The Flying Lions Aerobatic Team is a South African formation aerobatic team. They fly a four-ship aerobatic display using

North American Harvard The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

aircraft. The team operates five aircraft but only uses four in their display, leaving the fifth to be used as a backup. The Flying Lions have been in operation since 1999 when Arnie Meneghelli acquired the Harvard aircraft that the

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

was decommissioning. The Flying Lions participate at many major airshows around South Africa during the airshow season.

The pilots

Scully Levin

Scully Levin is the team leader of the Flying Lions Aerobatic Team. He was born in

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Province ...

in 1946. He joined South African Airways in 1971 at the age of 25 and flew one of their aircraft in a three-ship formation at the inauguration of President

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...

. After reaching SAA's mandatory retirement age, he joined

Mango Airlines Mango Airlines South African company law#State-owned companies, SOC Ltd, trading as Mango, was a South African Low-cost carrier, low-cost airline based at the OR Tambo International Airport, and a subsidiary of South African Airways. Since Jul ...

. He has over 27,000 hours of flight experience. Levin is also the leader of the Gabriel Wings Aerobatic Team.

Arnie Meneghelli

Arnie Meneghelli is the number 2 pilot and the owner of the Flying Lions Aerobatic Team. He has flown many aircraft types including

Extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

s, Pitts and Zlins. Meneghelli also flies as the right wingman of the Gabriel Wings Aerobatic Team.

Ellis Levin

Ellis Levin is the son of Scully Levin and the number 3 pilot of the Flying Lions Aerobatic Team. He is currently flying

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: ' ...

aircraft with South African Airways. He also flies as a soloist for the Gabriel Wings Aerobatic Team and is the wingman of the Mazda Zoom Zoom aerobatic team.

Sean Thackwray

Sean Thackwray is the number 4 pilot of the Flying Lions Aerobatic Team. He was born into a military family and flew Impalas, Mirages and

Cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

in the South African Air Force. In the past he flew for Cathay Pacific Airlines and currently flies with South African Airways. He is also the left wingman of the Gabriel Wings Aerobatic Team.

Steward Lithgow

Steward Lithgow is the number 5 pilot of the Flying Lions Aerobatic Team. He was part of the team that landed an SAA Boeing 747 at

Rand Airport Rand Airport is an airport in Germiston, Gauteng, Germiston, South Africa. It was constructed in the 1920s as the main airport for Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City ...

and he was one of the pilots that participated in the 2004 presidential flypast.

2006 water-skiing stunt

In 2006, the Flying Lions Aerobatic Team performed a water-skiing stunt with their aircraft in the Klipdrift Dam near

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

. The pilots flew low over the dam and reduced their altitude until their aircraft's wheels were about four millimetres into the water, the deepest they could safely go. The stunt was approved by the

South African Civil Aviation Authority The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA or CAA) is the civil aviation authority of South Africa, overseeing civil aviation and governing investigations of aviation accidents and incidents. It is headquartered in the Ikhaya Lokundiza Buil ...

. The pilots who took part in this stunt were Scully Levin, Arnie Meneghelli, Stewart Lithgow and Ellis Levin. The stunt was photographed by photographer, Frans Dely.

References

External links

Official homepage
{{Modern aerobatic teams South African aerobatic teams