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There’s something quietly reassuring about watching a 16-year-old talk about the sky as if it already belongs to her.
At Air Force Base Overberg near Bredasdorp this past weekend, the South African Air Force (SAAF) opened its gates first to school learners on Friday, 20 March, before hosting a full Innovation Tech Show on Saturday. Across both days, the message was clear: aviation in South Africa is not just about legacy—it’s about continuity.
Then on Saturday 21st, a full-blown airshow took place, and the crowds thronged the airfield.
At the centre of that continuity are young people like Georgia, who has already logged flight hours before finishing school.
“It’s just like freedom,” she says. “I just feel free up there… it’s kind of like a distraction from school and everything. There’s nothing like it.”
Georgia, now 16, has been attending airshows since childhood and is already progressing through solo consolidation in her training. Nearby stood Matthew Walters, 15 and about to begin his own flying journey in April, drawn in by family history and the quiet pull of aviation.
“My whole family has been involved in the aviation industry… that’s the reason why I’m becoming a pilot.”
His ambition is clear—commercial aviation, with the C-130 Hercules already a favourite, even if it wasn’t present on the day.
Machines, Systems, and Skill
If the students represent the future, the SAAF’s pilots and engineers offered a glimpse of the present—complex, technical, and still deeply human.
Among the aircraft on display were the BAE Systems Hawk Mk120, the Pilatus PC-7, and the Rooivalk attack helicopter, alongside the AW109. The absence of the Gripen, Hercules and Oryx was noted, but the emphasis of the show leaned more toward systems, innovation, and capability than spectacle alone.
Major Cant, callsign “Badger,” based at Louis Trichardt (Makhado Airbase), introduced the Hawk Mk120 in straightforward terms:
“It’s a Hawk Mark 120 made by BAE Systems… my callsign is Badger… based in Louis Trichardt/Makhado.”
It was Captain Molokomme who spoke about what it means to actually fly such an aircraft—less about speed, more about mental discipline:
“It’s a challenging aircraft… it challenges your mental thoughts, situational awareness, managing the systems, being aware of your surroundings.”
That emphasis on systems was reflected across the exhibition: drones and UAVs in flight, ground-based robotic platforms, missile technology, and the often unseen backbone of aviation—air traffic control software and ground support systems.
A Base at the Bottom
Air Force Base Overberg itself adds something intangible to the experience. Situated at the southern edge of the continent, it operates in what pilots often describe as a relatively “sanitised” airspace—far removed from the congestion of major commercial routes and general aviation corridors.
Here, at the foot of Africa, training can take place with a degree of freedom that is increasingly rare elsewhere: fewer conflicts, fewer interruptions, and more room, both literal and operational, to focus on precision flying, testing, and systems integration.
It is, in many ways, an ideal environment for both experimentation and instruction.
Leadership and Legacy
The event also took place under the leadership of Lieutenant General Wiseman Simo Mbambo, the current Chief of the Air Force, whose three decades of experience span operations, command, and training.
Since its establishment in 1920, the SAAF has fielded one of the most capable air forces in the Southern Hemisphere. From the Mirage III and Buccaneer era, through the locally developed Atlas Cheetah programme, to the Mirage F1 fleet that defined air combat capability into the early 2000s, the service has repeatedly adapted to shifting technological and political landscapes.
Today’s fleet—centred on the Gripen, Hawk, C-130, and helicopter platforms like the Oryx and AW109—reflects a smaller but still highly specialised force. The Innovation Day hinted at what comes next: a blending of traditional aviation with unmanned systems, digital infrastructure, and locally developed technologies.
A Base, A Community
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Colonel Mark Gomez, Officer Commanding Air Force Base Overberg, framed the event as more than a showcase. It was about the opportunities of a base to its surrounding community, and of a profession to a new generation.
And that may be the most important takeaway.
Because while the aircraft drew the crowds—the thump of the Rooivalk, the precision of the Hawk, the steady presence of training aircraft—it was the conversations on the ground that lingered.
A 15-year-old planning his first lesson.
A 16-year-old already navigating solo flight.
Pilots talking less about adrenaline, and more about awareness, systems, and discipline.
As Colonel Gomez put it:
“We’re showcasing South Africa… we still have brilliant people in this country.”
At Overberg, that felt less like a statement—and more like a fact.
