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 momentum. The inaugural Children's Flight took place last year and was a tremendous success. As soon as it concluded, Felix began organizing this year's event, which ultimately grew to nearly four times the size of the previous one.

The day began quite early for all the children traveling from various locations to reach Grand Central for a delightful day. Generous donors sponsored all the transportation for the children. Upon arrival, the children received a framed photograph of themselves, taken, printed, and framed in commemorative frames on-site by the friendly team from Canon.

Shortly after the prayer opened the event, the first group of kids was led to the waiting aircraft, which ranged from two-seaters to the De Havilland Dash 8 provided by CemAir. All the pilots generously donated their time and aircraft to ensure the children had an unforgettable day. While some children were flying, the rest of the 400 children were entertained with live music, coloring books, and face painting. Coordinating flights for all the children was a massive logistical challenge, but the dedicated volunteers succeeded in getting every child onto one of the many aircraft.

The South African Air Force visited the children with a brief flypast featuring four Gripen fighter jets. The roar of the jets prompted the children to rush out of the hangar to catch a glimpse of these incredible machines.

Feeding the children turned out to be a significant challenge since the food needed to be transported from the kitchen to the hangar where the children were waiting. However, as usual, the aviation community demonstrated their problem-solving skills; a whiteboard was swiftly repurposed into a large tray, allowing the food to be delivered.

To maintain high excitement levels, a mini airshow was organized, where some of South Africa's top aerobatic display pilots further inspired the young audience with incredible performances. The event kicked off with a stunning display of formation aerobatics, led by Ryan Beaton in an RV7, accompanied by Larry Beamish also in an RV7, and Jason Beamish in an Extra 300.

Gary Whitecross, flying his Pilatus B4 glider, was towed to altitude by Derek Hopkins in a Lombada. After releasing, Gary activated his wingtip smoke grenades and continued to create trails in the sky while performing loops and rolls silently through the beautiful blue spring skies.

From the elegant glider to the high-impact unlimited aerobatic performance by Neville Ferreira in his Slick 540, Neville left the kids in awe with his display. One of the young children asked if he wasn't afraid of falling out of the aircraft.

Larry and Pierre soared into the skies once more, this time in a mismatched formation featuring a Harvard and an Aero L-39.

The flying program concluded with a parade by the remarkable emergency services, who were on standby throughout the day, prepared to address any situation that might have occurred. Thankfully, their assistance wasn't required, but it was comforting to know that the teams from Grand Central Fire and Rescue, ER 24, and the SAPD were ready to act if necessary.

Mrs. Poppy Khoza, the Director of Civil Aviation, was invited to speak to the children. Following her address, she presented a set of special "Children's Flight" wings to all participating pilots. The aviation community responded enthusiastically to this initiative, with more than fifty aircraft provided by their owners to help fulfill the dreams of these children who have already faced significant challenges in their young lives.

After observing a flight by large radio-controlled "Paper Planes," each child received a blank sheet of paper to make their own paper plane.

During the performance of "Paper Plane," the children were encouraged to launch their paper planes in an effort to establish a new record for the most paper planes thrown at the same time by children.

Acknowledging everyone who contributed to this special day would be nearly impossible, and I'm likely to overlook someone, so I won't attempt it. However, I must give special recognition to Maranda Van Dam for her tireless efforts in coordinating the event, Gary Renault, CEO of Grand Central Airport, Sarah Thepa, the Airport Manager, and her incredible team, as well as Capital Sounds for providing the sound equipment and keeping the children entertained with informative commentary throughout the day.

In conclusion, I would like to quote Felix, as I believe no one could encapsulate the essence of the day better than this remarkable man: "The Children’s Flight originated from a music video called ‘Paper Plane’, which is fundamentally about a child with a dream to fly, but on a deeper level, it’s about anyone with a dream.

Aviation has traditionally been about defying significant odds and overcoming the laws of nature, the politics of man, the constraints of the economy, and technological advancements... for so long, aviation was an exclusive privilege reserved for elite military, selected individuals, or the extremely wealthy…

We wanted to bring aviation closer to children, to promote the idea that anyone can become whatever they aspire to be… That you can literally 'take that paper plane to your destiny'… if even one of these kids pursues their dream one day, then this day may have contributed to that."

Well done, Felix, you are a true inspiration to all of us, and hopefully, we will see you all again next year.

FLY FEED LOVE INSPIRE all boxes ticked

Please browse our gallery of special moments throughout the day

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