Royal Flight of Oman

Royal Flight of Oman
Royal Standard of the Sultan of Oman
Active1974 - present
CountrySultanate of Oman
Allegiance Oman
RoleVIP Transport
Part ofThe Diwan of Royal Court Affairs
Main operating baseMuscat International Airport (MCT/OOMS)[1]
Paint scheme on fixed wing aircraftAll over white with red and green cheatline with national flag on tail fin[2]
ICAO and IATA CodesORF and RS
Commanders
Commander of His Majesty’s Royal Flight OmanCaptain Suleiman Bin Harith al Barashdi (since 2010)[3][4]
Aircraft flown
TransportAirbus A319 & A320, Boeing 747, Gulfstream 550 & VIP helicopters
The RFO's Boeing 747 SP27, note SATCOM bulge on top of fuselage
The RFO's Boeing 747 430
The RFO's Airbus A320
The RFO's Airbus A319
One of the RFO's Gulfstream 550s (A40-AE/Al Hazim)
An Omani C-130J departing RAF Fairford (this is a RAFO air frame - one of three C-130Js delivered to Oman)
A RFO Super Puma II

The Royal Flight of Oman (RFO) is the VIP air transport capability embedded within the Sultan of Oman's Royal Household. The Royal Flight is not a military organisation, but rather part of the Diwan of Royal Court Affairs;[5] it is not part of the Royal Guard of Oman.[6]

The RFO was formed in 1974 and started with a few fixed wing aircraft, rotary wing aircraft were added in 1975.[7][8]

The RFO has its own staff housing and welfare complex (including a club and an international school) on Al Matar Street near Muscat International Airport.[9]

Bases

The RFO has one permanent operating base and a secondary base:[10]

RFO aircraft will also make use of Omani regional airports and RAFO airbases as necessary.

Current inventory

The RFO operates the following aircraft types:[13]

Aircraft Origin Type Variant Numbers Registration/Nickname Notes
Passenger Jet Aircraft
Boeing 747SP  United States VIP Transport SP27 1 A4O-SO/Sohar[14] Delivered 02/07/1984
Boeing 747-400  United States VIP Transport 430 1 A4O-OMN/Sohar[15] Delivered 30/04/2004
Boeing 747-8  United States VIP Transport 747-8 1 A4O-HMS/Nizwa[16] Delivered 2012[17]
Airbus A319  Germany VIP Transport 133 CJ 1 A4O-AJ/Khasab[18] Delivered Feb 2013
Airbus A320  France VIP Transport 233 1 A4O-AA/Saiq[19] Delivered Dec 2005
General Dynamics Gulfstream G550  United States VIP Transport G550 2 A4O-AD/Masirah[20]

A4O-AE/Al Hazim[21]

Delivered Jul 2011[22]
Transport Aircraft
Lockheed Martin C-130 Super Hercules  United States Medium lift transport J variant 1 525[23] Delivered 2012[24]
Passenger Rotary Wing Aircraft
Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma II  France VIP Transport EC225LP 6 A4O-HD, A4O-HE, A4O-HF

A4O-HMA, A4O-HMB, A4O-HMC

Delivered 2007
Eurocopter AS550 Fennec  France VIP Transport AS550C3 3 07, 08, & 09[25] Delivered 2005

Fixed wing aircraft in the RFO's fleet are normally painted all over white, with a mid-fuselage red and green cheatline. The tail fin carries the national flag of the Sultanate of Oman. The only script painted on the fuselage is in Arabic and the aircraft are named after places in the Sultanate. The RFO's C-130 transport aircraft and its helicopters are painted in a desert camouflage scheme.

References

  1. ^ "Scramble - Oman". www.scramble.nl. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  2. ^ Bowman, Martin (2014). Boeing 747: A History: Delivering the Dream. Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781473838239. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  3. ^ "The Second Region MID Safety Summit April 2014" (PDF). www.icao.int. ICAO IATA. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Home Page - Gulf in the Media". www.gulfinthemedia.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  5. ^ "Royal Flight of Oman - PILOT CAREER CENTRE". www.pilotcareercentre.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  6. ^ "Oman Yellow Pages". www.omantel-yellowpages.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Oman Royal Flight". Aeroflight. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Oman Royal Flight". Helis.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  9. ^ "The Royal Flight International School | Muscat Football Academy". muscatfootballacademy.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Airport Projects Joannou & Paraskevaides Group" (PDF). Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  11. ^ Ripley, Tim (2010). Middle East Air Power in the 21st Century. Casemate Publishers. pp. 160–161. ISBN 9781848840997. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  12. ^ Allen, Calvin H.; II, W. Lynn Rigsbee (2014). Oman Under Qaboos: From Coup to Constitution, 1970-1996. Routledge. ISBN 9781135314378. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  13. ^ "Royal Flight of Oman Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  14. ^ "Oman - Royal Flight Boeing 747SP photo by Maximilian Kramer". Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Oman - Royal Flight Boeing 747-400 photo by Lars Hentschel". Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Oman - Royal Flight Boeing 747-400 photo by John Ballantyne". Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  17. ^ "FlightSource - Aviation Photo Database". www.flightsource.ca. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  18. ^ "A4O-AJ Airbus A319-133(CJ) Oman - Royal Flight | JetPhotos". JetPhotos. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  19. ^ "F-WWDG Airbus A320-232 Oman - Royal Flight JetPhotos". JetPhotos. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  20. ^ "DSC08987 - HostingPics.net - Hébergement d'images gratuit". www.hostingpics.net (in French). Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  21. ^ "Aviation Photo 2037129: Gulfstream Aerospace G-V-SP Gulfstream G550 - (Oman Royal Flight)". Airliners.net. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  22. ^ "A4O-AE Royal Flight of Oman Gulfstream Aerospace G550". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  23. ^ "Aviation Photo: Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Hercules - (Oman Royal Flight)". Airliners.net. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  24. ^ "C-130J Super Hercules Celebrates One Million Flight Hours, Code One Magazine". Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  25. ^ "AS550 Fennec in Oman Royal Flight". Helis.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.