Potchefstroom Airshow 2025

By Garth Calitz

The airshow format in South Africa is changing; gone are the days of full-day, slow-paced airshows, replaced by high-impact, fast-paced shows that last no more than 4 hours. This new format has been massively successful with the Lowveld Airshow comfortably taking the airshow of the year last year, with an energy-filled afternoon show last year.

The Potchefstroom Airshow started on schedule at exactly 10:30 after an intensive pilots' briefing held in the Potchefstroom Gliding Club clubhouse. The briefings are being taken very seriously since the tragedy that befell the Saldanha Bay Airshow earlier this year.

The show kicked off three skydivers from Johannesburg Skydiving Club who exited an Allouette III flown by the legendary helicopter pilot, Juba Joubert. While the skydivers were climbing for altitude, the Puma Energy Flying Lions took to the sky to hold until all the canopies were safe on the ground. The Alouette suffered a snag that grounded it for the day.

Arnie Meneghelli, Ellis Levin and Sean Thackwray delivered another polished display in three of the normal four North American T-6 Harvards; unfortunately, the fourth aircraft suffered a technical snag while being repositioned the day before and could not be sorted in time for the show.

Henley Air are becoming quite a draw card at airshows lately, the public loves the added value of getting an opportunity to fly in one of the many helicopters Henley brings to the shows. Andre Coetzee, the Executive Chairman of Henley Group Holdings, who recently racked up 16000 helicopter hours, displayed the latest addition to the Henley Air Bell 222 fleet. Andre’s effortless ability to dance around the sky in this iconic helicopter never fails to impress.

Next up was a two-ship Pitts Special display by the Goodyear Eagles; the two little aerobatic aircraft were flown by Jason Beamish and Sally Fleck. As with most of the teams, the Goodyear Eagles normally comprises four aircraft, but only two of the pilots were available for this show. Sadly, many of our regular airshow display pilots were forced to seek employment offshore with the demise of South African airlines, which severely impacts their ability to thrill the SA airshow crowds.

The airspace got rather quiet with a magnificent display by veteran glider pilot, Oscar Goudriaan, in the Jonker Sailplane JS3 Rapture, a self-launch glider built in Potchefstroom. The JS3 comes with a choice of either an MD-TJ 42 jet sustainer system or a Solo electric sustainer/self-launch system, which was the case in the aircraft on display. Jonker Sailplanes are widely regarded as the pinnacle of glider technology worldwide and have racked up many world championships over the last few years.

Tristan Eeles, the youngest unlimited aerobatic pilot in South Africa, took to the sky for an action-packed display in his Extra 300SC. Tristan is one of the few aerobatic pilots who have managed to win every class on a national level, from sportsman to advanced.

Jan Bothma and Juba Juobert got airborne in the Bell UH-1 Iroquois and the Aérospatiale Gazelle. Initially, this was meant to be a three-ship formation, but with the Alouette III going technical, it was unable to join the formation. The pilots have put in so much time and energy perfecting this display, they are often seen over Hartbeespoort Dam practising.

Potchefstroom is located in a fairly active agricultural area, so it could almost be expected that AG Aviation would make up part of the show. Sandriver Crop Protection, who are originally based in Tzaneen, were there to oblige with two Air Tractor AT-802s and an odd-looking John Deere 4730 self-propelled field sprayer. The aircraft were expertly flown by Henri van Niekerk and Steven Viviers, both extremely experienced agricultural pilots.

Johnnie Smith in his Extra 330LX took off and flew a skit as if he was being controlled by a student from the ground, the “student” was inexperienced and the flight was very uncoordinated. Flying in this manner is extremely difficult way more difficult than normal coordinated flight.

Once Johnnie was safe on the ground, the sky was filled with some American metal. The Altitude Wealth Navion Team kept the crowd entertained with a series of close formation passes. The team is normally made up of three aircraft but one of the 1940s vintage aircraft needs a new engine and could not be completed on time for the show. Reyno Coetzer and Mike George flew these stunning old ladies that were painstakingly restored by Aircraft Inc. at Jack Taylor Airfield in Krugersdorp.

During the lunch break, the crowd were kept busy with displays by the South African Model Aircraft Association (SAMAA) with both helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft. The pilots were available to meet and greet the public during the break. This type of interaction is great for the youth to see the people behind the controls of the aircraft that they were watching the whole day.

The Jet Junkies didn’t leave unfulfilled, Grant Timms flew through from Rand Airport in the Master Power Aero L-39 Albatros. Grant was restricted to a flat display with no steep turns or aerobatics. The new restriction seems to be a knee-jerk reaction by the CAA to the recent Impala accident in the Western Cape.

Grant exited the box without landing after his display, leaving it open for Juba Joubert to display his and the Gazelle’s abilities. The Aérospatiale Gazelle was first flown in 1967, but it by no means looks like a 58-year-old aircraft. Juba is so comfortable in this machine that it looks like he is wearing it.

Johnnie Smith gave the crowd a second dose of his skill in the Extra 330LX; this time, he was firmly in control. Johnnie has been involved in aerobatics in South Africa for many years in both a pilot and a judge capacity. At the last World Aerobatics Championships, Johnnie was honoured as the most consistent aerobatic judge in the world.

The Hired Gun Pitts Special Team were next on the list, this time joined by Andrew Blackwood-Murray in his Nashua-sponsored Extra 300L. The Pitts team have been flying for 40 years this year and over the years has been sponsored by many different companies, including Winston cigarettes and Smirnoff Vodka.

Both the helicopter formation and Tristan Eeles had a second display before the show was closed off by a flight by Oscar Goudriaan, this time in the Jonkers JS5 Rey. The high-performance Open Class sailplane was towed into the clear Potch sky by yet another South African-built aircraft, the Sling TSI. The JS5 sports a 24.2 m wingspan and is equipped with an MD-TJ 42 jet sustainer system, which Oscar displayed beautifully.

The Potch public didn’t seem to come out in their numbers, the crowd never came close to the numbers that were seen last year, it is sad as country airshows are becoming fewer and fewer and with a turnout like this it is just not viable to bring this form of entertainment to the country folk. The commentary team did not keep the people engaged; they opted for an interview-style commentary, which is informative but not as entertaining as what we are used to.

Please Browse our Gallery of this Event