Pretoria Airshow Delivers a Strong Second Act at Rhino Park
- 2 hours ago
- 7 min read
By Garth Calitz
The Pretoria Airshow has now firmly established itself on South Africa’s aviation calendar, with the second edition of the event at Rhino Park on Saturday, 29 August delivering a day that combined serious flying with the increasingly important entertainment and family component that modern airshows require.
Following the inaugural event over the Easter Weekend in 2025, this year’s show demonstrated that Rhino Park has become a significant player on the airshow circuit, providing Pretorians with an alternative to the much larger military-focused spectacle that will take place at Waterkloof during Africa Aerospace and Defence next month.
The fast-paced afternoon show seems to have replaced the full-day, rather slow, traditional format that has been the norm for airshows in the past. The Lowveld Airshow shook things up by offering a high-energy afternoon show, and the public reacted very favourably. David le Roux and Gert Botha (owner of Legends Adventure Farm, where Rhino Park Airfield is located) decided to follow this successful recipe, and it definitely paid off.
David approached Keith Fryer, a retired Air Force pilot and the current chairman of Air Show South Africa, to oversee the flying displays. Keith assembled a team of highly qualified aviation professionals, Mark Kelbrick (Flight Safety Director) and Keith Andrew (Ramp Director), to manage every aspect of the spectacle, from the operational requirements to the execution of the displays. The morning began with one of the most comprehensive media briefings I have attended, followed by an equally thorough pilots’ briefing. By the time both sessions had concluded, there could have been little doubt among those involved as to what was expected, how the event would be conducted and the standards that would apply.
The show began with a performance by Drone South Africa (DSA), featuring a large agricultural drone accompanied by a smaller commercial drone fitted with a high-quality camera. The feed from the smaller drone was displayed on three enormous screens set up for the event. Members of the public were called out to collect prizes from DAS, but only if they were caught waving at the camera ship.
To get the adrenaline pumping, we were all treated to a fly-past by an ex-SAAF Piaggio P.166 Albatross. These aircraft were extensively used by the SAAF's 27 Squadron, based at AFB Ysterplaat between 1969 and 1993. For veteran airshow attendees, the Albat has a very sad history, as 13 lives were lost when two Albats crashed on their return from the Tzaneen Airshow 12 years ago.
The official opening of the airshow was, as usual, marked by a parade of the emergency vehicles down the runway. The vehicles were accompanied by a very rarely seen SAPS Airwing Hughes 500. The Hughes or MD 500 is a very manoeuvrable light helicopter used by the police on very specialised missions. It was great to see the police supporting private airshows.
As soon as the runway was cleared, Johan "Juba" Joubert took to the air in the Lama carrying three skydivers and our resident airshow videographer, Earl Oosthuizen. Earl and his team from Focus to Frame kept the public close to the action with many camera angles and live streaming from inside the display aircraft. This was a wonderful touch to a great show.
While Juba was climbing for altitude, the Puma Energy Flying Lions took off for their display. The team have undergone a bit of a change of guard with Nigel Hopkins and Dion Raath joining team owner Arnie Meneghelli and Ellis Levin. After the roar of radial engines left the display box, Graham Field, Harry Laing and Denis Howe made their entrance from above. Graham, flying a tiny speed canopy, landed well ahead of the other two skydivers.
Once the canopies were safely on the ground, the Puma Energy Flying Lions ran in for their display. The sound of Harvards has always been a drawcard at South African airshows, with many members of the crowd having spent some time in the military; it tends to stir up a bit of nostalgia.
Keith kept the pace of the show in overdrive, allowing Tristan Eeles to get airborne while the Lions were flying downwind for landing; by doing this, there was never a dull moment between displays, as soon as one landed, the next was ready to run in. Tristan Eeles delivered yet another excellent display of exactly what the legendary Extra 330SC is capable of in the right hands. Tristan's display is made more entertaining by his dad Barrie's very enthusiastic commentary.
Sling Aircraft, South Africa's greatest aviation success story have put together a display team to showcase their beautiful aircraft. The team is led by Grant Timms in a Sling HW; he is joined by Riaan Denner (Sling test pilot) in the sexy Sling 2 tail dragger and Jason Adriaan in the Sling TSI. The road to finally being authorised to display has not been a simple one for these three "young" pilots; all I can say is thanks for hanging in there, your display was excellent.
No airshow in South Africa is complete without the professional commentary of Brian Emmenis and his team from Capital Sounds. Brian's wealth of knowledge and personal experinces bring something special to every show.
The Marksmen Aerobatic Team were probably the most anticipated display of the day as they are not often seen in Pretoria despite the fact that two of the team members are based at Kitty Hawk just a few kilometres from Rhino Park. Cape Town-based Mark Hensman, founder and leader of the team, has become a household name for the airshow faithful, flying his trusty MX2. He is joined by Eugene du Preez in an Extra 330SC and Gary Glasson in his newly acquired XtremeAir Sbach 342. The Marksmen fly a high-energy display with impressive high-speed close passes and tight formation aerobatics.
Not to be outdone by their full-scale cousins, members from SAMAA took to the air in a variety of radio-controlled aircraft. First up was a stunning display of Large Scale Aerobatics Edge 540 expertly flown by Joshua Twomey. For all the Jet Junkies in the crowd, Richard Hickman and Chan Waiman brought out a pair of stunning scale F-16s; once airborne, they looked just like the real deal.
The RC aircraft then made way for Jason Beamish and Nigel Hopkins flying in a pair of Extra 330s, Nigel in a single-seat SC and Jason in a twin-seat LX. Nigel and Jason have been a staple at airshows for many years now, but they still manage to impress every time they get airborne. Jason recently became a father, ensuring we will celebrate the fourth generation of Beamish pilots; his son is aptly named Jett.
Andre van Zyl has become a regular at every airshow in Southern Africa, flying his Magni Gyro M-22 Voyager gyrocopter with precision, proving that these odd-looking aircraft are amazingly manoeuvrable in the right hands. Andre raced against his son Charl, who was driving his mother's Maserati. I know it's complicated, but try to keep up. Once the race was done, Andre was joined by Juba Joubert in an Aérospatiale Gazelle for some impressive rotor-wing formation flying. Andre broke off to land and quickly jumped into his Mercedes AMG and raced against the Gazelle. Sadly, both races were won by the terrestrial machines.
The pace slowed a bit with Classic Flying Collection taking to the beautiful highveld skies in four historic de Havilland Chipmunks: Steve Brown, Ryan Briggs, Duncan Ritchie and Grant Timms fly a really polished display in these 80-year-old classic aircraft.
Sticking with the 1940s theme, Reyno Coetzer and Steve George enthralled the crowd with some tight formation flying in their North American Navions. Reyno and George operate out of Krugersdorp Airfield, where they run an aircraft maintenance and rebuilding company, Aircraft Inc. They are renowned for their aircraft repainting skills.
After a short break, the Marksmen team took to the sky for a second display; unfortunately, the modern airshow crowd saw a repeat, and the majority of them started making for the gates. I do understand many of the people making their way out of the airfield were also in a hurry to get in front of a TV to watch the all-important second Springboks, All Blacks test. Little did they know they were about to see some airshow-worthy flying there as well.
Malan Moolman gave the Jet fans another dose with his beautiful scale Aero L-39 Albatros; it may be small, but it sure is fast. Tristan Eeles then took to the air for his second display, which, as always, was spot on. After Tristan's display, Juba Joubert threw the versatile Lama around the sky like it was an RC model. The Lama is an Alouette II airframe with the far more powerful Alouette III engine bolted to it. This overcomes the lack of power which normally plagues the Alouette II.
Jaba was followed by a significantly shortened display by Nigel Hopkins and Jason Beamish. Grant Timms then wowed the remaining crowd with an impressive display in the Aermacchi AM.3 Bosbok. The Bosbok was used extensively by the SAAF during the Bush War as a spotter platform and general transport aircraft.
Andre van Zyl once again pushed his agile Magni Gyro to the limit before clearing the airspace for a magnificent French helicopter display consisting of the Gazelle and the Lama. Reyno and Steve took their Navions up for their second display; sadly, by this time there weren't many people still around as the big rugby was getting closer very quickly.
For those of us who stuck around, there was one final treat: a Classic Flying Collection biplane display. Steve Brown led the formation in his beautiful Boeing Stearman; he was flanked by Grant Timms and Ryan Briggs in de Havilland Tigermoths, with Chris Joubert in the Stampe et Vertongen, a Belgian biplane trainer designed in 1932. This was the perfect end to a great airshow.
To David, Gert and the rest of the organising team - Well done on yet another brilliant airshow, and on a personal note, thank you for all the effort you went to accommodate the media; it was a refreshing change.
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