Wonderboom Airport became a hive of activity on Sunday 29 October with well over one hundred and twenty visiting aircraft including “Weightshift “ trikes and Gyro copters which rarely visit this busy airport.
The event was hosted by The Wonderboom Interest Group who had Joined forces with Blue Chip Flight School, Wanna Fly, Tshwane Metro and Villa San Giovanni, in an attempt to bring more visitors to the Airport.
Unfortunately the weather wasn’t as friendly as the team at Wonderboom and as a result many of the one hundred and seventy pilots that had registered did not arrive. Those who did make the trip were definitely not disappointed.
Christian Maiorana and his team delivered a magnificent buffet breakfast at Villa San Giovanni at only R50 for all the visiting pilots and R89 for passengers. Wonderboom also waved landing, passenger and approach fees for all registered aircraft. Avgas and JatA1 were sold at almost half price although limited to one hundred and fifty litres per aircraft. The refuelers were kept very busy throughout the morning as almost every aircraft that landed took advantage of these prices and filled up.
Many classic aircraft were put on static display right outside the terminal building, these included the Rovos Rail Convair 440, the workmanship on this aircraft is magnificent both the interior and the exterior.
Paramount’s AHRLAC (Advanced High-Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft) was also on display, this aircraft is well on its way to putting South Africa on the map as a top military aircraft builder.
The Harvard Club of South Africa brought two of their T6 Harvards across from their home at AFB Zwartkop. They took many people for introductory flights throughout the morning these old war birds will forever fascinate aviation enthusiasts.
Encouraging GA pilots from smaller airfields to fly into controlled airspace can only be a positive exercise as it will definitely make more confidant pilots that no longer feel unsure in busy airspace.
A special mention must go to the Air Traffic Controllers who did a magnificent job of controlling the excessive traffic while their normal IFR and airline traffic had to be accommodated as normal.
As this is going to be an annual event I would definitely encourage everyone to join in the fun next year.
Please browse through our Gallery of this event
