ADVERTISEMENT:
News - Date: 22 July 2005
MAKHADO (LOUIS TRICHARDT) – Air Force Base Makhado plans to make history by hosting Africa’s first Fighter Meet on October 8 this year.
This air show will not only be the meeting of fighter pilots with their fighter trainers (past, present and future), but an air show that will showcase the South African Air Force’s operational and fighting capabilities.
The aim of this meet is to produce a very different type of air show that will be short in duration, but have high value and leave a lasting impression. The four hours will be designed to provide high effect, continuous display flying, allowing approximately eight minutes per display event for fixed-wing aircraft and twelve minutes for formation aerobatic teams. Emphasis will be placed on formation aerobatics, simulated weapon attacks, flight refuelling – an all-military focus demonstrating the operational capabilities of the various aircraft.
The SADC air forces will be invited to participate in this Fighter Meet, thus sending out a message of a “fighter brotherhood.” The could reap huge strategic benefits for the SAAF and build sound relationships between the SAAF and the SADC air forces. This will be a show focussed on military fighters and will serve as a bi-annual “get-together” of all fighter pilots in the country and neighbouring countries. The proposed countries to be invited are Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Angola, Zambia and Malawi.
Attention will be focussed, nationally and internationally, on the future successful integration and utilization of the Hawk and the Gripen within the SAAF. One of the main objectives of this air show is to introduce the Hawk to the public, thereby demonstrating the excellent fighting capabilities of this aircraft. The Hawk will share the sky with vintage fighters such as the Sea Fury, Sabre, Hunter, Lightning Buccaneer, Mirage III and Mirage FI, as well as with fighter trainers which will include the Tiger Moth, Havard, Vampire, Aero L-29, L-39 and Yak-3.
Hopefully, the show will re-instil the romanticism associated with the fighter pilot within South African aviation. It will not only demonstrate the role and function of fighter pilots in protecting the sovereignty of our airspace, but will display the attractions and challenges offered by the new fighters. The show will aim to breathe “new life” into the fighter line and establish Air Force Base Makhado as the “Fighter Centre of Excellence.”
The entrance fee is R20 for adults and R10 for children. Entry for children under six years is free. Food and refreshment stalls will be available. Persons wish-ing to book a stall for the show can phone Maj Dinky Mokwebo at Tel (015) 577 2201 or WO2 Nortjé at 577 2002.
Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.
Email: [email protected]
Search for a story:
ADVERTISEMENT
The economic conditions in Zimbabwe forced Tanaka Moyo (40) to legally seek greener pastures in Musina. He opted for a unique business plan, selling the wild jujube fruit to make a living. The fruit, called masau in Shona, is better known as mazwilu in Tshivenda.
As the unemployment rate in South Africa continued to rise, a group of women from Makonde village decided to start a community-based project to create job opportunities for themselves. However, it is very difficult to continue with the project without support from the government or the private sector.
At the age of 104, William Masindi Sadiki still has many stories to tell. Some of these are about his experiences during World War II, when he was part of the North Africa campaign. He is one of the few black soldiers from that era still alive, and he proudly pins his war medals on his chest on formal occasions.
The Rivoni School for the Blind in in Njakanjaka village in the Vhembe District has 167 learners from Grade R to Grade 12. The school was started in 2016 by the Rivoni Society for the Blind, founded in June 1975 at Elim Hospital by late Swiss doctor Erwin Sutter. The society later transferred responsibility for the school to the Department of Education.