GRAND CENTRAL AIRPORT
GRAND CENTRAL AIRPORT
A Flight Club You’ll
Want to Join PRODUCTION: William Denstone
Perfectly positioned midway between Johannesburg and Pretoria with easy access to the N1 highway and the Gautrain Midrand station, Grand Central Airport recently celebrated 80 years of putting private and public traffic into the air from its ever-expanding 40 hectare Midrand facility. 2 / www.enterprise-africa.net
www.enterprise-africa.net / 3
INDUSTRY FOCUS: TRANSPORT
//
“There is no sport equal to that which aviators enjoy while being carried through the air on great white wings.” So said Orville Wright on the flying experiments of the famous brothers, and it is perhaps the “sensation of perfect peace” he felt in flight which inspired the creation of South Africa’s Grand Central Airport back in 1937. Behind its conception was a group of racing enthusiasts also harbouring a keen interest in flying, and in its early years the airport was used exclusively by the small band of individuals constituting the original flying club. EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS These members flew from Grand Central Airport under the permission of Mr Harry Shires, the man behind African Flying Services, South Africa’s largest private air transport concern at that time, who had bought the land as part of a somewhat speculative deal. Until 1939 the aerodrome was hive of activity and notched up some impressive aviation feats for South Africa, with Muriel Shires became South Africa’s youngest flying pupil under the tutelage of none other than Miss Doreen Hooper, the country’s first woman flying instructor. Proceedings at Grand Central understandably ground to a halt during the Second World War, but enthusiasm flared anew at its end, largely thanks to the help of Eddie McConnell, manager of African Flying Services, in which company the ownership of the club was vested. A short-lived era at Louis’ Field in Randjesfontein came to an end in April 1952, and the club’s 130 members decamped back to its place of birth where Grand Central has remained ever since. The intervening years have borne witness to great change at the airfield, with Dr Mickey Flynn credited with the initiative to expand
4 / www.enterprise-africa.net
operations in 1964. As a result GCA has been home to commercial and private operators, training schools and maintenance organisations while a multimillion Rand upgrade in 1992 gave Grand Central the scope to offer even more facilities and thus play an even bigger role in the aviation industry in South Africa. PIVOTAL INDUSTRY Aviation is a key part of the economic lifeblood of Africa. It supports 6.9 million jobs and $80 billion in GDP. It carries people and goods across and outside the continent, and brings in economic investment, tourism, trade and aid. It also still holds much promise, with African aviation forecast to grow at 5.4% a year over the coming two decades, to conclude in a near tripling in size. Currently, 76.6 million people use air transport as inbound or bound passengers or those that travel within Africa, and projections by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) indicate that this figure will grow to 300 million by 2035. There are several private-sector
// THE EXPERIENCE TRAINEE PILOTS GAIN AT GRAND CENTRAL IS INVALUABLE // initiatives already underway, as well as IATA’s commitment to continuous training through the IATA Airline Training Fund in Africa, meaning that African aviation looks set to realise its abundant potential. Thousands of young African aviation professionals have already benefitted from the help and expertise on offer through such schemes, and if Africa can meet the future demand for highly skilled aviation roles it will see not only substantially increased GDP growth, but also investment in future job creation and, ultimately, a large slice of the prosperity that aviation can generate. There is nothing stopping Africa from going on to become a global aviation training centre in time, meeting its own market needs and exporting skilled labour to other parts of the world that are going through their own growth stages.
Every year at 850 airports in 32 countries, Shell Aviation provides fuel for more than 2 million aircraft, refueling an aircraft every 14 seconds. We are a leading global supplier of jet fuels and avgas to airports and airlines, as well as private customers such flying clubs and corporate jet operators. From the private pilot to the largest global airlines, Shell Aviation earns the loyalty of its customers by creating value through the safe and timely supply of high quality aviation fuels and a comprehensive range of high performance aviation lubricants and fluids.
Your engine reliability Our trusted range Trusted by the best to deliver a complete range of advanced products and support. For generations, aviation has counted on Shell Aviation to provide high-quality fuels and to deliver innovative oils, greases, and fluids – all designed to increase your efficiency and reliability, and backed by Shell’s comprehensive support. To learn more about Shell Aviation fuels please contact Saj Hoosen:
To learn more about AeroShell lubricants please contact Steve Cloete:
Shell Downstream South Africa (Pty) Ltd Phone: +27 6 09 766 766 Email: sajidah.hoosen@shell.com
Atlas Aviation Lubricants Phone: +27 11 917 4220 Email: steve@atlasoil.co.za
INDUSTRY FOCUS: TRANSPORT
POSITIONED TO CAPITALISE Grand Central today is a fully equipped airfield and open 24 hours a day, whose complex incorporates a modern terminal building. Also on site are car hire companies such as Avis and Europcar, as well as facilities including The Harvard Café Restaurant and Conference Centre. The airport is currently used as a base for numerous flying schools such as Lanseria Flight Centre, Hover Dynamics, Superior Pilot Services, SimCentral, and Flight Training Services. “The experience trainee pilots gain at Grand Central is invaluable because they are exposed to a fast-paced airspace with plenty of traffic,” says Gary Renault, Grand Central Airport Manager, “which in turn affords them a better PPL.” The Private Pilots License is the first step
6 / www.enterprise-africa.net
to piloting an aircraft with passengers and a valuable opportunity for an individual to fly for enjoyment, while for the aspiring commercial pilot, it offers the chance to build up hours. Helicopter charters are also offered to and from the airport, with Grand Central home to all major agencies. The entire ground floor of the terminal, which is complete with a charter pilot lounge and a VIP passenger lounge, is full, and there is only a 2% vacancy on the first floor of the terminal building. Perhaps most notable about Grand Central is its air of exclusivity, including the absence of scheduled commercial flights; instead, most of the passengers moving through the airport are private pilots or charter flight passengers flying to their own agendas. “Business people and high-profile
// BUSINESS PEOPLE AND HIGH-PROFILE PASSENGERS ENJOY QUICK AND EASY ACCESS THROUGH THE AIRPORT // passengers enjoy quick and easy access through the airport,” explains Renault. “The busy executive can effortlessly park his car, board his jet or chopper and be in the air within minutes. VVIPs can even arrange to be driven directly to their waiting plane without being waylaid by the general public or the media.” The airport offers hangarage and parking for private aircraft and a multitude of air charter companies, which Renault explains
GRAND CENTRAL AIRPORT
helps to keep traffic flowing. “Our aircraft movements are extremely high for a small airport and because we are only dealing with small aircraft, we can land and park at a much higher frequency than commercial airports.” HEADING EVEN FURTHER AFIELD? Grand Central Airport continues to grow and change in order to meet the ever changing demands of its clientele, but this successful boutique airport never strays from providing first class service to the aviation industry. Whether or not the hardy enthusiasts behind its creation could ever have pictured the scale of the operation we see today is impossible to say, but it would surely have been impossible to envisage the airfield celebrating its 80th birthday, which came last year.
To mark the event, the airport’s management began to investigate the viability of expanding their infrastructure to include new multifunctional hangars and/or T-hangars, additional taxiways and more helipads and parking. This followed the airport’s acquisition in June by Old Mutual Life Assurance Company of South Africa, who already owned the surrounding land, to see it become the sole shareholder of Grand Central Airport (Pty) Ltd and usher in a new era for the airport. Perhaps most important to Grand Central’s future ambitions will be whether it can regain its international airport status - currently, South Africa limits the number of international airports to one per province, except for Gauteng which has OR Tambo and Lanseria. There are big considerations
and big opportunities to come for Grand Central, as Renault concludes. “Just because we are currently a general aviation airport does not preclude us from talking to commercial airlines,” he says of the plans, although adds a note of caution when talking of change to this exclusive, boutique facility. “Bringing an airline to Grand Central will radically change the dynamics here, however, and we would have to consider terminal security, baggage handling, our existing fuel farm and all kinds of additional infrastructure needs.”
WWW.GRANDCENTRAL.CO.ZA
www.enterprise-africa.net / 7
Published by CMB Media Group Chris Bolderstone – General Manager E. chris@cmb-media.co.uk Sackville Place, 44-48 Magdalen Street, Norwich, NR3 1JU T. +44 (0) 20 8123 7859 E. info@cmb-media.co.uk www.cmb-media.co.uk CMB Media Group does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in articles by attributing writers and/ or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this magazine, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher. Š CMB Media Group Ltd 2018
AS FEAT UR ED IN
ENTERPRISE AFRICA
AUG UST 2018