation. I'm now an aircraft engineer, and I owe that all to this aircraft.

@tyronrossouw930

7 ай бұрын

I used to watch them fly from AFB Ysterplaat's airshows! Always a crowd pleasing roar from that massive afterbuner.

@SparkBerry

6 ай бұрын

@@tyronrossouw930 That's exactly where my passion was born.

@Raven3one

6 ай бұрын

Watching Glen Warden flying the Mirage 3CZ at the Virginia Airshows in Durban

This plane climbs 46,000 feet per second (05:05), which is exactly the kind of attention to detail that makes Dark Skies renowned for sheer carelessness.

@iBeast_M0de

7 ай бұрын

What do you want when you’re pumping out videos on all these channels

@Harley2010SG

7 ай бұрын

It was able to achieve that. However, the pilot was flattened by the G-force and the plane would end up in outer space... 😎

@glennllewellyn7369

7 ай бұрын

SA mechanics are the best!

@RoboticPope

7 ай бұрын

It would burn up on exit doing mach 42. A reverse meteorite 😅

@phillipzx3754

7 ай бұрын

I was just about to post something when I decided I should see who else heard that claim. FOIW....its ROC is about 46,000-56,000 ft/minute...depending on the model.

Today, only 2 Gripens are still active today. Sad decline.

SUPER COOL!!!!when south africa was still a great country

5:07 WHOOPS ! A rate of climb of over 46,000 feet per second is 31,000 miles per hour

@pigmoonk2545

7 ай бұрын

space plane

@Airtzel

7 ай бұрын

Yeah, Elon Musk needs to take notes here

Well researched and good pronunciation. A few little known facts, the Cheetah featured the first look-down-shoot-down helmet in military service. In the early 2000s a US F15 squadron came over for friendly exercises. The final score was tied between the F15 and Cheetah. The US pilots were surprised at how nimble the aircraft is and also how difficult to spot in a dogfight. This aircraft is a testament to South African ingenuity and engineering prowess.

@majungasaurusaaaa

5 ай бұрын

And now the country struggles to even keep the lights on.

@JustifyJustin

5 ай бұрын

@majungasaurusaaaa Still has amazing engineers, Doctors etc.

@GaionSputro

3 күн бұрын

​@@JustifyJustin Thanks to whites.

A small correction. The Cheetah was intended as an interim or stopgap upgrade while the fourth-generation Carver was under development. The Cheetah was essentially the Kfir C7 with an upgraded Atar-9K-50-12 engine instead of the J79. The R-Darter and A-Darter missiles were a massive advancement over the old Kukri, R550, and R530 missiles (comparable to the IRIS-T and AMRAAM). The 85th Squadron was an advanced flying school, not a "flying skull." Sadly, the Cheetah's service with Draken is winding down because the Air Force decided to use more advanced aircraft as adversaries.

@tyronrossouw930

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing.

The South Africans really are quite remarkable people. Heartbreaking to see what's happening to them now.

@StudSupreme

7 ай бұрын

All thanks to the western leftist academic 'intellectuals' falling in line with their communist eastern bloc 'counsellors'......... Leftists are all a bunch of bedwetters.

@Eric-kn4yn

7 ай бұрын

​@@StudSupremehappening to every western nation 👽 taking over australia too ex commie nations not so

@pierrelightfoot2669

6 ай бұрын

Yes, it is not easy to have the world against you, ask Isreal, they are in the same boat. At least they are still fighting for their existance.

USA, USSR, China, and everybody else armed proxies to fight over oil and diamonds in that corner of the world. "Helped Namibians" my rear end!

@user-lb8bg6kj9m

7 ай бұрын

I don't think the USSR was interested in oil 🛢️ or diamonds 💎. They wanted a friendly govt at the tip of Africa where ships would pass through if the Suez Canal was under US control.

@todaywefly4370

7 ай бұрын

EVERYBODY’s interested in oil.

@angelcartagena2375

7 ай бұрын

There is always an interest, economical, political, military or geographical.

@Eric-kn4yn

7 ай бұрын

​​@@todaywefly4370not greenies 😂

@jackieeastom8758

7 ай бұрын

Warmongers everyone!

....and now we can hardly put 1 Gripen into the air. So sad....😢

Greetings from Cape Town…

Cheetah E was the upgraded Mirage 3E. Cheetah C was refurbished Kfir airframes, Cheetah D was the Mirage DZ and D2Z airframes.

@frednoname3714

6 ай бұрын

Thx ! I thaught Kfir has U.S engines or is it previous israelian version plz ? Thx

@louwvandermerwe178

5 ай бұрын

You are right. IAF had the J79 and the Cheetah Atar 9K50.

@frednoname3714

5 ай бұрын

@@louwvandermerwe178 and you know what 🥳 Degaulle embargo Israël.. so CIA managed to get ATAR engines from ??? And refurbish to Israël... and Israël sold kfir versions to S.A finally mirage iII everywhere originals/copies/hybrides 🥳

I don't know where you got your info from, but we never began to lose the fight anywhere! We took names and kicked ass right up to the end of the war. Also, we developed leading edge, world class arms, armoured vehicles and helicopters. You may want to do a video on the Rooivalk.

@marcg1686

7 ай бұрын

Running out of money didn't help.

@Eric-kn4yn

7 ай бұрын

Hows electricity supply its no longer guaranteed 24/7 i campagained against ANC TuTu when they came to australia 40years past lost the fight its sad

@marcg1686

7 ай бұрын

@@Eric-kn4yn It is indeed sad. South Africa is to all intents and purposes a failed state.

@Eric-kn4yn

7 ай бұрын

​@@marcg1686australia getting record big unwanted 👽 migration housing crisis whites dont want it govt not of the people now its scary good luck to you

The Atlas Cheetah, developed amid the Border War of the 1980's, is based on the Israeli Kfir fighter, derived from the Mirage 5 / IAI Nesher.

A climb rate of 46,000 feet per SECOND?? That's over 31,000 miles per hour, or Mach 40+! That's damned good performance!

@drizler

7 ай бұрын

It looks like Joe Isuzu has struck again🤭

@davekisor1486

7 ай бұрын

Pretty good for an aircraft that became obsolete at the beginning of the 20th century. Or at least that's what the man said.

@flexairz

7 ай бұрын

Obviously an error

@wezob4569

7 ай бұрын

This is exactly what i came to the comments for 😂😂😂. I was like what???!!!

@mornevanderwatt7965

7 ай бұрын

Yeah, we had UFO's before the USA 😆

Beautiful jets. Win any beauty contest 😊

@Eric-kn4yn

7 ай бұрын

Thats all they would win 21C they are museum artifacts

@reneegudjon3204

7 ай бұрын

@@Eric-kn4yn I am sure they can do basic defense in the area in peace time at least

@Eric-kn4yn

7 ай бұрын

​​@@reneegudjon3204no way very expensive to maintain basic defence get cheaper a/c counter insurgency or advanced trainners ok from australia

The Cheetah had a Kfir engine. The testing was done at Langebaanweg Air Base in the early 80's . Proudly South African ingenuity ! Now, the SANDF is on crunches !

@yoamal1187

7 ай бұрын

The kfir had a j79 engine, the Americans wouldn't sell it to the south africans

@proveritate9312

7 ай бұрын

​​​@@yoamal1187 The whole mod was done with help from Israel. There were Israelis at LBW. The story about the engine then was a secret or something. I was stationed at LBW and was told it's a Kfir engine. I didn't work on that project. Ps. At that stage SA would receive spares from another buyer, and not direct. It's possible that the Israelis supply the Kfir engine, and the USA turned a blind eye. Remember, it was still the times of the cold war. The SANDF had Super Frelons, Puma and Alouette helicopters. And we got spares through other channels !

@martinstrumpfer1620

7 ай бұрын

The Cheetah C was fitted with an upgraded French Atar engine. Later the Ds were also fitted with it. The E never had it. None of them had the J79 fitted as the Kfir. There was testing with a Russian engine in the early 90s at Overberg.

@marcg1686

7 ай бұрын

The Cheetah was powered by Atar 9C or 9K50 engines. The Kfir was powered by the J-79 series engine.

@andrewmorke

7 ай бұрын

@@yoamal1187 It wasn't the best engine in any case. The J79 was notoriously smoky and a gas guzzler. The RAF chose the RR Spey over the J79 for its Phantoms.

The inventors of Helmet Mounted Display Sights, ability to shoot missiles off-bore. Was revolutionary technology. With South Africa still leading edge in the technology, and still involved in the development and manufacturing in US and EU systems.

@zofe

7 ай бұрын

aka Elbit Systems

@korybeckwith834

7 ай бұрын

I might be wrong but the HMS developed in South Africa came out before Israel developed one. Its not to say they were developed in parallel.

@zanderlabuschagne2368

7 ай бұрын

@@korybeckwith834 It was very simple, and wasn't really used, the missiles could not turn well enough to make it useful. Maybe the R-73 would've changed that.

@korybeckwith834

7 ай бұрын

@@zanderlabuschagne2368 Ive read at a air show (Paris maybe) russian agent stole a HDMS from a South African display desk. Not sure if this is true though.

@zofe

7 ай бұрын

@@korybeckwith834 Before 1978? What year, then?

Oh man, memories of seeing the Cheetah at Ysterplaat air shows in Cape Town as a child.

And now we cannot even keep the lights on.

@deancameronkaiser

7 ай бұрын

In today's time yes but back then things were different.

@user-lb8bg6kj9m

7 ай бұрын

💡

Wow' informative & outstandingly interesting. Thanks, Dan

The Mirage III was never slow. It's original ATAR pushed it to Mach 2. Dogfighting, well, I've personally seen both F16 & F15s in gun footage when I worked on them as an Armament Fitter. Flew supersonic in the D model. They were the premier fighter of the time. :) Great vid :)

Great upload! Thanks for the follow up from the Mirage to my favorite! Should have dug a bit deeper for the end and mentioned the Atlas Carver project that never was.

I loved watching this video. The 80's style music was both awesome and appropriate.

You can see decommisioned Cheetahs at Swartkop Airforce base in Centurion, Gauteng..

@Eric-kn4yn

7 ай бұрын

gate guards weather will destroy them any in a/c museums

Really glad you put that big red ring around the plane in the thumbnail! ;-)

Reliable Mig 23 😮😳

Necessity is the mother of invention!

Had the privilege of seeing the Cheetah C demonstrated in Port Elizabeth probably around 1990. It was impressive in turning ability compared with the 2nd generation Mirage F1's . One aspect made it difficult to see as it moved away from the airfield - that later dark grey camouflage scheme made it almost impossible to identify against an overcast sky. It was also very loud on full afterburner! The real magic was actually the electronic warfare suite much of it developed locally and probably still fully or partially classified. Hats off to "the boys in Pretoria" They were also planning a full ground up 4th genner - a locally developed multi role fighter to be named The Atlas "Carver " (see Wikipedia page)

@nerdyali4154

6 ай бұрын

Classified in South Africa now means easily available to anybody with a bit of cash.

Great series for seeing what's flown around out there even though it can be difficult to understand the implications of success... also have trouble distinguishing some different models - for some that I do kinda know I can see that the mixture of planes shown and highlighted can be confusing. thanks for sharing the entertainment (everyone)

I enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

Namibia is a beautiful country

46,000 feet per second ?? Pretty Fast !!

As a South African I'm proud that you covered this. If you can get info please do a cover story on the Milkor 380 UAV that my company produces or our 40mm Multiple Grenade Launcher or Super Six. I work for Milkor and it would definitely be interesting to see if you can get more information on our First UAV produced on the African continent by Milkor.

@matthewleegovender7217

7 ай бұрын

We have drones ?

@deancameronkaiser

7 ай бұрын

@@matthewleegovender7217 yes we do. Milkor South Africa based in Cape Town Western Cape has built the first operational 18m long wingspan Drone or UAV. It's the biggest Military Drone produced on the African continent. It's called the Milkor 380 UAV.

@deancameronkaiser

7 ай бұрын

@@matthewleegovender7217 I work at Milkor Head Office in Centurion Gauteng so I know a lot. I'm based in the weapons Department where we produce Grenade Launchers that are sold to over 60 Countries worldwide.

@deancameronkaiser

7 ай бұрын

@@matthewleegovender7217 Milkor is a Civil Defence Company started in South Africa in the early 1980's. We have been going for over 40 years, we were the first Company in the world to produce a Multiple Grenade Launcher 40mm. Our MK1 variant of our Flagship gun called the Milkor Super Six is used by the US Marine Cor to this day. Obviously with that being said we have made substantial changes to the gun over the years to where it's better than our competition.

@RubenMyburgh-gw2ww

7 ай бұрын

We darn made the rest of the world be scared

Hey...Dark guy...I like your work...keep going....

I remember seeing posters promoting the Cheetah from my boy scouts hall before getting to see one at an Airshow. I was so proud to have an indigenous fighter since I’ve always been obsessed with aviation.

i was pleasantly surprised you covered this topic . South African.

Great content really interesting

Rate of climb 46,000 feet per second = *ludicrous speed* !!!

It is amazing how much excess capacity was built into 2nd gen fighter aircraft. Boeing once did a study at the behest of the DoD looking into the potential upgrade of the F4. What they came up with was close in performance to the new “teen” series of planes then coming into service and superior to anything coming from the east. Needless to say Grumman, McDonnel-Douglas, etc. we’re none too keen on seeing an F4 upgrade.

Rate of Climb of 46,000 feet per second? That’s 9 seconds to reach space!

Thanks for that massive red circle in the thumbnail. I would never of seen the plane in the photo.

Speaking of mirages, I would like to see a documentary of the IAI Kfir.

So trots op die jet!!!!

@piet8803

7 ай бұрын

Dis lekker om te sien hoeveel van ons Suid Afrikaners al die video gesien het in so kort tyd. Ons land het sy probleme, maar ons bly trots en die mense is wonderlik. Politiek in SA is en was ons probleem.

Mirage 3 never really lacked speed, as it was designed to intercept soviet bombers and reach Mach 2

5:06 - 46,000 feet per SECOND? Wow, that's pretty impressive.

@andrewmorke

7 ай бұрын

That would be a massive surprise to any of its engineers or pilots.

Africa's best military at the time. Today, a meere shadow of its former might.

A video about Draken International would be interesting

46 000 feet per second. Holy shit Batman he just flew straight past the space shuttle like it was standing still😂😂😂

YOU ALL KNOW WHAT HE MEANT, PER MINUTE, GIVE IT A REST ALREADY

@CabbageBloke

7 ай бұрын

Shows lack of quality control over his over his own content.

@Eric-kn4yn

7 ай бұрын

​​​@@CabbageBlokeits deliberate every utube this guy does has them to create a lasting image and generate viewer interaction to boost subs ok

@TonyA4766

7 ай бұрын

Nah…it’s funny!!

@andrewdutoit9571

5 ай бұрын

​@@CabbageBlokeIf it bothers you, go read Readers Digest.

Rate of climb of 46000 feet per second?!?!?!?!? That's pretty darn fast - like, very fast - mach 45, or twice the orbital speed :) Maybe per minute? Please fix :)

@robertmasseyiii3720

7 ай бұрын

😂

@johncraig1431

7 ай бұрын

Yes I was just thinking that. 46,000ft. Per second??

@vladimirmihnev9702

7 ай бұрын

LMAO so it's a space fighter 😂

@vladimirmihnev9702

7 ай бұрын

Orbital speed, no the, it varies depending on height over sea level.

@robertmasseyiii3720

7 ай бұрын

I want that alien tech for my vehicle right now!

Amazing innovation.. South Africa seems a shadow of its former self

Cheetah D was introduced first entering service in 1986. The Cheetah E was developed more or less in parallel and entered service in 1988. In parallel to those ran the R project which flew in 1987. The Cheetah C was developed last and first flew in 1991.

An interesting episode, that shows the determination of countries that will carefully use their existing resources to create a status of maintaining their sovereignty and separate themselves from undesirable regimes of their surrounding nations. The remarkable upgrades to these aircraft, helped them, to maintain this separate sovern status... An Excellent video and explanation of the upgrades and results made to create these Cheetah aircraft....

I love what SA has accomplished in military technology. They have produced some fantastic military equipment. From fighters to helicopters IFVS etc!!!!

.y country has entirely lost the ability to defend its self the new government is disgusting

@kehindebamgbopa3037

5 ай бұрын

Tey aren't defending against anyone! What use is all that when you have no enemies?

A rate of climb of 46,000’ per second? I think that should be per minute.

Awesome video. My only criticism was the start of the Border War as we called it, was when UNITA asked for South African assistance during the Angolan Civil War. That war expanded to include the liberation of Namibia.

sorry i have to comment. the mirage f1 and mirage 3 could infact take on the mig 23 many times over the issue saaf had was the technical parts needed for maintenance and airworthiness. So here in fact enters Israel which passed on tech info to saaf from the kfir and then the saaf improved upon those specifications.

This is a wonderful video about Cheater ( upgraded Mirage 3) versions... by Israel 🇮🇱 and South Africa 🇿🇦 technologies capabilities. Approaches to Cheater R...as most progressive reconnaissance and fighters aircraft....thank you ( Dark skies) channel for sharing ... sometimes, international sanctions create opposition reflection resumes

@schlix101

6 ай бұрын

Cheetah

UN: Arms embargo on South-Africa, ok? IAI: The what?

@Eric-kn4yn

7 ай бұрын

🇮🇱 plays by its own rules 😂

@kehindebamgbopa3037

5 ай бұрын

Reason why it's got SA govt heading to the world court with genocide allegations ATM

Saw it fly many many many times!

Still operational after 60 years after introduction and still being up-to-date. Impressive

Ecuador ended up with the last Cheetah C, since the ecuadorian air force was replacing it's old Kfir jets, it seemed normal but unfortunately the current South African government that has issues with IAI and the total collapse of Denel has forced the fleet to be grounded, this is the problem with small suppliers that can't warrantee they can keep their products flying

Good on the SADF!

At 46,000 feet per second, it’s what Chuck Norris chooses to fly!!

Cheetah /IAI Kfir Development is a slap in the face to the Americans

@user-lb8bg6kj9m

7 ай бұрын

America approved of it. In the 80s, America backed South Africa apartheid govt behind the scenes as it feared a Soviet backed overthrow of the apartheid govt. US Congress however passed laws restricting US help to South Africa due to public protests against the apartheid regime. So US turned to Israel (and France?) to supply equipment through the back door. Correct me if I'm wrong...

@Eric-kn4yn

7 ай бұрын

Its all history now sth africa failed state sad

@pierrelightfoot2669

6 ай бұрын

The US always wants a finger in every pie. It is because of the US and the UN that everything here in South Africa went south.

If I'm not mistaken one of the Cheetahs were used to test systems for the Atlas Carver

Didn't the South Africans have 16 Buccaneers?

@Eric-kn4yn

7 ай бұрын

I think so ground attack role maybe delivering nukes but its history now

My Country, sadly

Also in early 2000s the Chilean Air Force bought a few Cheetah fighters to use them as spares source for the Mirage 5 and 50 in Chilean service before the introduction of the current F-16 fighters between 2006 and 2007.

Only two Grippens flying now I believe.

@marcg1686

7 ай бұрын

And SAAF pilots going to Cuba for training.🤦

@Eric-kn4yn

7 ай бұрын

​​​@@marcg1686 sth afrikan embassy gave us material to distribute when tambo TuTu were in australia necklacing winnie australian govt wanted whites out in sth afrika we lost the fight now every white nation except ex soviet bloc 👽 migrationreplacing white race sth afrika elec not guaranteed 24/ 7 its sad

@piet8803

7 ай бұрын

@@marcg1686 They love their commie friends. I may be wrong, but I think the army gets their medical training there as well. Cuba needs the money.

@Upemm

7 ай бұрын

@@marcg1686 I don’t know what they are going to fly , most aircraft are out of service for lack of parts and can’t afford the mechanics to fix them when they might be able to pay for the parts. Very sad state of affairs.

@marcg1686

6 ай бұрын

​@@UpemmSad indeed. I remember a SAAF officer interviewed by Air Forces Monthly at the time the SAAF was looking for a replacement for the Cheetah/F1 fleet saying that they were bowled over by how expensive 4th generation fighters were compared to the Mirage 3. I've often wondered if purchasing additional Mirage 3 and 5 airframes and doing complete rebuilds wouldn't have been preferable. And perhaps uprating the Atar engines.

46000 feet per second? Come on man!

So powerful I like

My understanding is that Draken rejected the Cheetahs because they were stored outside and in incredibly bad condition. I live nearby and have witnessed the Mirage F.1s being tested. Those are beautiful and loud!

Climb rate of 46,000ft/sec is impressive, don't think anyone else has managed that, even with a satellite on top.

46,000 ft./sec. climb rate is impressive.

@lastmanstanding9389

7 ай бұрын

and that is without afterburner.

So glad they drew that big red circle around the plane, I never would have guessed what in the picture the vid was about

@thecurrentmoment

7 ай бұрын

Same, at first glance I thought it was a video about surveying vegetation while at high speed, which is something I am particularly interested in, but the red circle cleared it up for me

@Eric-kn4yn

7 ай бұрын

These utubes errors happen every time its deliberate to ferment comments boost subs

Rate of climb 46,000 ft per second is pretty impressive 👍😂

That snafu was clever,because here i am commenting more than 4 words. (FOUR)

Dark skies never fails to make my ass and spread my day.

@major_kukri2430

7 ай бұрын

Bro wat? 💀

"....rate of climb of 46,000 feet per second......." DAMN !

great channel but can i ask why does the thumbnail for the video have to have a ridiculous arrow or circle around the item of interest?

Today South Africa has only two fighter aircraft that remain 100% serviceable. What a disgrace.

Not mentioned variation with Klimov RD-33 engine (x1.5 thrust).

rate of climb of 46000ft per second idk bout that one chief 5:02

46,000' per second climb - Wow, just wow!!! --Gunny T sends

I too, have had 37 cups of coffee today.

good bye to the pride of the saaf

"Reliable" MiG-23? lol

Now South Africa hasn’t even got a regular electricity supply

I think this guy makes mistakes on purpose so that we comment on em

It was camoed like the cheeta cat?

A rate of climb of 46000 ft per second... wow... That's a figure, even NASA could only dream of.

Gaijin, You know what to do.

A 46k ft per second climb rate? That's more than a rocket

From the headline, I was initially expecting it to transform into a robot

Climb Rate of 48000 per second . . . I think you mean minute.

You no you should do a new channel called Dark armor and just like all the cool plane vids do ones on tanks and armoured vechles that changed history.

46000 ft per second rate of climb?