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 demonstrations by Working on Fire and LEFPA.

Jacques Mollentze and Joggie, two local skydivers, completed a jump from a Robinson 44 helicopter operated by hover.co.za and expertly piloted by Phillip Cope.

The Lowveld Model Aircraft Club (LOMAC) saw a great turnout, although flying was unfortunately not possible. The morning's entertainment began with a Powered Paraglider display, followed by a performance from Simon Bennett in his stunning Stunt Jag 1942 Steadman.

Ryan Beaton in his RV7, Pierre Gouws in his RV8, and Derek Hopkins piloting Peter Lea’s RV10 performed an impressive flypast and break. Pierre and Ryan, both part of the Raptor Aerobatics team, demonstrated their skills in executing maneuvers in a very tight formation.

Lowveld Aero Club is the oldest flying club in South Africa, with a fascinating history closely tied to Nelspruit Airport.

In 1949, Barlows needed to transport contractors for the construction of their headquarters in Nelspruit, but there was no airfield available. H L Hall & Sons prepared a strip on the Woodhouse farm for this purpose, marking the beginning of the airport. The first aircraft to land on the grass field in 1949 brought flowers for the wedding of Bob and Peggy (née Hall) Snaddon.

The land for Nelspruit Airport, formerly known as Lanion Hall Airport, was donated in 1952 by Wilfred Hall to the Nelspruit Town Council for airport development, with the condition that if the airport ceased to be used for this purpose, the property would revert to H L Hall & Sons.

In March 1953, a flying club was established, and Peter Manfred Cruse, founder of the former Vinto Minerals, became its first chairman. Cruse arranged for Vinto to provide various facilities for the club, including sending a Vinto truck to Lyttleton, Pretoria, to bring the first plane to Nelspruit. Norman Holford, manager of Barlows in Nelspruit, and Pat Egan were instrumental in promoting aviation in Nelspruit.

Legend suggests that an old tree near the main hangar served as the first ‘hangar’ at Nelspruit airfield, where the Tiger Moth was housed. The acquisition of this aircraft led to the formation of a private company in 1953, Lowveld Aviation, with P M Cruse as the first Chairman. This company owned two aircraft, a Tiger Moth and a Fairchild, available for hire, and later acquired a Piper Cub. John Hiles, a mechanic at Barlows in Nelspruit, maintained these aircraft.

On 5 July 1956, a meeting was held to discuss forming a flying club to organize flying activities. Essential for establishing a flying club were interested people, an aircraft, and a flying instructor. The latter two were available through Lowveld Aviation's aircraft and Pat Egan, who had an instructor’s rating and was willing to teach flying enthusiasts. The question was whether there were enough people interested in flying. Twenty-nine people attended the meeting on 5 July 1956, and the proposal to form a flying club was unanimously approved, with a ten-member committee elected.

One of the first issues addressed was the club's name. A proposal to let the committee decide later was rejected by Pat Egan, who emphasized the urgency due to the need for an Operator’s Licence application. The name ‘Lowveld Aero and Social Club’ (LASC) was temporarily adopted at this meeting and remained until the late 90s when it was changed to Lowveld Aero Club. It is now the oldest continuously active aero club in the country.

The club's first year was challenging. An Air Rally was organized, which turned out to be a financial disaster. A Chipmunk crashed during an aerobatic demonstration, and the club assumed responsibility for the aircraft.

Rob Ferreira, then Mayor of Nelspruit, donated a Floating Trophy and a miniature for the Air Race winner held during the Rally. This later became part of the Annual Club Day.

In 1957, two aircraft were severely damaged in a hailstorm, with hailstones penetrating the fragile hangar roof and shredding the aircraft fabric. That same year, a second Tiger Moth purchased crashed after an engine failure on take-off; Pat Eagan was fortunate to survive. In 1958, a Cessna 172 (ZS-CIP) was bought, and in 1962, the Piper Cub was replaced as the trainer by a Piper Colt. By 1963, LASC was the largest shareholder in the Company.

In 1964, Lowveld Aviation encountered financial difficulties, and in 1965, a group of club members pooled funds to create another company to replace Lowveld Aviation. This company still operates under the name Lowveld Aviation.

The Cessna 172 (ZS-CIP) was replaced by another Cessna 172 (ZS-EDJ), and in 1966, the company acquired a Piper Cherokee 140 (ZS-EMN) to fill the gap left by the Piper Colt being written off after an accident. Later, a second Piper Cherokee 140 (ZS-ESW) was purchased, allowing the company to operate three aircraft. Over the years, the Flying Club stabilized, buying shares in the company until it was phased out.

#Nelspruit #LowveldAeroClub