Army helicopter spotted over Ladysmith creates a stir
New pilots were learning how to land in bad weather.
Several South African Army helicopters were spotted over Ladysmith over the last few days, including one this afternoon (September 4).
The SANDF have confirmed that a total of eight helicopters were conducting VOR exercises as part of bad weather training.
The helicopter was observed flying over the CBD as part of what is understood to be a navigational training exercise.
VOR training is a non-precision instrument procedure that provides horizontal lateral guidance using ground-based radio signals, requiring the pilot to manually manage vertical descent profiles, with pilots coming in from the Bergville direction. They used the VOR signal to locate areas to land.
Residents who noticed one of the helicopters, reported seeing it touching down in the Hospital Park area of Ladysmith. Many were curious if there was an emergency that the army chopper was responding to, especially when it hovered near the Provincial Hospital and the prison.
5SAI confirmed that it was a training exercise.
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