After an uncertain start due to inclement weather, the 2025 edition of the Elders Flight proceeded without a hitch on Tuesday, as the clouds lifted and hundreds of elderly people took to the air for the first time at Krugersdorp’s Jack Taylor Airfield.
The event allowed 500 senior citizens to take to the skies in a variety of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, ranging from Alouette II to Huey, Caravan, and Harvard. Over a dozen military veterans – including Amalie von Maltitz, one of the first female pilots in the South African Air Force – also took to the skies on 18 November.
Jack Taylor Airfield was chosen as the site of this year’s edition, which was initially challenged by cool, drizzly, and misty conditions. As the day progressed, the weather continued to improve, and aircraft began to fly in from airfields across the region. Dozens of aircraft took part, but most of the ‘heavy lifting’ was done by Huey and Cessna Caravan aircraft as these had the greatest passenger capacities.
Last year’s Elders Flight was hosted by the South African Air Force (SAAF) Mobile Deployment Wing (formerly Air Force Base Swartkop), and this year’s event also saw Air Force support through the attendance of the Chief of the SAAF, Lieutenant General Wiseman Mbambo, and SAAF Museum aircraft.
In his speech, Mbambo said the passion for aviation present at the event was “incomparable”, and it was a “timeless honour” to treat the elderly to their first flights. They were also provided meals, entertainment, and gift bags. “When you give something to someone who won’t be able to pay you back you are doing it for God,” he said.
“When people give freely, the future is bright,” Mbambo told those at the event, adding that it is a sign of maturity to seek opportunities to give back. To organiser Felix Gosher and other supporters of the Elders Flight, Mbambo said their hearts are “on target,” and that “this country needs patriots like you, who are asking what I can do for my country not what South Africa can do for me.”
Gosher said the event was all about community upliftment and to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives, under the theme “fly, feed, love, inspire!” Although the majority of those flown were elders who had never flown before, the event also provided the opportunity for a select group of Air Force veterans to relive their glory days many years after service, Gosher said.
Those attending were well fed by numerous sponsors, entertained with live music – including a marimba band – and treated to aerial displays from the SAAF Museum, Master Power Technologies’ L-39 Albatros jet, and an Extra 330 and P-51 Mustang formation. Two Harvards from the Flying Lions aerobatic team gave a smoky display, and a couple of skydivers jumped out of a Huey to land in front of the crowd.
The first edition of the Elders Flight took place at Rand Airport in November 2018 and was followed by another event in November 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to it and much other aviation-related activity. The third edition was held in April 2023 at Brakpan Airfield, and the fourth at Mobile Deployment Wing in July 2024. The number of elders flown has increased over the years – the 2019 edition flew about 100 elders, while the 2023 event flew 300 and last year and this year’s editions flew 500 each.
The Elders Flight organisers attracted a large number of sponsors and supporters to make the event possible, and they supplied everything from gift bags to food, fuel, insurance, fencing, tents, shirts, sound equipment, toilets, fire trucks, medical support etc. Many of these also support the annual Children’s Flight also organised by Gosher. The 2025 edition of this took place at Wonderboom National Airport on 25 July, and flew 1 000 underprivileged young people, bringing the total to 5 000 since the Children’s Flight began a decade ago.
Gallery: Elders Flight 18 November 2025, Krugersdorp airfield
