After a lot of soul searching and self-deliberation I have decided to do a report on the memorial of Werner Nel as Werner was...

By Garth Calitz The Potchefstroom Gliding Club hosted the National Gliding Championships once more from October 1st to 7th. Following last year's outstanding success, it was decided again to schedule the National Championships earlier in the year compared to previous years. This year, fifty-three participants competed across four different classes: eleven in the Club Class, twenty-one in the Open/18 Meter Class, thirteen in the 15 Meter Class, and six in the newly introduced

By Trevor Cohen As we approached the airport in Polokwane, the low cloud cover made me increasingly doubt the possibility of witnessing an air show. Despite the rain and mud, dedicated attendees parked their cars and made their way from the parking areas to the entrance of the show apron. For those who haven't taken the 2-hour and 40-minute journey north or flown to the Gateway Airport north of Polokwane, there's a sizable airfield with two runways and two large aprons capabl

By Garth Calitz The Fun n Sun weekend almost turned into a Fun n Splash weekend when the skies opened up on Friday night, prompting pilots to quickly move their prized aircraft into hangars. Thankfully, Rustenburg residents were more than willing to accommodate as many as possible. Despite the bad weather, spirits remained high, and everyone enjoyed a lively evening of conversation at the Rustenburg Flying Club clubhouse. Early on Saturday morning, the weather appeared quite

By Pieter Cronje On Saturday, 7 October, the South African Airforce Museum conducted its monthly flying training day. Despite forecasts of rain and some rainfall overnight and in the early morning, the flying day commenced around 9:00 with the customary parachute display, featuring jumps from an SAAF Museum Atlas Kudu. The clouds had partially cleared, allowing for a high-altitude jump. This was followed by two Alouette 3 and an Alouette 2 helicopter. Soon after they departed

By Garth Calitz The annual Rally Flying Club competition took place at the Secunda Flying Club on Saturday, 30 September 2017. This enjoyable rally coincided with the Secunda Spring Festival, held at Umuzi Lake, located just north of the airfield. The Spring Festival will continue until 9 October. Jonty Essrer, Chairman of the South African Power Flight Association, along with Sandy Goddard, organized the course, which included a "Start Point," eight "Turning Points," and a "

By Sean Cronin Gavin Neil of the Mozambique Aero Club invited South African pilots to participate in a fly-away to the picturesque lagoon town of Praia do Bilene. Situated 90 miles northeast of Maputo, Bilene is nestled by the crystal-clear Uembje Lagoon, with the roaring Indian Ocean just beyond the towering dunes. Bilene Airport is positioned slightly inland from the town at an elevation of 131 feet. Its asphalt runway 01/19 stretches 692 meters, which is more than adequat

By Rugene Frost Eagle Air, situated in the main terminal at Wonderboom Airport, hosted a highly successful open day on Saturday, 30 September. Despite coinciding with the public school holiday, around ninety people attended. Eagle Air is among the few Flight Schools offering regular Cross Country flyaways for PPL holders with night ratings. During these flights, an Instructor serves as a Safety Pilot to assist the pilots as they aim to cover all nine provinces in four or five

By Rugene Frost Pretoria Skydiving Club hosted the second round of the National Skydiving Championships, with the first event held in Rustenburg earlier this year. Canopy Piloting, also known as "swooping," is a relatively new discipline in skydiving competitions. This discipline became possible with the development of smaller and faster canopies in the mid-1990s. Initially referred to as "blade running," it soon evolved into the format used today. Competitors navigate over a

By Garth Calitz The Johannesburg Light Plane Club at Baragwaneth Airfield appears to have discovered how to bring back the golden age of club flying. The laid-back atmosphere and camaraderie of the Bara Festival led many of the older members to reminisce about the "good old days" when a day at the flying club was a family event. Twenty-two visiting aircraft arrived, with many participants joining for lunch after having breakfast at Orient. Ivan van der Schaar was the first to