21st Battlefields Fly-In 08.05.2021
By Brian Spurr
The twenty first consecutive annual Battlefields Fly-In took place from the 7th to the 9th of May at the beautiful country airfield situated in the heart of the historic battle sites. The Battlefields Country Lodge and Sports Resort (with its adjoining airfield), is situated 7.5 kms north east of Dundee and is halfway between Johannesburg and Durban.
The Fly-In is overseen by General Manager of the resort, Dave O' Halloran. Dave is not a pilot himself but he spent many years in South African Airways and Air Zimbabwe on the marketing and management sides. He has been in his current role for the last 8 years. He told me that the business had been affected by Covid, particularly with UK tourists interested in the battle sites, but he said they were doing ok and keeping their heads above water generating local business and events. They recently held a big schools rugby competition on the fields alongside the runway. Dave said that they get frequent visitors who come in by air. Many of them stay over, some on business, before continuing their journeys. He told me the next big Fly-In would be in July when around 40 aircraft from the Jabiru club were expected to arrive.
Claire Miller, Sanet O'Halloran, Dave O'Halloran.
The grass runway was in immaculate condition. It is 943 metres long and 20 metres wide and is clearly marked by white painted tyres. The runway is orientated 11 and 29 and the radio frequency is 124.800.
Battlefields Lodge from the air. By kind permission of Billie Jennings.
Battlefields Lodge has a number of attractions that make this Fly-In popular. Trips can be arranged to the nearby battle sites Isandlwana, Rorke's Drift, the Blood River Monument and the Talana Museum. It is a wedding venue, sports resort, team building venue and event destination.
For the Fly-In weekend, the lodge was full and visiting pilots soaked up the country atmosphere and relaxed in the company of fellow aviators. Entertainment was provided on Friday and Saturday night by the popular group the Gee Jays and a great time was had by all. The lodge has 72 units and can accommodate 144 guests.
Pilot's Post visited on Saturday and at that time there were thirty-two aircraft visiting. The weather was perfect with zero wind and some high white clouds at times. In the afternoon, a slight crosswind breeze came up that did not seem to pose any problems. There was a lot of flying during the day with pilots taking family and friends to see the sights. Here are some photos of the flying:
ZS-KCO - Beech 58P Baron
ZS-NAI - Piper Cherokee 235
ZU-FLR - Van's RV-7
ZS-IUT - Cessna 182P Skylane
ZU-TCD - Van's RV-10
ZU-DSR - Bushbaby
ZU-EMF - Jihlavan KP-5 Sabre
ZS-APY - Aeronca 65C Chief
ZU-FWE - Rainbow Cheetah XLS
ZU-FWB - Van's RV-10
ZU-EPT - Tecnam P-2004 Bravo
ZU-MAD - Van's RV-7
ZU-IHI - Van's RV-7
ZS-MWN - Piper Turbo Arrow IV
ZS-OXZ - Cessna 182 Skylane
ZS-PLE - Cirrus SR22
ZU-FYA - Sling 2
ZU-FUD - Sling 2
ZU-EKK - Auto Gyro MT-03
ZU-EGB - Jabiru J430
Some aircraft did depart after lunch on Saturday for El Mirador, in the Drakensberg and also to avoid what seemed like a thunder storm build up in the east. As it turned out, when we returned to Durban by road, this threat did not materialise.
One fun demonstration that the crowd enjoyed was of the RotorWay Exec 162F flown by Arthur Gemperle. The little helicopter showed off its manoeuvrability and performance in a great display.
Verena Basson, Arthur Gemperle, Nollene Mitchell, Martina Michel-Smith
Only incident reported on the day was the Falke motor glider that contacted a sprinkler head on roll out after landing, (this aircraft has a wide wingspan). This made a slight dent in the wingtip but it was not serious enough to prevent the aircraft flying home.
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