Stellenbosch Fly-In - Heritage Day 2021
By Pete van der Spek
There can't be too many better locations for an airfield in South Africa as stunning as Stellenbosch Airfield. Stellenbosch airfield on Heritage Day this year was the venue for a Fly-In of mostly local aircraft from in and around Cape Town, but some came from further afield as well.
Some 25-30 aircraft flew in for the morning and many local spectators arrived to view the aircraft.
It was also a venue for car clubs in and around Cape Town and some 60-70 cars - and one tractor - arrived and lined up. Some of the better-known cars were MG's, Austin Healey's and Triumphs and then in some are cars such as the Riley decked out in British Racing Green. A real beauty. There was also a vintage Dodge army vehicle.
People enjoyed the early morning breakfast and coffee under a grey sky, but by 10:30 the sky had mostly cleared and they were enjoying the sunshine.
On hand was a CAA official to make sure that everything ran smoothly and that it was strictly a Fly-In and not an airshow. More's the pity - we are starved of airshows in SA and it would have been nice to see a couple of displays. However, this was not to be.
The closest we got to a display was when two of the Marksmen aerobatic team arrived and did an impromptu close formation top side flypast. Thank you, guys, that was most welcome!
Some of the aircraft to fly in were a Nord 1203 (ZU-BEM), several RV's of different models, a LongEZ from Morningstar and later in the morning, a beautifully restored Tiger Moth also from Morning star arrived and Peter and Fiona agreed to pose in front of the aircraft. There was also Gyrocopter (ZU-EDP) done out in a really nice, bright yellow colour scheme along with a dragon emblazoned on the side.
Locally based aircraft included ZU-ACM (a very neat Bosbok) and ZU-OCK (Zlin Savage Cub) both belonging to a well-known local pilot.
The backdrop to all of this is the stunning Cape Mountains around Stellenbosch. What an amazing place to fly from.
Nice to see some familiar faces from my Facebook and pilots from days gone by attending. Good to be in the company of some old friends - Justin de Reuck and Gary Shepard - thanks for the company and a couple of hours of catching up. An excellent day all in all.
I look forward to an airshow being held at Stellies again.
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