Author Archives: Viper

TREVOR PETER VILJOEN ( VIPER )

January 26, 2018   General News and Airshow Reviews, Team AC   No comments

I was Born in Durban on the 20th of December  1975
I went to Glenwood Junior Primary and then Parkview Senior Primary and then Westridge High.
I am a Qualified Locksmith with over 20 years in the game

My Aviation Passion started when i was a very young boy ( which i think i was born with it some how) my mom use to take me to the Virginia Airshows every year and in those days we had the Silver Falcons in the Impala, Mirage F-1, Spitfire, Yak 3, BF-109, Safair C-130 and the SAA 747-400 and SP. Ones a year we would have the SAAF Air to Air camp at sea level where 15 Squadron would be full of Inpala MK1 & MK2, Mirage F1AZ & CZ, Mirage lllCZ & BZ and then came the Cheetah and in those weeks my eyes would be out the window watching them flying back to 15 Squadron and with my mom working for the news papers we got to go to 15 Squadron and walk around and meet some of the pilots like Maj Johan Venter as he landed with the F1AZ.

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My Favourite Airshow had to be the Virginia Airshow which was awesome and a lot of fun with fantastic memories but sadly its no more so it has to be AAD which is held every second year at Waterkloof Airforce Base and then The Adrenaline Show is close behind BUT just being at any airshow is simply awesome and great fun.

My most memorable moments was flying to and from a Margate Airshow with the Yak Display Team and of course just being at a airshow with family and friends is always a memorable moment and that is what makes a airshow.

I started building model aircrafts also at a young age, which i would only do SAAF Aircraft and Aircraft that i have seen on the ground or in the air AND THEN i was bitten by the world of RC Flying and with that came must be one of the best Christmas gift i have ever had and the was a Cessna 350 Corvalis from the lady ( Sharon ) that has made me into the man i am today and today after having sold a few, i have the Corvalis, MX2, Extra, Eagle 580 and a Super Cub which i fly from time to time and when the weather is right!

Aviation is me and that will never change as long as i am on this earth and i am very blessed to have a family and friends and a member of a fantastic team which is also family and i look forward to many more years with Team AC!

So from Me, i would like to wish all of you nothing but the very best for 2018 and hope its a safe and happy one and hope to see you during the 2018 Airshow Season.

God Bless                                    

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Jarryd Sinovich ( Hawk Eye )

December 18, 2017   Team AC   1 Comment

Jarryd Sinovich ( Hawk Eye )

Jarryd Sinovich ( Hawk Eye ), I was born in Johannesburg on the 20th July 1995.I attended Bedfordview Primary School from 2002-2008 and then attended Jeppe High School for Boys from 2009-2013.I started flying at the age of 16 and went solo at the age of 18 at Springbok Air Academy owned by Flippie Vermulen flying Cessna C150s to be more exact that being two C150s from the old Defence Flying Club which was based at AFS Zwartkop ZS-IOP and ZS-EZX. My hobbies consisted of flying, fishing, game viewing and photography. During my early days before I started flying I spent my weekends at Rand Airport in Germiston. Where I interacted with pilots, including Dennis Spence who took me for my first aerobatic flight in a Pitts Special. I also got to fly in some really exotic aircraft, A PBY Catalina being one of them, from a military point of view ,flying in my favorite SAAF helicopter an Oryx from 19 Squadron, Casa 212 and C130s.
I joined Aviation Central in May 2015,I have been following the page since January 2013,which kept up to date with airshows and other information aviation in South Africa. My first post was the 2015 Lowveld Nelspruit Airshow, which was very interesting for me as I had never done any article for any publisher. Today the Lowveld airshow is in the top three category for best airshow in South Africa. The country airshows are a favorite for me as you get interact more with pilots and the aircraft then the bigger airshows that one attends.
Before I mention anything else, let me tell you where it all started the bug I caught and could never get rid of it again. That bug was called Aviation. My dad came home from a trip to Cape Town, when I was at the age of 2,he bought for me a model of a 747.I didn’t know how to explain how happy and interested I was in that aircraft, I used to play with it day in and day out. Every time my parents went to the shop they had to buy me  a present, that present being another aero plane, over time I had a large collection of toy aircraft and then starting buying a magazine by the name of Aero Africa which I paged through to see the different aircraft pictures shown throughout the book. I then was taken to my first airshow at AFB Waterkloof in 1998,back then the show was known as DEXSA and today it is know as AAD.
During the late 90s the SAAF Museum hosted a number of flying days, which were more as airshow days, as the Museum had a large number of aircraft in flying condition at AFS Zwartkop in Pretoria. I was luck enough to go to a number of those flying days and remember seeing aircraft that we would not see flying in South Africa today. But being at Zwartkop was not just about seeing the aircraft flying, but the aircraft on static display, soaking up the art in the display halls, meeting the pilots, model display aircraft built by some of the best model fanatics out there, hearing the commentary of Brian Emmenis and probably the best lump in my throat moment would be, seeing a deadly delta behind Bays Hill screaming towards the display box.
We may not be spoilt in South Africa like other countries that have airshows with lots of warbirds and military aircraft on display, I have sure appreciated the presence of what we had, over the years I had the opportunity seeing Thunder City’s Jets, that being the Buccaneer, Lightning and Hawker Hunter. Menno Parsons in his P51 and T28 , Stu and Patrick Davidson in their Sea fury and P51 and Ron Wheeldon in his Hawker Hunters and T2 Buckeye.
It now being 2017,I have attended more than a 150+ airshows, seen people and aircraft come and go. Shared tears with others as we lost loved ones to tragic accidents, experienced some of the worlds best pilots showing off aircraft. My best airshow that I wish I could  go to one more time would be at Airforce Base Makhado, which held South Africa’s first ever Fighter Meet in 2005.The thunder in the sky from that day still gives me goosebumps. My worst airshow experience was the 2013 Secunda airshow, when Glen Dell crashed in his Extra 330.
There has been two new airshows that I have ticked off, that I attended this year that being the Matsieng airshow and Gaborone airshow in Botswana. I have one last Airshow that I will be going to with the mass SAAF participation and it being the 50th anniversary of the Silver Falcons Aerobatic team at AFB Langebaanweg on the Capes west coast.
I have so much more I can talk about in this short experience this bug has given me, I will continue doing what I love doing, and bring aviation to the world following Aviation Central and attending airshows until the day I die. Through the years there’s one person I would like to thank and for getting me this far and taking the time to take me to airshows ,my dad if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunities I have had.
J.Sinovich
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Lettie van Emmenis ( Administration )

December 15, 2017   Team AC   No comments

 

Name: Lettie van Emmenis
Age: 48
Full Time Job: Office Manager
Town: Pretoria
Camera: Oops
How Did Your Passion For Aviation Start: The Bossman
At What Age Did Your Love For Aviation Start: 42
What’s Your Favourite Current Airshow: Middelburg
What’s Your Favourite Airshow To Date: Matsieng
What’s Your Most Memorable Moments: Race for Rhinos Botswana

 

 

 

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Flippie Van Emmenis ( Boss Man

December 14, 2017   Team AC   No comments

Flippie Van Emmenis ( Boss Man )

Flippie

BOSS MAN

Flippie Van Emmenis ( Boss Man ), Born in Pretoria 1970, Grownup on the KZN coast, Durban, Richardsbay and Empangeni.
I was introduced to RC flying in the 80’s while in primary school. My 1st RC Club was Zululand Aero Modelers. My Instructor at that time was Carl Enslin and what a great man he is!
My dad was my number 1 supporter and he was always there to support me with my interests.  He always helped me build my RC airplanes and accompanied me to the air fields, he assisted me with startup and help maintaining the Radio controlled aircraft flying.  At the Age of 15 in 1985, I flew RC at an Airshow that was hosted at Empangeni Airstrip, I again competed in 1986 at the Empangeni Airshow and the 1986 Richards bay Airshow. We moved to Pretoria in 1988 where I completed my last two years of schooling and was a member of the Rosslyn Aero Modelers RC Club.

Flippie van Emmenis

In 1990, just after completing school, I did my National Services (Army) and was called up to Youngsfield Army Base in Cape town. I was luckyvery lucky to be selected for the Skylift team and what an experience it was. We flew RC aircrafts for the Anti-Aircraft group for practice. Myself, Rob Hearn and Andrew Imrie were based at Lohatla, in the Northern Cape. We damaged/pranged more aircraft than what were shot down.

After my Army years, I started working at Telkom, called the Post Office at that time. I am still with Telkom and it is still my day job.
My Best Airshow ever was the SAAF75 held at Waterkloof AFB in 1995. My best Aviation Event Ever was the 2017 Race for Rhinos held at Sowa Pan! #ILoveBotswana and the most fun I had at an event was at the Durban Sky GP held at Durban North Beach!  My most loved small-town shows are the, Middelburg and Newcastle shows. On my bucket list to still attend is the Lowveld show in Nelspruit.  The ultimate experience would be to attend the The International Russian show called the MAKS in Moscow. I Attended in 1985 the South African World Masters Aerobatics Champs La Mercy held in Durban and the WAC 2017 held at Malelane.

My additional Hobbies are building model trains and observing wild life and just driving the open road.

My life as the Team lead of Aviation Central started in 2010 when I joined Aviation Central as n normal “Like” at that time. Aviation Central had at that stage about 260 likes and I ,as an Airshow fan, started commenting and posting. After a while, the owner at that time, Elan Hoffman, asked If I can assist him on the page and made an Administrator on the page. I had the time in hand that Elan did not have. With more posts and information on the Aviation Central page, the likes were growing and in 2013 we had 1600 likes, Elan contacted me again and handed owner ship over to me. By that time, I had already sourced/lined up John James to help me on the Page. Shortly after I was handed over the ownership, I started looking out for two more team Members to join us on Aviation Central. Soon after that I recruited/found Jarred and Trevor.  I want to send you a big thank you to my lovely wife, and AC Admin lady, Lettie, for supporting with my love of Aviation

The Aviation Central Team, Team AC, is a very dedicated team and backed by our Admin Lady Lettie (Also my stunning wife). I was given the Callsign “BossMan” by my team. I used to be the Guy onom my camping chair at an Airshow, or sitting next to an Airport, just looking at the aircraft!
Now, we are dedicated to bring Aviation, Aviation Events, Radio Controlled and the Real Deal to all Aviation Fans in South Africa. From the Guy Attend airshows, Plane spotters, RC guys, Aviation Support crews, Pilots and the Guy always looking up if a plane goes over… You are our biggest fans.

My hobby becomes my passion and my passion becomes my life. We are doing it for the love of Aviation and therefore our time we spend are free and with love.

Read about the rest of the Team….

Thank you all

“BossMan”

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