Saab 91D Safir PH-RLS was delivered to the Dutch State Flying School
(Rijksluchtvaartschool or RLS) in 1962. It was issued with a Certificate of Registration on
08-03-1962. At that time it was registered PH-RLY with serial number 91.436.
The aircraft served as a secondary trainer between 1962 and 1973. On 27-09-1973 the
markings were removed from the Dutch Register with the aircraft being exported to the
United Kingdom as G-BCFV. It was painted in the colours of the Swedish Air Force as
Fv50000/09.
The British buyer, A.J. Walter Aviation sold the Safir in 1976 to Westcountry Aircraft Sales.
They sold it to Roger Trenery Facer in 1978 and he sold it to Jack Townhill in 1979. Mister
Townhill flew it until 1983 when he sold it to the USA where it was registered as N91SB.
Remarkably it was registered as an experimental aircraft in the USA. The reasons for this
are not known, most likely the Saab 91D did not hold an FAA type certificate. The American
owner had the aircraft until 2018 when it was exported to Belgium. In the mean time the
US owner repainted the Safir in its original RLS colours.
In Europe, a certified aircraft cannot become an experimental aircraft so the aircraft had to
be returned to its original certified status. Vliegwerk Holland, located at Midden-Zeeland
performed these tasks for the Belgium owner and did an excellent job.
The Safir was registered as PH-RLS as its original aircraft registration (PH-RLY) was issued
in 2008 to a Cessna 402 used as a radio relay station, hence the markings.
The Belgian owner operated the aircraft until 2022 when it was sold to its current owner,
the son of an RLS engineer with great passion for aviation and the history of the RLS. After
only a few months of ownership, the owner lost his medical license and will not be able to
fly his beloved Safir anymore
