Wings Park Jabiru owners
Home to a significant fleet of Jabiru aircraft types, Wings Park near East London provided the opportunity to create a fleet picture on Friday 16 April 2021.
Jabiru types vary between two-seater and four-seater versions.
Many proud owners enthusiastically brought their aircraft to form a static display for a photo shoot opportunity over the weekend of the regional aerobatic competition that was hosted at Wings Park.
The Jabiru aircraft brand has done particularly well in the Border region and we attribute this to the ‘value for money’ reality as many of our local Jabiru owners have owned and flown various certified and non-certified types over time and have been attracted by the acquisition cost, low maintenance and operating costs for these aircraft.
There is also a group of owners from Wings Park that regular undertake fly-aways to new and exciting destinations, discovering some of the hidden gems in South Africa and surrounding countries. Two J430 aircraft were purchased recently by a group of individuals, organised by Mitchell Hill and Darren Hanner (both passionate aviators from Wings Park) to form a syndicate called ‘JFOS’ whereby each syndicate partner has a share in both aircraft with a buy in price of R150 000, this has provided several individuals with a really cost effective solution to flying because the fixed monthly costs are shared and with two aircraft available to fly, it makes perfect sense in making flying affordable. This philosophy fits in very well with Wings Park which was founded on the principal of making aviation affordable to all members.
There are benefits in having significant numbers of an aircraft brand and type based at Wings Park, because of the knowledge base and expertise gathered collectively over time results in great support and enthusiasm. Recently a modification to facilitate larger tyres (affectionately known as: Big Wheel Jabs) which was developed by two of the Wings Parks Jabiru owners and this has resulted in many of the aircraft upgrading to the larger wheels due to the softer ground ride and rougher terrain handling capability, whilst several keen Jabiru owners around South Africa and a few overseas owners have purchased the kit for this upgrade.
You have most likely heard of the phrase ‘That RV grin’, but that does not even come close to the ‘Wings Park Big Wheel Jabiru grin!’