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Welcome to the SA Power Flying Association, a community of aviation enthusiasts that are passionate about recreational flying in South Africa.

If you are bored of the $100 burger or breakfast runs to the same old airfields, then we have great news for you. SA Power Flying Association is here to help you stretch your wings and advance your flying skills all while learning from some of the best aviators in the world.

We want to help you get in the air, stay in the air, and have fun while you’re at it! SA Power Flying membership makes participating in events easier and more rewarding. Whether you are new to aviation, want to brush up on your skills or want to fly for your country; SA Power Flying has the event for you.

In addition to our successful Speed Rallies, Rally Flying, Air Navigation Rallies (ANR), spot landings and the President’s Trophy, we will be adding a few new events to our calendar. These include launching our new ‘Rally League’ and reviving the ‘Poker Run’. Keep an eye on our calendar for our upcoming events or join our WhatsApp group using this link and be the first to find out what is coming up.

With Rally Flying World Championships coming up in August 2025 in Italy, we want to practice as much as possible. Whether you want to compete or just have fun, join us and learn from some experienced aviators while you have the opportunity.

We are always on the lookout for venues and are happy to tailor our events to your need. If you would like to arrange an event for your club or want to host an event at your airfield, get in touch. We would love to bring the fun to you.

We encourage you to renew your SA Power Flying membership through Aero Club, who provide us with the support to continue as a recreational aviation organisation in South Africa. It is through their hard work and dedication that we are able to continue to enjoy free flight across the skies of South Africa.

If you would like to join our events but need a crew member or just want to find out more, please phone or email us and we will be happy to share more info and try to find you a partner in flight. You are also welcome to fly/drive into any of our events to meet the team and join us for that burger. Hope to see you at one of our events soon. Happy flying.

South African Rally National Championships 2025

By Tarryn Myburgh
 

12 & 13 April 2025

 

It has been a difficult start to the year for rally flying. Poor weather first caused the Rand Rally Challenge to be postponed and then cancelled. The South African Rally National Championships were initially set to take place at Brits Airfield on 5 & 6 April 2025 but were postponed to 12 & 13 April, also due to poor weather.

 



Waking up early on 12 April, it looked as if we might end up with another cancellation as the cloud hung low over the whole of Gauteng extending into North West Province. The poor weather and changing dates unfortunately meant that only 5 crews made it to Brits on the day.Read More →

The Aero Club of East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, has a long history of promoting aviation. The club was founded in 1927.

After a long break from their last rally, they decided to “Rekindle the Spirit of Classic Aviation” with an up to date NAVEX AIR RALLY.

With a little help from the GAC, they arranged a Navex Rally from the Amboseli National Park Airfield which sits at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. An amazing backdrop for the rally.

Look out for next years rally!

Arrivals, Briefing and Preparations

The Navex

Celebrations

PTAR 2024 – Makhado raises the bar

By Willie Bodenstein

26.05.2024
https://www.pilotspost.co.za/PsPpyarn3347

This year, for the first time, the PTAR goes north, far north to the delightful town of Makhado, previously Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. Nestled in the in the Soutpansberg mountain range the town is located in a fertile region where litchis, bananas, mangoes and nuts are produced. Makhado is 437 kilometres from Johannesburg and one hour’s drive from the Zimbabwean border at Beitbridge.

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By Pamela Russell

11.05.2024


The Northern portion of the SA Nationals in ANR took place a few weeks ago out of Brakpan Airfield. This past weekend saw the corresponding Southern event at the beautiful Stellenbosch airfield. Running parallel competitions allows for greater representation from all parts of the country and will hopefully continue to fuel the growing participation by Western Cape pilots.


FASH – pretty as a picture
While a Nationals is there to allow pilots to attain a set standard and be available to the Selectors, it is also always important to encourage new participants. So, there was an Open and a Sportsmans class, and the field included a team that had not flown any type of aviation competition before.


Competitors studying the schedule
 

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By Andre Venter

13.04.2024


Competitors, judges and others

The Air Navigation Rally is a fun day depending on the weather, sadly this event was postponed on the scheduled day, due to the weather that was expected to reach the Highveld over the weekend. A new date was discussed and the event was moved to Saturday the 13th April 2024 which was to be held at the Brakpan Airfield.



I arrived fairly early to a sun filled airfield and found two entrants had already arrived and were sitting down to a hearty breakfast and a hot cuppa. The early birds of the day were two trikes who were out for their early tour of the countryside and a Giles G-202 that also on its way out.
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SAPFA Rand Airport Challenge Navigation Rally 2024

By Russell Dixon-Paver

27.01.2024
This was the 20th edition of this fun event! As per tradition and for this time of year, weather was expected to become stormy later in the day, but more of that later. The event base was once again the old customs hall, providing space for the briefing, preparation and direct access to the apron for participants. Many folks made use of the Harvard Café for coffee and breakfasts.There was a final field of twelve teams, some who entered just before the event started. Some were “old hands” and for others it was their first navigation rally. Frank and Cally Eckard have been running this event for 20 years now!

Cally assists some of the last-minute entrants with their paperwork. 


Frank handled the necessary roll-call and team briefing, covering the normal aspects such as expected weather, radio calls, overall event organization and safety.


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Based on the incredible success of the Soutpansberg Air Show and Speed Rally this year, we are thrilled to announce the location of the 2024 Presidents Trophy to be hosted by the Soutpansberg Vliegklub and organised by the South African Power Flying Association.

Date: Friday and Saturday 24 & 25 May 2024
Where: Louis Trichardt Civil Airfield (FALO), Soutpansberg

Visit https://sapfa.co.za/home/ptar/ for more information or enter now!