Community spirit grows as Bloemfontein hosts Children's Flight 2024

As a sign of their community spirit and commitment to inspiring the next generation to take up aviation, 500 children from Bloemfontein and surrounding areas experienced the thrill of flight at Children's Flight 2024 at New Tempe Airport on Friday 6 September.

The Children's Flight is the brainchild of pilot Felix Gosher, who launched the Children's Flight in South Africa in 2016. It has since expanded to other African countries, notably Zambia, and also evolved into The Elders' Flight, which takes the elderly and military veterans into the skies. The last Elders' Flight took place on July 6 at the South African Air Force's Mobile Deployment Wing, when nearly 500 elderly people were flown aboard more than 100 different aircraft.

Since The Children's Flight was founded, aviation has touched the lives of approximately 4,500 children. Many of these children are disadvantaged, underprivileged or have disabilities. The Children's Flight Bloemfontein brought together children from a wide range of backgrounds, including children from 25 children's homes, schools and organisations such as the Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa (CHOC), which supports children undergoing cancer treatment.

Friday's event began with a jump from an Atlas Angel parachute, with Graham Field carrying a giant South African flag. Then the flights for the children began in earnest and with the support of 65 volunteer pilots and 55 planes and helicopters, organisers ensured that every child had the opportunity to see the world from the air. After their flights they were given wings.

The day's festivities included not only the flights, but also spectacular aerobatic displays – the Flying Lions aerobatic team took to the skies in their Harvards, while the Master Power Duo of Nigel Hopkins (Extra 330SC) and Jason Beamish (Extra 330LX) thrilled the crowds with high-speed maneuvers and tight formation aerobatics, including their trademark knife-edge formation flypasts.

Juba Joubert pushed his Gazelle helicopter to the limit in a solo display; Tristan Eeles also flew a solo aerobatic display in his Extra 330SC, but sponsors ensured the children had more than just planes to keep them entertained, setting up bouncy castles, basketball hoops and other activities such as a face painting station. Each child received a goodie bag of gifts as well as a t-shirt, hat and sunglasses. Spec-Savers conducted vision tests and various vendors provided food from pizza to ice cream.

Hot 102.7 FM broadcast the event live, with air show commentator Brian Emmenis providing running commentary, assisted by Elvis Manene, South Africa's first black air show commentator.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was also present – to the surprise of all involved. The 44th Parachute Regiment of the South African Army carried out jump training in New Tempe with a C212 light transport aircraft. After several parachute drops, the military contingent fled to calmer airspace.

Around 120 sponsors have come together to make the 2024 children's flight possible – the “Remote Squadron”, which is made up of supporters from all over the world, also supported the event. They made sure that everything from fuel to chairs was available and the airfield was then cleaned to a sparkling clean. It was once again a complete success.

Special thanks go to the flight and charter company Federal Airlines, which flew media representatives from OR Tambo International Airport to Bloemfontein and back and took dozens of children with it in its Cessna Caravan.

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