Fighter aircraft and memorabilia from earliest days of aviation at Saaf Museum

Fighter aircraft and memorabilia from earliest days of aviation at Saaf Museum

Air Force Base (AFB) Swartkop near Centurion is one of the oldest military airports in the world, it is therefore not surprising that a group of hangars near the main runway houses a world class aviation museum, with some very rare examples of aeroplanes from before World War I right up to some modern airborne warfare machinery.

At Saaf Museum Swartkop one can take a close-up look at a Canberra bomber, the exposed insides of a Harvard trainer, various examples of supersonic fighter jets, an early Sikorsky helicopter, a replica of an early airplane in wood and cloth, even the tattered fabric remains from one of the first aircraft that took to the skies in the pioneering days of aviation in South Africa.

In this video Athol Franz, owner of African Pilot Magazine and a keen aviation historian, tells us a little about the exhibits and aircraft that are on display and why it is so important that the army of volunteers that keep these planes in good order is supported by the public at the museum’s annual airshow in May.