Airlink Adrenaline Show 2017

Adrenaline was promised and no one can deny the second  Airlink Adrenaline Show delivered in abundance , from the opening of the show early on Saturday morning until the show was closed on Sunday afternoon it was fast paced and thrilling.

The action was kicked off with a para-drop including the largest flying Flag in the world, the flag weighs in at a massive 80kg and can only be “jumped” by a qualified tandem instructor. The jumpship used for the day was the versatile PAC 750which is based at the Wonderboom Skydiving Club.

The TORRE Pitts special team wowed all the early birds with a very polished display, Scully Levin, Arnie Meneghelli, Ellis Levin and Sean Thackwray have become an institution at airshows in Southern Africa.

No sooner were the Pitts Specials on the ground when Wonderboom and surroundings shaken awake with the “Sound of Freedom”, A SAAB Gripen from The South African Airforce’s 2 Squadron based a Machado Airforce Base delivered a flawless display. The Gripen operated from the nearby Waterkloof Airforce Base.

Menno Parson Joined a formula Renault single seater in his Bell 407 unfortunately the racing car was no match for the high speed and agility of the helicopter, Menno himself an avid race driver seemed to be have a ball hovering above the car.

Veteran Helicopter pilot Juba Joubert took to the air with a motorcycle strapped to the skid of his Alouette II the rider was positioned on the other skid, a simulated poaching scenario was played out with the motorcycle being deployed very quickly to apprehend the poachers.

 From all the loud activities to the serenity of a glider, Gary Whitecross proved that aerobatics is not only the domain of powered flight. Gary created a beautiful scene with smoke being emitted from the wingtips of his Pilatus B4 glider. Gary’s “tug” pilot Derek Hopkins towed him into the blue skies using a Lombada motor glider.

There was never a dull moment and as soon as Gary was safely on the ground the quiet was once again shattered this time by a selection of single seat racing cars, ranging from Formula fords to the monster Formula Renaults.

An Aerospatiale Gazelle got airborne with a reaction force on the skids, these warriors have become pivotal in the fight the Rhino poaching scourge in South Africa.

Neville Ferreira in his all South African Slick 540 was the next act to unload a dose of adrenaline, Neville flew a very hi-impact aerobatics display, throwing his aircraft around so that it at times resembled a radio controlled machine.

AHRLAC the latest South African designed and built military aircraft was joined by another twin boomed aircraft, a Cessna 337 Skymaster. Vetran SAAF Pilot Blokkies Joubert  and now AHRLAC test pilot led the formation with Larry Beamish sticking close by in the beautiful “Push Pull Cessna”.

Little Annie the Antanov AN2 was put through her paces by yet another father and son team , Mark and Jon-Marc Hill who operate this wonderful old girl on behalf of the Just Love Mission.

Next up was a thrilling sequence expertly flown by Nigel Hopkins, Mark Hensman and Jason Beamish, Team extreme is fast becoming a favourite at all the airshows, these guys put their bodies through a massive amount of punishment during their very Hi-impact display.

Mango Airlines graced the air with a magnificent display of the abilities of their Boeing 737-800, the bright Orange aircraft was a big favourite of the ever growing crowd. I can just imagine the noise on the flight deck as Scully Levine performed low level manoeuvres…….Terrain Pull Up ……..Caution Bank Angle…… Terrain Pull Up.

From one Boeing to another this time it was the chance of the Boeing Stearman owned and flown by Ivan van der Schaar. Ivan and his wife Sonica rebuilt this machine completely over a five year period.

Menno Parsons in the Legendary P51 “Mustang Sally” took to the air treating everyone to the wonderful sound of Rolls Royce Packard Merlin. The P51 was pivotal in the success of the allies in the World War 2 and the Korean War.

Fighter Jets once again filled the Wonderboom Skies, Glen Warden and Koos Kieck  in Aero Vodochody L-29 Delfin’s in tight formation with Larry Beamish and Pierre Gouws in two Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatros’ followed by Mike Wiengartz in Dawid Laas’ Aermacchi MB-326 Impala.

The flow of the show was interrupted slightly when a vehicle had to be removed by a Bell UH-1H “Huey” The offending vehicle was supposedly blocking the access of emergency vehicles, the Jeep was then dropped from about 1000 ft.    

Enter the Title Sponsor, SA Airlink displayed their stunning new Embraer E-190 in formation with one of their Embraer EJR 145’s. Airlink are planning on acquiring ten E-190’s.

One of many Airshow firsts was a formation of the legendary Silver Falcons and a SAAB Gripen it was amazing to see these totally mismatched aircraft flown in such a graceful formation.

Without the slightest doubt the Under and Over bike and Extra jump was one of the most anticipated events at the show. Nigel Hopkins flew his Extra 330 SC between two ramps on knife edge and at the moment he passes through Nick de Wit launches himself into a backflip over the aircraft.

The show continued with many motorsport events ranging from Drag Rail cars runs to Drift cars. The Drift cars were joined by Menno Parsons in his Bell 407 he hovered mere meters above them as the drifted around in a smoky haze.

Goodyear Eagles wowed the massive crowed of almost 20000 people as they threw their Pitts specials around the afternoon skies, the team consisting of Dennis Spence ,Nigel Hopkins, Johan von Solms and Paul Coetzer  painted two massive hearts in the sky.

As the sun set the show things really started heating up with the Jet car doing a run down the taxiway right in front of the crowd, this machine is capable of speeds in excess of 800km/h

The final Air display of the day was a beautiful twilight display by the Puma Energies Flying Lions in there Harvards.

The Jet car was then brought back to show centre where it melted a poor little Honda that was chained to a concrete pad, the heat emitted from the tail pipe of the Jet car is unimaginable and the car was quickly reduced to a spray of sparks.

The grand finale was a massive fireworks display bringing to an end a wonderful day of adrenaline packed entertainment, the show was held over two days and the Sunday although a slightly shortened programme did not disappoint.

Chris Briers, Christiaan Moriaana, Mark Mansfield, Francois Hanekom , Brian Emmenis and everyone else that was involved in this  amazing event , WELL DONE guys it will be interesting to see what is being planned to top this next year .

Please browse through our gallery of this event