Is it a bird? Is it a plane?
A peculiar aircraft passing through Middelburg’s airspace has aviation enthusiasts abuzz!
This time, however, they are not asking whether it was a bird or a plane but rather whether it was a Mwari or a Vampire.
Renee Lombard managed to take a couple of snaps of the aircraft late on Monday afternoon.
“I know my aircraft very well but couldn’t identify it initially,” Lombard told the Middelburg Observer.
She took the photo at roughly 17:20 on Monday afternoon, finding it odd that a pilot would be flying through such a storm.
“The aircraft made an incredible noise and almost sounded like a chopper. It was flying very high up and also very fast. So fast that I only managed to take two photos by the time it disappeared. Unfortunately, I could only take a photo with my cellphone.”
After sharing the images on Facebook, several aviation enthusiasts identified the aircraft as a Mwari built by Paramount Aerospace in Pretoria.
According to Lombard, who agrees that it looked like a Mwari, the Mwari is a military aircraft that has replaced the Rooivalk in the South African Air Force.
Local pilot Richard Lovett, however, identified the aircraft as a de Havilland Vampire.
“The Air Force is in possession of one, and I also know of one in private ownership. The Vampire is a jet trainer, and the Air Force at some point did make use of it for training.”
According to Lovett, he suspects it was a Vampire because of its unique shape.
He further added that Middelburg does fall into the general flying area, meaning that pilots are allowed to pass over town.
Lovett carries no knowledge that the aircraft made its landing in Middelburg, despite the aircraft being seen in close proximity to the Middelburg Airfield at the time.
Lombard explained that her photo was taken from a farm on the N11 (Loskop road), roughly 10km from the airfield.
