Douglas airfield lies 4Km north east out of town and is a private owned airfield. Has an asphalt runway 1.5km long and 14m wide. We have two hangars at our disposal and have a club house with ablution blocks. The hangars all have electricity and ample water (from the Vaal and Orange River where they both meet.)
Douglas Town
Douglas is a town situated near the confluence of the Orange and Vaal Rivers in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. On this fertile soil nestles the town of Douglas. The town itself is a green patchwork of dramatic contrast - space for the solitary and activity for the energetic. Douglas is divided in three sections or locations named Bongani, Breipaal and Douglas.
It is a small and unique town and has three well known grocery stores, two major banks and of course clothing and shoe shops for the ladies. The town has a fair amount of accommodation and restaurants available, some are in town and others are on the Vaal or Orange River. Douglas is a thriving, fast-growing agricultural and mining town and in the future we will see more things springing up. The road between Douglas and Hope Town has now been paved, so there is better access between the Northern Cape and Free State.
The town was founded in 1848 as a mission station on the farm Backhouse by the Reverend Isaac Hughes. In 1867, a group of Europeans from Griquatown signed an agreement giving them the right to establish a town. The town was named after General Sir Robert Percy Douglas, Lieutenant Governor of the Cape Colony. Near the confluence of the Orange River and its main tributary, the Vaal River, surrounded by a wealth of agricultural and stock farming ventures, fed by two of South Africa’s greatest rivers.
Kimberley Town
Kimberley is the capital of the Northern Cape Province Of South Africa. It is located approximately 110Km east of the confluence of the Vaal and Orange rivers. The historical significance due to its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War. Personalities such as Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato made their fortunes here and the roots of the De Beers company can also be traced to the early days of the mining town. Kimberley was also the first city in the Southern Hemisphere and the second in the world after Philadelphia to integrate electricity street lights in its infrastructure on the September 2, 1882. The first stock exchange in Africa was also built in Kimberley, as early as 1881.
Kimberley Airport
South African first school of aviation to train pilots for the proposed South African Aviation Corps (SAAC) was established in Kimberley in 1913 known as Paterson Aviation Syndicate School of Flying. It is commemorated in the Pioneers of Aviation Museum (and a replica of the first Compton Patterson Biplane preserved there), situated near Kimberley Airport. In the 1931, Kimberley boasted the best night landing facilities on the continent of Africa. A major air rally was hosted there in 1934. And in that, we are hoping to host the World Gliding Championship, 2020 at Kimberley’s airport.