AERO CLUB: Eagles Creek FC

The Eagles Creek Flying Club is continuing the long tradition of flying clubs around South Africa of sharing the joy of flight with the underprivileged.

The Children and their pilots at the Eagles Creek Flipping Day. The flights went all the way to the north face of the Magaliesberg and then around Hartebeespoort Dam and back.

With masks on and strict Covid distancing the children and minders wait for their flights.

EAGLES CREEK AIRFIELD is the well-known and fast growing tarred airfield with shiny new hangars alongside the R24 Krugersdorp highway north of Johannesburg. On Saturday 29 May the Eagle Creek Flying Club organised introductory flights for 20 children from the Abraham Kriel Bambanani Children’s home. Three busses arrived bringing children from as far afield as the Langlaagte home.

The Flying Club members responded magnificently with many members happily giving up their Saturdays to provide the 22 children with a lifetime’s memory of their first flight. The pilots went out of their way to make the flights especially memorable by flying past the red and white radio mast and then on over the north range of the Magaliesberg mountains and all the way around Hartbeespoort Dam. Once all the children had been flipped, they enjoyed a ‘boerrie roll braai’ sponsored by the Club members with mustard and tomato sauce smiles all round. The event's main organiser Shaun Barron said, “It was an absolute pleasure and an honour to be able to use our passion for flying with these kids. The smiles on their faces from their big adventure made it all worthwhile. We are planning to make it an annual event.” j

Look - I can fly!

Four up for the ride of their life in an RV-10. Pieter Cilliers with passenger in his Sling 2.