Nestled at Rand Airport is the South African Airways (SAA) Museum Society, an aviation museum founded in 1986 and filled with a collection of South African Airways memorabilia.
Among the aircraft that make their home at the museum is Lebombo (a Boeing 747-244B ZS-SAN), famous for flying over the Ellis Park Stadium during the 1995 Rugby World Cup final.
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When Lebombo flew over the stadium on the historic day, the words ‘Good Luck Bokke’ could be seen painted boldly on the plane’s belly.
The man tasked with bringing the wording to life was Tonnie Wykmans, from Kempton Park, who started his career with SAA at the tender age of 17.
“I started my career on January 3, 1972,” he said.
“Even though I retired two years ago, I still have a burning passion and love for aviation, which I think comes from a fantastic career.
“I worked in almost every department of SAA.
“It was during my time in the design and drawing department that I was tasked with this mammoth project.
“Still, today it is one of the highlights of my life, seeing the plane with the words fly over the stadium even if I had to watch it on TV because I didn’t have a ticket to the game.”
The words sadly only stayed on the plane for a few hours.
“I think the plane came in from a London flight and still had ice on its wings that had to be washed off before we could send it to the paint department,” he explained.
SAA changed the wording several times before finally settling on ‘Good Luck Bokke’.
“At first they wanted it to say ‘Thank You RWC’ and then ‘Good Luck Boks’, but we said to management no one knows them as the Boks, they know them as the Bokke and so the final wording was decided on,” Tonnie said.
With the 2019 Rugby World Cup just around the corner, Tonnie decided to show his support for the Springboks by repainting the iconic words on Lebombo.
“This time though they can stay forever,” he explained.
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When asked what had made him decide to undertake this project again, he explained, “In December, last year, I thought to myself the 2019 Rugby World Cup is coming up and I must do something to get the community behind the team.
“Thinking back on the success of the Lebombo fly-over, I decided to do it again.
“Though we cannot take the plane to Japan, the team will know the people back home have them in their hearts and prayers and are behind them all the way.”
Tonnie contacted the museum to share his idea, which was welcomed with opened arms.
“So now I am doing it,” he said with a laugh.
“I pre-printed the stencil and from there we placed it on the plane, outlined the letters and then filled them in with a roller.”
Roger Craps and Guillaume Bosman helped Tonnie bring his dream to life.
Tonnie hopes this gesture will help the Bokke bring home the trophy.
“I believe with passion and drive you can achieve anything in life,” said Tonnie.
Hear more from the interview:
https://soundcloud.com/germiston-city-news/7019087091-leigh-germiston-tonnie-wkymans-go-bokke-jumbo
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Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za or Leigh Hodgson (News Editor) leighh@caxton.co.za or Kgotsofalang Mashilo (journalist) kgotsofalangm@caxton.co.za
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