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

Over the past week, the small agricultural town of Malelane transformed into the hub of global aerobatics, as top competitors from eleven countries participated in the Twenty-Ninth FAI World Aerobatics Championships. South Africa was well-represented with six competitors: Nigel Hopkins and Barrie Eeles flew Extra 330 SCs, Patrick Davidson piloted a powerful Sukhoi 31, Bertus du Preez competed in an Sbach XA42, Mark Hensman flew an MX2, and Neville Ferreira participated in th

By Garth Calitz and Datus Immink The Lowveld Aero Club hosted an aviation awareness open day at Nelspruit Airport on Saturday, 16 September. The day, which was targeted at the school-going youth, was a huge success and drew quite a crowd; hopefully, some of them were inspired to start flying. Pugs Steyn and instructors from the Lowveld Aero Club (LAC) provided introductory flights to over forty young individuals. Additionally, all the visitors enjoyed water bombing demonstra

By Garth Calitz On Saturday, September 2nd, Kitty Hawk Aerodrome held a highly successful RV fly-in event. Situated just southeast of Pretoria's CBD, Kitty Hawk houses around 120 aircraft, including some of the country's top aerobatic pilots. The Raptors are based here, alongside notable names such as Neville Ferreira, Bertus Du Preez, and Eugene Du Preez. The Vans RV fly-in, in conjunction with the Pretoria Old Motor Club, showcased a variety of RVs along with other aircraft

By Garth Calitz On Friday, September 1st, Grand Central Airport was transformed into "The Field of Dreams," where over four hundred children experienced their first flights. The aviation community united in an inspiring manner to give these children an unforgettable day filled with fun flights and, above all, an abundance of love. Motivated by contract pilot Felix Gosher and musician Michael Ferguson, known for "Paper Plane," the Children's Flight initiative gained its own m

By Jarryd Sinovich On Friday, September 2nd, the South African Air Force (SAAF) visited Eldorado Park, located south of Johannesburg, for a youth aviation awareness expo. Major Geoffrey Cooper, a native of Eldorado Park, spoke to a crowd of over a thousand young people, stating, "I joined the SAAF because it is the most professional place to be." He also urged the youth to make the right choices, saying, "because if you choose right, the path is laid out for you." Major Coope