The 12th Annual Kroon Fly-In
By Jaco Pitout
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Winter is well and truly here in the Southern Hemisphere. I set out to Kroon Airfield at zero dark thirty on Saturday. My car chiming and warning of the frigid temperatures outside. This had me wondering, was I dressed warmly enough for this very very early trip to the northern ridge of the Magaliesburg?
As I drove out to Kroon Airfield, I was reminded of my own trike flying days in the Midlands of KwaZulu Natal under the tutelage of Geoff Dyer. Cold frosty mornings, sunrises and buttery smooth air those were the days! I digress though, back to the short drive to Kroon Airfield with the caffeine slowly taking course through my somewhat sleepy disposition.
Upon arrival at the airfield, I was greeted with a hive of activity, as the exhibitors at the farmers market were setting up a variety of stalls, this is a unique attribute of this fly in. You can purchase anything from clothing, food, preserved goods to biltong and anything in between.
As it was still very dark, I took up position next to a beautiful bushveld bon-fire to break some of the cold.
The sky was literally on fire as some of the Kroon pilots started preparing their aircraft for the day ahead. It was a spectacular sunrise!
Preparations complete, two of the local pilots took to the perfectly still sky with a microlight trike and a Challenger. It made for an emotive set of images.
Very soon the circuit at this popular airfield started buzzing! I took up position to capture some of the arriving aircraft. A very nice surprise included a Bosbok conducting a runway inspection.
The Kroon Airfield is home to the Rosslyn Micro Flyers flight school, headed by Marius Nel and Kevin Wood. They specialise in flight training on microlights and Savannah aircraft. The airfield also boasts an AMO equipped to work on many types of light aircraft. After your training you may also enjoy a refreshment at the on-site club-house.
A welcome surprise to the fly in was a group of paramotors from nearby Grasslands Airfield. It is a welcome sight to see these highly advanced and highly portable machines at a fly in.
With the paramotors safely on the ground, the landings on the runway could resume, it certainly became a very busy little airfield!
In between all the arrivals, Marius and Kevin from the flight school flew a number of circuits as introductory flights for the many people in attendance. This type of flying is what takes people that are on the fence with regards to pursuing aviation and places them in the cockpit, the perfect place to start your journey to the sky!
The new Orion Cub from Krugersdorp also made an appearance at the hands of Dale de Klerk. I believe that the second of the type is very close to completion at the factory, very exciting news indeed! Dale also conducted an informal demonstration of the capabilities of this proudly South African product.
Rotorcraft attracted a lot of attention at the fly in! Bell 407, Gazelle, and a very interesting Robinson R44 lookalike, a SP44, visited.
With breakfast enjoyed it was time for some of the visiting pilots to depart. I captured the following friendly faces.
It is always a great day at Kroon Airfield! Fantastic seeing old friends and making new ones! Thank you Marius, Kevin and the entire Kroon Airfield team for hosting PilotsPost!
Extreme Skydive and Rietfontein Microflyers
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