THIS YEAR’S AIR SHOW was held over the Friday and Saturday preceding the Easter weekend.
A unique first on the Friday featured a Flying Lions’ sunset show flown to live music from the whole tutti of the Stellenbosch Philharmonic Orchestra. They performed many well-known aviation movie themes, including Nini Rosso’s very moving - Il Silenzio. There was many a damp eye wiped on a sleeve. https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=_s5-0cUCQOQ
The biggest drawback of hosting an airshow in the Cape is fickle weather. On the Saturday morning there was rain and low-lying mist. This lifted to become a solid cloud base at around 1000 ft, which meant all the aerobatic performances had to be ‘flat’. Other Cape air shows have had to contend with 30-knot winds, most notably the SAAF airshow at Langebaan a few years ago.
The Cape is increasingly blessed with great air show performers basing themselves away from the catastrophe that is Johannesburg and the “Big Smoke.” Notable is the Marksmen aerobatic team, led by Mark Hensman, with Johnie Smith on his wing, (who comes all the way from Hoedspruit), Gary Glasson and Eugene Du Preez. This team has achieved a world-class level of polish, despite the challenge of flying unmatched aircraft, being a mix of Extras, an XtremeAir XA42 and an MX2.
Iris - her early years: IRIS FLIES ACROSS SUDAN
Laura McDermid continues her stories about Iris McCallum's early years in East Africa and the Sudan. In part 1 of this story she recounts how she had to fly a bunch of Belgian Missionaries to Aweil, a city in northwestern South Sudan, from Wilson in Nairobi in her old mate 'ARN', the Piper Aztec 5Y-ARN.
UGLY IS PRETTY: LEAR 25 VS PILATUS PC-6
When you go to a party where you don't know anybody, you should always go for the 'Ugly' girl, because she will be happy that you chose to spend time with her.
CIRRUS G7 LAUNCHED IN AFRICA
What makes one aircraft better than another? Range, Speed, or carrying capacity, short field performance, operating costs, high wing, low wing, side stick, traditional control yoke?
PRESIDENT'S TROPHY AIR RACE 2024
The annual Presidents Trophy Air Race (PTAR) is the highlight of the year for many competitive general aviation pilots.
THE ABSA LOWVELD AIRSHOW 2024
This year marked the thirtieth edition of the Lowveld airshow – and it was widely acclaimed as the best ever.
PREVIEW: AFRICAN AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE EXPO(AAD)
Guy Leitch finds out from AAD Exhibition Director, Ms Nakedi Phasha, how the buildup to this year's biennial expo is going, and what visitors and exhibitors can expect.
APRIL 2023
April has been a very quiet month on the local aviation marketplace with only nine new registration allocations and three deletions, according to the officially-supplied register review.
PIPISTREL PANTHERA FINALLY HERE
One of the world's most eagerly awaited piston single engine aircraft designs has finally arrived in South Africa. ZU-KTR is a long awaited Panthera, proudly owned by Bertus Kritzinger, a Free State trucker, and based at New Tempe in Bloemfontein, where the well-known Ferriera Aviation has assembled it.
STAGGERWING - ALREADY OLD WHEN NEW
The Staggerwing was the climax, and the end, of an era.
The Aim of Bombing
In modern warfare it's not the soldiers who die - it's the civilians. One of the best examples of this is carpet bombing.
