THE QUEENSTOWN AIRFIELD was developed in 1920 and grew into a WWII training school for navigators, with most of the wartime hangars and camp buildings still existent today.
Queenstown was home to 47 Air Navigation School which was part of the Joint Air Training Scheme (JATS). The air school's commanding officer was none other than Allister Miller, the founder of Union Airways and thus SAA.
Queenstown's flying history is commemorated in the QFC club house by well-known resident Mark Sahd, the driving force behind the maintenance and upkeep of the airfield. Mark is an avid De Havilland aircraft collector, and currently has the only flying De Havilland Rapide in Africa, plus his own personal Tiger Moth, and its successor, the De Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk.
Mark keeps his aircraft, including a Fairchild 24 and a Rutan Long Eze, with a few other resident aircraft in one of the remaining Bellman hangars. Remarkably, the Bellman Hangar was designed in 1936 as a temporary hangar capable of being erected or dismantled by unskilled labour with simple equipment and to be easily transportable. Five other Bellman hangars still exist, and are used by SAPS.
Esta historia es de la edición June 2022 de SA Flyer Magazine.
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Esta historia es de la edición June 2022 de SA Flyer Magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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EXERCISE VUK'UHLOME 2024
The South African Army's Exercise Vuk'uhlome 2024 Distinguished Visitors (DV) Day took place on 21 November at its Lohatlha Combat Training Centre. Although an Army exercise, the event combines SAAF squadrons for ground support.
LANSERIA AIRPORT implements E-Gates
As air travel continues to grow, pressure mounts on the check-in process, resulting in frustration and often leading to missed flights.
LIVING THE DREAM - Part 1: Life in the Trailer Park
A harsh, piercing sound jolts me out of a restful, deep sleep. My alarm clock. Where am I? The ceiling is not familiar, the bed is hard, and the room smells. Well, I know I'm not home. My mind is racing to identify my location on this planet. Oh yes, I'm at work. Houma, Louisiana.
OKAVANGO ECHOES
One Okavango evening, at the luxury Khwai River lodge, a young well-bred English pilot of good character and eloquent public-school accent and I had too much to drink.
RODGER FOSTER STEPS OUT THE COCKPIT
At the end of November 2024 Airlink announced a change of leadership following the decision by current CEO and Managing Director, Rodger Foster, to step down at the end of March 2025. Rodger Foster founded the airline almost 33 years ago.
MARK TIERNEY'S CAFE PROPOSAL
One of the many challenges faced by African airlines is access to cost effective finance.
ENGINE FIRE!
Iris McCallum's continues her stories about her early years with Air Kenya, and we get to revisit one of her more dramatic moments.
GOING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
I'm sure you are familiar with the 'Leave Bug'. It's a little worm which lives in calendars. It hatches in cycles of two. Just before you are due to go on leave it grabs the last five days of duty and makes each one last for 48 hours.
AVIATION'S GOT THE CAREERS - BUT ARE YOU READY?
Now that Covid is receding into being a bad dream and the aviation industry is bouncing back strongly, the aviation press, blogs and websites are abuzz with predictions that we're facing a massive skills shortage. The only way to address this is by dramatically ramping up training to ensure an ongoing flow of new professionals into the industry
FLYING AROUND THE KZN AIRFIELDS
In less time than it takes to drive from one side of Johannesburg to the other, you can fly to beautiful KZN to experience amazing scenery and some fantastic airfields and hospitality.
