A while ago I included Trevor Friend’s memories of Durban including the visit of the VC10 aircraft to Durban for trials. I have since heard from Maurice Ungless who was on that aircraft and I have put up a page with his memories and a couple of pictures.
John Taylor
I don’t recall the VC10 visit, but always having a fascination for aircraft, I do remember the visit to Durban of SAA’s first jumbo jet, Boeing 747 ZS-SAN Lebombo, in late 1971. The visit was well publicised in the newspapers, especially the fact that the aircraft would be doing a number of passes over the city (whether or not it actually landed at Louis Botha airport, I don’t know). I was a young audit clerk at the time operating from offices in the then JBS Building on the corner of West and Field Streets. I recall that most occupants of the building went up on the roof at around noon, and true to timing this huge aircraft appeared over the city. We take jumbo jets for granted today, but seeing something that size in 1971 for the first time was an exceptional experience.
Derek Austin
Trevor you would have been at New Forest and gone to the Air Force with my brother Allan Austin.
Trevor Friend
I do remember your brother Allan and I seem to recall that we were in Standard 7 together in 1966. When I was in the SAAF I was in the January 1970 intake and hardly any of the New Forest pupils were in that intake. Most of them seemed to have gone 6 months later in the July intake. You may recall Keith Roseveare he was in the same intake as me. I think his father worked at the airport in air traffic control and Keith later owned or ran an aviation company based at the airport.