Rand Airport


Rand Airport is an airport in Germiston, South Africa. It was constructed in the 1920s as the main airport for Johannesburg, but the city outgrew it and replaced the airport with Palmietfontein Airport in the late 1940s.

History

Before World War II

In 1917, Major Allister Miller landed on Germiston Golf Course and thought the area close by would be suitable as an airfield due to its location near to Johannesburg, the landmark of Victoria Lake and the well-drained land. But it would take until February 1929, for the three interested parties to agree for of land to be set aside for what was called the Germiston Public Aerodrome. The three parties were the Germiston Town Council, Elandsfontein Estate Company and the Rand Refinery. Later that year, the Germiston Town Council gained full control and further plans were developed for the aerodrome when Imperial Airways was thinking of adding South Africa to their flight schedules. After the involvement of the South African government, they were able to convince the airline that Johannesburg, with its mining and industry, should be their base rather than Cape Town, with Rand Refinery seeking to export its refined gold by air.
Imperial Airways received a £400,000 subsidy from both the South African and UK governments over five years. In November 1929, the Germiston Town Council bought a further of land for £14,000, after permission was given by the Mining Commissioner, as the land was owned by the Simmer and Jack mine with the understanding that the land could be reacquired as a mining area. In order to proceed with the development, the Johannesburg and Germiston Town Councils formed a joint committee on 14 November 1930 and £85,000 was set aside for infrastructure. This would consist of a large and small hangar, administrative buildings, a workshop, floodlights and cottages.
The airport was officially opened on 21 December 1931 by the Governor-General Earl of Clarendon and owned jointly by the Germiston and Johannesburg Town Councils. In 1932, Captain Roy Makepeace became its manager. It became the headquarters of South African Airways when the airline's head office was moved from Durban to Rand Airport on 1 July 1935. By 1938, the development costs had reached £200,000 and losses of £20,000, a cost the Germiston Town Council could no longer afford and so sold its share to the Johannesburg City Council for £106,498, with of land not used resold to the former and land provided for a future highway to connect to the Heidelberg road. The final transfer took place in 1944.
In early 1939, the Union Defence Force took control of Rand Airport and by May 1940, all commercial flights ended. The training schools based there trained pilots for the war effort and the facilities were extended with fifteen additional hangars built. By 1944, a limited number of internal commercial flights resumed from the airport.

After World War II

SAA moved its headquarters to Palmietfontein Airport in 1948 because of runway length constraints. Nevertheless, Rand Airport grew quickly after World War II ended because of the influx of former air force pilots. In 1975, with 133 135 recorded aircraft movements, Rand Airport was the busiest airport in the southern hemisphere.
The ownership of the airport originally consisted of 23 private shareholders and there has been very little change. Most of the re-sales have been taken up by existing owners under new company names so there has been a small increase to the current 25 owners, plus the Mayondi BEE consortium and Ekurhuleni Town Council.
from South Africa Airways, on display at the SAA Museum
at the South African Airways Museum Society situated near the threshold of Runway 29
and Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar on display at the South African Airways Museum Society at Rand Airport

Rand Airport today

Today, the airport hosts air charter operators, flying schools and a number of aircraft maintenance organisations, as well other aviation-related enterprises. Charter operator Phoebus Apollo Aviation has its headquarters at Rand; the airport is also home to the Flying Lions Aerobatic Team.
South African Airways donated a Boeing 747-200 and a Boeing 747SP to the South African Airways Museum Society which are on display at the airport. The museum also owns a Boeing 737-200, two DC-4s, a DC-3, Vickers Viking, Lockheed Lodestar, Lockheed L1649 Starliner, DH Dove and numerous other exhibits. The airport also hosts an annual air show. Aircraft General Spares Ltd was started in November 2018, they supply parts to the light aircraft Industry. Situated in building B7.

Airlines and destinations

There are no scheduled operations from the airport.

Hot and high conditions

Rand Airport is notorious for its hot and high conditions and relatively short runways. Situated at an altitude of above sea level, the density altitude is as high as when the outside air temperature is 30 °C. Special consideration must be given to flight planning in the summer when the ambient temperature is that high; there have been many accidents at this airfield as a result of reduced aircraft performance under these extreme conditions. A compounding factor is the lack of forced landing fields or areas, as the airport is surrounded by urban sprawl.

Notable accidents and incidents