Tag Archives: Newcastle Airshow 2019

2018 vs 2019 Airshow Seasons with a Look into 2020

The 2019 Airshow season has come to end and has been quiet year, yet it was busier than 2018.

In 2019 we lost Rand Airshow and has still not been added to the 2020 Airshow calendar. The Longest Current Running Airshow is Newcastle and it will celebrate its 10th Airshow in 2020. Newcastle took 2nd Place at African Pilot Airshow of the year award. Johan, lead organizer of the Newcastle Airshow said that they are aiming at the number one spot for the 2020 season.

Something new was the Sports Aerobatic Club Airshow at Klerksdorp this year. We truly enjoyed that airshow. This was an Airshow arranged by the Airshow and Aerobatic pilots themselves. The 2020 SAC Airshow will be in Bloemfontein.

Stellenbosch hosted a top-class Airshow this year and for that reason they took the African Pilot Airshow of the Year Award. Stellenbosch team will be back with a two-day Airshow in 2020. Mozambique and Swaziland (Eswatini) also hosted very successful airshows in 2019 and both will be back 2020.

The SAAF Museum – Swartkop Airshow was delayed this year due to the Presidential Ingurgitation. When South African Airforce finally decided on a new date for the 2019 Airshow, the SAAF Museum team had about one calendar month to arrange an Airshow with the size of what is expected by the public was a huge task! The team delivered an almost perfect show. Well-done.
The SAAF Museum – Swartkop Airshow 2020 will form part of the SAAF 100 celebrations and 2021 Swartkop Air Force Base will be celebrating 100 Years. The SAAF one hundred celebrations will be themed Embracing our Collective Heritage and 100 years of Air Power, through 25 years of Democracy

The Main SAAF100 – Public Calibrations Airshow will run in conjunction with Africa Aerospace and Defense 2020 that is to be hosted at Waterkloof Air Force Base in September 2020.

The Aeroclub of South Africa will also be celebrating 100 Years in 2020 with their main event is to run with the Aero Club Airweek and Airshow 1st Week in May 2020. South Africa will also be hosting the World Air Rally championships in Stellenbosch during 2020.

The 2020 Edition of the President trophy Air Race will be hosted at Ermelo in May and as part of SAAF and Aero Club centenary celebrations we will see a Silver Queen Air Rally to be hosted at Swartkop AFB.

Click here to view our online 2020 Calendar

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We would like to thank DJA Aviation for Teaming up with Team Aviation Central and this making it possible for us to attend more Airshows in the Year 2020

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Airshows 2018 vs 2019

2019 Had 12 Airshows compared to 7 in 2018. 2019 Airshows had 355 total flying aircraft vs the 213 in 2018. Yes, 2019 had more Airshows so let’s have a look at the average number of aircraft per Airshow 2019 had 31 and 2018 had 30 average aircraft (Number of aircraft divided by number of Airshows)

The Top performer in airshow attendance was Team Xtreme Airshows, with attending 10 Airshows and total of 36 Aircraft vs 2018 Top Performers. Flying Lions, Attended 7 and 20 Aircraft appearances!

The Airshow with the most Aircraft for 2019 and 2018 was Swartkop with 53 for 2019 vs 54 2018.

3 Airshows up its number of Aircraft from 2018 to 2019 with Botswana Wesbank international Airshow showing the biggest growth.

Number of Aircraft per Airshow where the Airshow was hosted in both 2018 and 2019

Airshow

2018 2019 Growth
Matsieng 24 37 13
Newcastle 26 32 6
Bethlehem 18 24 6
Swartkop 54 53 -1
Lowveld 42 33 -9

2 Squadron Gripen

SAAF Gripen remained the same with 6 Gripen’s flying in 2018 and 2019. C130BZ, another favorite among the public saw no displays during 2019.

Helicopters and Airliners was also in the decline for 2019. The Airlink Embraer E190 was a welcome newcomer to Airshows and flew at Lowveld, Newcastle and Ladysmith. The 2018 Season Lowveld Airshow was the only Airshow lucky enough get the Embraer E190.

Menno Parsons and his P51D Mustang also made a welcome return to the Airshows with 0 Airshows in 2018 and 7 in 2019. The Reason for 0 in 2018 is the Mustang engine was sent for a scheduled overhaul.

The Best Airshow of the year awards 2018 vs 2019

Position 2018 2019
1st Lowveld Airshow Stellenbosch Airshow
2nd Rand Airshow Newcastle Airshow
3rd Ermelo Air Show Middelburg Airshow

Brian Emmenis and his Capital Sounds team was the broadcaster at all airshows in 2018 and 2019. At Some Airshows he had specialist co-commentators that was provided by the Airshow organizers.
The Sound was as always clear throughout the Flight lines. Brian and his Crew kept the crowds on their feet and well informed on all Pilots, Aircraft, Team, Airshows, Sponsors, Key Aviation Media, all the Safety and behind the seen personnel. We are looking forward to a festive and busy year 2020 in the compony of the wonderful team.

** Notes**

  • AAD2018 is not counted as it’s not an Airshow but a Trade show.
  • If an Aircraft or Team flew more than one displays a day it is still counted as one, counted per airshow and not displays
  • Some Pilots and Teams displayed at other events that classified as an Airshow, these are also excluded

Below are the 2018 and 2019 Airshow Attendance lists

2018 Airshows

2019 Airshows

2020 Interim Airshow Calendar

Date

Event
JAN
18th – 19th SAC Gauteng Regionals – Vereeniging
FEB
MAR
7th – 8th North West Regionals – Klerksdorp
21 & 22 FASHKOSH 2020 Stellenbosch 2-day air show
APR
4th Wings and Wheels Festival, Uitenhage
25th Garden Route Air Show – GEORGE AIRPORT
MAY
1,2,3 Middelburg – Aeroclub Aero week
9th Swartkop Airshow
16th Lowveld Air show
23rd – 25th PTAR – Ermelo
23rd – 24th SAC KZN Regionals – Ladysmith
30th Wesbank Botswana Air show
JUN
5th & 6th Newcastle Air show
13th Maputo Air, Sea and Land Air show
16th – 20th SAC National Championships – Tempe
20th SAC Aerobatic Air Show
JUL
22nd – 1st SAC Advanced World Championships
AUG
22nd Bethlehem Air Show
SEP
19th – 20th AAD Waterkloof – SAAF100
OCT
3rd – 4th SAC Western Cape Regionals
24th – 25th SAC Judges Trophy
NOV
9th – 21st SAPFA World Rally Championships
DEC
5th – 6th SAC Ace of Base

I Can Dream – Newcastle Air Show 2019

The Newcastle Air Show in KwaZulu-Natal, which is the only airshow in KZN, was held on Saturday the 1st June 2019, for the ninth year running. With the theme “I can Dream”, the show encouraged participation from the community with free entrance and focused on the youth, which saw a lot of school children attending the show. It is fantastic to see the local community being considered and the drive to encourage the youth into the aviation world.

With lots of food stands available, there was also lots of activities and stands to keep the public busy, including a virtual reality stand, military and air force stands, motor bike stunts and even an  South African Air Force Agusta A109 static display.

The show opened to a parachute drop with a huge South African flag, whilst the Newcastle High School Choir performed the national anthem for the twelve and half thousand strong crowd. It was a very special moment as the choir timed it to perfection with the flag landing as they completed the anthem.

This was followed by an impressive display by the Silver Falcons. Team 82 of the Silver Falcons performed their display, lead by Major Omphile Matloane in Falcon 1, with team members Falcon 2 Major Tiaan Stander, Falcon 3 Major Sivu Tangana, Falcon 4 Bheki Shabangu and GLO Captain Xander Albasini.

(Photo by Brian Emmenis)

The Puma Flying Lions followed with their display showing off the Harvard T6 aircraft capabilities in the fabulously clear skies over Newcastle. Leading the team was Scully Levin with team members Arnie Meneghelli and Sean Thackwray.

Gary Whitecross performed a graceful aerobatic display with his glider.

Nigel Hopkins took to the clear skies with an impressive aerobatic display, showing the crowd the capabilities of the Extra 330.

The tradition of racing a plane against a car was taken to a new level this year when Nigel Hopkins raced the Extra 300 against a dragster.

A parachute drop from the SAAF 44 Sqaudron CASA C212 AVIOCAR by the Golden Eagles parachute team kept the crowd entertained.

A SAAF 2 Squadron JAS39D Gripen flown by Major Lee-Roy “Shinobi” Goosen and navigator LT Col Marc “Bluebird” Wilson wowed the crowd with a very fast paced display. The speed and noise from the fighter jet always gets peoples attention and creates a lot of excitement. This was third appearance of the Gripen at the Newcastle air shows and for the second year in a row.

The iconic Pitts Specials of the Goodyear Eagles team performed their aerobatic routine, which is always a great display to watch. The four ship team was lead by Glen Warden with team members Johan van Solms, Dennis Spence and Jason Beamish.

A Magni Gyrocopter flown by Andre van Zyl was next up and he put the gyrocopter through an impressive display showing just how maneuverable the gyrocopter is.

Andrew Blackwood Murray flew his Extra 300 in an aerobatic routine that certainly impressed everyone.

An Embraer E190 from Airlink surprised the crowd with an appearance, giving the crowd a good close up look at the jet.

Team Xtreme put on a high energy aerobatic display which really had the crowd going. They performed their routine which included the signature knife-edge fly past and a double knife-edge (two aircraft together) and if that was not enough, they did a double knife-edge side by side!

Lunch time saw the runway being used for some drag races.

After lunch saw the L29 flown by Glen Warden put through it’s paces. Always a good display of this fine jet.

The Raptor RV’s took to the skies and performed a great display for the crowd.

Ivan van der Schaar flew his Randolph sponsored Boeing Stearman, adding a touch of the olden day pilots with an impressive scarf!

The Goodyear Eagles with the Pitts Specials gave the crowd another beautiful display of aerobatic showmanship.

The Raptor RV’s then paired up with Team Xtreme to show us just how good they are, with an impressive 8 aircraft flying their display in very close formation. Truly a sight to behold.

The aircraft then split up with Nigel Hopkins and Jason Beamish giving the crowd some more precision flying demonstrations which included a few more signature double knife edge passes down the runway.

The iconic World War 2 fighter P51 Mustang, Mustang Sally flown by Menno Parsons showed the crowd the might and speed of this beautiful aircraft. The whistling of the air over the gun barrels always makes an impression to remember.

The Glider flown by Gary Whitecross took to the skies to give us a graceful display of flight. Barrie Eeles gave us a solo display in his Extra 330.Good to see Barrie back at Airshows once again!

The South African Airforce display team, the Silver Falcons gave us a late afternoon display. Always a great crowd pleaser and their stunningly professional display did not disappoint.

Closing the show was a parachute drop at sunset which was stunningly beautiful against the setting sun.

A huge congratulations to the organisers on achieving an attendance of over 12 000 people! The entire airshow committee lead by Johan Pieters worked hard to give us a great show and they gave us a winner! A big thank you to Christo Van Der Vyver and all the airshow committee members for their hard work. The Air Show director Rikus Erasmus, Safety Director and SAAF safety officer Col Francois “Hose” Hanekom,Grant Timms as Ramp Controller, ATC for keeping everything running smoothly and safely. All the pilots and ground crews, all the emergency and police services keep the public and crews safe.

Thanks to Mark Mansfield for managing the media and to Capital Sounds, Brian Emmenis and his team that gave excellent Airshow commentary and the sound that was heard nice and clear throughout and to the South African Air force providing aircraft and promoting and restoring National pride to our country. To all the stakeholders who sponsored the show, this last paragraph is for all the unsung hero’s mentioned above who make these country Airshows possible. We look forward to the 10 year anniversary of the Newcastle Airshow next year.

 

 

I Can Dream – Newcastle Airshow 2019

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I Can Dream – Newcastle Airshow 2019

Newcastle Airshow 2019

All systems are a go for the 2019 ‘I Can Dream’ Newcastle airshow that will be taking place 1 June 2019 at Newcastle airport, Amajuba district.

Since the show first started nine years ago, the theme has been ‘I Can Dream’, “The reason behind this is that people can dream to become pilots or dream that they will also one day have the opportunity to fly in an aircraft. 95% of the local Amajuba community have never flown in an aircraft, while 80% had never seen a Boeing or an Airbus up close”, said Johan Pieters, one of the organisers of the event.

The driving forces behind this year’s event is the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs of KwaZulu Natal and KwaZulu Natal Tourism with the event organisation been handled by the Champ Group of Companies lead by Johan Pieters and Christo van de Vyver.

A major bonus for visitors this year is that there will be no entrance fee to the show. “We had a look at the economic situation of the district and the country and together with our sponsors decided to make it a free airshow for 2019”, said Pieters.

The Newcastle airshow has become one of the largest one-day events in the Amajuba District and boosts the local district and Newcastle by R5 million.

Amongst the many highlights for this year, AON will host an educational guidance day on the day of the airshow. The educational guidance day is geared at Grade 11 math and science learners from the Amajuba district with around some 1000 learners attending. The learners will be addressed by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), The South African Airforce (SAAF) as well as the SAAF Silver Falcons, and will be given the chance to learn more about aviation as well as possible career paths that can be chosen in the various aviation fields.

This year promises to be a jammed-packed day with plenty of activities for the entire family. The show will open at 10:30 with a spectacular Airbus A320 display. For the adrenaline junkies all the action will be found in the sky and visitors can look forward to a fun-filled day, and will see acts from South Africa’s top aerobatic teams, the SAAF will be in full force at this year’s show and visitors will get the chance to see the SAAF Silver Falcons, fast jet action will be the Gripen as well as a SAAF Oryx helicopter will be put through its paces.

For the car-crazy visitors, there will be Hot Rods on display as well as a car and plane race.

For the family members that would prefer to do a little shopping, there will be plenty of stalls, a Munro Art exhibition, as well as various motor vehicle dealerships offering advice on your next vehicle purchase, as well as plenty of food and drink stalls and a beer garden. KZN Tourism will have a virtual reality stand where you can experience KZN live, a stand not to be missed.

For those that would like to view the show from a more VIP point of view this year members of the public can buy VIP Tickets at Computicket for R100 – that ticket will give you an experience in a Marquee with upholstery chairs, shade and VIP toilet. Limited tickets are available.

By the end of the show, which will be around 17:00, if you still have enough energy there will be an after party hosted by Tree Tops.

Newcastle Airshow VIP

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