The South African general aviation community came together to celebrate members who have excelled over the last year at the beautiful Birchwood Hotel & OR Tambo Conference Centre. The choice of venue was perfect with an aircraft flying over every few minutes on final approach for runway 03R at OR Tambo.
Once everyone had made it to their seats the formalities were kicked off by the very capable MC, David le Roux. After a quick run-down on house rules and the programme for the day, he introduced Rob Jonkers, the outgoing Chairman who in turn called Goitse Diale vice chairman of the Aero Club to deliver the Chairman’s address.
The awards ceremony was, as is customary, started with the members that have earned National Protea Colours. These awards are sanctioned by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee and entitle the recipient to wear national colours and represent the country in international competitions.
For representing the Soaring Society of South Africa at the 37th World Gliding Championships held in 2023 Abraham Kotze, Laurence Hardman, Philip Jonker and Uys Jonker received National Colours they were joined by the team manager Karin Schutte.
The participants of the 38th World Gliding Championships were then invited to the stage they were Adriaan Jonkers, Dawid Pretorius, Dirk Coetzee, Riaan Denner, Uys Jonker, Oscar Goudriaan and team manager Jason Adriaan.
For the 13th FAI Junior World Gliding Championships Henry Daly, Michael Tiffin, Philip Jonker and Team Manger William Daly were presented with national colours.
Members from the Parachute Association of South Africa were honoured for their participation in the 10th FAI World Canopy Piloting Championships as well as the 4th FAI World Canopy Piloting Freestyle Championships which were both held in Pretoria earlier this year. They were Christopher Koekemoer, Jean Strauss, William Sharman and a special acknowledgement was presented to Quintin Henning.
South African Model Aircraft Association members, Benjamin Jacobs, Carlo Volbrecht, Liam Volbrecht and Nicholas Neofitou were recognised for competing in the FAI World Drone Racing Championships.
Wayne Willcox received a Special Acknowledgement Award for taking part in an international Pylon Racing event in Brazil.
Fanie Scholtz and Herman Haasbroek received Aero Club Colours for winning the Speed Rally Championships which was held at Bella Bella, Groblersdal and the finale at Brits.
The Presidents Trophy Air Race winners, Eric Addison and Johan van Zyl were presented with Aero Club Colours. The PTAR has without doubt become one of the most prestigious aviation events in South Africa.
South African Model Aircraft Association took advantage of the ceremony to acknowledge members who have excelled over the year. Ray Grobbelaar at the age of 10 was declared junior Member of the year. Senior Member of the Year was shared by the father and son team of Neil and Joshua Twomey.
A Special Recognition Award was presented to Rob Hurlin for his dedication to developing the youth within and outside SAMAA, his development programme has produced 15 qualified and certified solo pilots since 2007. Barnstormers Model Flying Club was presented with a Special Recognition award for being the club of the year.
Gawie Bestbier was awarded Special Recognition for his contributions to recreational flying, Gawie is an active microlight pilot and a senior manager at the SACAA.
Walter Doubell has served as the Aero Club’s Advocacy Officer since 2023. He reviews complex legislation and regulatory proposals to protect members’ freedoms amongst other tasks for this he was awarded Special recognition.
Sling Aircraft were awarded the prestigious Dr. August Raspet Memorial Award by the EAA USA at AirVenture Oshkosh. Previous recipients include industry giants like Garmin, BRP Rotax, and Burt Rutan. James Pittman and Mike Blyth were acknowledged with a Special recognition award for this magnificent achievement
Middelburg Aeroclub received a Special recognition award for their willingness to consistently assist in hosting our Airweek, an event that has taken place there since 2018, and has gone from strength to strength with continuous upgrades to facilities and support of club members to host this annual event.
Youth and Development award was presented to Tyla Puzey for her EAA Young Aviators programme, her dedication to hosting events and building a network for young GA participants must be commended.
Nigel Musgrave was once again awarded the Don Tilley Trophy for his extraordinary dedication to flight safety, ensuring aviation events are safe for participants, members and spectators.
The awards were then halted for everyone to get their main course and sit back and join guest speaker Neil Bowden on a journey through the history of his involvement with Oshkosh. Neil has successfully hosted many tours to the greatest aviation events in the world with his company Air Adventures Tours.
After a scrumptious meal, it was time to get back to the awards, Denzil Gertzen was awarded the Dennis Jankelow Trophy for Outstanding Airmanship. Denzil's quick thinking and decisive action to help a fellow aviator in distress the fellow aviator was none other than former Aero Club Chairman Jeff Earle who had an accident in his beloved Tiger Moth.
The much anticipated African Pilot Airshow of the Year Award was as always a tight fight between the top three, the Lowveld Airshow managed to triumph over Stellenbosch and Polokwane.
The James Gilliland Trophy is awarded to an aviation feat that is worthy of the name most meritorious of the year. Sven Olivier, Laurence Hardman and John Coutts set out to fly from Worcester to Durban in a Janus B and two JS-1Bs. This achievement was worthy of this recognition.
Philip Jonker to part against senior pilots with many more hours experience - he finished 5th overall in the 37th World Gliding Championship. And 4th Place in the 13th Junior World Gliding Championships this feat was deemed worthy of the SA Eagle Trophy for the most meritorious achievement at an International Event.
Jonker Sailplanes were awarded the PSG Trophy for manufacture and design in South African Recreational Aviation for their JS5 dominance in international gliding.
Silver and Gold Wings are awarded to members who have delivered meritorious service to the Aero Club over some time. This year there was only one recipient of Silver Wings. Louis Stanford is a member of the South African Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association.
Peter Wallenda is considered the "Grandfather of Paragliding" in South Africa and was awarded Gold Wings for his lifelong contribution to the sport and service to the Aero Club.
Gold Wings were also awarded to Mark Clulow for his service as treasurer for both the EAA of South Africa and EAA Chapter 322 for well over 10 years, Mark has made invaluable contributions to both the Aero Club and the EAA.
The final set of Gold Wings was awarded to Rob Jonkers, Rob has served 8 years on the Council, including 6 years as Chairman, and he is stepping down per the constitution, which he re-wrote to align with the new Companies Act. He was first co-opted to the executive in 2016 to manage our Centenary celebrations and has held key roles, including Vice Chairman of SAPFA in 2017, Chairman from 2018 to 2021, and continues to serve on the SAPFA committee. Rob also served on the Council of the Aeronautical Society of South Africa and was President from 2008 to 2014. Rob received a standing well-deserved ovation for his years of selfless service.
One of the greatest honours that the Aero Club can bestow on a member is a Lifetime Achievement Award. This year there were two very deserving recipients. Athol Franz, In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of recreational aviation photography, Athol Franz has been a dedicated visual storyteller, capturing the essence and spirit of countless aviation events. His work has been pivotal in promoting and celebrating the achievements within the aviation community.
Neil Bowden is no stranger to anyone who has made the annual pilgrimage to EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh. Neil has served as Chairman at EAA Chapter 322 which under his leadership has grown to be the largest EAA chapter in the world, quite an achievement for a small country on the southern tip of Africa.
David le Roux then thanked all involved with the staging of yet another amazing function a special went to Sandra Strydom and her team and the awards committee under the leadership of Frank Eckard. That brought the formalities to a close and the festivities started.
Comments