07 Aug 2017

President Lt Gen. Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama and Vice President Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi on August 6 joined aviation enthusiasts at the second annual Gaborone International Airshow held at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport.

The event attracted participants as far as Switzerland, with the South African based pilots and the military men and women from the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) also showing off their skills.

In an interview, the Minister of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism Mr Tshekedi Khama said both the President and Vice President were happy with the level of aviation growth in the country.

He said a diversity of events were held as there was a strong man competition (sponsored by Scania) and the motorcycle display and the drag racing.

The minister further said he was pleased everyone was brought on board including the SOS marimba band from Serowe who performed the National Anthem.

Minister Khama said through the event, Botswana was showing activities which were not held in other countries and was also doing it differently emphasising on safety.

To the local pilots who dream of showing off their skills, the minister urged them to ensure they had enough hours of practice.

As for the events of the day, the highlight was the BDF F5 firewall which caught almost everyone off guard especially as it was unannounced.

The BDF ground forces had performed a mock battle and after the battle field was cleared with the troops being ferried off by the ACMAT, two fighter jets, F5s, flew at low altitude dropping bombs and the explosion left people running for their lives.

In a split second there was a fire ball and a big black smoke covered the atmosphere for some minutes.

The BDF had also showed their aerobatic skills earlier with three pilots flying in formation in the B7 jets, built in Switzerland.

The B7s are used to offer basic training for BDF pilots.

Following the display by the military men, the civil aviation folks took over the skies, with Team Extreme showing the crowd why they are highly rated.

Led by Nigel Hopkins, captain at South African Airways, Team Extreme lived to their name, with three members flying in breath taking formations, at times with their wings separated by few centimetres.

At the beginning, it was just Hopkins and Mark Hensman but they were joined by Jason Beamish, who despite his age, 28, has acquired skills that allowed him to have solo displays.

People were entertained to the best in aviation, especially when the three broke up their formation by crossing in front of each other.

Hensman and Hopkins drew a heart in the sky while Jason threw Cupid’s arrow, flying right through it.

There was also a helicopter display which thrilled the audience especially during the motor drag, with the pilot showing much skills while the drivers of the two cars showed off their road skills as they spun their vehicles.

Other than the airshow, classic cars were also on display.

Amongst the cars was the 1932 Ford Roadster, 1937 Chrysler Plymouth Coupe, 1954 Austin Matropolitan, 1960 Austin Healey 3000, 1969 Rolls Royce MPW Coupe, 1983 Jaguar XJS and the 1989 Rolls Royce Silver Spirit. ENDS