Celebrating Baywest Mall’s sponsorship of the renowned Port Elizabeth air show, now named the Baywest Port Elizabeth Airshow, are (from right) SA Air Force spokesman and museum curator Captain Mark Kelbrick, Baywest MD Gavin Blows, MTR Smit Children’s Haven director and air show convenor Crystal Watson, and air show committee members Andrew Barton and Stu Davidson (in the cockpit of his L39 fighter jet).
The Port Elizabeth Airshow has formed a partnership with the developers of the R1.7bn Baywest Mall in Port Elizabeth’s western suburbs. Together they have thrown their weight behind the region’s oldest and most prestigious air show – the Baywest Port Elizabeth Airshow.
The air show, now in its 18th year, promises to be the biggest spectacle of wildcat aerobatics and jaw-dropping stunts by pilots from around the world that Eastern Cape residents have ever witnessed in the region. The event, which will take place on October 25 on the grounds of the SA Air Force Museum Port Elizabeth behind the Port Elizabeth Airport, attracts thousands of spectators from around the country.
Over and above the title sponsorship, the Baywest is also sponsoring the return of renowned German aircraft builder and aerobatic pilot, Philipp Steinbach, who will fly the two-seater SBach aerobatic aeroplane which he helped design. In a previous show Steinbach was the star attraction, with aerobatic feats seen nowhere else in the country.
Baywest MD Gavin Blows said the sponsorship of the air show was “a logical step” for the developers, whose motto for the Baywest Mall is “expect big things”.
“This is the biggest and most-loved air show in the region, so we wanted to be part of that and help the organisers put on the best spectacle that Nelson Mandela Bay residents have ever seen,” said Blows. “With the opening of the biggest mall in the Eastern Cape just six months away, we wanted to remind residents of what we are all about – bringing something exciting and new to the region.
“We are also passionate about community upliftment, so the fact that the proceeds of the Baywest Port Elizabeth Airshow go towards the MTR Smit Children’s Haven is what helped clinch our backing.”
Renowned South African stuntman Nigel Hopkins will also feature in the air show’s line-up, as will Port Elizabeth-based aerobatic champion Patrick Davidson, son of local flying legend Stu Davidson. Acclaimed former Port Elizabeth schoolboy Major Werner Vermaak will also feature as one of the pilots in the Silver Falcons.
Convenor of the Baywest Port Elizabeth Airshow committee, Crystal Watson, director of the MTR Smit Children’s Haven, said the committee was ecstatic to have Baywest on board.
“We have always prided ourselves in organising the best air show in the country, and with Baywest now committed to partnering with us to make it even better than before, our supporters can really expect big things,” Watson said.
Alan Straton
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