Stellenbosch Airshow 2024
(first published in African Pilot)
The Stellenbosch Airfield, home for the Stellenbosch Flying Club (SFC) is widely regarded as one of the best airfields in the country. Located amongst the vineyards of the regions wine lands and having the Hottentots Hollands mountains as a backdrop verifies this view. With this picturesque environment the SFC airshow is also considered as one of the “must attend” airshows. With the staunch support from the SFC membership who display their varied, and seldom seen outside the region, personal aircraft adds to the variety of aircraft adds to this statement.
The SFC airshow, unlike most others, is a two-day event with a late afternoon/early evening airshow on Friday. The Saturday event is the standard 10:00 – 16:00 timeslot. Whilst it is difficult for most enthusiasts to attend both days there are advantages to this. The Friday had three aircraft displays that were not part of the Saturday lineup, whilst the Saturday had an expanded selection.
Friday
Although the day was hot, and generally sunny, there was a haze over the mountains which fortunately, had mostly cleared before the airshow started at 16:00. The weather forecast was for rain overnight and this was in evidence as heavy clouds covered the mountain tops, with rain, and lightning seen in the distance. The late afternoon sun at this airfield really casts a most favorable light on the displays.
The displays ranged from the sedate Antonov An-2 lumbering through the skies to the high energy Nashua flown by Andrew Blackwood-Murray. Patrick Davidson in his Gamebird and the Marksman formation team led by Mark Hensman. Local club members displayed their Cessna 210, Cessna 180, Atlas Bosbok, KFA Safari and Piper Aerostar. Alewyn Burger’s crazy pilot stunt display in a Piper Cub had my heart in my mouth on several occasions, although I knew full well that the pilot was capable, using the terrain to his advantage. His situational awareness, command and understanding of his aircrafts capabilities is phenomenal. Rotor wings were represented by Andre van Zyl in his Magni Autogyro and the outstanding Juba Joubert who displayed an Alouette III helicopter. His flying capabilities never cease to amaze and wow the crowd. Grant Timms displayed the Warbirds Africa, recently acquired L-29 Delfin jet. Kishugu’s Working on Fire team demonstrated their firefighting capabilities with water drops performed by the Bell Huey helicopters followed by their Air Tractor water bombers. The South African Air Force had a Pilatus PC-7 MkII from the Silver Falcons display team and the team’s number 5, who is the traditional solo display, took it through its paces. The Piaggio P166 DL3 from Orca Aero Solutions performed its display. This aircraft is currently used for whale tracking by various universities. A further three are on order to supplement the current aircraft.
The Puma energy Flying Lions display team, led by Ellis Levine performed their signature sunset show to a live performance of Il Solenzio. Stirring sounds and the addition of the Stellenbosch City Orchestra added a touch of class to the airshow. Once the Harvard’s had shut down, the orchestra, under the baton of Paul Loeb van Zuilenburg III performed many well-known theme tunes with a strong aviation bias to the crowd. A fitting backdrop to this was the Titan T-51D Mustang that was on a static display.
Saturday
The forecast rain arrived during Friday night and Saturday morning dawned misty and dreary. This did not deter the enthusiasts who started arrived well before 7am to book their place in sun. The mist did eventually disperse before the airshow started at 10 am with the traditional emergency vehicle parade whilst the Antonov clawed her way into the sky to discharge her cargo of parachutists. Fortunately the cloud base had lifted sufficiently to allow a safe jump. The cloud cover remained for the day and the displays were adapted to the conditions.
Leading Edge Aviation showcased the security division with a single Bell Huey that brought a response team to the site of a high jacking to illustrate the co-operation between the ground and airborne elements of the team. They later performed a display of their two Bell Huey helicopters in formation with the powerful Sikorsky Blackhawk. This machine is a real powerhouse and is a beast in the air and exudes raw power.
Alewyn Burger, who once again had the heart rates of many in the crowd racing with his crazy antics, performed a more sedate display in his classic Howard DGA. This aircraft is immaculate and is a throwback to the golden years of flying. Once again, the Puma Energy Flying Lions closed the successful show.
For those few diehards who stayed talking to friends Gareth Van Kets, a part owner of that Titan T-51D, fired her up and taxied up and down the taxi way to show off the beautiful lines of this aircraft. The aircraft was not flown as the Authority To Fly is yet to be issued by the South African Civil Aviation Authority although Gareth is looking forward to have her airborne for FASH 2025, so am I. Brian Emmenis, of Capitol Sounds provided the entertaining and informative commentary to keep the public up to date with the displays.
From the very first airshow Fiona, and I had attended at this impressive venue, what continues to impress is the cleanliness of the venue at the completion of the show. The Western Cape crowd, as well as the SFC implemented protocols, ensured that there was extremely little litter evident on the wide green lawn of the crowd area. Well done to the SFC, we are looking forward to the next event at this wonderful airfield.
