[2][3] The Flying Lions have been in operation since 1999 when Arnie Meneghelli acquired the Harvard aircraft that the South African Air Force was decommissioning.

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.

He was part of the team that landed an SAA Boeing 747 at Rand Airport and he was one of the pilots that participated in the 2004 presidential flypast.

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

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.