Flights of fantasy take wing
Quell your wanderlust at the SAA Museum
With travel restrictions in place and flights limited, the closest thing to enjoying the marvel of air travel with your family must be the SA Airways (SAA) Museum Society at Rand Airport.
On arrival you are greeted by the museum’s Boeing 747 – Lebombo, the same plane that flew over Ellis Park ahead of the 1995 Rugby World Cup final.
The wording “Good luck Bokke” is still inscribed under the belly of the plane and, yes, it was a very low flight in 1995, but it is now within touching distance for visitors to enjoy.
Standing directly beneath a Boeing 747, a person is dwarfed by the giant plane. My children were awestruck to be so close to such a large aircraft and their imaginations were ignited by the science of what gets this gigantic metal bird in the air and keeps it there.
The museum has guided tours on the weekends and we were lucky enough to join a tour with recently retired SAA flight attendant, Michael Blackburn.
Knowledgeable Blackburn guided our group through Lebombo, which is a plane he personally worked on. He reminisced about flights aboard the plane and many of the well-known personalities he served.
He could point out where in first class he served former president Nelson Mandela, former Miss South Africa and Miss World Anneline Kriel, business magnate Sol Kerzner and English actress Joan Collins, among others.
His tales hark back to the golden age of air travel, when such luxuries as Beluga caviar were served on sculpted ice castles.
It is a treat to be able to wonder around a Boeing and explore the different classes and spaces, including a peak into the cockpit and the sleeping area for flight staff on long hauls.
A section of the plane reveals some of the inner workings and mechanics, including the location of the flight recorder, or as it is commonly known the black box, at the rear of the plane.
Blackburn pointed out the safest place to sit in a plane is towards the tail, as in the event of an air crash, it’s usually the front of the plane that takes the brunt of the impact, and in addition the first thing to be located by rescue crew will always be the black box.
The yard display of aeroplanes features some beautiful specimens, including a 1940 Lockheed L18-08 Lodestar, a 1947 De Havilland DH 104 Dove, another Boeing 747 – the SP-44 – and a Douglas DC-3 Dakota.
The display hall holds some fascinating artefacts, including a door from the B747 Combi ZS-SAS Helderberg that crashed into the Indian Ocean near Mauritius in November 1987. There was an uncontrollable fire in the main deck of the cargo compartment and all 159 passengers perished.
It was the worst air disaster for SAA and many volunteers at the museum can recount their personal experiences of the tragedy and how it affected them and their colleagues.
My family flew to Mauritius a few days after that tragedy and hearing these stories brought back many memories of that time.
I remember our specific flight was tense when there was any turbulence, causing many stressed glances around the plane.
Our landing was particularly nervewracking and as we touched down at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, the passengers applauded the pilot and crew.
The volunteers at the SAA Museum go above and beyond to ensure visitors have a pleasant experience. It is definitely a labour of love for them.
At the end of our excursion, my children and nephew were given free vintage magazines featuring military jets and choppers which fuelled their imaginations.
Whether the magazines planted the seeds of a possible future career in the airline industry I’m not sure, but it definitely reinforced a wonderful memory of their visit to the museum.