Tag Archives: Swaziland

2019 Airshow Aircraft and Teams

Every year we see Airshows across Southern Africa. Some teams we see at every show and others we don’t see that often. Aircraft we get L29 & 39’s to Gripen and Cheetah, From Harvard’s and Pitts Specials to Little Annie. The Military aircraft is always a winner at any airshow.

Every 2nd Year with AAD, we all hold thumbs and our breath in hope for some international aircraft, however due to South Africa being on the most southern tip of Africa the cost to bring aircraft to SA is very costly and not always feasible. We are hoping for something spectacular in 2019, however our, Aviation Central’s hope is on 2020.

2020 is a big year for Aviation in South Africa. The Aero Club of South Africa and South African Air force will be turning 100 years old. At this stage only the Aero club indicated interest in Centenary celebrations and planning is already in progress. We will Keep you updated on any Centenary celebration planning!

2021 Swartkop AFB will be 100 years old. Lets hope 2021 we will see a BIG Swartkop / SAAF Museum airshow.

The list below contains Aircraft and Teams listed per Airshow for 2019. We will be running a list for every year from as from 2018!


Popular Display teams, Puma Energy Flying Lions, The Cows Aerobatic team, GoodYear Eagles Aerobatic team, The Silver Falcons Aerobatic Team and the High Energy Team Xtreme are some of the popular display teams on our Airshow circuit

Southern Africa also has some Farther’s and Son’s flying in Airshows, Larry and Jason Beamish, Mark and Jon-Marc, Scully and Ellis Levin, Derick and Nigel Hopkins.

Also see our Airshows and other Aviation Events Calendar

If you feel we missed any Airshow, Team, Pilot or Aircraft, please let us know, Flippie@aviationcentral.co.za or Jarryd@aviationcentral.co.za

Important Notice:

We will only add Aircraft as we get conformation to the buildup of an show, this the listing my not be complete when its added prior to show date! Where Aircraft is added prior to an Event, does not guarantee that all aircraft is added nor that all Added aircraft will be flying!


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This is a list of all Airshows in Southern Africa for the Year 2019, Middelburg, Stellenbosch, Lowveld, Matsieng, Newcastle, Mozambique, Klerksdorp, Bethlehem, Swartkop, Swaziland, Ladysmith, ICAD 2019


Teams & Aircraft

2018 Eswatini Airshow 

2018 Eswatini Air show

Aviation Central’s Jarryd was not Media for the Weekend, that was done By Flippie. Jarryd was part of the Little Annie crew. (Jarryd holds a PPL and is busy with his Com)
They flew Annie in on Friday morning and took the local youth for a scenic flight around the Airport.

The Show was organized in a very short time and bad weather prohibited airshow aircraft to reach the Airport.  The only aircraft that flew was Little Annie, an Atlas Angel, Huey chopper and an R44. The R44 also did the flipping of spectators. Group of 8 Skydivers also entertained the large crowd from Young to old.

Stage with a Band and DJ was also part of the entertainment. The King of Swaziland’s two Aircraft was also visible to the left. Show day turned out nice, but windy. The airport has a spectacular tower and terminal building.  A New hi-way is being constructed linking the King Mswati III International Airport to the nearest town (Matsapha).

Johan Heine was the FDD for the show and made the best of what he had to work with. Listening to Johan Heine and Brian Emmenis from Capital Sounds talk about the 2019 Swaziland Airshow indicates that they are going to pull out all they can to insure for a spectacular 2019 show.

Hopefully, the 2019 show will attract more South African Media as Aviation Central was the only South African Media at the show. The Swazi people took good care of us and provided excellent accommodation close too Matsapha Airport. Aviation Central will be back for Swaziland international Airshow 2019.

About King Mswati III International Airport

Construction for the Airport began in 2003 on this $150m project. The Taiwanese government contributed USD 22m to the project.It is part of King Mswati III’s $1bn millennium project investment initiative to enhance Swaziland’s position as a tourist destination, serving as a tourism gateway to Swaziland’s game parks. However, it has been on the drawing board since 1980. There are also environmental concerns since Sikhupe is near Hlane game park, and may put rare species of eagles and vultures at risk. King Mswati III International Airport was planned to replace Matsapha airport by 2010, with the latter being taken over by the army. King Mswati III International Airport was inaugurated on 7 March 2014.

Facilities at King Mswati III International Airport

Airport has a 3,600m CAT 1 runway and capacity for 300,000 passengers per year. It would be able to handle Boeing 747 aircraft, and service flights to any destination in the world. Coordinates to King Mswati III International Airport 26°21′24″S 031°43′01″ECoordinates: 26°21′24″S 031°43′01″E

Click to Enlarge photos