The 2025 edition of the President's Trophy Air Race was hosted by Bona Bona Game Lodge, nestled in the picturesque North West Province. The President's Trophy is run by the SA Power Flying Association of South Africa at the end of May each year and is one of the oldest air races in the world, with the first air race taking place in 1937.
Originally known as the Governor General's Cup Air Race, the event was organized to coincide with the opening of Durban's new airport at Stamford Hill. The route took teams over 1,000 miles from Durban via Ladysmith to Rand for an overnight stop before returning to Durban via Bloemfontein, Kimberley and Bethlehem.
The event has gone through a number of iterations and alterations over the years but remains a handicap race and open to all Class C1 aircraft with reciprocating engines. Handicaps are developed to give each aircraft a chance of winning and to allow aircraft of different types and ages to compete against each other. The objective of the race is to test a crew's ability to navigate a course using paper maps in the shortest time possible based on their aircraft's performance constraints, while promoting a safe and fair event.
The distance has been shortened to approximately 275nm per day and remains a 2-day event with crews flying a new route each day departing from ad returning to the same airfield each day. Each year, a new airfield gets the honour of hosting the event.
This year, the President's Trophy was hosted at the Bona Bona Game Lodge, a bushveld retreat that includes accommodation a stone's throw from the runway, a restaurant overlooking a stunning watering hole, function venues and for those not flying, a spa and game drives. Bona Bona opened their upgraded tar runway in 2020 and has continued to upgrade their facilities since then, including completion of a paved taxiway earlier this year. Bona Bona rolled out the red carpet and welcomed crews, organisers, family and friends to their beautiful and well-maintained facilities.
Unfortunately, a few unlucky teams had to withdraw in the week leading up to the event, resulting in a total of 33 entries for 2025. This year's event attracted aviators from across the country with entries from Gauteng, North West, Western Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KZN and Free State. This year attracted many new teams with 11 first time pilots and 10 first time navigators, of which 5 crews consisted completely of first timers. An impressive twelve pilots and navigators have completed more than 10 events, with one stalwart completing more than 30 events. It is clearly an event not to be missed that brings crews back year after year to try their luck and improve their results.
Day 1 is set up as a time trial with the fastest aircraft taking off first, followed by the next fastest, with each aircraft taking off in 30 second intervals. The maps for Day 1 are already pre-plotted with the route and headings on the map. On arrival in the morning, crews were met with an icy cold breeze favouring uphill runway 35. With blue skies and light winds forecast all day, the morning briefing commenced and maps, photo sheets and logging equipment were handed out. Each crew was given 30 minutes to prepare before their allocated take-off time. The Day 1 results determine the Day 2 starting times, and any adjustments required to handicap speeds.
Day 1 kicked off with a route of 267nm and 9 turn points that took crews west of the town of Schweitzer-Reneke then north past Delareyville and back east near Ottosdal. The next leg turned south, flying past Bona Bona giving visitors to the restaurant at the lodge a good view of the passing aircraft. From there the route went around Bothaville, turning west over the Bloemhof Dam before returning back to the airfield.
While the terrain in the area is generally flat as far as the eye can see, the views during the flight were quite scenic. The bushveld of the area is still full of water from this year's higher than average summer rainfall. Rivers, dams and even small perennial pans were full to the brim. The route kept navigators on their toes with some legs having little to navigate with aside from farms and farm boundaries.
Unfortunately, 3 teams had to abandon their race soon after take-off on Day 1 after experiencing technical issues, but all returned safely to the airfield.
Scoring for Day 1 was a challenge as many of the loggers produced the tracks in a series of numerous parts rather than one continuous file. It took the scoring team many hours of hard work, but late in the evening, they were able to produce the Day 1 results. The logger equipment is getting older, and SA Power Flying has made a substantial investment in new Live Track equipment, bringing our tally from 9 to 25 live track loggers. These loggers also allow friends, family and spectators on the ground to get more involved as they can watch crews fly the route from anywhere. The new loggers were unfortunately delayed by customs and arrived a day too late for this event but will be ready for future events including next years President's Trophy.
Crews are required to plot their own map for Day 2 using a clue sheet. This popular map preparation requirement was brought back in 2024 and is based on earlier PTAR years where crews also prepared their own maps. The blank maps and instruction sheets were handed out on Friday afternoon and crews had a merry time both helping and hindering each other with their maps before a braai was held at the hangars.
On Day 2, aircraft take-off from slowest to fastest, with their start times adjusted with their gains, losses or adjusted handicap speeds from Day 1. Barring any penalties or other factors, the first plane over the finish line on Day 2 should be crowned the PTAR winners and all the aircraft should arrive in a mass finish within moments of one another.
Day 2 dawned sunny with lighter winds and a significant increase in temperatures from Day 1. The Day 2 route was 250nm with 9 turn points taking crews southwest to the Bloemhof Dam wall, east and north along the meandering Vaal River towards Bothaville before turning north and passing Bona Bona once again. The final few legs returned teams to the west to the tiny agricultural town of Migdol before returning to Bona Bona via Schweitzer-Reneke.
Day 2 had an exciting twist as the Cessna Caravan of Apie and Frederik Kotzee acted as camera ship with photographer Charlie Hugo on board. This resulted in some lovely air to air photos of competitors as they made their way around the route.
A few visiting aircraft flew in early to join the fun on the ground and there was a rather large crowd of family and friends gathered in stands, specially set up next to the apron by Bona Bona, where they could watch the take-offs and later, the exciting mass finish.
Crews then had the afternoon to relax at the hangars with a drink while sharing war stories from the days flight and speculating about the results. Had they made it around all the turn points? Did they fly faster or slower than yesterday? Who overtook who and what could that mean for the overall results? Those who were lucky enough to fly with a live track logger could sneak a peek at their track and check if they missed any turn points, but speeds would have to wait for the results later in the evening. Crews could also have lunch at the restaurant or take part in some of the Bona Bona fun activities such as a game drive, predator experience or spa treatment before the gala dinner.
The gala dinner was held in the new and impressive wedding & function hall located behind the Bona Bona reception. The hall has a spectacular view over the bushveld through vast windows and was tastefully decorated with a musician playing live music to welcome guests. Before long, delicious starters were served and the prize giving got underway with some fun prizes. The lucky winners received wine sponsored by Cirrus Wines and trophies sponsored by Graphix.
The Day 2 results were handed out over dinner so teams could see their results for the day. Penalties were dished out to a few teams who bust their handicap and missed turn points. All crews bar two improved both speed and accuracy from Day 1 to Day 2, proving that practice makes a big difference to your results.
With anticipation building and stomachs full after the delightful main meal, the prize giving got underway in earnest. Congratulations to this year's winners Quintin Kruger and Johan Whiteman. Second place Paul Marskell and John Herbert finished only 27 seconds ahead of Johan van Zyl and Eric Addison who finished third overall.
Fourth to seventh places were tightly contested with only 33 seconds separating them, Lukas & Leon Eksteen, Eduard & Bernard Scholtz, Mark Bristow & Quinton Warne, and Etienne Smith & Mario Febbraio. Piet Meyer and Adrienne Visser finished in eight place, after busting their handicap for the second year in a row. The top 10 were completed by Vishal Hurrichund & Michael Heffill, who also unfortunately bust their handicap, and Bertie Wessels & Hercu Strydom.
A huge thank you to all of the officials for their effort in making this year successful. Our officials are all volunteers who volunteer out of pure passion for aviation and take time out of their busy schedules to ensure this event is run smoothly. They put in extreme amounts of time and effort at the event and in the months leading up to it.
We also need to thank our wonderful sponsors who donate financially, prizes/goodies, time /services and other forms of sponsorship. Many of our sponsors step in over the weekend as extra hands, providing much appreciated support. Without sponsors, we would not be able to host this event every year. Please support them by giving them a call, visiting their website or following them on social media.
Lastly, thank you to all the competitors for joining us and bringing your friends and family to enjoy the fun. We look forward to seeing you again next year. In the meantime, join us at our other events and get some practice in for next year. Enter for your next event now on www.sapfa.co.za or contact us to arrange your own club event.
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