Krugersdorp Flying Club - Landing Competition - 19 July 2025
By Jaco Pitout
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Jack Taylor airfield is situated just outside of the town of Krugersdorp on the West Rand of Gauteng. Sometimes referred to as HMS Krugersdorp, it is quite high in intimidation value, in my inexperienced view in any event. The airfield juts out of the landscape with near vertical drop offs on either side hence the resemblance to landing on a ship. With runway orientations of 08 / 26 at an elevation of 5,500 feet above sea level it plays host to the very active Krugersdorp Flying Club, and they played host to their annual landing competition this weekend.
I arrived at the airfield just after six on Saturday morning, with the prospect of seeing a hot air balloon inflation and flight, however alighting from my car I could feel the push of a very cold and quite strong Easterly breeze. I had a quick chat with Dale de Klerk who informed me that sadly the conditions were not in favour of balloon flying. I elected to walk down to the western end of the airfield to assess the conditions, boy was it cold (and windy). Airfield resident Eugene Cozyn kindly offered me refuge in his hanger, which, in hindsight I should have taken however, with the task of capturing images on my mind, I assumed position next to the runway. Dale de Klerk and Marie Reddy braved the blustery conditions and assessed the conditions. It was quite a sight seeing the Orion Cub hovering in the strong wind, Dale informed me later that the groundspeed was indeed 0 knots.
With the conditions assessed, I retreated to the warmth of the clubhouse where several club members and visiting pilots had gathered. All the participants in the event were welcomed by Krugersdorp Flying Club chair, Francois Tolmay, whereafter Charles Pratley lead a comprehensive safety and competition briefing. The emphasis of his briefing was that competitors were to fly within their own capabilities and that of their aircraft in the challenging conditions. Also, that going around was actively encouraged if there was any doubt with regards to the safety of the approach or landing. There were no less than 21 entries into the competition and the circuit would be occupied by three aircraft at a time conducting three landings in configurations of the pilots' choice. This meant that there were nine different slots to ensure all competitors have their three attempts at landing on the bingo line.
With the first take-off scheduled for 0900B, I took up position next to the runway for the next several hours to capture the pilots testing their skills in the challenging conditions. It made for some excellent action!
The competition was concluded at around 1pm as soon as the final landings were completed. The competition was tight! All the pilots flying in the event really brought their A-Game with the top finishers within centimetres of each other on the bingo line.
All competitors on the day received a goodie bag as well as a bag of charcoal. There were a multitude of prizes that were on offer, from Avgas vouchers to hampers to weekends away at a luxury lodge at the coast to meal vouchers. I must add that this was a standout of the event, the generosity of the sponsors and club members that went out of their way to ensure that no one walked away from the event empty handed.
The winners were announced, and it was determined by the judges that the following pilots were the top achievers:
Judges
1st Prize - Matthew Human - Bathawk ZU-DNJ
2nd Prize - Dale de Klerk - Orion Cub ZU-LAR
3rd Prize (Tied) - Marie Reddy - Ikarus C42 ZU-EEE and Johan Loubser Citabria ZU-BPY
Greaser Award - Chris Shaw
It was also a highlight to see local flight training students, Simone Pienaar and Yaseer Adam from Alpi Aviation take to the air and try their hand at a landing competition, alongside their instructors.
Congratulations to all the winners from all of us at PilotsPost!
The hills around Krugersdorp are alive with the sweet sound of airplane engines! What a fun day!
Nashua & Ecko Unlitd Extra 300s Rand to Baragwaneth 161
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