In January 2025, EAA was approached by the South African Model Aircraft Association (SAMAA) to collaborate with one event that would serve both EAA and SAMAA's approach to inspiring learners to enter our amazing world of aviation. Neil Bowden and Warren Lovell undertook a collaborative approach to this being the EAA 322 Annual International Young Eagles 2025 day. With the support of Paul Lastrucci and Mark Clulow, this event was made possible.
The SAMAA Phillip Lewis Project was proposed for Nelspruit, with SAMAA doing all the groundwork in advance. Under the leadership of Alec Groenewald, SAMAA worked with the Department of Education and enrolled a maximum of five scholars per school. Grade 11 scholars were selected based on the top Maths/Science academic results per school.
Friday 9 May was a beautiful day for flying in Nelspruit. On arrival at Nelspruit Civil Airfield at 06h45, I was pleasantly surprised at the grounds. Neat lawns, clean and tidy airport with a larger than expected number of well-maintained hangars. This Airfield is a hub of business activities. We were also spoilt to see precision military display practice sessions, in preparation for the Nelspruit Airshow the following day.
As school groups arrived, the required indemnities were collected and checked on registration. The planned number of scholars rose by 20 for registration. All arrived with the correct documentation and while this was a higher number than planned for, it is not unusual to have the numbers changing unexpectedly for these events. The children were all keen and diligently took their seats after registering. They were addressed by speakers from various fields of aviation. The beautiful flying morning was heating up for the children and they were excited to getting their hands on experience. Teams were split and some would build their model aircraft, which they would later fly, and others were led away by me to the Lowveld Club House where we would dispatch passengers from.
Earlier in the morning, I met with the Airfield Safety Officer, Oom Koos and volunteer pilots. They discussed and agreed to the process and route to be followed. A massive thanks to John Herbert (thanks Hoppie for the suggestion) for assisting with pilot contacts, Charmaine and Andrew Vincent, Michiel Jansen, Henk Benade, our own Daniel Meyer and famous Bathawk Boss - Terry Pappas. Without these amazing aviators, this event would not have taken place.
All pilots signed in and were assured that we had signed indemnities, with media release permission and indicated they wanted to participate, for each child. Charmain and John assisted with additional ground staff in safety vests to escort the children and maintain a high level of safety.
Let the Flying begin!
Children were allocated according to the aircraft and marshalled across to meet the pilot. Lots of excitement and smiles and the odd passenger unsure if they were excited or scared…..quickly choosing excited anticipation. “They would get to meet and chat with a pilot and actually fly !” It seemed unreal to some and a few of the children had many advanced questions, showing that they had been listening to the earlier information.
After their flight, the Air Force tent on the apron was their next stop with an informed walk through and a spin on the SAAF simulator. Students closed off competing to see who could fly their self-build glider and finally receiving their Young Eagles Certificate before picking up lunch and relaxing. Their day was action packed from arrival, giving these fortunate scholars insight into the various aviation fields they may choose as their career. This approach aligns with EAA Young Eagles and has once again sparked an interest in aviation in another 91 scholars.
A massive thanks to the Superhero pilots from Lowveld. An amazing aviation community. Young Eagle flights were completed as follows
This SAMAA Phillip Lewis Project was brought to life by Alec Groenewald and the SAMAA team in conjunction with the Department of Education and EAA. Local community and industry also played a major part in the success. The EAA co-ordinated the infrastructure for Young Eagles to fly and provided lunch. All in all - a great flying outing!
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