Capt. Flippie Vermeulen is well known for his efforts over the years to preserve commercial airliners, and was responsible for the establishment of the SAA Historic Flight in the early nineties. Flippie is certainly a legendary aviator and as an airline pilot for SAA, he has flown virtually every model of Boeing and Airbus aircraft that airline has ever operated.

Since 2001, he, with his family, established their family business, Springbok Classic Air, offering exclusive flying safaris to the discerning traveler to remote destinations in Africa. This service offers chartered flights with their fleet of aircraft ranging from Cessna 210’s to the DC-3.  Springbok Aviation Services offering maintenance on aircraft ranging from single engine Pipers and Cessnas to the Douglas DC-4’s and Springbok Air Academy, offering flight training ranging from, basic abinitio to advanced training on the DC-3 and advanced type rating training on the Airbus A320/330 and the Boeing B737-800.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the decline in tourism has directly impacted Flippie’s business, however he is optimistic that they will regain momentum in the coming months. He stated, “We cater for those who need unique, remote and exclusive travel in a short space of time. A typical flight takes one year to plan and there are many logistics we need to consider. Hopefully all will be restored in the next year and the aviation industry will be what it once was before.”