Wonderboom Airport turns 80
Wonderboom Aport celebrates its 80th birthday.
The Wonderboom air and car show attracted thousands on Saturday and Sunday. It marked the 80th anniversary of Wonderboom aiport.
In a statement Wonderboom Airport said its history could be traced back to 1937 when the erstwhile city council established and opened a new airfield on the 342-hectare farm, Wonderboom.
The airfield was then known as the Pretoria North Airfield before it was named after the magnificent indigenous fig tree called Wonderboom in 1940.
The tree had been casting its shade close to where the airport was established for more than 1 200 years, Wonderboom airport said.
The airport said it had hosted several events that placed it firmly on the radar. These events included:
– a transatlantic flight in a two-seater aircraft by two locals (1955);
– the SA Parachuting Championships (1964);
– three-man star parachute jump (1968);
– five-star parachute jump record (1970);
– SA’s first black parachute jumper, Flocks Manceba (1974);
– the christening of the Delaney aircraft, named after the first baby to be born on board a scheduled flight (1975); and
– Tandem-rig parachuting with Miss World, Anneline Kriel (1986).
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