Peter Hengst Memorial Fly-In

Nov 13, 2017
2 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

By Garth Calitz

The Brits Flying Club hosted their ninth annual Peter Hengst Memorial Fly-In during the weekend of November 10. Peter Hengst was a beloved member of the Brits Flying Community and a dedicated supporter of the EAA in South Africa, where he served as the chairman of Chapter 322. Peter sadly lost his lengthy battle with cancer.

Peter and Chalkie Stobbart restored a Fiarchild together, and if that wasn’t impressive enough, they decided to fly the aircraft all the way to Oshkosh in the USA. This was their first trip to Oshkosh, and they repeated the journey a few years later, this time in a much faster Vans RV6.

The Peter Hegnst Memorial has evolved into a day of remembrance to honor all departed members of the Brits Flying Club. This year, the weekend coincided with Armistice Day, also known as “Poppy Day.”

The day's events began quite early with the Microlights taking to the skies to participate in a flour bombing competition. The challenge involves flying over a designated area and dropping a flour bomb onto a marked target, requiring precise timing and flying skills to succeed.

Flour bombing

During the competition, a hearty breakfast was offered at the clubhouse. Numerous pilots arrived from various parts of Gauteng, with some traveling from as far as Kroonstad and Volksrust. Aerobatics pilots Neville Ferreira and Eugene du Preez made a brief stopover from Kitty Hawk.

Neville Ferreira Slick 540

Eugenedu Preez Extra 330SC

Throughout the day, the Fun Rally participants received a briefing before embarking on their treasure hunt. A specific route was planned, and the participants had to follow it, answering questions as they went. Upon their return, they took part in a one-time spot landing competition.

Thys and Pierre van der Merwe secured the top honors in their Cessna 172. Both are based in Brits, and Thys recently represented South Africa in International Rally Flying.

Thys and Pierre Cessna 172

Karl Jensen and Mary de Klerk secured second place in Karl’s cherished Cessna 170, likely the most impeccably polished aircraft in South Africa at present.

Karl and Mary Cessna 170

Tied for third place were Pierre Dippenaar and Martin Meyer in the "super-sized" RV14, along with Niel Terblanche and Daniel Coetzer in an RV4, proudly keeping the Vans flag flying high.

Pierre and Martin RV14

Niel and Daniel RV4

With the bushveld sun rising high, the glider pilots made the most of the conditions and soared into the skies in various gliders, including the new addition at Brits—a stunning DG500 owned by Arjan Schaap.

Arjan DG500

Throughout the day, the RC section of the Brits Flying Club was actively flying, and to the surprise of some visitors, there were no issues with the scale models sharing airspace with full-sized aircraft. I believe this is one of the few airfields that integrate these two groups.

After distributing the competition prizes, Karl Jensen, accompanied by Gwen Mason, the widow of Paul Mason, shared a few words in memory of all the deceased members of Brits Flying Club.