First Annual Parys Taildraggers Fly-In

By Garth Calitz

The Taildraggers Fly-In, a favourite among aviators for the past 16 years, was on the verge of being removed from the aviation calendar. Richard Nicholson, who had been leading the event since its inception in 2009, decided to call it a day. Initially, Nylstroom was the event's home, hosting the first 10 gatherings. Unfortunately, the Nylstroom airfield was overtaken by an ever-expanding squatter camp, prompting the organisers to move the event to Warmbaths in 2020.

The newly elected chairman of the Parys Flying Club, Riaan Denner, along with his committee members, were determined to prevent this institution in South African general aviation from fading into obscurity. However, the decision to adopt the now unused name Taildraggers did not please some members of the flying community, leading to disagreements that were aired on public aviation platforms, which I personally believe was unnecessary. Riaan and his team took a stand and were determined to give Taildraggers a new home in Parys. But that’s enough of the sad politics that seem to often plague general aviation.

The weather gods definitely smiled on the event, except for a bit of a foggy start for some airfields in Johannesburg and the East Rand, the weather was amazing for flying, a typical Autumn Free State day. The fog kept some of the visitors on the ground a bit longer than they would have liked but as soon as it cleared, they made their way to the quaint tourist town situated in the world-famous Vredefort Dome impact crater. The scenery in the Parys area is beautiful many of the visitors took scenic flights along the Vaal River to the Vaal Dam and back.

The Airfield Restaurant was lively throughout the day, with guests enjoying tasty meals and pleasant company. Recently acquired by new owners, efforts are underway to restore its former high standards. To make sure everyone had enough to eat, several food and coffee vendors were brought in to handle the extra demand. The coffee vendors were especially busy in the early morning until the autumn sun warmed things up.

The organisers decided to mix things up a bit compared to other events when it came to exhibitors. They invited aviation and related companies to set up their displays for free. All they asked for in return was a donation of a prize for the day's lucky draws. Some exhibitors really went all out, offering fantastic prizes for the visitors. The local Parys Ford dealers even stepped up by providing a Ford Transit minivan to shuttle visitors who stayed for the weekend to and from their guest houses.

Some very rarely seen visitors made the journey from up north, Hennie Delport was by far the crowd favourite with his beautiful Harvard still proudly sporting its South African Air Force Central Flying School colours. Jason Adriaan made the relatively short hop from Potchefstroom with the stunning Lycoming IO-540-equipped Wilga 2000. An ex-SAAF Bosbok arrived on the wing-tip of a Yak 52, not quite a taildragger, but anyone was welcome at Parys Taildraggers.

Ivan van der Schaar, who has been on not-so-voluntary leave due to the conflict in the Middle East, brought his Boeing Stearman, which was also greatly appreciated by the visitors. My personal favourite visitor was the wonderfully restored Stinson Voyager flown by Hans de Beer.

By Saturday afternoon, over 50 aircraft had dropped in for some great food and camaraderie, making this a very well-attended fly-in in a post-COVID climate, even with some petty pilots deciding to get on the political bandwagon and boycott the event. Events like this are the lifeblood of general aviation; without this type of gathering, the youth don’t get to experience aircraft up close. Many people from the area brought their children around to have a look and hopefully an aviation seed was planted with them and they join the community in the future.

Parys is not only a fixed-wing airfield, it also sports a very active skydiving club and a growing glider club. Some of the skydivers were not about to let an opportunity for a jump go by; they were loaded into the sexy Sling 2 taildragger and bailed out above the field. Later in the day, an Atlas Angel arrived for a few more jumpers to get their fix.

Riaan Denner and his right-hand man, Jaco Pinaar, did a wonderful job of migrating the Taildragger spirit from Limpopo to the Free State and organising a wonderful fly-in, all in the name of aviation awareness. I sincerely hope this becomes an annual event, as it is currently planned to be. If the Warmbaths crowd decide to revive Warmbaths Taildraggers, it will be great. There are more than enough Saturdays in the year to have both fly-ins and I’m sure they will both be supported by the greater aviation community.

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