October 2019

FlightCm C SU AP PP E T LE OW ME N NT

African Aviation

Africa’s Biggest Selling Aviation Magazine

THE AMAZING SHOCK CUB FULL TEST!

PETER GARRISON - GEAR-UP LANDINGS! FACE TO FACE: AIRLINK’S RODGER FOSTER

JIM DAVIS: DOWNWIND DRAGONS!

CAN SA EXPRESS SURVIVE?

ROUND AFRICA IN A VINTAGE CESSNA 180

Edition 288 October 2019

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MIKE GOUGH: BIG SALARIES FOR PILOTS!

1 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

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Edition 288

CONTENTS COLUMNISTS SA FLYER

16 20 24 32 38 42 48 80 82

Guy Leitch - ATTITUDE FOR ALTITUDE Peter Garrison - LEADING EDGE

FLIGHTCOM

7 Hugh Pryor - Bush Pilot 11 Airlines - Mike Gough 19 Defence - Darren Olivier

Jim Davis - PLAIN TALK George Tonking - HELI OPS Johan Walden - A SLIM LOGBOOK Ray Watts - REGISTER REVIEW Jim Davis - ACCIDENT REPORT Barry Lewis - INSURANCE AOPA Update

68

4 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

15

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Edition 288

CONTENTS FEATURES SA FLYER

14 30 44 54 64 68 85

GADGET OF THE MONTH Personality Profile: Frank Robinson Feature: Tea with Jock Flight Test: Shock Cub

30

Charity: The Children’s Flight Airshows: SAAF Swartkop Airshow Cape Town Intl Airport Feature

REGULARS 10

Opening Shot

43 M&N Acoustics Register Review 52 SV Aviation Fuel Table 79 Market Place FLIGHTCOM

FLIGHTCOM

5 15 23 29 31 33 6

22 GIB Events 26 Subscriptions 39 AEP AMO Listing

Industry Update New Aircraft Arrivals Face to Face: Rodger Foster Airlink Pilot Profile

Skysource International Around Africa in 60 Days: Part 2

October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

41 Gryphon Flight School Listing 42 AME Directory 43 Aviation Directory 45 Federal Airlines Charter Directory

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POSITION REPORT

F

OR many pilots reading

being reversed. The process is not over,

this,

path

with the Zondo commission still in session

leading to command of a

and almost weekly revelations of appalling

widebody jet is the ultimate

behaviour. Getting convictions in court is

objective. This dream must

very different from revealing things at a

be nurtured if we are to

commission. Despite this, many people have

preserve the passion for flying required to

already fallen on their swords. Civil society

keep the industry healthy.

organisations have helped in this clean-up

a

career

and this speaks volumes for South Africa’s

General aviation is a delicate flower in

democratic activism.”

the storm that is South African economic politics. It requires enthusiasm, passion

The second tide running in our favour

- and pots of money. When pessimism

is the pilot shortage. It is finally here. I was

abounds, these three requirements become

chatting to a captain on one of the low cost

scarce, and as I have noted before – GA

carriers and he says they are desperately

tends to lead a recession and lag the

short of crew. In this issue of FlightCom,

recovery.

Rodger Foster confirms that Airlink are short

The collective South African psyche has

of pilots and even SAA, despite having shrunk

been burdened by a massive oppression of

its route network, is short of crew. A friend who runs a bizjet charter operation says he

doom and gloom news – much of it fake news peddled by the social media. Thus, we see video from Pakistan

has had to turn away flights because of a lack of pilots.

purporting to show xenophobic riots in South African cities. This

Young pilots are now able to go from a 200 hour CPL to the right

causes the foolish to run around like Chicken Little – claiming that the

seat of a Boeing in two years – and then to command within a further

sky is falling and that South Africa is entering civil war. GA shrinks

two years. Then the world is their oyster, as Mike Gough points out,

back into its shell and the recovery is further delayed.

with almost tax free salaries in the region of US$300k for direct entry

So let me provide some perspective – things are getting better.

Not just one, but two tides are working in favour of a strong GA

captains in far east airlines.

Just when things seem the most bleak, that’s when the turnaround happens. Prepare to meet thy boom.

rebound.

The first is that the South African government is slowly, but with

Guy Leitch

increasing success, pushing back the torrent of corruption that the Zuma years bequeathed to us. In his seminal assessment, political analyst JP Landman produced a long list of accomplishments by the Ramaphosa government and concluded that the bad guys would lose; “That is certainly happening. People who were once

EDITOR & PUBLISHER

untouchable have fallen from grace for all to see. Some have even

guy@saflyermag.co.za

been convicted already. The impunity of the Zuma years is slowly

SALES MANAGER Wayne Wilson wayne@saflyermag.co.za +27 72 900 2023 TRAFFIC Daniel Leitch traffic.admin@saflyermag.co.za ACCOUNTS accounts@saflyermag.co.za DEPUTY EDITOR Owen Heckrath owen@saflyermag.co.za

8 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

TRAVEL EDITOR Nicola Leitch nicola@saflyermag.co.za PRODUCTION & LAYOUT Emily-Jane Kinnear emily@saflyermag.co.za SUBSCRIPTIONS subs@saflyermag.co.za +27 21 786 1463

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istribution by On The Dot (Throughout SA and Africa to approximately 1 000 stores), CNA, PNA, Exclusive D Books, Pick n Pay as well as selected Spars, and convenience stores. Sales into Africa: Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Swaziland, Moçambique and Madagascar. Unsold distributed to selected clinics, airport lounges, doctor’s rooms, garages, selected hotels and lodges and Airport Shops.

Important

pinions expressed in signed articles, News & views or in advertisements appearing in SA Flyer, are those of O the author or advertiser and do not reflect those of this journal nor of its publisher. The mention of specific companies or products in articles or advertisements, does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by this journal or its publisher in preference to others of a similar nature which are not mentioned or advertised. © SA Flyer 2019. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronically, mechanically, photocopied, recorded or otherwise without the express permission of the copyright holders.

OPENING SHOT

HS-125 INTO FALA

G

UY LEITCH WRITES: “One of the pleasures of being a flying magazine Editor is getting unforgettable flights – even if just as a jump-seater. One such flight produced this image of the approach into Lanseria 07 one crystal clear winter’s night. As the panoply of lights unfolded, I pulled out my Samsung S9 phone – which I chose for its camera – and snapped this image, which the phone managed to perfectly expose for inside and outside the cockpit.”

10 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

Send your submissions to guy@saflyermag.co.za

11 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

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14 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

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ATTITUDE FOR ALTITUDE GUY LEITCH

SAX

GAME OVER? SA Express has been bailed out yet again, but no one is saying for how much – or under what

conditions. The question must be asked: are we as the taxpayers not keeping the airline on life support, despite all reasonable expectations that it will never recover?

L

ET’S be clear upfront about one thing: The death of any airline is a huge loss, but there’s a strong case to be made that SA

Most passengers cannot tell the difference between SA Express and SA Airlink brands.

Express (SAX) should be put

out of its misery and allowed to die.

For SAX it would mean the loss of the 600 jobs directly paid by the airline, plus the three or four times more jobs in support services to the airline. And for the South African economy, it would mean the loss of yet more essential air connectivity for the many outlying towns that rely on air transport to connect them to the outside world.

If Finance Minister Tito Mboweni got his way and took SAX off life support, his decision will go straight to the heart of the ongoing debate on state ownership of airlines. In last month’s edition I wrote on whether governments have any role owning airlines. I concluded that there are almost no grounds for state ownership of airlines. The thing about airlines is that they are amongst the most difficult of all businesses to run, particularly because they are highly capital intensive, yet have frighteningly low margins.

To top it all, they exist in a stringently demanding legislative environment.

big brother SAA, but was overruled. For

The signs are not good – it has taken SAA

The harsh truth for South Africa is that

SAX he has a stronger case and tried to

four months just to advertise the position

the government has been backed into a

refuse to pay yet another three hundred

of a new CEO. If SAA fails, the scale of the

corner by increasing debt and state-owned

million requested by the airline.

disaster for South African enterprise and

enterprise (SOE) bailouts on the one side,

No further SAX bailouts will not just be

tourism will be far greater than the failure of

and less revenue collected to pay for the

the death-nell for SAX but it will be a shot

SAX. And SAA employs 10,000 people, in

increasing debt of the SOEs on the other

fired across the bows of SAA. If Mboweni

comparison to SAX’s 600.

side.

succeeds in cutting off funds to SAX, he may

The reality is that SAX should have been

In 2018 Minister Tito Mboweni attempted

well succeed in doing so for SAA as well –

euthanised in 2018 when it was grounded

to pull the plug on further funding for SAX’s

unless SAA gets its act together, and fast.

by the Civil Aviation Authority. At that stage

16 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

COLUMNS

it was clear that it was not viable as it was unable to fund its own operations, in particular, its maintenance.

Ntshanga should have known better.

The reality is that SAX has been powerless to compete against

The Air Service Licensing Council (ASLC), which is the regulator

Airlink on almost all of its routes, and where it is operating successfully

of airlines, requires that an airline be solvent. Yet SAX is hopelessly

to international destinations such as Lubumbashi, it is doing so flying

insolvent, with its liabilities far exceeding its assets. Further, its

under the protection of SAA.

accounts have been qualified by its auditors since 2012/13, and as at

The South African government can no longer afford to subsidise

August 2019, its 2016/17 accounts are still unaudited. Without audited

loss-making airlines, and SAA is just a larger example of a SAX. Like

financials and a solvent balance sheet, the ASLC is obliged to shut

SAX, almost all SAA’s routes are unprofitable. It therefore must be

SAX down.

extremely worrying for SAA that Tito Mboweni no longer wants to

In a press release in early September, SAX made vague

support its junior sister. SAA’s turn must surely be coming next. This

assertions that it is returning to profitability. I find this hard to believe,

makes the government’s need to respond to pressure from trade

and it must be remembered that Interim CEO Ms Siza Mzimela had

unions to find a strategic equity partner, or more realistically, a joint-

promised a return the airline to profitability by April this year. The key

venture partner that will have operational control, all the more urgent.

problem SAX faces is that it lost its market to Airlink, and has also lost the confidence of its passengers.

Of course, the saddest part of any airline failure is the human cost, particularly in livelihoods. Unfortunately, SAX chose to operate

When SAX was grounded by the CAA last year, SAA asked

the now discontinued Bombardier airliners and its pilots will have

Airlink to step in and fly SAX’s passengers. This immediately

to be retrained if they move across to Airlink’s Embraer fleet – or

muddied the waters of what little route division between SAX and Airlink had been arranged for them by SAA, somewhat to the

OPERATOR

Competition Commission’s displeasure. When SAX returned to the

AIRLINK

91.75%

93.48%

air in August last year it was unable to get its exclusive routes back,

BRITISH AIRWAYS DOMESTIC

84.90%

89.87%

as the Competition Board would not approve a division of the market

CEMAIR (PTY) Ltd

69.88% -

FLYSAFAIR

92.90%

KULULA.COM

82.65%

89.71%

MANGO.COM

76.39%

73.20%

S.A. EXPRESS

73.55%

49.15%

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS

83.29%

83.70%

85.31%

86.32%

into a cosy little duopoly. It is perhaps ironic that one of the culprits for the closure of SAX is the Competition Board as, if SAX closes and with CemAir gone, the market will now be a monopoly.

The harsh reality that few seem to be prepared to openly admit is that SAX is beyond saving. It has been cancelling around half its flights and according to ACSA’s figures, less than 50% of its flights

YEAR TO DATE - 2019 MONTH - Aug 2019

are on time. So you have around a 25% chance of getting to your

Total

destination, or connecting to your long haul flight, on time.

South African airline On-time-performance for August 2019 forairline all 9 ACSA airports.

South African On-time-performance

Yet

privately-owned direct competitor SA Airlink has one of the best On

94.56%

for August 2019 for

Time Performances in the industry.

For passengers it is difficult to differentiate between Airlink

upscale to Safair or Mango’s Boeings, both of which are short of

and SAX – or even SAA - as they all use the SAA booking system

pilots.

and even the branding is similar. This makes market differentiation

been in demand around the world, particularly by the Middle and Far

Fortunately SAX pilots are held in high regard and have

almost impossible. Still, the biggest single reason for the failure

Eastern airlines.

of SAX has to be appalling management. Under the glib and jolly

The cost of the death of SAX in terms of air transport connectivity

CEO, Inati Ntshanga, SAX superficially seemed to be doing okay.

is harder to quantify. Almost all SAX routes are either already

However, under the radar it was haemorrhaging funds and even

operated by Airlink, or could easily be taken over by that airline. This

worse, a culture of a complete lack of consequence spread like a

makes the CAA’s killing-off of CemAir all the more tragic, as it will

metastasising cancer throughout the business. It became fertile soil

give Airlink a monopoly on the regional and feeder routes. Already

for corruption, as evidenced by the testimony of Vivian Natasen and

the prices of these regional airline seats are exorbitantly expensive.

others to the Zondo Commission. This meant that the airline was ripe

Thus we see a thriving bus industry between towns like Hoedspruit

to be exploited by the state-capture gangsters with fat contracts being

and Nelspruit and OR Tambo.

awarded to front companies for fuel and tyres, amongst many other

The reality is that no country can afford to support a failing airline,

corruptions, which precipitated an exodus by much of the competent

least all South Africa in its current predicament of bloated demands

and non-corrupt management. Yet still Ntshanga, as the CEO, had

on the fiscus, with a simultaneous much reduced tax base due to

his hands off the wheel, and it was inevitable that the airline would

the contraction in the economy. A quick calculation indicates that if

bankrupt itself.

SAX needed R1.5 billion of taxpayer money over the past year and

The inevitable contrast between SAX and Airlink is an object

carried 500,000 passengers, then each passenger was subsidised

lesson in airline management. Airlink has tight hands-on management

by R3,000. This is a grotesque subsidy of the affluent expense

and has made a great effort to build a solid balance sheet, which

account business traveller by the poor who need the money for

gives it the financial strength and reserves to undertake expansion

service delivery, and is all the more reason why government must

‘adventures’ rather than be operating on a hand to mouth basis and

stay out of the airline business.

unable to own its own aircraft. This is basic business school practice - and someone with the business consulting experience of Inathi

j

guy@saflyermag.co.za

17 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

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19 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

LEADING EDGE PETER GARRISON

HELP FOR THE

GULlible

To the cliché that there are pilots who have landed gear up and those who will, we might add a third category: those who have, and will again.

I

made my first and, so far, only gear-up

the aeroplane with two wooden skids under

day I was on final approach to my home

landing – hereinafter, GUL for short –

the fuselage, and apart from those being

airport when I heard the pilot of a Skyhawk

in a Fournier RF-4 motorglider, N7723,

ground down to half their original height and

who was fortuitously holding short of the

on January 23, 1969 at Yucca Valley,

the outriggers near the wingtips needing

runway call the tower to say that my gear

California.

straightening, there was little damage. My

was not down. Before the tower could pass

logbook records another flight in the same

this information on to me, I had put the gear

aeroplane later on the same day.

down. I acknowledged the tower’s belated

The RF-4 had a gear warning buzzer of

some sort. I’ve forgotten now what activated it, but what I remember is that I did hear an

After a GUL happens, you naturally

transmission and then, in terminology not

audio warning on final approach and for

spend a good deal of time asking yourself

covered in the AIM, poured out my heartfelt

some reason I thought it was telling me that

how it could have. This is the interesting

thanks to the anonymous pilot who had

the spoilers were deployed. Now, why would

part of the experience, since while it was

saved me and Melmoth 2 from an extremely

I think that? The aeroplane did not have an

happening you were, for all practical

messy arrival.

audio warning for spoiler deployment; no

purposes, semiconscious. It’s during the

Again, I reflected at length on the

glider does. And yet that senseless notion,

reconstruction of the event and the mental

sequence of events that led to my being on short final with the gear up. I had a distinct, but evidently illusory, recollection of having put it down. My passenger, a retired airline captain and, before that, longtime flight instructor, said that he had noticed that I had put the flaps down before putting the gear down – not my usual procedure – and that this struck him as odd, but he had decided not to say anything about it and it had then passed out of his mind.

What was stranger, however, than my incorrect belief that I had put the gear down was my even more distinct, absolutely

Peter wondered how he almost did a gear up landing in Melmoth 2.

certain recollection that I had re-checked it afterward. That was not an illusion. I having taken possession of my brain,

states that accompanied it that you begin

had done my GUMP and verified the gear

resisted all efforts of the truth to dislodge it.

to realise what an odd, unreliable computer

position – but failed to recognise that it was

39-hp

a pilot’s mind can be. What it knows to be

not down.

Volkswagen engine was turned off and the

true, what it expects to be true, and what

prop was stopped in a horizontal position,

it falsely believes to be true are strangely

covering the cooling air inlets. Perhaps it

blended,

was the fact that I was landing dead-stick,

layers superimposed.

I

had

been

soaring;

the

like

several

semi-transparent

How could that happen?

To begin with, in Melmoth 2 the gear handle stays in a central, neutral position unless the gear is in transit, so that tells

which I had seldom if ever done before in

More than four decades, and thousands

you nothing. Whereas in most aeroplanes

this aeroplane, that disrupted my routine.

of hours of flying, passed without another

three green lights tell you that the gear is

Presciently, René Fournier had equipped

brush with the dreaded GUL. Then one

down, in Melmoth 2 the system is different.

20 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

COLUMNS

All three struts are mechanically connected

what it says? It’s a pretty short word.” Well,

suggestions. One was to add a window

to a single hydraulic cylinder. One of the

you can. Nolo contendere. Only my fellow

in the nosewheel well that would allow me

connecting links is a torque tube, as big as

idiots need read on.

to see, at least in daytime, that the gear is

a man’s forearm, that runs from wing spar to

Having

recognised

the

fallibility

of

down. This was easy to accomplish, and I

firewall along the right side of the cabin, near

the analogue gear-position indicator as

did it. Another was a system similar to those

the floor. It is painted white and is plainly

opposed to the binary, I set about thinking

on many aeroplanes, in which microswitches

visible to the pilot. On this tube, where it

how to improve it. Three greens seemed

on the torque tube and on the throttle or

passes through a hole in a frame, are two

like overkill; it would involve a lot of wiring

flaps would trigger a warning light or horn.

slender triangles of bright silver tape, one

and microswitches and lights – all potential

That in turn got me thinking about various

labelled UP and the other DOWN, either of

points of failure – when after all I already

unexpected circumstances in which such a

which aligns, depending on the gear status,

had a visual indication of gear position, in

system could fail – after all, aeroplanes with

with a single index mark on the frame.

the form of the torque tube, in the cockpit

those systems still sometimes do a GUL,

Now, this method of displaying gear

with me. Still, it needed some more basic

and it’s usually in some sort of non-routine

position is, you might say, analogue, as

signal than a written word, something even

situation.

opposed to the binary, yes-or-no, “three

a paramecium would understand.

Always alert for a new complication

green” method. And that analogue property

One obvious idea was to colour the

to add, I acquired an ultrasonic motion

had had a subtle effect on my perceptions.

torque tube so that it showed red or orange

detector. I thought I might install this pointing

I realised only now, while mulling over my

when the gear was up and green when it

downward, such that a (very urgent!) warning

near escape, that I had come to think of the

was down. At first I thought I might colour

would occur if the aeroplane were within 20

silver arrowheads and the index mark not as

the whole tube, but I then reflected that you

feet of the ground and the gear were not

gauges of gear status – up or down – but as

don’t want big orange warnings in the corner

down. I never got around to doing it.

indicators of the completeness of the cycle.

of your eye all the time – you would get too

Oddly enough, on my first landing after

This may seem like a distinction without

used to them – so I settled for a big swatch of

the near-miss I put the gear down and

a difference, and for ten years of flying it had

green tape on the side of the tube that faces

checked the torque tube – so far so good –

been, but it was essential to understanding

me when the gear is down, and a small but

but neglected to read the checklist or look

how I could look at the torque tube to check

conspicuous orange square that rotates into

through the window at the nosewheel. New

that the gear was down and fail to notice

view when it’s up. The small square would

habits take a while to get established.

that it was actually up. It was that I was

not be noticeable most of the time, but would

My interest in GUL-prevention spawned

really just checking the alignment of the

be obvious when I consciously looked at the

an infestation of emails, and my companion

arrowhead and the index, which looked the

torque tube.

Nancy read some of them. She said dryly,

same whether the gear was up or down; I

I also taped the pre-landing checklist

“After all this fuss about your near escape,

was not reading the word next to the arrow,

– which is comparatively long, involving

you will probably never make that mistake

but unconsciously assuming that the gear’s

settings for gear, airbrake, flaps, cowl flaps,

again. What you should be doing is figuring

status was correct.

wastegate and automatic fuel-tank selector

out how to prevent the next stupid mistake

– to the instrument panel.

you’re going to make.”

“What an idiot!” I hear you say. “How can you look at the word UP and not understand

Several

friends

contributed

other

Alas – if only that were possible!

j

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PLAIN TALK JIM DAVIS

DRAGONS OF THE DOWNWIND TURN –

AGAIN

A climbing downwind turn just after takeoff seems a pretty benign thing to do.

Okay, the club greybeard may develop a twitch and mutter about cowboys, but is it really a big deal?

Actually, yes it is.

L

200

40

180 AIR SPEED 160 140

100 FEET PER MINUTE

0

80

5

100

120

15

VERTICAL SPEED

60

KNOTS

10

5

10

20

15

GS

5 0 kt

AST month I wrote about a guy who killed himself doing this in a Tiger

7.1

Moth at Bethlehem. The downwind

© Jim Davis

turn is so misunderstood that it

needs to be straightened out every couple years in the hopes that those who seek to impress with some seemingly harmless fun,

Fig.1.

Whileyou youare are climbing climbing into have a slow groundspeed and aand large While intowind windyou you have a slow groundspeed a angleangle of climb - whic -iswhich great is forgreat obstacle large of climb for clearance. obstacle clearance.

think again.

I was reading a British flying magazine when I spotted this thing about an airshow accident. The pilot of a Pitts finished his aerobatic sequence and was about to go home. He did a beat-up into a 25-knot wind, followed by a steep, climbing 180 turn to the right. Halfway through the turn, he lost

200

40

180 AIR SPEED 160

KNOTS

140

air speed, spun in and was killed. The UK’s

120

5 60 80

10

15

VERTICAL SPEED 100 FEET PER MINUTE

0 5

100

10

20

15

CAA said he crashed because, during the turn, the headwind became a tailwind – causing him to run out of air speed.

I was incensed by their reasoning and

GS 1 1 0 kt

3.2

bashed off an email telling them so. After a lengthy silence, during which time I imagine they were throwing spears at each other, they wrote back and blushingly admitted that their conclusion was indeed an error. They now figured that the pilot had succumbed to illusions that caused him to run out of air speed during an uncoordinated turn. That’s more like it.

I mention this, not to decry the UKCAA, but to show that even the greatest aviation

24 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

© Jim Davis

Fig.2.

Climbing down wind means you aretravelling travellingfast fastover over theground, ground, and Climbing down wind means you are the and haveaapoor poorangle angleofofclimb climb- obstacle - obstacleclearance clerancecan canbe bea aproblem. problem. have

25 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

PLAIN TALK

minds seated around a desk can be caught out by this tricky

left, and you’ll think you’re sliding to the right – into the turn. To correct

combination of wind shear and illusions. So, during that millisecond

this, you’ll feel a strong temptation to use right rudder. If you were to

that the aircraft snaps into a low-level spin, a pilot has no idea what

glance inside the cockpit you would find the ball pretty much in the

he did wrong.

middle – but of course, you don’t want to look at instruments when

Those who’ve been around for a while know there is indeed something fishy, and potentially murderous, going on. Downwind

you’re close to the ground. So you feed in right rudder until it feels better.

turns – particularly climbing ones just after takeoff – actually are

Whoa! Now look what’s happening. The rudder increases the

bloody dangerous. But we all know that an aircraft doesn’t mind which

bank, and it pulls the nose down. You react by using left aileron and

way the wind is blowing from – it just gets on with flying. So if these

pulling back on the stick to keep the nose up. Now you’ve got crossed

crashes aren’t caused by a headwind suddenly becoming a tailwind,

controls, low air speed and the stick coming back. Swat. This is what

what’s going on? Why are pilots being squished by a seemingly mild

happened to the airshow guy – and to many others.

manoeuvre?

The answer is that there are low-level dragons waiting to swat you

GROUND SPEED ILLUSION

from the sky. Some work with illusions, and others with pure physics.

Let’s say there is a 15-knot wind blowing straight down the runway,

Gain a bit of altitude – a few hundred feet – and these dragons lose

and you’re flying an aeroplane with a climb speed of 80 knots. This

interest in you.

means that while flying into wind your 65-knot ground speed feels

First, let’s inspect the three low-level dragons that kill by illusions.

just fine. Now, when you turn downwind you suddenly find yourself

The skid and slip illusion, the ground speed illusion and the angle of

tearing along – covering the ground at 95 knots (your 80 knots plus

climb illusion. After that, we will look at the wind shear dragon – a

the 15 knots of wind).

slightly different animal.

A little man in your head tells you that your ground speed is so fast because you let the nose drop in the turn. You think your little man is correct because not only are you batting along, but your angle of climb is suddenly pathetic. You start to worry about clearing the

Windshear overbanking.

trees (see the angle of climb illusion below). You think you just need to ease the nose up and get back to the right climb speed. When the ground was going past at 65 knots a moment ago, that felt just fine.

Why all this emphasis on ground speed? It’s because you are flying a little aeroplane near the ground, so ground speed is in your face.

Let’s stop for a moment and do some sums. If you pull the nose Da vis

up and reduce your 95-knot downwind ground speed to match that

Ji

m

©

comfortable 65 knots, you’re going to reduce your 80-knot climb speed by 30 knots – in short, you’re going to stall. That’s exactly what happens. And that bootful of unnecessary right rudder we discussed a moment ago will seal your fate – it whips you into a spin.

You won’t even do half a turn before you slam into the ground.

ANGLE OF CLIMB ILLUSION We’ve already looked at this, but I also want to put in some numbers. Let’s say your aircraft climbs at 600 ft/min. This means that when you climb into wind with an IAS of 80 knots and a ground speed of 65 knots, you’ll have an angle of climb of 7.1 degrees. But if you turn downwind, still indicating 80 knots, your angle of climb drops to 3.2 degrees. Suddenly you need twice the distance to clear an obstacle.

This doesn’t look good from the cockpit. The temptation to pull back is irresistible. © Jim Davis

Up to now, we have been discussing an idealised, steady wind that causes illusions which lure us into doing silly things near the ground.

After that, I want to banish the myth that the main culprit is inertia.

But in the real world, the surface wind is never steady. So we

It does indeed play a role – but not the one most folk imagine – I’ll

have to deal with wind shear which is a physical, not illusory, dragon.

explain shortly.

WIND SHEAR DRAGON SKID AND SLIP ILLUSION

Wind shear is defined as a sudden change in wind speed or

As you turn – let’s say to the right – it’ll feel as if you’re slipping

direction. It’s the change in wind SPEED near the ground that causes

into the turn. The ground will appear to be moving sideways to the

problems. As you climb after takeoff, the wind speed increases. The

26 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

COLUMNS

reason is simple. Surface friction – caused

I can hear dark muttering from those who

by grass, bushes, trees, hangars and the like

believe I have totally missed the point.

– slows down the surface wind. But as you

Momentum, according to the mutterers, is

climb, you go through this wind shear – in

actually the turd in the water pipe – to quote

the form of an increasing headwind.

Blackadder.

will increase as you head into the wind, and

What it does to your air speed largely

Here’s is the bit that causes the boggling

decrease as you turn downwind. But think

depends on the weight of your aircraft.

of great minds. Let’s say we do this downwind

about this: let’s say a layer of cloud moves in

Think, for a moment, about a marble sitting

turn at altitude, in a steady wind. I want to

below you, so you can’t see the ground. Are

on a table. There is no wind. If you blow

persuade you that no aerodynamic dragons

you still sure that your ASI will tell you when

at it, that causes wind shear – the change

live up there – regardless of wind strength.

you’re turning into wind?

between no wind and your blow. You’ll notice

There is a common belief that if you fly

You are? All right, let’s say that, by some

that it takes a bit of time for the marble to

– let’s say west at 100 knots, into a 30-knot

magical event, the cloud dissipates and

reach blow speed.

headwind – a downwind turn will make you

when you look down, the world isn’t there

Now repeat the experiment with a ball of

to fall out of the sky because your westward

anymore. So you’re flying in your own bubble

cotton wool. When you blow at it, it will reach

inertia will cause you to lose airspeed

of atmosphere, way out in space. Is your

blow speed almost immediately. This shows

when the “headwind suddenly becomes a

ASI still going to tell you which way you’re

that the heavier the object, the longer it will

tailwind”.

heading?

be in this transition between two different

It sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?

wind speeds. In other words, the longer it

Inertia is Mass x Velocity or, in day-

will be subjected to wind shear.

to-day language, it’s weight times speed.

Hmm, not really. So, does it matter whether the world is there or not?

The

simple

answer

is

that

your

Okay, let’s get back to the aircraft. As you

The argument is that if you have a ton of

momentum is relative to your support

climb into a stronger headwind after takeoff

aeroplane going west at 100 knots, you can’t

structure – the air. It has nothing to do with

your airspeed will temporarily increase and

ignore its inertia when it suddenly turns east.

the world.

you will correct it by easing back on the stick.

Hmm, the problem is that the 100-knot

One more quick example for any

This will give you not only a greater rate of

speed has to be measured in relation to

remaining unbelievers – who haven’t thrown

climb, but also a better angle of climb. Great.

something. We intuitively think it must be

the magazine to the floor in disgust.

But if you now turn downwind the

speed over the ground. But is that really the

opposite will happen. You will be climbing

case?

Imagine you are in an airliner and you leave your seat to walk forward to the loo.

with an increasingly strong tailwind and

Let’s think about wind as a block of

Let’s say your ground speed is 803 km/h

your rate, and angle, of climb will diminish

air moving over the ground – most people

(800 for the aircraft’s ground speed plus 3

alarmingly.

are happy with that. And an aeroplane is

for your walking speed). Then you notice

It’s important to understand that this

supported by, and moving in, that block of

the ENGAGED sign above the bog so you

is only a temporary effect caused by your

air. It’s like moving a goldfish around in its

turn on your heel and head back to your

momentum as you transition into different

bowl. Okay so far?

seat. Unbelievably, you’re instantly going

layers of wind speed. But remember you are

Or, if we could look at a railway train in

close to the ground, and even temporary

motion, we could say that each compartment

The truth is that your inertia is based on

adverse conditions can be your undoing.

contains a block of air that moves over the

3 km/h – because it’s relative to the support

ground – still happy? Now, let’s do a mind

structure in which you’re travelling. And the

experiment – what happens if you spot a

aeroplane’s inertia is relative to the lump of

But it gets worse. During a low-level

bee, or a small model aircraft, flying around

air in which it is travelling – not the earth.

downwind turn, the upwind wing is in a

in the compartment? Does it suffer any ill

Promise.

stronger wind than the lower wing. This

effects when it does a 360? Does its little ASI

The bottom line is that downwind turns

steepens the bank, and when you use

fluctuate as it turns into wind, or downwind?

at low-level are likely to kill you. But take

So the physical wind shear dangers add to those caused by illusions.

aileron to correct this you increase the prospin conditions we looked at earlier.

backwards at 797 km/h.

Actually no. But why is this? The truth is

the littlest aeroplane up to altitude in the

that its momentum has nothing to do with the

strongest steady wind and its aerodynamics

In a nutshell, a climbing downwind turn

countryside going past the train. It’s all about

are exactly the same as they are on a dead

after takeoff combines the three illusions,

the bee’s – or model aircraft’s – relationship

calm morning.

plus the wind shear problem. The result

to the block of air in which it’s flying.

lures you into running out of air speed with crossed controls.

For those who are still shaking their

Still not convinced? Okay, let’s say

heads, go try it in a simmi. After that I will

you’re in your aeroplane practising steep

accept letters of apology and bottles of

Did you notice how the low-level dragons

turns at 4000 ft AGL in a strong but steady

Bells. They should be addressed to Jim at

act like a pack of lions? They all work in the

wind. During the turns, your position over the

PO Box 156, Hoekwil.

same direction to bring about your downfall.

ground will change because your block of air

Don’t underestimate them.

is moving over the ground.

Now let’s discuss inertia and momentum

This is where the problem comes in.

– they are two sides of the same coin. And

Unbelievers maintain that your air speed

P.S. For those who don’t give a damn about illusions and inertia and all that stuff, your reason for doing a low-level turn may just contain its own dragons. Beware.

j

27 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

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PERSONALITY PROFILE

FRANK ROBINSON The Man who Revolutionised Helicopters.

Frank Robinson was born in Carbonado, Washington State in 1930. The youngest of four children, he grew up during the Depression.

At the age of nine, Frank saw a picture of Igor Sikorsky hovering his VS300 Prototype helicopter. The idea that a machine could remain stationary in the air fascinated Frank – and set the course for his life’s work.

F

Frank Robinson the disrupter who transformed the helicopter industry.

to a hangar at Torrance Airport. His dogged was

years at McCulloch doing design work on

refusal to give in to bureaucracy was also

always a man on a mission

an entry-level helicopter. After a period

vital when he sought certification of his R22

– to ‘design the helicopter

back with gyros, he ended up at Bell, where

which took four confidence sapping and

I would want.’ His single-

he became a tail rotor expert. In 1969, he

financially back-breaking years.

minded

determinisation

moved to Hughes to work on a variety of

In August 1975, Robinson himself, with

inevitably

led

into

R&D projects, including a new tail rotor for

just 80 hours on helicopters, flew the R22 on

many battles with the gainsayers – and the

the Hughes 500 and the quiet helicopter

its maiden flight. After gruelling testing over

regulators. He had his first major run-in with

program.

four years and thousands of hours flying,

RANK

Robinson

him

a regulator before he had even started the

Unable to interest any of his employers in

the R22 received its FAA Type Certificate

long war of attrition with the FAA to get his

his concept for a small, low-cost helicopter,

in 1979. The first R22 was delivered in late

R22 certified.

Robinson resigned from Hughes and in

1979 and almost immediately became the

In college he focussed on helicopter

June of 1973 founded Robinson Helicopter

world’s top selling helicopter.

design and graduated in 1957, he earned

Company in his Palos Verdes home. But,

Robinson Helicopter has now produced

a BSME degree from the University of

starting in the garage of his California

more than 12,000 aircraft at its base

Washington and then moved across country

home, he ran into opposition from the local

in Torrance, California – becoming the

for postgrad work to the University of

authority, who hit him with a heavy fine. The

world’s most prolific manufacturer of civil

Wichita, the heartland of general aviation.

Financial Times reports that; unable, and

helicopters.

There his first job was at Cessna, working on

unwilling, to pay the fine, Frank Robinson

His cheap and simple R22 sold faster

their CH-1 Skyhook helicopter. After three

pleaded innocence and defended himself.

than Frank had ever dared dream. “I

years at Cessna, he turned his attention

He was acquitted, but by then had moved his

underestimated the training market,” he

to gyroplane certification and then did four

start-up helicopter manufacturing company

says. “I designed [the R22] to be the type of

30 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

helicopter that I would want to have for my own personal use.”

That meant cheap and simple. Advertisements in 1979 claimed 108 mph and 15 mpg, with low maintenance and capital costs.

A youthful Frank Robinson - with one of the first R22s.

The initial price was $40,000. It also meant light, with a low-inertia two-bladed main rotor that required what some euphemistically call “special vigilance” by pilots. So much so that the FAA imposed specific rules for instructors and students. Many students went on to thank the baby Robinson as they found learning the delicacy needed to fly an R22 made it easier to graduate into larger, less responsive helicopters.

“In the early days, we had several problems that did give us a lot of trouble, and accidents,” Frank admits. But he shrugs off questions about the difficulty of flying the R22, instead stressing the rules on who could instruct were initially far too loose. Frank’s dream was of a machine that would enable a personal transport revolution; “That hasn’t happened,” he admits. “I had illusions it would. But now I don’t think it should. I wouldn’t like to see everyone flying R22s everywhere. The average person could learn to fly, but they don’t have the judgment that would be necessary to keep themselves and

Frank Robinson cut his teeth on Cessna's successful Skyhook helicopter.

their passengers alive.”

The natural next step for the company was a four-seater – the R44, introduced in 1992 at a base price of $135,000. Essentially a scaled-up R22, it has the same parts replacement schedule simplified into a 2,200-hour or 12-year complete rebuild.

The first R44s had weightier controls than the R22 yet were harder to fly. Robinson had rejected the hydraulic control systems available then available, so customers had to wait until 1999. “I would have loved to have had hydraulics in the original 44,” Frank says. “But it took a while to make the changes we needed.”

The R66 put Robinson into a different league. A five-seater, the R66 uses a Rolls-Royce RR300 turbine. It took aim at the industry standard Bell 206 JetRanger and has conquered it. Bell stopped JetRanger production years ago and has now replaced it with the Bell 505. “The primary reason I went ahead with the R66 programme was because I knew there were all those Bell [206B] JetRangers out there,” says Frank. “And they were getting older and doggier. I knew we would have a really good replacement.”

For Frank Robinson, like almost every company in aviation, the 2008 credit crunch was painful. “The bottom just fell out of sales in 2009,” he says. Production of nearly 900 helicopters the year before was halved. Some 300 employees were laid off, from 1,400. But the cycle continued turning and within a few years production was back to higher than ever numbers, approaching 1000 new deliveries a year.

AWARDS AND HONOURS Amongst his many awards, Frank Robinson is a recipient of the 2004 Howard Hughes Memorial Award from the Southern California Aeronautic Association (given to an aerospace leader “whose accomplishments over a long career have contributed significantly to the advancement of aviation or space technology.”

In 2009, he was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

In 2013, he received the prestigious Daniel Guggenheim Medal “for his conception, design, and manufacture of quiet, affordable, reliable, and versatile helicopters.”

j

So there is hope for blighted South Africa.

Frank Robinson stepped down as President and Chief Executive in 2010 at the age of 80, handing over to his son Kurt. But he is still the sole shareholder and very much involved. “They all know that any time I felt really strongly about it I could pull the rug out,” he says.

The Financial Times reports that even without keeping an eye on the company, his retirement is busy. He has a collection of 1930s American cars, and pride of place goes to a 12-cylinder Packard.

But, he says, “Those cars are very heavy. What they need is power steering.” Given the change he wrought in the R44 by adding hydraulic controls, would he be tempted to design a power steering system for his Packard? Would that provide not just a pleasant diversion for a diehard inventor but also a new business line? “I don’t think so,” he says, ever the canny businessman. “I don’t want to compete in that industry.”

The biggest helicopter producer ever - the keys of the 10,000th Robinson are handed to a Brazillian distributor.

31 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

HELI OPS GEORGE TONKING

THE PERKS of going back to High School

A helicopter pilot’s life is never perfectly defined. Think of some of the memes we see on the net these days – those ones where you see what people think about your profession compared to reality. Mostly though, when you tell people you are a helicopter pilot, their faces light up and they almost immediately say the same thing: “Wow, that must be cool!”

W

ELL, it is. But what people think I do and what I really do are miles apart a lot of the time.

The aircraft I ‘fly’ too often these days is the ‘mahogany bomber’: my desk. Paperwork in today’s aviation world has turned from a ticket book into a monster that threatens South American rain forests. Thankfully, many of us have largely gone ‘paperless’ but, alas, not paperwork-less. Aside from ‘death-by-triplicate,’ there are critical tasks for the aging pilot to handle as they ascend the halls of experience, most notably, people

Always enjoyable to introduce young people to Aviation.

management. Unfortunately, this peoplefocussed social skill seems a rarity in today’s here-today, gone-tomorrow, social mediacentred society. The gold-watch pilots, intent on sharing their skills and nurturing people, have sadly all but died out, sent out to pasture by one-page-CV-wielding, trendy generation-Zedders.

Not all is lost though. We will just have to train and grow our own experienced pilots, while becoming them ourselves!

If research is anything to go by, we are going to be affected by a global skills’

7,000 pilots and engineers in the US alone.

started there. But, whereas traditionally,

But why has it come to this?

freshly-minted commercial pilots used to

Well, firstly, looking at the South African

be snapped up by flight schools, taken in as

context, training a helicopter pilot to a

Grade 3 flight instructors, fewer and fewer

commercial level costs in excess of R1-

students are enrolling in flight schools,

million. That’s a lot in anyone’s book, but

meaning there isn’t much need for new

especially in today’s depressed economic

instructors. And there are only so many

climate. Add another half a million Rand if

opportunities for pilots of light helicopters.

training under EASA rules in Europe. The

The shortage of pilots is precipitated

end result is a broke, freshly-graduated

further

commercial helicopter pilot who is barely-

criteria required by insurers for larger light-

notably in the helicopter field. Researchers

insurable, capable only of flying a low-cost,

helicopters that fall into the Bell 407 and

in the USA have determined that over the

light helicopter, mostly used for tracking

Airbus H125 Squirrel category. These

next decade, the shortage could exceed

a vehicle or capturing game. Sure, we all

craft, which can carry several passengers

shortage very soon in the aviation industry.

In fact, we are feeling it already, most

32 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

by

excessive

flight-experience

COLUMNS

and cargo, are most useful in the sub-

passenger by doing crazy death-defying

scrutinised. This takes a team of volunteers:

Sahara African environment and are a

tricks. If I fly aggressively, it usually just

often aspiring student pilots and friends

handy stepping stone into larger multi-crew

scares them into never attempting a flight

acting as ground crew. These guys are able

helicopters. Due to the cost of hull loss/

a second time. Rather, straight, level and

to unload, load and strap in 5 pax in under

replacement, underwriters are wary of

smooth flying is all that’s required to enthuse

30 seconds, a must, as the aircraft’s Hobbs

insuring

the inquisitive seeker. The helicopter will do

meter is ticking. In a recent operation, we

the rest.

managed to fly over 600 passengers in two

low-time,

inexperienced

pilots

and often load high-excess clauses into insurance packages. Obviously, this leads

Another opportunity I often enjoy is that

to a reluctance on the part of owners and

of formal commercial flipping. Flipping is

days of flips.

True,

these

commercial

flips

will

operators to develop younger pilots.

If you’ve read this far, you may think it’s

Safety is a top priority. Squirrel pre-flight and fuelling.

all doom and gloom for choppers, but it’s not. To use that well-worn cliché, “where there’s a will, there’s a way”.

Firstly, I believe we need to inspire more young people to become pilots. If we have any hope of bridging the predicted deficit of skills in the chopper industry, it will be by recruiting and producing not only more pilots, but also engineers. And that’s where I (and other helicopter pilots passionate about their trade) come in. Helicopters always draw a crowd, right? People flock to see something fly, especially if it makes noise and lands in a small space.

Excitement and inspiration tend to breed passion and where there is passion, the will is empowered. The best way to do this is to place prospective pilots in the helicopter environment. Rather than just having roadshows where we speak about the benefits of a career as a helicopter

slang for pleasure flights, often at an event

probably not lead to the uncovering of many

pilot, showing someone what it’s like to fly is

or outdoor show. My favourite mount for this

potential new pilots, but they get me out

much more effective. A helicopter standing

type of flying is the Squirrel as it has ample

from the ponderous monotony of paperwork

on its pad is intriguing to even the least

space for up to five passengers and plenty

behind my desk. And, as I said, they keep

mechanically-inclined mind and we all know

of useable power from the Turbomeca Arriel

me inspired as I get to enjoy the passengers’

that actually touching the beast really gets

engine. With its robust Starflex semi-rigid

excitement before, during and after the flight.

one’s imagination going. Whenever I land

main rotor hub design, the Squirrel also

Where I have seen a discernible switch go on

in a public spot, I enjoy calling people, who

allows me to fly more complex manoeuvres

in a passenger, in terms of considering flying

are looking from afar at the helicopter, over.

safely. With these benefits, its typical

as a career, is at high school level. Over the

I encourage photos and questions, and

adrenaline-pumping routines can include

past several years, I have had the privilege

personal interaction with the public helps to

both negative-G push-over bunts and cork-

of being involved in several schools, where

maintain my interest and passion. Often, all

screw turns. That said, I do always try to

I have been able to speak to learners about

people need is a little nudge and some easy

look at the passengers and gauge what kind

my journey as a chopper pilot, and then take

conversation to pique their interest. After all,

of flip they might like, even if they haven’t

them for a flip.

helicopter pilots were once people too. We

actually said so. Little girls, in their frilly

For the more experienced pilot, myself

also once needed a nudge, whatever form

dresses, generally enjoy a more sedate,

included, it is important to take every

that came in, to becoming pilots.

scenic ride, whereas men generally like

opportunity to be involved at the genesis

Taking someone for a flight in a

to have their money’s-worth of a 5-minute

point of an airman’s career. This can (and

helicopter is even better than simply looking

vomit-inducing rollercoaster ride. In both

should) occur at the school level, where

at it, of course! For those who have never

cases, I’m happy to oblige. Minus the actual

children are encouraged to take school

flown, the most incredible part is just lifting

vomit, if at all possible, of course.

subjects and extra-mural activities that

off the skids and floating effortlessly above

In order to facilitate a safe experience for

will facilitate their career planning. It was

the ground. I’ve learned that it’s normally

the paying public, safety-critical equipment

just such a flip in a J3 Cub with the EAA’s

not advisable to try to impress a first-time

and redundancies have to be constantly

Young Eagles programme many years ago

33 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

that introduced me to the magical world of flying. I never looked back. I’m so pleased I can now be involved in the same way in using my machine and enthusiasm for my career to inspire youngsters to pursue flying professionally.

j

RIGHT: Allouette 3 and Squirrel ready for a day full of flips.

BELOW: Squirrel and ground team at the recent 4x4 and outdoor event in Centurion.

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34 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

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37 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

A SLIM LOGBOOK JOHAN WALDEN

THE FINAL PUSH Like the final push

to the finish-line of a

marathon, so were the last few flights before

running the gauntlet of my PPL Check-ride.

V

ERY few days lay between me and my seventeenth birthday, important

which only

was

For the precautionary landing I kept right to get a good view of the field's surface condition.

because

it meant I would be old

enough to take the PPL flight test. I had all the cross-country flights in the bag and the exams were done and dusted. Now it was

We started with stalls, slow flight, spin avoidance, and steep turns – oh, and landings, lots of landings. I always heard

time for my instructor Thomas and I to weed

Thomas’ voice in the back of my head when I

out a bad habit here and there, shorten my

did circuits; “The full stall landing, centreline,

reaction times, and sharpen my stick and

and first third of the runway are reserved for

rudder skills.

the good pilot.” For good measure, I added

the centre taxiway at Morningstar to my personal list.

I was just beginning to think I was getting good at kissing the numbers every time, when I raised the nose to the end of the runway and waited for a soft thump to congratulate me on another textbook arrival.

Instead, on this occasion, I was rewarded by a loud thud and the feeling that I had torn the mains off the Sling. I had landed right on the bump where the threshold starts. I cringed, but Thomas seemed pleasantly surprised that I had actually managed to touch down bang on the spot where the gravel ends and the tar begins.

We called it a day.

Next we did simulated forced and precautionary landings. After a briefing and thorough pre-flight, we flew to the GF, and I rolled around a point a bit as usual to ‘wake up my feet’ on the pedals.

Once we were over an uninhabited area, I broadcast my position and intentions

There were plenty of Forced Landing site options down in the patchwork.

38 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

on the radio, performed a ‘HASELL’ check and made a few clearing turns to make sure nobody was around. Thomas pulled the

COLUMNS

power back to idle, and the engine slowed to a lazy purr. Immediately, three words he

For the Forced Landing I picked a small dam to mark my key point.

had drilled into me from the beginning came roaring to front of mind: I said aloud, “Speed, Field, Fault!”

My glance shot straight to the ASI and I pressed gently back on the stick with my fingertips to maintain altitude while the speed bled off. The saying goes; “Aviate, navigate, communicate.” So the first step was to fly the aircraft at its best glide speed – in this case, 72 knots – giving maximum time in the air. The loud rushing of the air around over the canopy died to a whisper, and a hair before the needle touched 72, I let the nose down to descent attitude and trimmed.

“Field!”

I looked over the left side and saw the ground rolling away like a lumpy patchworkblanket. There was no shortage of patches to choose from. I just had to pick the right one – long enough, smooth enough, and more or less facing into wind – as well as look out for things like power lines in the approach and takeoff path – These can be almost invisible apart from their pylons. I had heard that sometimes people fly off into the distance, trying to make a field on the horizon, while the perfect one might be right under them.

So I quickly scanned the ground closer to my butt and picked out a nice rectangular field.

But the field was down there, and my butt was way up here, so the whole descent needed some careful planning and fast mental foot work. I chose my low key point, marked by a little dam, where I wanted to be 1000ft above ground. It was roughly abeam the ‘threshold’ on downwind and marking it

centre console to check the fuel selector

and now I had to squeeze in the last of the

and throttle positions. Then I mimicked

Three

things like hitting the starter, and securing

Talking through what I was doing, I

the engine after the ‘restart’ attempts were

mimicked punching in ‘7700’ (the emergency

unsuccessful.

frequency) in the transponder, scrolled the

Commandments:

‘Communicate’.

By now I was well into the downwind leg

VHF radio frequency to 121,5MHZ – which

with the field on my left wing and the dam

was actually quite difficult to do while flying –

coming up ahead. I quickly did downwind

and recited a distress call.

checks, leaving the flaps up for the time

I passed over my low key point at the

being, and did a passenger briefing to

dam and started calculating when to turn.

Thomas – tighten your seatbelt, remove

I was flying parallel to the field and the

sharp items from your pockets, take your

‘threshold’ was on the left wing-tip. Now

glasses off, etc.

it was all down to judgement. Thomas

I saw that I was going to be too high

reminded me that although I was flying with

when I reached the dam, so I ‘crossed the

the wind now, as soon as I turned onto final,

controls’ a little and flew a shallow side-slip

I would have a headwind and lower ground

–to fly inefficiently and dump some altitude.

speed. So fearing falling short at the end, I

I had flown the aircraft maintaining best

turned onto base. But within a few seconds

glide speed, navigated to a suitable field,

I saw that I was too high and wanted to turn

with a land feature meant I wouldn’t lose it when my orientation changed. At my high key

Lining up on final approach.

point, I wanted to be 2000ft above ground, on the opposite corner of the circuit – which was pretty much where I already was!

I pointed my field out to Thomas and quickly explained what I wanted to do.

“Fault!”

In between glances up and down from my field to the ASI, I ran through the engine failure checklist, while the pitch of the air whistling round the canopy warned me to look up if I wasn’t holding speed properly. I went from left to right round the cockpit in my flow check so I wouldn’t forget anything: First along the bottom of the panel, checking the master, backup battery, fuel pump, and magnetos were on, and then down the

39 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

A SLIM LOGBOOK back. But I remembered the golden rule of forced landings, which is; never turn away from your field – because if you fly away, chances

I practiced landings to weed out the bad habits.

are you won’t make it back. I put the flaps out but that only appeared to make us float higher, so I did another side-slip.

I turned final and made s-turns all the way until the threshold was right in front of me. There was no time left so I had to straighten out and make the best of it. At this rate I would’ve touched down about midway down the field and run out of room. So Thomas’ instruction to go around came as no surprise. I disappointedly applied full power and pushed the stick forward hard – it was out of trim.

We went up and down a few more times and improved the results to a point that wouldn’t have landed me in the fence at the end of the field if they were real engine-outs.

And at the end of our last simulated forced landing, on climb-out, Thomas told me to level off. He set a new scenario where I was on a cross-country flight and had been caught by low cloud: I would have

inspect the surface more closely for molehills and small rocks – which

to find somewhere to do a precautionary landing before the clouds

are hard to see from afar.

got too low. He gave me a ceiling and, now in a better mood, I set up for low safe cruise with one stage of flap out.

This time I had to pick a field (or road) that I could takeoff from again once the ‘weather cleared’. It should also be near a road so I

On my third circuit, I recited a ‘pan-pan’ (urgency) call, did a passenger briefing, and set up the landing – this time with power.

After a successful approach Thomas gave the signal to go around and we headed back to base.

could get help, if needed. I chose a field, flew a circuit, and overflew

My instructor was happy, all the exercises were finally wrapped

it at 500ft, inspecting its general condition and looking for obstacles

up. I had pushed through to the end of all the exams and flying, and

and other stuff that might spoil a perfect landing. After another circuit,

the finish-line was finally in sight. Now I hoped I was at last ready for

I overflew it again at 50ft and kept right. With the nose out of the way,

the PPL Check-ride. But was I? That’s a story for next month.

j SA Flyer 2018|09

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41 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

REGISTER REVIEW: RAY WATTS

AUGUST 2019 This month sees another two Boeing 737-800s added to our register; one for Comair and one for FlySafair.

series after their disastrous computer crash. This is going to take some time I believe.

On the NTCA side of things we see that six new aircraft have been added. One of these is a converted 1964 Cessna 150D which used to be ZS-EAE. She has been converted to a tail wheel aircraft and as you can see from the photo, she looks really smart.

Our CAA apparently can’t tell the difference between an Alouette

ZS-FOX a Falcon 10 now withdrawn from service and scrapped to a garden near Lanseria.

II and an Alouette III. Last month there were three Alouette IIIs registered as Alouette IIs and again there was another this month. I have sent them a note giving them the correct information. The one registered this month isn’t an ex SAAF one but comes from the UK and was previously registered in the USA and flew with the French AF as well. Amongst the other NTCA aircraft registered, there are two

Ray Watts

ZS-YBZ an ex SA Express DHC-8-402 exported to Poland.

new B737s for Comair BA were leased from. I was under the impression at the time that they’d been Ray Watts

O

UR editor asked me a little while back who the five

purchased but I was wrong. They have indeed been leased: ZS-ZWM, ZWY & ZWZ from Avolon

Aircraft Leasing Co and ZS-ZWW & ZWX from CDB Aviation.

We have a total of ten type certified aircraft (TCA) being three fixed wing and eight helicopters, added this month, including the two

motor gliders which have come from Germany, a locally built Bathawk

B737s already mentioned. The Boeing 737 for FlySafair ZS-FGA

and a Pegasus Quik for which I haven’t been able to trace a previous

takes up the registration of a Partenavia P64B Oscar/RSA200 which

registration.

was cancelled back in 1971. The other fixed wing aircraft is a glider.

The eight helicopters consist of one Sikorsky S76, three Schweitzer

The drone numbers just keep droning upwards with another seventeen added this month.

Ray Watts

We have lost eleven TCA aircraft from the register this month, including a Dassault Falcon 10 that has been withdrawn from use and scrapped. This is sad to see but I believe these older jets just aren’t economical to operate any longer. Even our single engine aircraft are beginning to be exported in larger numbers than in the past with two Cessnas leaving our shores. One went to Madagascar and the other to Spain. The rest have gone into Africa except for one of SA Express’s DHC-8s which returned to Poland at the end of its lease. I haven’t seen ZS-YBZ, the Dash 8, flying since November 2017. She ZS-REV a AS350B2 exported to Swaziland.

was in their hangar for a long time.

Tail piece: Despite our economic woes in this country, our aviation industry seems to be quietly getting on with life. The recent grounding of SA

269C (Hughes 300), one Bell 505 and two Bell 206 Long Rangers.

Express by ACSA doesn’t bode well and the SAA debacle just goes

I see that the two Long Rangers have taken up ZS-H.. registrations.

on and on. However, the other airlines have picked up on the ever

ZS-HNP used to be a Robinson 22 which is now in Australia and ZS-

growing domestic and regional market and they appear to be doing

HNV used to be an Enstrom Shark which is no longer on the register.

nicely if one looks at the way their fleets are growing. Let’s hope it

The CAA are slowly catching up with giving us stats for the ZT-R..

grows in the future.

42 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

j

M&N Acoustic Services REGISTER REVIEW - AUGUST

Reg Manufacturer ZS- New Registrations

Type Name

Serial No

Previous Identity

Owner

ZS-FGA

BOEING AIRCRAFT COMPANY

737-800

27977

(ZS-SJX), VQ-BDW, D-AHFC, N5573P

SAFAIR OPERATIONS (PTY) LTD

ZS-GFG

SCHEMPP-HIRTH FLUGZEUGBAU GMBH

JANUS B

124

F-CFAD

JONKER SAILPLANES (PTY) LTD

ZS-HNP

BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON

206L-4

52117

N178RL, N175AL

ULTIMATE HELI (PTY) LTD

ZS-HNV

BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON

206L-4

52207

N207RL, N207RT, HC-BYQ, N44115, C-FEXW

ULTIMATE HELI (PTY) LTD

ZS-ZWZ

BOEING AIRCRAFT COMPANY

737-800

40249

A6-FDU

COMAIR (PTY) LTD

ZU- New Registrations ZU-GAI

HOFFMAN AIRCRAFT GMBH

H 36 VT DIAMOND

36275

D-KCOE, OE-9318

PARADISE AVIATION PARTNERSHIP

ZU-GAJ

VALENTIN FLUGZEAGBAU

TAIFUN 17E

1003

D-KOKA, D-KJMS

PARADISE AVIATION PARTNERSHIP

ZU-IPH

MORNE NORTIER

CX 150

1500001

ZS-EAE (now a tail wheel aircraft)

NORTIER M

ZU-IPJ

MICRO AVIATION SA

BAT HAWK R

0062

ZU-IPK

P & M AVIATION

PEGASUS QUIK

8143

ZU-ROH

AEROSPATIALE

SA 319B ALOUETTE II

2076

G-CKPI, N8UH, Fr AF 2076

CAREL JACOBUS ERSMUS TRUST BAILEY S D WARBIRD AIRCRAFT SERVICES CC

ZT- RPAS - New Registrations ZT-URV

DJI

PHANTOM 4 PRO

0AXDDC10A30600

DC GEOMATICS (PTY) LTD

ZT-WBU

DJI

MAVIC PRO

08Q1F7U00S0975

CORTAC (PTY) LTD

ZT-WBV

DJI

MAVIC 2 PRO

163DFCL0010S68

HELI-X CHARTERS (PTY) LTD

ZT-WBY

DJI

INSPIRE 1

W13DCB25020445

PREMIER AVIATION CC

ZT-WBZ

DJI

INSPIRE 2

09YDDCS00R1454

WREND HOLDINGS (PTY) LTD

ZT-WCA

DJI

MATRICE 600 PRO

M80DFE21030016

GURYON (PTY) LTD

ZT-WCB

DJI

PHANTOM 4 PRO +

OAX1F6400S0223

GURYON (PTY) LTD

ZT-WCC

DJI

INSPIRE 2

SCA0038110260161087

SCARAB INDUSTRIES CC

ZT-WCD

DJI

MATRICE 210

17TDG6L01349MS

HELI-X CHARTERS (PTY) LTD

ZT-WCE

DJI

PHANTOM 3 STANDARD

P5ADEC110R054Y

NKWAZI DRONE (PTY) LTD

ZT-WCF

DJI

PHANTOM 4 PRO +

0AX1F6C00S0788

ALL ABOUR DRONES (PTY) LTD

ZT-WCG

DJI

MAVIC 2 PRO

163CG82R0A0PNK

DARKWING AERIALS (PTY) LTD

ZT-WCH

DJI

MAVIC ZOOM

0M6DFCA001JHXG

HELI-X CHARTERS (PTY) LTD

ZT-WCJ

DJI

PHANTOM 4 PRO +

0AX1F5R00S2483

DINOKENG SURVEYING (PTY) LTD

ZT-WCL

AERIAL MONITORING SOLUTIONS

EAGLE-OWL

35

DC GEOMATICS (PTY) LTD

ZT-WCM

DJI

MAVIC 2 PRO

163DFCE00142K9

DARKWING AERIALS (PTY) LTD

ZT-WCN

DJI

MAVIC AIR

OK1DECB3AC0157

SNA CIVIL AND STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS (PTY) LTD

ZTR - New Registrations ZT-REN

SIKORSKY

S-76C

760548

VP-CHV, C-FUVU, ZS-RRY, N2051J

NIKADO 107 (PTY) LTD

ZT-RJJ

SCHWEIZER

269C

S1498

I-IHAD, N69A

WATERBERG WILD DIENSTE (PTY) LTD

ZT-ROJ

SCHWEIZER

269C

S1602

I-IHAE, N86G

WATERBERG WILD DIENSTE (PTY) LTD

ZT-RPR

BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON

505

65254

C-GADL

PHALADZE AIR RESOURCES (PTY) LTD

ZT-RWW

SCHWEIZER

269C

S1491

I-IHAC, N41S

WATERBERG WILD DIENSTE (PTY) LTD

ZS - Deleted ZS-ATA

AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES, A.S

L-410 UVP-E20

872017

MADAGASCAR AS 5R-AAT

ZS-FOX

DASSAULT

FALCON 10

072

WITHDRAWN FROM USE

ZS-OZC

CESSNA AIRCRAFT COMPANY

U206F

U206-02755

MADAGASCAR

ZS-PSL

CESSNA AIRCRAFT COMPANY

172R

17281268

SPAIN

ZS-REV

EUROCOPTER

AS 350 B2

9081

SWAZILAND

ZS-RRT

EUROCOPTER

EC 120 B

1272

MOZAMBIQUE AS C9-RRT

ZS-RWC

EUROCOPTER

AS 350 B2

3897

MADAGASCAR

ZS-TDL

PILATUS AIRCRAFT LTD

PC-12-/47E

1498

KENYA

ZS-YBZ

BOMBARDIER INC

DHC-8-402

4175

POLAND

ZT-R - Deleted ZT-RYH

AIRBUS HELICOPTERS

AS 332 L

2032

JORDAN

ZT-RYK

AIRBUS HELICOPTERS

AS 332 L

2161

JORDAN

ZT-WBU

DJI

MAVIC PRO

08Q1F7U00S0975

CORTAC (PTY) LTD

We perform SANAS certifications on all your: Acoustics ( eg. CEL 350 ) Vibration ( eg. Rion VA -11) Human Vibration ( eg. Quest Hav Pro) Electrical DC/LF Equipment – inhouse or on site (eg. Fluke Multimeters, Insulation Testers)

Contact: Rashid Snyders Tel: 012 689 2007 I Cell: 076 920 3070 Email: admin@mnacoustics.co.za

www.saflyer.com | October 2019

43

FEATURE NOEL OTTEN

TEA with JOCK PART 1 Johannesburg Light Plane Club’s annual airshow was on 12 August 1972. The day I should have died. My second birthday.

T

Snoopy out to down the dastardly Red Baron.

the

aerobatics in the Zlin 226. And then he goes

Nicholas’s mother had made up some

world’s oldest continuously

up again in the Pawnee to demonstrate how

‘Snoopy’ outfits for me. I built some ‘dog

active flying club annual

crop dusting is done. Some brave demo

kennels’ which were rigged up with ‘popping’

airshow

always

pilots of Placo, NAC and Comair reluctantly

balloons, pyro-technics and smoke bombs.

scheduled for the windiest

display a couple of aircraft – and that’s it!

All the special effects were controlled by

day of the year, and this

The air force is not due until 15:00 hrs. It

someone inside the ‘kennel’ who had a ‘firing

year was no exception. The wind was 25

is now only 13:00 hrs. A long time to keep

control board’ which was battery powered. I,

knots gusting 30 - 35 out of 310 deg. Runway

people interested.

of course, was the ‘Red Baron’ and ‘Snoopy’

RUE

to

tradition,

was

in use was 03.

Normally I would not have opened the

was armed with a Blunderbuss which I made

20 000 people arrived to see the show -

hangar doors and preferred to work on my

out of some 50mm PVC tubing, a plywood

only there is no airshow! The ‘Star Air Race’

Pitts Special that was nearing completion.

stock which held the battery and a firing

is a non-event. Fewer than half the aircraft

But being young, over-confident, head-

control board. Inside the tubing I put the

take off and most elect to land at other

strong, arrogant and with the immortality

smoke bombs.

airfields due to the wind. No Skydivers! No

only a young man knows, I agreed to

gliders! No balloon popping! No Hot-air

participate.

Balloon!

Nick Turvey is persuaded to do some

44 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

Not having a Fokker DR1 Triplane at hand, we substituted it with my mostly red

I had developed a little air-show routine.

Tiger Moth and swopped the dashingly

Snoopy versus The Red Baron. Peter

handsome Baron Manfred von Richthofen

with an almost as handsome and daring

trying to doughnut off the wheels. The

so doing looked back to see where Scully

friend Hilton Hume, who also got out onto

crosswind was at the very limit of the aircraft

and Gerrit were. They are still behind me,

the wing to publicly assassinate dear

and pilots’ capability. We briefed to form up

but I now noticed that the wind had blown

Snoopy. It involved flying a couple of tight

over the mine dump to the north west of the

me well past my turning point and I am now

circuits around Snoopy’s kennel, placed at a

airfield. I was leading with Scully at No.2

150 - 200 metres behind the crowd line! And

strategic crowd pleasing viewing point, with

followed by Gerrit at No.3. I turned back

then I made the second biggest mistake of

Snoopy and the Red Baron shooting each

to the airfield and as soon as we were on

the day; (the first was to take off). I pulled

other at each attempt.

a long final approach; indicated to Hilton to

the turn tighter!

The winner was mostly determined

climb out onto the wing. He moved out as far

by the announcer who generally favoured

as the inter-plane strut, Snoopy demolisher

Hilton was still out in the airstream. I felt

Snoopy (rightly so), but I had no forwarning

in hand and we approached the target which

the aircraft shudder and instantly that little

that today he definitely would win – at my

were the two ‘dog kennels’ along the east

voice shouts out: ‘DON’T TIGHTEN THE

cost.

side of the runway.

TURN YOU IDIOT!’ But it was too late. The

Hilton would walk out to the inter-plane

The turbulence was frightening! I was

left wing dropped. Hilton dived head-first into

strut, armed with a .38 Special which was

fighting to keep the aircraft on track, the

the cockpit as I booted in full right rudder

loaded with blanks. The blanks had lots of

buffeting snatching the controls from my

and full forward stick. The aircraft slewed

‘black’ powder in them to make a really big

hand, and I had nearly full right rudder in to

to the right and the wing picked up and for

bang and a big puff of smoke. We would do

counter the drag of the wing walker! I had

a moment I thought I had safely recovered.

a low-level pass shooting at Snoopy and the

never experienced anything quite like this

The Tiger was at least straight and level!

‘controller’ inside the ‘kennel’ would fire off the charges fixed to the kennel and on the ground; popping balloons and making lots of

Snoopy ducking for cover.

smoke and noise. Snoopy would retaliate by firing his blunderbuss at us. It worked! And I was in demand at small airshows from Brits to Matsapa. We did it for the thrill, there was no money! ... Just give us bread and water and fuel and we put on the show.

For the big JLPC air-show the crowd would be spread out along both sides of the runway, so I had three more suits made and built three extra ‘dog kennels’. The plan was to spread these out along the runway and, in effect, do four shows in one. Fly down the west side of the runway shooting up two Snoopys; then turn 180 degrees, fly down the east side and repeat the show. Four passes were planned!

The problem was that the Tiger Moth

before. Scully told me afterwards that his gut tightened up so much it ached!

Now to the north and east sides of the ‘old’ Baragwanath, there was a huge blue

was so slow, the impact would be lost if

We did the first run! It was not pleasant!

gum tree plantation. What I did not realise

only one aircraft was used, so I conned

I called Hilton back towards the cockpit and

is that blue gums grow even on windy days.

Gerrit van den Bosch and Scully Levin into

then turned to the right, into wind which

The problem was that I was only 40 - 50 feet

flying their Tiger Moths in the show as well.

helped keep me inside the perimeter of the

above the trees, which were themselves

Surprisingly, it was not difficult at all to find

airfield. I ran down the west side only to

about 60 ft tall. They grew so quickly that one

‘wing-walkers’, but to find suitable Snoopys

find the turbulence there was even worse!

of them climbed up and hit us dead centre

was another matter. They had to be clowns

I decided to do one more run down the east

of the right lower wing. The aircraft slewed

to entertain the crowd whilst we got airborne.

side and then that would be quits for the day.

around through 180 degrees and pitched the

The crowd were becoming restless and

No way was I going to do this three more

nose vertically down. We collected about 4

times!

or 5 more trees and I bought a prime piece

bored. Now I could hear a little voice yelling at me saying .... ‘Don’t do this! This is not

I passed over the last Snoopy and kennel

clever!’ So I did what every ‘hot-shot’ pilot

to slowly begin a turn to the right, downwind!

Hilton smashed himself against the

does - I turned the volume down so I could

The drag from the wing-walker was too

compass bowl and he had a beautiful

not hear my poor overworked guardian

great to counter, so I straightened out and

impression of the airspeed indicator on his

angel anymore. Scully was not too happy

motioned to Hilton to get back inside. He

forehead. He was out of the plane in an

either, but against his better judgement, I

did not climb into the cockpit but sat on the

instant and standing next to my cockpit. I

persuaded him to fly. Gerrit just followed!

longeron with one foot on the wing and one

could smell fuel and was beginning to panic

on the seat. I now continued the turn and in

that I couldn’t get out. Then I remembered

We took off on runway 03 with the tyres

of Rand Mines Property.

45 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

FEATURE to pull the pin of the Sutton harness and

‘Is your passenger okay?’ he asked.

promptly disappeared into the bowels of

‘Yes, he’s over there’, I said, ‘Just a few

the Tiger. I clambered up and jumped over

cuts and bruises’, (along with a couple of

the side; between the two wings. I was still

broken ribs we did not yet know about). Jock

trapped! I couldn’t see over the top of the

looked at me and said, ‘My boy, you had

wing. Then I heard a voice coming from

better get your Tiger out of there as quickly

somewhere near my knees. A hand reached

as possible because this crowd will not leave

under the leading edge of the wing and

very much for you’.

pulled me out into the open. My only injury

‘Thanks Oom Jock’, I replied and with

was a slight bruise to my knee in climbing

that instruction from the Director of Civil

out!

Aviation himself, I rounded up a few friends Laurie Kay was flying Tiger ZS-BGL with

and volunteers and within two hours my

Scully Levin, no more than a 100 or so metres

if we were ‘Going to do this again next year?’

beloved Tiger Moth (or as many parts as we

behind me. They had a grand-stand view

I wanted to punch him!

could find – I’m still missing the tailwheel to

of the whole incident and remembered the

Hilton and I walked back towards the

whole incident vividly! He watched horrified

control tower. A paramedic spotted him

And in case you think I just try to kill

and helpless. Within seconds, hundreds of

bleeding slightly from the forehead and gave

people and then abandon them, I don’t.

people were swarming across the runway

him some first aid. Then Cheryl, his young

Hilton and his wife Cheryl remained close

towards the crash site. Scully turned into

wife of a few months saw him and took

friends. Sadly, cancer claimed Hilton a

wind and landed in less than 100m in the

him away for more treatment. I carried on

couple of years ago; Cheryl was not only a

field to the east side of the hangars at 90

towards the control tower.

valued employee of mine for years, but still

a souvenir hunter) was back in my hangar.

deg to the runway. They then cut through the

As I passed a car parked near the tower,

boundary fence and pushed their Tiger Moth

the window wound down and this voice

My logbook shows that my total number

into the hangar.

booms out ‘Jirrre Noel, wat maak jy nou

of landings is = Total Take Offs minus 1. I just

seun?’. It was Jock Germishuys, the Director

don’t know how to rectify that!

At the crash site, people were pulling pieces of fabric off the plane to keep as souvenirs. I remember one fellow asking me

of the DCA. ‘I messed up Oom Jock!’ I said.

M and N ACOUSTICS SERVICES SANAS ACCREDITED LABORATORY FOR ACOUSTIC, VIBRATION, HUMAN VIBRATION AND DC/LF The Following instruments can be calibrated Aces, Vibrex, Honeywell, Rion, Casella, 3M & Svantek

CONTACT Amanda Naude 012 689 2007 | e-mail: admin@mnacoustics.co.za

46 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

remains a dear friend.

My next meeting with Jock was the most scary, and unbelievably lucky.

j

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ACCIDENT REPORT JIM DAVIS

THE GRAVEYARD SPIRAL This report was compiled in the interest of promoting aviation safety and not to establish legal liability.

Yet another wreck on a foggy hillside.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On 3 November 2006 at 10h57Z, the pilot took off from Virginia Aerodrome (FAVG) and advised the tower that he was planning to fly to Ladysmith. He did not file a flight plan. The visual flight rules (VFR) departure route from Virginia inland is via La Mercy and Greytown. At about 11h15Z, the pilot flew over La Mercy Flight Park. The operator of La Mercy Flight Park contacted the pilot of ZS-KOW using a handheld radio.

He confirmed the registration ZS-KOW and advised the pilot not to attempt to fly inland.

He also told the pilot that he was heading towards high ground. The pilot thanked him for his help and said that he would try to reach Ladysmith via the north. The operator of La Mercy Flight Park stated that the hills just inland from La Mercy were covered in low cloud.

Figure 1 shows the intended track from La Mercy to Greytown. The accident site (marked with a red arrow) is at elevation of 3 000 ft AMSL.

An instructor at Durban Flight School

The Durban area was covered by cloud,

said that he spoke to the pilot and advised

which was on top of high ground to the

him not to try to fly as the weather inland was

north-west of Durban. The cloud base at

bad. The pilot told him that he had obtained

Virginia was 1 800 ft. The accident site was

a weather briefing and he would try to reach

at an elevation of 3 000 ft.

Ladysmith.

The aircraft descended onto a hut in

The aircraft descended almost vertically

a steep nose-down attitude. The impact

on top of a hut in Sigodiphola village, fatally

marks suggested no horizontal movement of

injuring the pilot. The hut owner stated that

the aircraft, meaning that all the movement

it was a very cloudy day. She was outside

was vertically down. The wreckage was not

sweeping the yard and could hear the aircraft

scattered except for the right-hand wing,

noise in the clouds, when unexpectedly

which was found approximately 8 m from the

there was a loud bang behind her. She then

main wreckage. The aircraft was destroyed

discovered that the aircraft had crashed into

by the impact and by the post-impact fire.

her hut. Other villagers at the scene all said

The assessment of the propeller was

owner of Virginia Flight School heard the

that they had heard the aircraft but could not

indicative of the aircraft engine having power

pilot talking on a cellphone and gained the

see it as it was in the clouds.

when it collided with the hut.

Earlier on the day of the accident, the

impression that the person the pilot was

A hut was destroyed when the aircraft

The pilot was not instrument rated.

talking to was trying to persuade him not to

crashed on it, and also by the post-impact

Despite verbal advice from three different

fly.

fire.

people, the flight was continued.

48 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

PROBABLE CAUSE

doubt that my written bleats would be much

and a short discussion about his future in

The accident was attributed to the flight

of a deterrent. But then again, if only one

aviation.

continuing with VFR into IMC, resulting in

person hearkens, and lives to fly another

the pilot becoming disorientated, leading to

day, it’s worth it.

the aircraft entering into a spiral descent and crashing into a hut.

birds are VFR creatures and do not intentionally fly into clouds JIM’S COMMENTS Every so often I get a mail from someone saying, ‘Your warning about XYZ probably

A bit harsh, you think?

Here’s the bottom line. This pilot did not

I’ve chosen to look at this accident

properly understand the dangers of flying

because it’s a particularly graphic example

into cloud. Unless he was suicidal, if he

of VFR into IMC. Actually, it’s so blatant that

had known that he was heading for certain

I have to conclude that the pilot was either

death, he would have turned back, or found

psychologically unsuited to becoming a

somewhere to land while he could still see

pilot, or he had incredibly bad training – or

the ground.

perhaps both.

I suspect some readers haven’t been

Sure, we all make mistakes, but going

taught, or perhaps don’t believe, that a

against the advice of those in the know,

graveyard spiral is the inevitable outcome of

wasn’t a mistake. It was a deliberate act of

flying into IMC without a current instrument

defiance. He was saying, ‘Don’t you tell me

rating in your shirt pocket. So I am going to

what to do.’

explain exactly what happened to this pilot,

I have never met a well trained pilot who

and to John F Kennedy Jr, and to a thousand

behaves like that immediately after getting

other pilots who ‘knew’ in their souls that

his license; it’s an attitude that may develop

they could handle flight without a horizon.

later. But if he comes out of his training like

The highly respected Audubon Society,

that, he should never have been given a

who’ve

license.

migration for over a century, state that

been

studying

bird

flight

and

saved my life.’ It seems that this brave guy

Put it this way, if I was Mr CAA, I would

“…birds are VFR creatures and do not

ignored at least three verbal warnings so I

invite this guy’s instructor for tea and bickies

intentionally fly into clouds. They have more

49 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

ACCIDENT REPORT

common sense than some pilots and ground themselves on foggy days.”

This pilot did not fly into cloud and then hit a mountain horizontally.

He flew into cloud, lost control and spiralled down almost vertically into the ground. It’s the standard way of killing yourself if you have no horizon.

It’s easy to think we’re too smart to do that. We all go through a stage of believing we would know what’s happening, and we would simply level the wings. Most of us have to experience it during our training, to fully grasp the horror of finding out what no horizon means.

On the night of 16 July 1999, John F Kennedy Jr also believed he could handle it. Yet he spiralled his Saratoga into the sea – with his wife, Carolyn, and his sister-in-law, Lauren, on board. Kennedy had a night rating, he’d also passed the Instrument Rating exams, and had 39 hours of instrument training. But this wasn’t enough to keep him from falling into the trap of a graveyard spiral. He wasn’t even in cloud – it was a moonless night and the horizon was obscured by haze.

Here are the FAA’s words on the final 35 seconds of that fatal flight: “As the airplane bank angle increased, the rate of descent increased, and the airspeed started to increase. By 21h40:25, the bank angle exceeded 45 degrees, the vertical acceleration was 1.2 G, the airspeed increased through 180 knots, and the flightpath angle was close to 5 degrees airplane nose down. After 21h40:25, the airplane’s airspeed, vertical acceleration, bank, and dive angle continued to increase, and the right turn tightened until water impact, about 21h41.”

The aircraft descended almost vertically onto a hut in Sigodiphola village.

AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT & EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Aircraft Registration: ZS-KOW Date of Accident: 3 November 2006 Time of Accident: 12h40Z Type of Aircraft: Cessna 182Q Type of Operation: Private Name of Owner/Operator: Sparta Baby Beef (PTY) LTD Pilot-in-command Licence Type: Private Age: 40 Licence Valid: Yes Pilot-in-command Flying Experience Total Flying Hours: 69.6 Hours on Type 7 Last point of departure: Virginia Aerodrome (FAVG) Next point of intended landing: Ladysmith Aerodrome (FALY) Location of accident: Sigodiphola, north-west of Durban (S 29º 20.750’ E 030º 53.251’) Meteorological Information: the Durban area was covered by cloud, covering the high ground to the North-west of Durban.

Number of people on board: 1 + 0 No. of people injured: 0 No. of people killed: 1

muscular senses haven’t a clue where down is.

3.

The semicircular canals in our ears tell us about angular motion in the pitching, yawing and rolling planes. Your inner ear only tells you when you START to yaw, pitch or roll.

It does not tell you when any of these continue. And it lies to you when you stop. So it’s also not to be trusted.

When all your trusted senses abandon you, you are left with To understand why this happens, we need some basic facts about how humans orientate ourselves in space. Our brains get inputs from three sources – ALL OF THESE INPUTS CAN LIE TO US: 1.

2.

NOTHING. You are like a spider in a vacuum cleaner – you could be in any attitude and not know it.

Ah, you say, but I’ve got the instruments – surely they tell me

Our eyes tell us our attitude relative to the horizon. Lose

about what’s going on. Correct, they do, they scream at you, but you

sight of the horizon in cloud (or darkness) and your eyes are

don’t listen. In times of stress, what are you going to believe – some

no use.

strange, fallible instruments, or the senses you’ve trusted all your life?

Muscular pressure tells us where the earth (gravity) is.

So, you may ask, how do instrument-rated pilots manage it?

Your muscles actually tell you where APPARENT gravity is.

They spend 40 hours learning to believe the instruments instead of

At the moment your bum says gravity is below your seat.

their god-given senses. It’s an extremely tough lesson. And, unlike

But when you are inverted on the top of a loop, your bum

learning to swim, or to ride a bicycle, you forget that lesson within

says gravity is up. So that doesn’t help. Even in a turn your

months if you don’t keep practising. When your instrument flying skills

50 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

The track from La Mercy to Greytown VOR. The red triangle shows the crash site.

abandon you, and you go back to trusting your senses, you die.

You don’t have to believe me; here’s what the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration has to say in a pamphlet entitled 178 Seconds to Live: How long can a pilot who has no instrument training expect to live after he flies into bad weather and loses visual contact? Researchers at the University of Illinois found the answer to this question.

Twenty student “guinea pigs” flew into simulated instrument weather, and all went into the graveyard spirals or roller coasters.

The outcome differed in only one respect: the time it took to lose control. The interval ranged from 480 seconds to 20 seconds.

The average time was 178 seconds – two seconds short of three minutes.

HERE IS THE FATAL SCENARIO The sky is overcast and the visibility poor. That reported 5-mile visibility looks more like two, and you can’t judge the height of the overcast. Your altimeter says you are at 1500, but your map tells you there is local terrain as high as 1200 feet. There might

to see it unwinding. You are already down

even be a tower nearby because you are not

to 1200 feet. Instinctively, you pull back on

sure just how far off course you are. But you

the controls, but the altimeter still unwinds.

have flown into worse weather than this, so

The engine is into the red, and the airspeed,

you press on.

nearly so.

or guidance. They think they are above the rules.

You find yourself unconsciously easing

You have 45 seconds to live. Now

back just a bit on the controls to clear those

you’re sweating and shaking. There must be

none-too-imaginary towers. With no warning

something wrong with the controls; pulling

quickly!" - People do the first thing

you are in the soup! You fight the feeling in

back only moves that airspeed indicator

that pops into their head without

your stomach. You swallow, only to find your

further into the red. You can hear the wind

thinking it through – a beat up or

mouth dry. Now you realize you should’ve

tearing at the aircraft.

a dive through a sucker hole in the

waited for better weather. The appointment was important - but not that important.

Somewhere a voice is saying “You’ve had it – it’s all over!”

You now have 178 seconds to live.

Your aircraft feels on an even keel, but your compass turns slowly. You push a

•

•

Invulnerability: "It can’t happen other people.

head far enough, but it’s at an unusual angle •

Macho: "I can do it!" - We all know these guys. They are always

You open your mouth to scream, but...

trying to prove they are better than

you have no seconds left!

anyone else and taking more risks.

little rudder and add a little pressure on the controls to stop the turn, but this feels

something

to me!" - Accidents happen only to

you. You can see the horizon if you turn your – you’re almost inverted.

"Do

cloud.

You have 10 seconds to live. Suddenly, you see the ground. The trees rush up at

Impulsive:

WHAT CAN WE LEARN?

•

Resignation: "What's the use?" -

unnatural and you return the controls to

Accidents don’t just happen – we

These people think that they can’t

their original position. This feels better, but

humans cause them. If we want to live and

make much of a difference in what

your compass is now turning a little faster

see our grandchildren we need to grow up be

happens to them. When things

and your airspeed is increasing slightly. You

honest about whether this trip is influenced

go wrong they think it’s “fate” and

scan your instrument panel for help, but what

by one of any of these six killer attitudes. If

there’s not much to be done about

you see is just a bad spot. You will break out

it is, make very sure you have a good safe

in a few minutes. (But you don’t have a few

back door:

it.

•

People Pleasing Pressure: “Is

Anti-Authority: "Don't tell me

someone pressuring me to do this

You now have 100 seconds to live. You

what to do!" - People with this

flight? Will they be upset if I don’t

glance at your altimeter and are shocked

attitude resent taking instructions

complete the mission?”

minutes left.)

•

j

51 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

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SA Flyer 2019|10

Fuel Prices Fuel Prices as at 01/08/2019 as at 01/08/2019 Pri cesPrii nclude ces i nclude VAT but VATexclude but exclude any servi anyce servi fees ce fees Ai rfi eld Ai rfi eld AvgasAvgas Jet A1Jet A1 Baragwanath Baragwanath R 22,00 R 22,00 Beaufort Beaufort WestWest R 23,90 R 23,90R 17,90 R 17,90 Bethlehem Bethlehem R 21,97 R 21,97R 15,62 R 15,62 Bloemfontei Bloemfontei n n R 17,91 R 17,91R 11,06 R 11,06 Brakpan Brakpan R 21,50 R 21,50 Brits Brits R 20,10 R 20,10 CapeCape TownTown R 23,32 R 23,32R 9,88 R 9,88 EaglesEagles CreekCreek R 21,00 R 21,00 East London East London R 18,83 R 18,83R 12,54 R 12,54 Ermelo Ermelo R 19,55 R 19,55 Fi santekraal Fi santekraal R 21,80 R 21,80 Fly-InFly-In R 19,20 R 19,20 Gari ep Gari Dam ep Dam R 21,30 R 21,30R 15,00 R 15,00 George George R19,69 R19,69R12,28 R12,28 GraafGraaf Rei net Rei net No Fuel No Fuel Avbl Avbl GrandGrand Central Central R 21,28 R 21,28R 15,30 R 15,30 Ki mberley Ki mberley R 17,91 R 17,91R 11,06 R 11,06 Kitty Kitty HawkHawk R 23,50 R 23,50 Klerksdorp Klerksdorp R 21,64 R 21,64R 14,32 R 14,32 Kroonstad Kroonstad R 19,85 R 19,85R 14,61 R 14,61 Kruger Kruger Intl Nelspruit Intl Nelspruit R 19,80 R 19,80R 13,65 R 13,65 Krugersdorp Krugersdorp R 19,95 R 19,95 Lanseri Lanseri a a R 21,28 R 21,28R 14,93 R 14,93 Margate Margate R 21,90 R 21,90R 15,35 R 15,35 Morningstar Morningstar R 19,95 R 19,95 Mosselbay Mosselbay R 22,90 R 22,90R 16,65 R 16,65 Nelspruit Nelspruit R 22,77 R 22,77R 13,80 R 13,80 Oudtshoorn Oudtshoorn R 20,70 R 20,70R 14,77 R 14,77 ParysParys R 19,80 R 19,80R 12,85 R 12,85 Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg R 22,60 R 22,60R 14,40 R 14,40 Pi etersburg Pi etersburg Ci vi l Ci vi l R 21,50 R 21,50R 13,40 R 13,40 Port Alfred Port Alfred R 23,17 R 23,17 Port Elizabeth Port Elizabeth R 21,85 R 21,85R 15,87 R 15,87 Potchefstroom Potchefstroom R 21,85 R 21,85R 15,87 R 15,87 RandRand R 19,90 R 19,90R 14,38 R 14,38 Robertson Robertson R20,80 R20,80 Rustenberg Rustenberg R 19,38 R 19,38R 13,80 R 13,80 Secunda Secunda R 21,28 R 21,28 Skeerpoort Skeerpoort *** Customer *** Customer to collect to collect R 17,55 R 17,55R10,60 R10,60 Springs Springs R 21,50 R 21,50 Stellenbosch Stellenbosch R 22,65 R 22,65 Swellendam Swellendam R 20,70 R 20,70R 13,00 R 13,00 Tempe Tempe R 22,49 R 22,49R 14,25 R 14,25 Ultimate Ultimate Heli (Midrand) Heli (Midrand) *** *** R 20,95 R 20,95R 14,00 R 14,00 Upington Upington R 18,37 R 18,37R 11,52 R 11,52 Vereeni Vereeni gi ng gi ng R 20,31 R 20,31R 13,01 R 13,01 Vi rgi ni Viargi ni a R 21,85 R 21,85R 15,22 R 15,22 Welkom Welkom R 18,86 R 18,86R 14,61 R 14,61 Wi ngs WiPark ngs EL Park EL R 19,90 R 19,90 Witbank Witbank R 19,50 R 19,50 Wonderboom Wonderboom No Fuel No Fuel Avbl Avbl Worcester Worcester R21,00 R21,00 *** Heli ***copters Heli copters only only

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Fuel Prices Fuel Prices as at 02/09/2019 as at 02/09/2019 Pri cesPrii nclude ces i nclude VAT but VATexclude but exclude any servi anyce servi fees ce fees Ai rfi eld Ai rfi eld AvgasAvgas Jet A1Jet A1 Baragwanath Baragwanath R 22,00 R 22,00 Beaufort Beaufort WestWest R 23,65 R 23,65R 17,90 R 17,90 Bethlehem Bethlehem R 21,97 R 21,97R 15,62 R 15,62 Bloemfontei Bloemfontei n n R 17,83 R 17,83R 11,27 R 11,27 Brakpan Brakpan R 21,50 R 21,50 Brits Brits R 20,10 R 20,10 CapeCape TownTown R 23,32 R 23,32R 9,88 R 9,88 EaglesEagles CreekCreek R 21,40 R 21,40 East London East London R 18,83 R 18,83R 12,54 R 12,54 Ermelo Ermelo R 19,55 R 19,55 Fi santekraal Fi santekraal R 21,80 R 21,80 Fly-InFly-In R 19,20 R 19,20 Gari ep Gari Dam ep Dam R 21,60 R 21,60R 16,00 R 16,00 George George R19,69 R19,69R12,28 R12,28 GraafGraaf Rei net Rei net No Fuel No Fuel Avbl Avbl GrandGrand Central Central R 19,95 R 19,95R 14,84 R 14,84 Ki mberley Ki mberley R 17,83 R 17,83R 11,27 R 11,27 Kitty Kitty HawkHawk R 22,50 R 22,50 Klerksdorp Klerksdorp R 21,64 R 21,64R 14,32 R 14,32 Kroonstad Kroonstad R 19,85 R 19,85R 14,61 R 14,61 Kruger Kruger Intl Nelspruit Intl Nelspruit R 19,80 R 19,80R 13,65 R 13,65 Krugersdorp Krugersdorp R 19,95 R 19,95 Lanseri Lanseri a a R 21,28 R 21,28R 14,93 R 14,93 Margate Margate R 21,90 R 21,90R 15,35 R 15,35 Morningstar Morningstar R 20,45 R 20,45 Mosselbay Mosselbay R 22,90 R 22,90R 16,65 R 16,65 Nelspruit Nelspruit R 22,77 R 22,77R 13,80 R 13,80 Oudtshoorn Oudtshoorn R 20,28 R 20,28R 14,41 R 14,41 ParysParys R 19,80 R 19,80R 12,85 R 12,85 Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg R 22,60 R 22,60R 14,40 R 14,40 Pi etersburg Pi etersburg Ci vi l Ci vi l R 21,50 R 21,50R 13,40 R 13,40 Port Alfred Port Alfred R 23,17 R 23,17 Port Elizabeth Port Elizabeth R 21,85 R 21,85R 15,87 R 15,87 Potchefstroom Potchefstroom R 21,85 R 21,85R 15,87 R 15,87 RandRand R 19,90 R 19,90R 14,38 R 14,38 Robertson Robertson R20,80 R20,80 Rustenberg Rustenberg R 19,78 R 19,78R 13,80 R 13,80 Secunda Secunda R 21,28 R 21,28 Skeerpoort Skeerpoort *** Customer *** Customer to collect to collect R 17,55 R 17,55R10,60 R10,60 Springs Springs R 21,50 R 21,50 Stellenbosch Stellenbosch R 22,65 R 22,65 Swellendam Swellendam R 20,70 R 20,70R 13,00 R 13,00 Tempe Tempe R 22,49 R 22,49R 14,25 R 14,25 Ultimate Ultimate Heli (Midrand) Heli (Midrand) *** *** R 20,95 R 20,95R 14,00 R 14,00 Upington Upington R 18,37 R 18,37R 11,52 R 11,52 Vereeni Vereeni gi ng gi ng R 20,31 R 20,31R 13,01 R 13,01 Vi rgi ni Viargi ni a R 21,85 R 21,85R 15,22 R 15,22 Welkom Welkom R 18,86 R 18,86R 14,61 R 14,61 Wi ngs WiPark ngs EL Park EL R 19,90 R 19,90 Witbank Witbank R 20,10 R 20,10 Wonderboom Wonderboom No Fuel No Fuel Avbl Avbl Worcester Worcester R21,00 R21,00 *** Heli ***copters Heli copters only only

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• • • • •

SHOCK CUB FLIGHT TEST

REPORT: GUY LEITCH IMAGES: GUY LEITCH & JUSTIN DE REUCK

54

The Shock Cub is the ultimate low and slow fun machine

October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

JUSTIN DE REUCK

Low and Slow over the Daisies.

No Runway Required

JUSTIN DE REUCK

Seventy years ago the very basic Piper J3 Cub was a huge success, because it made flying simple and cheap. Just imagine what a twenty first century version of the Cub will be like.

55 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

D

UNCAN GILLESPIE, a retired Boeing Bizjet

In the 1990s Zlin (who had bought the licence from the original

captain who most recently plied his trade in the

aerobatic aircraft manufacturer) had started selling the Classic, the

Far East, came home to Cape Town and wanted

iCub and later the Nomad and the Savage, plus the one-of-a-kind

to fly something with negligible operating costs

Bobber. And then they went all out to build the ultimate STOL LSA,

and the ability to fly properly low and slow around

the Shock Cub – and there’s nothing quite like it. To get to the level

the incomparable sights of what Sir Francis Drake

of ‘Shock and Awe’ it wanted, Zlin significantly upgraded the existing

called the ‘Fairest Cape in all the World.’ (He must’ve been lucky with the weather).

Savage and labelled it the Shock Cub. Duncan wanted the get up and go from the 141 hp Rotax 915 iS,

So successful was the basic Piper Cub design, and its Super Cub

but this kept being delayed by the Austrian engine maker. And then

outgrowth, that Duncan decided that the plane that would best suit his

Rotax said the 915 had to have a constant speed prop – a complication

puddle jumping mission profile was the latest version of the Cub – the

Duncan did not want, so he settled on the 115 hp 914 turbo. Duncan’s

Zlin Shock Cub (known as the Outback Shock in the USA).

propeller is a ground adjustable 3 blade Kiev composite prop – and

There are plenty of other Cub and Super Cub replica options – most notably: the Aviat Husky and, if you are prepared to put it together

he has set it at a 10.5° climb pitch, which gets him around 5200 static rpm.

yourself – the CubCrafters’ Carbon Cub and the two Bearhawks, which we have tested in past issues. But these Super Cub replicas

PRE-FLIGHT WALK-AROUND

work best on thirsty 180 hp engines. Being a purist – Duncan wanted

Zlin decided the Shock Cub had to be a no-compromise bush

something even lighter, yet reliable and within the parameters of the

plane. It may look like a Piper Super Cub with a monster-truck raised

600kg max all up weight limit of Lights Sport Aircraft. So he studied

undercarriage and huge bush tyres – but the Shock Cub has very

the Rotax powered Cub replicas. Many have a startlingly short takeoff

little in common with the original Piper tandem two-seater.

roll and seriously steep climb angle, using just a 100 pony Rotax 912.

A quick look at the wing shows the true STOL tell-tale; auto-

Plane builder Zlin, from their base in Napajedla in the Czech

deployable leading edge slats, to literally grip the air and hang

Republic had looked at these Cub reincarnations and reckoned they

on to it at very high angles of attack. Compared to the company’s

could do an even better Cub – and the Czechs build some of the best

other Cub-type models, the Shock’s wing is different in many ways,

sport planes in the world.

beyond just the obvious slats and huge double-slotted semi-Fowler

GUY LEITCH

True to purpose, we cruise slowly past the Strand Beachfront admiring the late autumun swimmers.

56 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

GUY LEITCH

Hanging in the sky at 20 knots.

flaps. The wing has a 15 cm wider chord, all-new spars, stamped aluminium ribs, plus strengthened attachments and other structural improvements. The squared-off

On the ground the raised undercarriage and big tyres gives the Shock Cub great ramp appeal yet it is still a Light Sport Aircraft.

wing tips have wing tip fences (plates) to control wingtip vortices.

Compared to its less radical siblings, the Shock Cub has a 40 percent larger aileron surface area, which, with the vortex generators, allows the pilot to keep full roll control at extremely low approach speeds.

The Shock Cub’s multilayer flaps extend to 70% down from their retracted position and the flaps can be equipped with mini vortex JUSTIN DE REUCK

generators, as is the case with Duncan’s machine.

The horizontal tail has also been enlarged and beefed up and the rudder and elevator surface areas were extended more

having been built to the 600 kg weight limit.

high drag design, all in an effort to protect

than three inches aft to balance the moment

As part of its limited-certification testing,

the boundary layer. Out on the end of the

from the new wing. Look under the elevator

Zlin subjected the Shock’s frame to more

right wing, to minimise position error, is an

and the optional big Matco tailwheel is clearly

than 1,600 pounds of load at 6G for over two

unheated pitot tube – beyond the reach of

ready for a rough runway. Notably though,

minutes without deformation.

over-reading created by prop wash. Behind

the tailwheel is free castering – and this

A close look at the airframe reveals

the leading-edge slats are vortex generators

makes landings and ground-manoeuvring

some surprising details – the control

to further keep the airflow attached to the

interesting.

surfaces have gap seals – favoured by

wing and reduce the stall speed to – as will

The wing and steel tube fuselage

gliders for high speed and minimal drag, and

be seen – almost nothing.

structure is reassuringly strong, despite

so an unlikely item to have on a slow speed,

Like the Super Cub, the pilot sits in the

57 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

front, so a rear seater changes the CofG significantly. To cater for this, the electric pitch trim runs a jackscrew that changes the angle of incidence of the entire horizontal tailplane – just like a Boeing. The tail has a manoeuvring handle on the right-hand side and even with no one in the rear seat the tail is surprisingly heavy. This is a function of the light weight Rotax engine and the forward location of the main landing gear, and it makes the Shock Cub more resistant to being tipped onto its nose by over enthusiastic braking.

The engine is accessed through two large dzus-screw fastened cowls and is easy to inspect. Under the cowl is the indomitable Rotax 914 turbo. It’s a standard Rotax 914 installation with the only surprise being the tiny 1 kg Lithium battery mounted on the firewall to power the starter and all electrical systems. Duncan makes sure he burps the dry sump oil tank before the first start of each day. The Rotax 914 doesn’t have an engine driven fuel pump so it has two electrical pumps under the rear seat. These draw fuel from a header tank behind the rear seat which is in turn fed from two (optional) 55 litre tanks – one in each wing.

To cater for the heavy tail and the need to be able to land it on its tailwheel first, the tailwheel assembly is hugely strong and there is a large shock absorber visible in windows in the side of the fuselage.

With its big shock absorbing undercarriage legs and large tyres, the net result is a Light Sport Aircraft that has real ramp presence. Despite its diminutive size and weight, this is a thoroughbred that means business.

THE COCKPIT GUY LEITCH

Getting into the Shock Cub requires some agility and

ABOVE: Taking off with the door open - through the daisies and mole hills.

GUY LEITCH

RIGHT: Instrument panel is basic but functional with EFIS and just two big round gauges.

58 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

practice. You stand on a cross bar on the landing gear leg

and then hold onto the frame inside the cockpit roof and swing yourself up and in. Not elegant, but it gets smoother with practice.

The control cables are exposed, so it’s best not to snag them.

1

The instrument panel is properly basic – yet modern in that it has an MGL EFIS for all the detailed information, with just two big round gauges, like eyes, on either side of the 7-inch screen – the ASI on the left and the altimeter on the right. Ancillary avionics are limited to just a small round VHF Comm from MGL and a TRIG ADS-C transponder. The sound quality was excellent and the intercom was one of the best I have experienced. Duncan reports that he is very happy with the EFIS readability and reliability – and it is comforting that support is at the factory just down the road from Stellenbosch airfield in Somerset West.

Duncan had a locally-based Rwandan upholsterer build nice fat comfortable seats – to match the tyres. The front seat is

2

adjustable by removing a bolt and inserting it in one of three holes.

Initially the back of the front seat limited the forward movement of the rear stick – but after a bit of rigging adjustment this was fixed.

Behind the rear seat is a useful, but not large, baggage bay, as it shares the space with the fuel header tank. The baggage bay has a zip cover, which stops stuff being blown around if you fly with the door open.

Perhaps in homage to the original Cub, the Shock Cub also GUY LEITCH

has heel brakes – and they take some getting used to. The rear seater also has brakes but they are squeezed between the side of the front seat and the fuselage wall. An instructor should have slim feet.

Prominent in the cockpit is the huge flap lever mounted somewhat awkwardly above the pilot’s left shoulder. This requires a huge heave to get the barndoor flaps to the full flap position.

Sticking faithfully to the Cub’s simple heritage, the fuel tank gauges are clear sight tubes in the wing roots, albeit buried a little further into the wing structure than one might like. Duncan opted for the 2 optional 55 litre long range tanks, and at 20 litres per hour this gives him almost 5 hours endurance. He has flown it between Stellenbosch and Howick in KZN three times, hence the well-

FLYING THE SHOCK CUB After the necessary gymnastics to swing in through the thankfully wide right-side door, Duncan helped strap me in to the

GUY LEITCH

padded seats and roll of toilet-paper in the baggage compartment.

3 4

4-point harness.

Engine start comes with the usual Rotax whirr and clunk, but it settled down smoothly. From the front seat, if you crane your neck, you can just see over the nose, a nice touch for a taildragger.

Thanks to his big low pressure tyres, Duncan has approval from the Stellenbosch Flying Club to use the grass between the runways. After a run-up at 4,000 rpm we were ready to go. I haven’t been PIC of a taildragger for years – so I was happy to sit in the GUY LEITCH

back and let Duncan show me how.

With full power it took two moments for the tail to come up, and then watching the stick, I saw Duncan immediately ease back and we were airborne after a ground roll of perhaps 100 metres. Climb at a stately 45 knots was a modest 500 fpm, but the power was already pulled back to stop the prop over speeding.

We headed south to the coast at a hectic 70 KTAS, confirmed by the integral GPS. I was amazed to see how large Somerset

1: True to its Piper Cub heritage - the Shock Cub has heel brakes.

2: Power comes from a tried and tested Rotax 914 turbo.

3: P art of the secret to the Shock Cub are massive flaps with double slotted leading edges and vortex generators.

4: Leading-edge slats auto-deploy to grip the sky like a bull dog.

59 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

GUY LEITCH

West is, judged by how long it took to get there at our sedentary ground speed.

The Shock Cub is meant for low and slow, so we descended to about 200 ft and flew to the right of the shoreline – past the towering apartments of the Strand. Looking at the surface of the sea, and the cloud over the Hottentots Holland mountains, Duncan reckoned that there would be a swirling rotor from the South Easter. He called off flying past his mate’s wedding at the foot of Sir Lowry’s Pass because he said we would be thrown about too much. And he was right; even as we turned left, back towards Stellenbosch, I had the peculiar sensation of being blown sideways as we turned.

Handing control to me, I was surprised by how solid the control feel was. Despite being a very light aircraft, the large control surfaces

Rear control surfaces much enlarged to

require significant stick forces. But the controls are well balanced,

provide low speed control authority.

and I found it intuitive to do co-ordinated turns with a touch of rudder.

Control inputs return a predictable result; no one will call the Shock

Free castering tailwheel will humble the

Cub sensitive or twitchy. Being a former SAAF helicopter pilot,

most skilled pilot in a stiff crosswind.

Duncan has attached a drift string to the bottom of the windscreen.

Its super-sensitive, but not hard to keep reasonably centred.

The Shock Cub’s metier is its slow speed handling. Back overhead the airfield, Duncan pulled on the full 70 degrees of the third notch of flap. And with about half power we literally hovered above the airfield, with the ASI holding exactly 20 knots and the VSI resolutely reading zero. I looked down at our shadow barely moving. the ‘hover’ and joined right base for runway 19. The stall, with just one up and half tanks, is said to be an astonishing 18 mph or 15.6 knots, but at this speed its hard to tell due to pitot inaccuracy from position

GUY LEITCH

A smooth raising of the flaps back to two notches and we flew out of

and calibration errors. At gross weight, the POH says the stall will break at 23 mph (20 knots), and as we saw, there is no tendency

We opened all the doors and windows and blasted off again. This

for a wing to drop. Pull the power back to idle and it will just mush

time we stayed low over the strawberry-field crop tunnels at the end

down, nose high, at 500 fpm. It doesn’t need a whole-aircraft ballistic

of the runway. Flying with both doors open is wonderful – but the

parachute – it is one.

slipstream blasts in through the (optional) left side window, so it’s

On final, thanks to the nose-down pitching moment generated by the huge flaps, you get to see your landing spot over the nose.

Duncan admitted that being a light weight but high drag airframe

probably better to have just the right side door open. I had time to watch a flock of guinea fowl scurry away beneath us.

The wind had picked up into a cross wind component from the south west, so Duncan elected to land diagonally across the grass. Touch down in the daisies and mole hills was smooth and then suddenly I was being pressed hard against the side of the cockpit as we swung to the right, and in full view of the Saturday spectators at the club house, we performed a magnificent, unplanned groudloop.

Fortunately, the landing speed is so low that most

GUY LEITCH

Parked on the lawn at Stellenbosch the slowest and the once fastest.

gives it the glide characteristics of a baby grand piano. So approach was steep at 35 knots across the fence, aiming for just over 20 knots at touchdown.

ground loops will not drag a wing tip. But that free castering tailwheel is a bastard, and sooner or later will embarrass the most capable tailie pilot.

OVERALL The essence of this plane is pure adventure, but done properly.

Fantastic slow speed handling with a super-strong welded chromoly

With the nose held high, I felt the tailwheel touch well before

fuselage and cockpit with serious 4-point seat belts and ample

the main wheels, but it was well cushioned, thanks to the big shock

escape routes, are comforting. The Shock Cub may be just a Pappa

absorber in the tail. The nose then pivoted down with the fat 32-inch

Charlie puddle jumper, but it is HUGE raw fun – and that castering

tundra tires and long-stroke main gear shock absorbers making it feel

tail wheel will keep the best pilot humble and the humblest pilot wary.

like we had landed on a pile of foam rubber yet on a patch of grass that was covered in giant mole-hills. We were stopped within 200 metres with mild braking.

60 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

Zlin Aviation is represented in Southern Africa by Flying Frontiers, from their base at Eva’s Field in Howick, KZN. www.flyingfrontiers.com

j

ZLIN Savage

Shock Cub

Specifications & Performance Engine: 115 hp Rotax 914 Turbocharged Propeller: Kiev 3 blade ground adjustable Wing Span: 29.5 feet Length: 22.4 feet Height: 7.4 feet with 29-inch tyres Wing Area: 163.7 square feet Wing Chord: 66.5 inches Wing Loading: 8.2 pounds/sq. foot Load Factor: +6/-3 Gs Cabin Width: 27.1 inches Undercarriage Track: 7.8 feet Gross Weight (MTOW): 1,320 pounds (600kg) Empty Weight: 690 pounds Useful Load: 630 pounds Payload (Full Fuel): 468 pounds Fuel Capacity: 13.5 gallons per side

PERFORMANCE Never Exceed Speed (with Slats): 115 mph Maximum Operating Speed: 112 mph High Cruising Speed: 75 KTAS Cruising Speed at 75% power: 70 KTAS Climb Rate: 1,000 fpm Stall Speed, Full Flaps: 20 KIAS (gross weight) Service Ceiling: 18,000 ft Range At 65% power: 300 nm/260 nm Takeoff Roll (Solo): 115 feet Takeoff Roll (Gross Weight): 188 feet Landing Roll (Solo): 75 feet Landing Roll (Gross Weight): 115 feet

61 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

SA Flyer 2019|10

No Runway Required

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62 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

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SA Flyer 2018|10

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63 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

CHARITY REPORT: MARK MANSFIELD | IMAGES: TREVOR COHEN

THE CHILDREN’S

FLIGHT

Felix Gosher is a man with unstoppable passion and enthusiasm. He has grown his flying outreach to disadvantaged children every year, and this year he had formidable obstacles to overcome.

I

Felix does a flight deck impersonation for the arriving helicopters.

was saved by the helicopter fraternity. The five choppers pulled out all the stops and managed to fly all the children.

What began in 2016 with just 60 children experiencing flight for the first time, has gathered momentum to become The

Children’s

Flight

–

a

heartening

demonstration of the great generosity, spirit and enthusiasm of Felix Gosher and the aviation community. The children, many of

T was a close call for the 2019

whom have faced tremendous adversity

Children’s Flight as the weather in

in their short lives, were chosen through

Gauteng on Friday 6 September,

the community and nominated by various

specifically at Grand Central airport,

children’s homes.

affectionately known as the Field of

The Children’s Flight was made possible

Dreams, opened with a low cloud

through sponsorships from the South African

base. Fortunately this was not enough to

Civil Aviation Authority, South African Air

put a damper on the 300 children that were

Force, aviation companies, members of

bussed to the airport for a life-changing

the public and pilots from across the world

flight in an aircraft.

who sponsored their aeroplanes. Making a

There was too much excitement for the

welcome public appearance was the Chief

weather to get the spirits of the children

of the Air Force, Gen Msimang.

down, but for the organisers, safety officials,

A leap of faith was required when

and caregivers, it was an anxious few hours

Grand Central Airport announced that they

wait for the weather to improve. Even though

would require an insurance policy with a

the low cloud lifted, a crosswind of over 20 kts at 90 degrees to the runway was beyond limits for fixed-wing aircraft, so the day

64 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

Embroidered badges were just part of the wonderful attention to detail by the children's flight organisers.

premium of an impossible R100,000. SA Flyer and many others responded to Felix’s crowdfunding pleas and miraculously, the

Felix Gosher addresses the crowd of children and volunteers.

Chief of the Air Force, Gen Msimang, mixes it with the Children.

The Children fill the Harvard Cafe.

A few of the many volunteers in front of the sponsors banner.

A low cloud base and strong cross wind made helicopters the only aircraft able to fly the 300 children and their carers.

65 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

Battling the elements on the apron.

Daniel Ralefeta

A SAAF Silver Falcons fly past gave the children a taste of air force precision.

amount was raised – but it was then used for the more direct needs of the children, rather than for an exorbitant grudge purchase airshow insurance premium.

The Children’s Flight has as its anthem the song, ‘Paper Plane’, that Gosher co-wrote with musician Michael Ferguson. Paper Plane is about a child with a dream to fly. “The song is symbolic of my own aviation story. I used to make paper planes as a child and watching those pieces of paper flying was the image of my dream. It was a dream I eventually followed to become a pilot. May this day be an inspiration to anyone with any dream. The response and enthusiasm from the aviation community to this project has been overwhelming”, said Felix.

“We want to bring aviation to the children and to promote the idea that anyone can be whatever they dream of being; that it is possible to take that ‘paper plane’ to your destiny. If we manage to inspire just one of the children to reach for their dream, then we will have been successful,” said Felix.

“Flying may be considered elitist, reserved for the military or the super wealthy. Yet flying is essentially about defying all odds, emulating the freedom of the bird, casting all fears of failure aside and committing to a journey. A journey that is possible for all to embark on. This is what we hope to show the young children with The Children’s Flight. We want to bring the true spirit of aviation to a diverse group of South African orphans who may otherwise never have the opportunity to fly,” Felix said.

66 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

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67 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

AIRSHOWS REPORT: MARK MANSFIELD | IMAGES: TREVOR COHEN

SAAF SWARTKOP

AIRSHOW: COLLECTIVE HERITAGE The annual SAAF air show at Swartkop is critical to the SAAF museum funding. There was much concern that it may be cancelled when it was postponed twice. Finally, it was held on 7 September and it looked like the weather might put a damper on proceedings.

disappoint and the masses that turned out to watch the show were once again treated to the old and the new with a mix of civilian flying keeping the programme ticking over at a fairly constant pace.

SAAF participation included multiple displays by the Gripen, Hawk, and Silver Falcons who all had the fans on their feet.

Complementing the modern SAAF fleet were the heritage aircraft still flying with the SAAF museum: the Alouette Mark II and III, Harvard, Bosbok, Kudu, Vampire and Cessna 185. These brought back nostalgic

T

memories for many of the old-timers in HIS airshow is one the

Heritage’ because September is heritage

Big Three and attracts

month in South Africa and because it is the

thousands of eager

perfect opportunity to showcase the best of

spectators as it has

the SAAF, which next year celebrates 100

participation from the SAAF. This year was

no exception and thousands of airshow enthusiasts streamed through the gates, packing the apron to maximum capacity, much to the delight of the SAAF Museum

years of existence. The SAAF Museum treasures this 100-year legacy thanks to a few dedicated SAAF personnel, both retired and still active, who keep the museum aircraft in flying condition.

the crowd. Although not part of the SAAF museum fleet, but most definitely part of the SAAF history, was Mustang Sally, Menno Parson’s P51D Mustang.

Adding extra excitement to the day were the civilian aerobatic teams. Many of the civilian pilots are former SAAF pilots which added to the ‘Collective Heritage’ theme.

Solo displays were flown by the L39 jet, L29 Jet, Gyrocopter as well as individual

The museum aircraft combined with the

displays by the Boeing Stearman and Yak

organising committee - and the many

current SAAF fleet of modern Hawk and

18T. Displays by the GoodYear Eagles Pitts

vendors that had set up shop.

Gripen fighters makes for a truly spectacular

Special aerobatic team, the Cows Pitts

and crowd thrilling airshow. This year did not

Special team and Team Xtreme, kept all

This year’s show was themed ‘Collective

68 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

OPPOSITE PAGE: The SAAF's first jet - the De Havilland Vampire getting airborne for its sequence.

ABOVE: The sharp end of the SAAF, a Gripen being 'chased' by two Hawks.

BELOW: Civvy Team Extreme shows the military how to do precision flying.

69 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

AIRSHOWS

eyes skywards with their precision formation aerobatics. Noteworthy formation displays were the Classic Warbird Formation made up of two Chipmunks and a Tiger Moth, and the radial formation made up of an Antonov AN2, Yak 18T and a Boeing Stearman.

The mini war had the crowds jumping at the simulated bombing runs and an eightship Harvard formation was a blast from the old Dunnottar air force base days. For the helicopter fanatics, there were displays from the SAAF Puma, and Alouette II and III. Closing the show was a late afternoon display by the Gripen which culminated in a

j

flare drop – a great finale.

A small part of the huge crowd that

braved the cold highveld spring day.

Chief of the SAAF, Gen Msimang, with Lt Col Catherine SIREN Constable, Capital Sounds Brian Emmenis and Gripen pilot Col Lance LANCELOT Mathabula.

Civilian Air Force planes - The 'Pointers' from 41 Squadron.

Ending the show on a high

note, a SAAF Gripen in the vertical deploys flares.

CAF Gen Msimang with the head of the Museum Lt Col Bruintjies.

70 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

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Contact:

Email: info@jhbflying.co.za

Alan Stewart 083 702 3680 Website: www.jhbflying.co.za Panorama Airfield CAA 0055

Break away to the sights and sounds of the bushveld, fly to Kunkuru Safari Lodge. Six well positioned thatched chalets with en-suite bathrooms and air-con sleeps 2/4 people.

Most plains species are found at Kunkuru Safaris and also includes Buffalo, Lion and Hippo.

Fly-in packages start at R500.00 per person. Includes brunch and use of the lodge facilities. The lodge includes a pool and lounge areas with a cash bar. Game drives can also be arranged at an additional cost.

AIRSTRIP DETAILS

Gravel airstrip 20m wide with 15m shoulders on each side 1200m long threshold to threshold Approach 05/23 Windsock in centre of runway 25 20’53.50” S 27 41’44.20” E Elevation 1140m (3740ft) SA Flyer 2019|05

SA Flyer 2019|09

PILOT TRAINING

Contact Andre on 072 733 4584 or e-mail andre@kunkurusafaris.com for bookings. www.kunkurusafaris.com

71 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

COMPANY PROFILES

Sweet Dreams

at SleepOver Motels Gauteng’s fastest growing private airport, Lanseria International, recently welcomed its latest addition to a growing number of new facilities – SleepOver Motels, and at the same time, marking the opening of the first SleepOver motel in South Africa.

and a convenience store that serves the best coffee in the district. There is sheltered and open seating, making it ideal as a meeting spot for informal business meetings or social interaction. The rooms are all 18 sqm including a bathroom (shower, basin, toilet) plus an additional 9 sqm shaded veranda.

Each bedroom is equipped to sleep up to four guests on a combination of queen and single beds, a work-station with wi-fi, and a kitchenette with wash-up and microwave

T

oven. There is also a convenience store

OURISM is one of the fastest

obvious answer to cater to the needs of

growing

transient passengers who fly in and out of

industries

globally and

the north and west rand – especially on early

variety of tourism product is

or late flights. “While they are an important

evolving constantly as demand

target market, it is just as apparent that

grows. “Accommodation demand and thus

Lanseria as a major aviation centre does not

hotel occupancy is driven mostly on price,

offer on-site accommodation services to the

availability and consistent quality standards,”

many technical staff and sub-contractors of

said Fred Koch, Director: SleepOver Motels

tenant companies that need to work extended

at the launch event; “We believe we have in

hours. The motel’s primary focus is thus

SleepOver Motels a product that competes

to cater to the accommodation needs of

favourably in price and quality to offer the

technical aviation staff who need to provide

best price/value on the market and that our

services to aviation businesses based at

franchise business model will establish a

Lanseria,” said Koch.

and

the

availability

national footprint in a relatively short time.”

Lanseria International Airport was the

The Lanseria based motel has 30 freestanding rooms set in an indigenous garden,

on site that sells a range of snack-foods, prepared and ‘heat-to-eat’ meals, nonalcoholic beverages (liquor license approval is awaited) and other convenience products.

There is ample free parking on site and negotiations are under way with Lanseria airport management for an outsourced shuttle

operator

to

provide

passenger

transport between the motel and the nearby terminal building. A feasibility study is being conducted to extend this shuttle service to tenant companies within the airport precinct to facilitate the movement of airport based personnel

between

the

various

tenant

companies and the airport facilities.

SleepOver Motels is a franchise hotel company

that

intends

establishing

75

franchisee motels throughout SADC along the main road routes, at major entry/exit points, tourism destinations and industrial towns and suburbs. The company was founded in 2017 by Fred Koch and Piers Bunting, both of whom have been involved in hotel development and management in the SADC for over 40 years.

The Lanseria motel opened on a trial basis on 1 August 2019 and signed an agreement with the Commercial Aviation Association of Southern Africa (CAASA) on 14 August whereby members qualify for a 7% discount off the going rack rate. In addition CAASA will receive a 3% rebate on all CAASA member bookings. Bookings can be made and paid for via the www.sleepovermotels.com website or by cash/master/visa card on arrival at the motel.

72

The Shock Cub is the ultimate low and slow fun machine

October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

j

About Us SleepOver Motels is a franchise chain of budget accommodation motels being established throughout South Africa to cater to the cost-conscious traveller.

SleepOver Motels, offers the best price / value on the market, providing comfortable, secure, affordable accommodation at a consistent quality standard to transient leisure or business travellers.

SleepOver Motel Lanseria Secure, comfortable affordable accommodation at Lanseria International Airport.

Book and pay on-line: www.sleepovermotels.com or phone 010 110 9900 Bedrooms: free standing bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, work desk, microwave and wash-up, Queen-size bed (option of adding up to two single bunks per room) or two single beds. Each unit has a veranda in an indigenous garden setting.

Security: fully fenced, gate control, patrol guards, armed response.

Shop: a licensed convenience store that offers hot and cold food & beverages including coffee, micro-wave “heat-and-eat” meals and more.

WiFi: free wi-fi at the shop and bedrooms.

SA Flyer 2019|10

Map: follow Google pin to Professional Aviation Services, 1 Ashenti Road, Lanseria.

73 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

RT RY O FS VE IRP OF IS A EN IET TAK TIO QU R EN A FO TT AT E L A US TIM G NA O TO IN RS T IT PE TAN WA R O PO N IM ITH W

Paramount is Accredited and approved by: South African Civil Aviation Authority ATO Number CAA/0143

® ly Hire & F R855 es from packag erms and r. T per hou ns apply. o conditi all for Please c fo more in

TRAINING AIRCRAFT: We have several training aircraft available to us, from simple single-engine aircraft to advance twin-engine aircraft. These include: Piper Cherokee 180 • Cessna 172

Paramount uses a combination of these aircraft throughout the CPL in order to achieve the best all round training for an exceptional pilot.

Safety - Excellence - Precision COURSES OFFERED: NPL (LSA) PPL Restricted Radio Licence English Language Proficiency Night Rating IF Rating CPL (Practical) Instructor Rating CAA Accredited Exam Centre Multi Engine Rating Pilot Shop and Aircraft Sales

Kaela Seoe.

Contact Details: Tel: +27 58 050 0493 Skype: paramountaviation Email: info@flyparamount.co.za www.flyparamount.co.za

74

October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

SA Flyer 2019|09

CEO of Paramount

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

Frank Robinson the founder of Robinson Helicopter admits he was surprised by how successful his R22 was. Frank’s dream was of a machine that would enable a personal

We give you wings

transport revolution.

CESSNA 182 RG

“That hasn’t happened,” he says. “I had illusions it would, but now I don’t think it should. I wouldn’t like to see everyone flying R22s everywhere. The average

20 HR SMOH R1,400,000.00 + VAT

person could learn to fly, but they

BEECHCRAFT F33A

don’t have the judgment that would be necessary to keep themselves and their passengers alive.”

R1,350,000.00 + VAT

CUBBY RENEGADE KIT

BEECHCRAFT A36 LATE MODEL O HR SMOH R2,300,000

Starting at R235 000 Fully factory built starting at R680 000 depending on engine choice.

HANGARS FOR SALE

300SQ METER HANGAR

R1,500,000.00

Prices exclude vat

99 YEAR LEASE - R750,000.00

Jean Crous, 0726716240 cubbyaircraftfactory@gmail.com

SA Flyer 2019 | 10

SA Flyer 2019|10

WE ARE CASH BUYERS FOR LATE MODEL BONANZA F33, A36 OR B36

Contact ARMAND 082 490 1659 Visit us at EAGLES CREEK airfield Centurion [next to the Pretoria /Krugersdorp highway] eaglescreek.net

75 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

COMPANY PROFILES

Ferreira Aviation The AMO in the heart of South Africa Bloemfontein Tempe’s Ferreira Aviation is an Approved Maintenance Organisation which has grown steadily, thanks to its central location and most of all, to its commitment as a ‘family business’ to quality workmanship and good value.

W

Ferreira Aviation has steadily expanded their state of the art facility at Bloemfontein's Tempe Airport.

HEN SA Flyer operated its Cessna 182, ZS-FPI, Ferreira Aviation was always our Approved Maintenance Organisation (AMO) of choice. When we upgraded to ZS-OFH, a

The state-of-the-art maintenance repair and overhaul facility

Turbo Saratoga II, it was natural that Ferreira

prides itself on the highest quality workmanship and standards. It

continue to look after our aircraft – and it was noteworthy that all the

always has an experienced engineer on the floor and most engineers

little snags disappeared that the previous owner had been battling

are factory trained. Thanks to recent expansion, Ferreira’s can now

with. In addition, Ferreira was able to source a discontinued multi-

handle up to 75 aircraft simultaneously. The company has invested in

function electronic cockpit display that had eluded the Johannesburg

the latest tooling and so is able to perform specialist digital videoscope

based AMOs and agent.

inspections, aircraft weighing and propeller balancing.

Ferreira Aviation was started as a family business and still retains

For aircraft not resident in Bloemfontein, Ferreira’s reasonable

those core values of personal attention and care. Founded in 1965

prices justify a ferry flight to Bloemfontein for anything but the smallest

by the now deceased aviation legend, Errol Ferreira, as Free State

maintenance. Ferreira Aviation is happy to arrange for the delivery and

Aviation at the Old Tempe Airport in Bloemfontein, the company moved

collection of aircraft and has a fleet of aircraft available to collect and

to the New Tempe Airport west of the city in 1980. In 1993, Errol’s

deliver aircraft and to attend to snags away from base.

youngest son, Wyndham, joined him in the business where he is now the sole owner and actively involved on a daily basis.

Ferreira Aviation is proud to have the best Aircraft Maintenance

All post maintenance test flights are performed by Ferreira’s own Commercial and Test Pilot rated pilots – to give you complete peace of mind.

Engineers in its full-time service. With a combined experience of more

Ferreira Aviation carries comprehensive liability insurance and

than 200 years in the industry, customers can rest assured that their

uses only the best and most reputable sub-contractors. Notable is their

aircraft receive the best possible care at all times.

relationship with specialised engine shops, and they have an in-house

Ferreira’s employs two full-time commercial pilots to test fly,

instrument and avionics contractor.

collect and deliver aircraft anywhere in Southern Africa. Other services

A core value is that senior management are involved in all

include: an emergency breakdown service, detailed pre-purchase

phases of maintenance to ensure accurate and timeous feedback

inspections and aircraft appraisals, aircraft recovery and rebuilding,

to customers. This gives customers the peace of mind that keeps

and accident repairs.

them coming back, and has been the foundation of Ferreira Aviation’s

Ferreira Aviation holds a Category A, B, C and E AMO approval and has the ability to service most light piston and turbine engine

steady growth.

j

aircraft, as well as Robinson helicopters Their facility keeps only the best and newest equipment to attend to clients’ every need.

Commitment to quality aircraft maintenance at a competitive price has paid off: They have steadily expanded and now offer maintenance to a wide variety of aircraft from large turboprops to the smallest homebuilt. Specific aircraft that Ferreira Aviation is approved for include: the Cessna Caravan, Beechcraft King Air, Piper Cheyenne and Air Tractor.

76 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

From piston singles to multi-engine turboprops Ferreira Aviation can handle it all.

WHY NOT BRING YOUR: King Air, Caravan, Meridian, Cheyenne, Conquest, Jetprop or Air Tractor to the Free State for its Next Service?

Service excellence at the right price

Ferreira Aviation is an AMO based at Tempe Airport Bloemfontein with more than 50 years’ experience in the industry.

We specialise in the maintenance, servicing and repairs of most light piston and turbine engine aircraft and helicopters including:

Service, maintenance and repairs of the all piston & Cessna 100,200, 300 & 400 series piston and turbine Piper piston and turbine Beechcraft piston & turbine ( King Air 90 & 200) Mooney M20 Series Cirrus SR20 & SR22 Robinson R22 & R44 helicopters All Lycoming & Continental piston engines Pratt & Whitney PT6A turbine engines

turbine engine Beechcraft, Cessna, Piper, Mooney,

Contact us to find out why aircraft owners fly to us from all over Southern Africa for their aircraft maintenance needs.

Contact us today on: 051 451 1683 Hangar B4, Tempe Airport, Bloemfontein Wyndham: 083 262 0313 Stanley: 083 557 6120 wyndham@ferreiraaviation.co.za stanley@ferreiraaviation.co.za

SA Flyer 2019|10

Cirrus aircraft and Robinson helicopters

SA Flyer 2016|11

• • • • • • • •

SA Flyer 2019|10

FOR SALE: POLARIS FK 14 2 seat LSA; Cruise 130 knots TAS at 7000 ft; Engine Rotax 912S Ballistic parachute system; Airframe and Engine 773 hours Hangared at Rand.

Asking R 650 000.00

78

Contact: Colin 082 900 1095 or Roy 082 551 1570

October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

Market PLACE ENQUIRIES: dan@saflyermag.co.za

STUDENT/PILOT ACCOMMODATION • Accommodation for pilots in Midrand. Self-catering. Transport to CAA. Close to Grand Central Airport. For enquiries: info@thecottage.co.za or 072 588 7190

SMALL PART 135 AIR OPERATION FOR SALE • Private company holding two Air Service Licenses (ASL’s) and a valid Air Operating Certificate (AOC).

Since 2005 in bush air charters and aerial surveying. Contact ena@global.co.za or 072 234 9554.

DJA Aviation employs more than 30 staff and utilises this great depth of aviation insurance knowledge, skill and expertise to manage its clients’ aviation insurance portfolios.

KNYSNA HELI-HANGAR • Opposite Simola Hotel. Secure significantly enlarged (W,H&L) spacious shipping container with 14m concrete strip leading in. Single handed operation with R44 & will also fit Jetranger. R50k to buy container hangar. Can leave on site & pay ground rent R18k pa. email arnold@adb.co.za

DJA Aviation is South Africa’s market leader in developing customised insurance products for the aviation industry.

DJA Aviation works closely with insurance markets throughout the world, securing tailored insurance solutions that provide a perfect balance between cost, coverage, service and security.

AVIATION ATTORNEY

• For problems and issues relating to the CAA; the FAA and other aviation authorities; for disputes, agreements, maintenance issues, sales and A/C partnership agreements - then contact Chris Bean of Christopher Bean Attorneys (B.A. LL.B (Wits) LL.M. London) admitted as an attorney in the RSA and California. beanpole@ global.co.za, Tel: +27 82 651 6262

DJA Aviation is the longest-established aviation insurance broking specialist in the South African insurance market.

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1 SHAR E L BR ACK PAN EFT AIR F IE LD

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TTSN 5183 hrs; Engine: Continental 341 hrs; Prop: Mc Cauly 341 hrs; 3 Axis Auto Pilot; 2 GPS, 2 VOR, 2 Radios, Navcom ILS/ADF/C Transponder; Engine Monitoring System; 1059 engine hrs left next major. Please Call: Shannon 073 233 0855 | Email: degleek@gmail.com

79 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

AN INSURANCE TAKE ON ACCIDENTS BARRY LEWIS

DRAKENSBERG HELICOPTER The Bell 206 Long Ranger helicopter was being used to assess an area in the high Drakensberg with a view to building a ski resort. Geographically this was on the north eastern face of the mountains at an elevation of nearly 11,000 feet above sea level.

A

will

The helicopter was just on the South

autorotation. Meantime, as a result of the

aviation

African side of the border and thus the

runaway engine the first stage turbine wheel

policy

insurance covered the area in which it was

disintegrated, cutting the engine in half,

normally excludes the

operating. A 206 Long Ranger operating at

damaging the airframe and starting a fire.

high areas of Lesotho

this altitude does not have a great margin

Following the loss of power the helicopter

(generally except for

of power reserve. Its Allison engine was

landed firmly onto the snow-capped ground,

overflight) and the following wording applies:

operating at high power as it lifted off the

and as it arrived the main rotors dipped

ground, despite the fact that it had only

down and damaged the tail boom. The pilot

two occupants. It was no sooner airborne

and his passenger were unhurt and speedily

The Republic of South Africa and

when something went wrong in the main

disembarked, and then were able to use

bordering territories and countries, excluding

transmission and before the governor could

snow to extinguish the fire.

the Lesotho Mountains (defined as the area

control it, the engine oversped.

S

many

know,

pilots

A Bell 206 high on a mountain has little power in reserve.

the

insurance

GEOGRAPHICAL LIMITS

Fortunately the two helicopter occupants

to the east and south of an imaginary straight

The helicopter had very little forward

were rescued by their ground support team

line Joining Quithing, Mohales Hoek, Roma

speed and although not far above the

as they would otherwise have had a very

and Libono.

ground, it was nevertheless in the so-called

long walk home.

dead man’s curve, too low and slow to enter

80 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

The insurance adjuster carried out an

assessment and decided that the helicopter

engine was not covered as a result of a

was probably repairable. It would in any

mechanical failure, but the subsequent

oxides can enter or form in the liquid metal

event be necessary from an environmental

damage outside the engine was. This was

which are subsequently trapped when the

point of view to remove it from the mountain

potentially most unfortunate for the owner, as

melt solidifies. The term is usually used

and that was when the fun started.

the cost of a replacement engine formed a

negatively such as when the particle could

large part of the repair costs.

act as a fatigue crack nucleator or as an area

It was necessary to remove it with another helicopter, but to which the fact that

In order to attempt to recover the cost of

it was a large Sikorsky S-58T, it was first a

the repairs, as well as to obtain a replacement

requirement to reduce the weight and size

engine, it was decided that the failed gear

manufacturers agreed to pay for the cost

of the Bell 206 by removing the main rotors,

should be sent to associates of the loss

of repairs, including the salvage operation,

the tail boom as well as the engine and main

adjuster in the USA, and that arrangements

and to supply a brand-new engine to the

transmission.

were to be made for the gear to be examined

helicopter owner. Whilst repairs took some

Further complicating matters, it was

in the presence of all interested parties

time, this was a case of ‘all’s well that ends

winter and a series of cold fronts passed

by a scanning electron microscope at the

well’.

through the area resulting in difficult working

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

conditions and weather entirely unsuitable for high altitude helicopter lifting operations.

Eventually, and to the relief of all concerned, the parts were deposited on a

In many cases this procedure of an open

of high stress intensity.

As

a

result

of

this

exercise

the

WHAT CAN WE LEARN?

and transparent process of examination

With the best will in the world it is an

serves to reassure all parties that the matter

unfortunate fact of life that despite all the

is being dealt with honestly.

quality control mechanisms, defective parts

lowbed truck in the lowlands and transported

The microscopic examination of the failed

can sometimes enter production. Fortunately,

to Johannesburg. There the authorities’

gear found that there was an inclusion in the

in most aviation endeavours high standards

investigation team was able to strip the main

material which had triggered metal fatigue

are maintained.

transmission where they found that one of

and subsequent failure. The term “inclusion”

In cases like this insurers often have

the gears had failed. This had then unloaded

is used in the context of metallurgy and

access to expertise which can assist aircraft

the engine, resulting in the over-speed.

metals processing. During the melt stage

owners recover some or all of their uninsured

of metal processing, hard particles such as

losses.

In terms of the insurance policy the

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P P L T O AT P L T R A I N I N G A N D E V E RY T H I N G I N B E T W E E N SA Flyer 2018|07

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CONTACT US OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION: Tel: 011 701 3862 E-mail: info@aeronav.co.za Website: www.aeronav.co.za SACAA ATO No: CAA0002

81 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

AOPA BRIEFING CHRIS MARTINUS -

AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION – SOUTH AFRICA

Why Karl Marx wasn’t a pilot

Pilots are a pretty special bunch – and they think so too. Not only does it take a great deal of skill and learning to fly an aircraft safely, but the individual must have discipline, mechanical sympathy, a range of aptitudes and understanding of a broad range of subjects from how an engine works to why it rains sometimes.

S person never in

who

do not appear to be any physical, mental or other reasons why women or non-white persons are less able to become pilots. Yet this disparity exists.

ENTER KARL MARX Although Karl Marx’s philosophies are widely discredited – and he was a bit of an obnoxious fellow, having been imprisoned for drunkenness and street disorder during his university days – Marxism has had a huge impact on modern history, surpassed only by the spread of Christianity and

ADLY,

a

large

Yet, despite efforts to create the same

Islam. Indeed, our current government is

number

of

people

opportunities to become a pilot for all

squarely based in Marxism and there is a

just never manage

humans, the large majority of pilots are

major growth in a form of cultural Marxism

to comfortably fly an

white and male. Is this really a problem?

in bureaucracies around the western world.

aircraft. Most of us

Well, some people think so.

know at least

A fundamental Marxist tenet is the

Human rights, such as

concept of equality. Inequality is the bane

those enshrined in our

of all social and political systems. Marxism

national constitution,

basically searches for inequality, and when it

one

has

are

succeeded

reaching

just choosing not to become pilots as there

really

opportunities.

that

For example,

finds it, it deals with it by saying that anyone who has more than you have, got it by stealing it from you.

dream of finally

the right to

We hear this almost every day in SA

being able to call

free speech

politics, particularly over the land issue.

him

or

herself

does

not

It is a concept that sells very well to the

a pilot, despite

mean

that

impoverished masses, despite it being

having

you have to

directly in conflict with fundamental human

great

intelligence, effort money

for

all

your

rights. Attacking the haves in order to mollify

mouth off over

the have-nots is ultimately destructive,

shoot

and abilities ... and that

training.

are

Fortunately, these days there are few barriers in aviation

You

simply because it levels the playing field

entitled

by ensuring that in the end, nobody has

everything. quite

to keep quiet if you so wish.

Perhaps women are

anything.

It does however encourage

corruption and enriches only a small political

that are based on gender, race, religion

elite.

or ethnicity, unlike other vocations and

evident in contemporary SA politics, and

avocations, many of which are segregated on the basis of gender because of physical differences between men and women.

82 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

ABOVE: Is the root of the problem the perception that pilots are white and unfairly advantaged?

This Orwellian scenario is only too

highly visible within our Civil Aviation Authority where senior executives are paid large amounts of money, despite having few

or any aviation technical qualifications or experience.

The few efforts by our CAA provide opportunities to enter aviation to so-called previously disadvantaged groups have failed dismally.

ATTACK THE HAVES It is very significant that in SA politics, the political credentials of the highest office-bearers are considerably more important than their knowledge and skills. This is evident in the regular reshuffling of our ministers between different portfolios, despite them having little or no knowledge about the ministries over which they preside.

These minsters’ function is not to ensure service delivery, but to ensure that the basic Marxist tenets are followed.

Pilots and aircraft owners are baffled by CAA’s obstructive attitudes, their ultimately unlawful attacks on airlines such as CemAir, the bureaucratic demands, bungling and grossly unnecessary delays in processing paperwork and general hostility to the very people and organisations they are mandated to serve.

A fine example is the current furore regarding failing pilots who have minor hearing losses.

Pilots, and

particularly private pilots, do not understand why it has suddenly become necessary to jump through all kinds of hoops, do extreme testing, obtain detailed medical reports and try to process their data through a stonewalling CAA bureaucracy. These pilots are enormously frustrated: why, they keep asking, am I being failed because of a minor affliction that can be remedied by simply turning up the volume control on my headset? Why do I have to do absurdly ridiculous tests in hugely expensive simulators just to prove I can actually hear adequately?

The fa mous Tim of t he proble e Maga z ine c ove r ms be t hat m t we e n ay b e t h e SA at t he CA A a hea r t nd it s indus t r y.

Appeals to CAA officials, who may well be skilled, knowledgeable and even deeply sympathetic towards the victim, are met with apparent

amounts of money to the legal fraternity to fight a fight that is no longer

blank incomprehension. It slowly dawns upon the aviators that CAA’s

relevant.

obstructiveness is not just irrational, but also quite intentional. Let’s

Surely the good people who are employed by CAA will help in the

take CAA to court, they cry. Let’s bring class action suits to force CAA

fight against this ridiculous political farce? The problem is that their

to perform its mandate instead of just destroying us.

hands are tied. If they do not carry out the objectives of their political

A few other misguided souls still cling to the idea that this chaos

overlords, they are harassed, disciplined, suspended and fired. They

is simply due to incompetence and ignorance and that CAA can be

cannot afford to find themselves out on the street, with no food on

“helped” to provide the services it should.

the table.

SEE THE LIGHT

In response to a flurry of suspensions and disciplinary procedures

The problem is that few among us actually see the problem for

within CAA, AOPA wanted some answers. Member of Parliament

what it really is: that pilots and aircraft owners are an elite group – and

Natasha Mazzone kindly asked the question of the Minister for a report

they are proud of it.

about disciplinary proceedings within the CAA. Unsurprisingly, the

And that is what enrages the Marxists who control every sphere of

Minister’s reply revealed that approximately 50% of all proceedings

government in South Africa. They secretly believe – and sometimes

and dismissals against CAA staff were for “failure to comply with

will admit openly – that people who have pilot licences, who own

policy and procedures.”

aircraft, most of whom are white males, stole their privileged status from the downtrodden masses through previous advantage and

QUO VADIS?

ruthless repression. These elites must have their privilege removed

It is not news that the Marxist objectives of the current government

in order to restore equity and eliminate inequalities – even if the

are dragging the country swiftly towards economic ruin, much like

methods used are grossly unlawful, dishonest, an abuse of authority

happened in countries like Venezuela – and aviation is no exception.

and are unlikely to pass judicial scrutiny.

Sadly, aviation and politics make for largely incompatible bedfellows,

Take us to court, say CAA. By the time you have managed to dodge the obstacles and dilatory tactics that CAA’s lawyers will invariably roll

but political realities must be faced to ensure general aviation’s survival in South Africa.

into your path, CAA’s political overlords will have come up with yet

AOPA South Africa has been well aware of these realities for

another contorted way to make your aspirations in aviation just too

a considerable time and has been successfully protecting and

expensive and difficult to achieve. And, of course, you have paid huge

preserving our rights for many years. We will continue to do so.

j

83 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

84 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FEATURE

CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

Cape Town

International Airport FINALLY REALIGNING ITS RUNWAYS After a delay of two years, Cape Town International Airport is finally poised to start its huge runway re-alignment and expansion.

This is a reflection of the huge success the airport has had in attracting more airlines and thus tourists and economic growth to Cape Town.

A

largest

advertised. It is hoped that the primary

airport in Africa, Cape

contractor will be appointed before year-end

Town

or early next year – and construction will

S

the

third

International

Airport (CTIA) handled

commence by mid-2020.

past year. Long overdue planned runway

Cape

Town

regularly

being

and infrastructure upgrades, which were

nominated as one of the best tourist

announced in 2013, and planned to begin

destinations in the world, CTIA’s role has

last year, have now been finalised and put

had to grow to match the demand.

Remarkably, Airport General Manager

out to tender.

A significant cause in the delay of the

Deon Cloete says that ten years ago

new runway and expansion was the more

the airport was planning for a 90/10 split

than an extra year’s delay in obtaining

between international travellers and 90%

final approval of the Environmental Impact

local travellers. Due to the Cape’s success

Assessment (EIA). True to the Cape Town

as a tourist destination, and in attracting

City Council’s increasing reputation for

new airlines, this mix is now nearer 25%

excessive bureaucracy, the delay in EIA

international and 75% domestic. This is

approval has been largely responsible for

largely due to the airport’s ability to attract

setting back this billion Rand development

new airlines and expand the routes it serves.

by a number of years, thanks to its taking

The world renowned Cape Air Access

a total of six years for a just a limited EIA

Initiative has been instrumental in this

approval.

success.

However, the good news is that after

Due to Cape Town’s popularity as a

much perseverance, a Record of Decision

tourist destination, and increasing business

has

between Johannesburg and Cape Town,

now

been

agreed

and

86 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

tenders

Town International Airport continues to see notable growth in passenger numbers, with it maintaining its position as the second busiest international airport in South Africa, and third busiest in Africa.

The airport saw a 4 percent increase in passenger traffic during the past year, to over 11 million, compared to the 2017/18 financial year, which saw approximately 10,500,000 passengers pass through the airport’s gates.

A few years ago, the JohannesburgCape Town route was one of the top 10 busiest air routes in the world. It has slipped out to eleventh, but in 2018, around 8 domestic travellers. The remainder were

TOURISM With

home town for many South Africans, Cape

million of those ten million passengers were

almost eleven million passengers over the

plus the city’s increasing popularity as a

made up of nearly 3 million passengers on international flights and regional routes, and fewer than just 11,000 from unscheduled flights.

Interestingly, total aircraft movements were slightly down due to a marked drop, from approximately 15,000 unscheduled flights to around 11,000. This decrease in unscheduled passenger traffic quantifies what many in Cape Town, and particularly those in the General Aviation area at the airport, know – that general aviation (GA) has been squeezed out to find a space elsewhere. Morningstar Airfield, 20 km north of the CBD, and Stellenbosch Flying Club appear to be popular refuges. Cape Town International’s new single runway will further discourage GA. THE NEW RUNWAY PROJECT Catering to the increasing demand for

Cape Town Airport.

scheduled flights into Cape Town, and looking to further

Cape Town Airport taken from a gyrocopter.

grow capacity, back in 2013, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) announced plans to lengthen and re-align Cape Town’s primary runway, Runway 18/36. It will be rotated 11.5 degrees, lengthened by 300 m to 3,500 m, and strengthened, allowing larger aircraft such as the A380 and other Code F aircraft to land at the airport.

The runway will have parallel and rapid exit taxiways (RETs), which are currently absent at the airport, as well as an aircraft isolation pad (AIP), a compass calibration pad, an aircraft run-up area, and security facilities, including a perimeter fence and upgraded service roads.

The RETs will mean the demolishing of the secondary runway, which is used primarily by smaller and other noncommercial aircraft. The runway project will cost around R3.7 billion.

Then, in May 2015, ACSA announced further expansion plans, which include the upgrading of Cape Town’s domestic and international terminals, bringing the estimated total cost for the upgrades (runway and terminals) to R8.5 billion, and directly employing between 900 and 3,200 additional people, according to ACSA. Construction is expected to begin in 2020 and it is hoped it will take around three years to complete.

The upgrades will have to accommodate the urban sprawl around the airport and assessments have been done to ensure the surrounding population is not overly impacted. The use of the Denel site to the south east Considered an ideal location for expansion in the early ‘50s, the airport is now surrounded by industrial and low-cost housing development, and the expansion plans

Guy Leitch

of the airport is key to this integrated land use plan.

87 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

bring with them predicted exceedances of noise level guidelines

and affected parties. The environmental impact assessment took

in residential areas up to 15 km from the airport, according to an

nearly six years of planning and assessment and included extensive

environmental impact assessment (EIA) report.

public consultation. At the announcement of the authorisation,

To accommodate the noise sensitivities the glideslope has

airport GM Deon Cloete said: “The environmental authorisation is

been specially approved as a 3.2 degree gradient rather than the

just one step in the process and the EIA process is not yet fully

standard 3 degrees. It is expected that this increase will position

concluded. We still have a way to go.”

the airport well for the expected increase in traffic from the current limit of 30 flights per hour to 45, a 50% increase. To mitigate the

GENERAL AVIATION

effects of noise pollution, environmental practitioners have advised

Cape Town International has a dedicated general aviation area

that noise contours be revised every five years to account for

on the airport’s south-western border. This section is home to the

changed policies, improved technologies, and altered flight paths

airport’s commercial non-scheduled operators, flight schools and

and schedules.

the Cape Town Flying Club, as well as various GA maintenance

The Department of Environmental Affairs has now authorised

facilities. It has its own refuelling facilities as well as hangarage for

the proposed runway realignment and associated infrastructure

small aircraft and training establishments, but lacks a dedicated

planned for the airport. The key spatial planning issues have been

GA customs and immigration facility.

addressed.

A number of helicopter charter companies, such as Cape Town

The Department’s notification was communicated to the airport

Helicopters and NAC, use the V&A Waterfront, near the city centre,

following a detailed examination of an independent environmental

as a base for flips around the peninsula and to wine estates and

impact assessment including submissions from other interested

surrounds.

British Airways has great success with Cape Town route thanks to Heathrow hub.

88 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

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BIDAIR CARGO COMPANY PROFILE The Business Details

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BidAir Cargo is a leading cargo airline providing express airport-

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BAC foresees being the cargo airline solution of choice, making our

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Head office: 011 230 4600

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Southern Rotorcraft USA, founded in 2001 by Regenald Denysschen of Southern Rotorcraft cc SA, is an FAA Repair Station specializing in Rolls Royce M250 Series engines and Bell components.

Southern Rotorcraft occupies a 25000 sq ft. facility and has a state-of-the-art NDT Department, Paint Booth as well as added equipment to it’s Machining Department. These additions have allowed an increase in capabilities as well as decreased turn around times thereby enabling advanced engineering and state of the art repair techniques. Southern Rotorcraft is a stockist of Avid Air Carbon Fibre lined Compressor Cases for the Rolls Royce 250-C20B Compressors.

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Southern Rotorcraft cc - SA Email: sasales@rotors-r-us.com / regdee@intekom.co.za Tel: 021-935-0980 Fax: 021-935-0981 Cell: 0827770805 www.rotors-r-us.com FAA Approved Repair Station Certificate #D57R025X

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www.saflyer.com | October 2019

91

COMPANY PROFILES

CAPE TOWN FLIGHT TRAINING CENTRE

LITSON & ASSOCIATES (PTY) LTD

Operating at Fisantekraal airfield since 2003, Cape Town Flight

Litson & Associates conduct their business from offices situated

Training Centre (CTFTC) is Cape Town’s Premier fixed-wing pilot

in Somerset West near Cape Town, South Africa providing Aviation

training establishment.

Auditing / Safety Reviews of general aviation organisations and

Fisantekraal is unique to the area in providing an excellent weather

SACAA approved aviation Safety and Quality related training. These

record, a safe learning environment and multiple runways at a location

training courses include SMS, QMS, CRM, and DG courses for

which allows immediate access to the General Flying Area and Cape

both individual and corporate clients throughout Africa and globally,

Town International Airport controlled airspace.

using highly qualified facilitators to ensure that delegates depart their

CTFTC is a one-stop-shop on the path to the issue of all SACAA aircrew licences and ratings, up to and including the ‘frozen’ ATPL.

courses with implementation knowledge of the subject and the ‘tools to do the job’. In-house training is our specialty. For more information

CTFTC operates only certified aircraft types. Our fleet currently

on open course training dates and course content overviews please

consists of nine aircraft including four Diamond DA-20 Eclipse ab-initio

visit our webpage on www.litson.co.za and click on the training icon

trainers, three IF equipped Piper Warriors, a Piper Arrow for Complex

on the home page.

training and a Piper Seneca for multi-engine training. Instrument flying

For quotations and queries on Aviation Audits/Safety Reviews

training is also available on the cost efficient FNPT-1 and FNPT-2

or Aviation training, please contact us on +27 (0)21 8517187 or

simulators.

alternatively email enquiries@litson.co.za.

Contact CTFTC on:

We look forward to hearing from you!

Tel: 021 976 7053 Cell: 084 440 7922 Email: admin@cape-town-flying.co.za Website: www.ctftc.co.za

DIEPKLOOF AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE

L&A RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES (PTY) LTD

With 70 years of experience, Diepkloof Aircraft Maintenance (AMO

Litson & Associates Risk Management Services, a co-located

SACAA 1398) are one of the leaders in aircraft maintenance as well

L&A sister company in Somerset West, Cape Province, provides

as the preferred choice for many clients. Based at Diepkloof airfield,

Aviation Safety supporting software eSMS-S™, eREP™ and other

Malmesbury, Cape Town, Diepkloof Aircraft Maintenance is a South

Safety related e-tools to the Aviation Industry, from RPAS operators

African Civil Aviation Authority approved AMO.

to airlines.

It is your one-stop AMO facility that offers a wide range of services

eSMS-S™ is a secure web-based SMS tool which can be translated

that include general aviation aircraft maintenance, Non-Type Certified

into any language and fulfills the ICAO and CAA requirements

maintenance as well as specialized services.

regarding SMS implementation. This competitively priced and easy to use system offers numerous features including both passive and

General Aircraft Maintenance:

active tools; it has the ability to store all Master documentation and has

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All single engine Piper & Cessna & Beechcraft series

a Red Tag and Yellow Tag system, the opportunity to file and action Air

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Safety Reports – Accident / Incident / Hazard / Bird strike, undertake

Piper Pawnee

Occupational Health and Safety Reports, hold virtual Safety and other

•

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meetings via Skype and to create internal audits and input Findings

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and Recommendations, besides numerous other functions. eSMS-S™

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clients receive introductory and thereafter ongoing complimentary

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•

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•

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•

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•

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•

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•

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•

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92 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

For an introduction to the system please email Natashia at esms@ litson.co.za or phone +27(0)21 8517187.

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LITSON & ASSOCIATES A SA CAA APPROVED TRAINING PROVIDER Litson Ad - Half Page.pdf

2

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SA Flyer 2019|09

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The electronic Aviation Safety Management System for small to medium sized operators Covers the four Pillars and twelve elements of Safety Red and Yellow Tagged Messages for important and critical information with automatic acknowledgement register File Accident / Incident / Hazard / Bird Strike reports to "File Hazard Reports" Apps for Android + iOS - for easy reporting when out of the office / in remote situations Technical Support and Help Desk Manage major changes in your company (Management of Change)

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SIMPLE TO USE

Store all Master Documentation to "Documentation Management” Basic Audit Tool to assist you in compiling internal Audit Reports

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USED WORLDWIDE

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MS Aviation owns and operates its own aircraft, as well as selected others.

SA Flyer 2018|10

www.msaviation.co.za The fleet consists of: • Pilatus PC12 NG • King Air 200 • Baron 58 • Cirrus SR22 Contact Details: Gary Templeton Tel: +27 21 531 3162 /+ 27 82 563 9639 E-mail: gary.templeton@msaviation.co.za or info@msaviation.co.za

94 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

South African Air Charter License No N940D Approved Aviation Training Organization No ATO351

We are an approved South African Civil Aviation Authority Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO 1426). We offer repair services, specialising in Airbus Helicopter Products.

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SA Flyer 2019|10

Ultimax Avition (Pty) Ltd is located at Cape Town International Airport.

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SOUTHERN ROTORCRAFT Southern Rotorcraft USA, is an FAA certified repair station specialising in Rolls Royce 250 Series engine repair and overhaul, as well as Bell component repair and overhaul.

Southern Rotorcraft USA also offers engine and component exchange pool services, pre-purchase inspections, USA export Certificate of Airworthiness, helicopter rebuilds and refurbishment, and disassembly, packing and shipping.

Southern Rotorcraft USA occupies a 25,000 sq. ft facility, which has a state-of-the-art NDT department – additional equipment to its machining department, bleed valve and fuel nozzle overhaul, helicopter spray paint booth and engine test cell.

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Our inventory for the Rolls Royce 250 Series engines and the Bell 206B and L helicopters are available to the industry via our website: www.rotors-r-us.com.

Southern Rotorcraft CC, based at Cape Town International Airport, sources and supplies spare parts for Rolls Royce 250 engines and Bell 206 helicopters, and we are also stockists of Avid Air carbon fibre lined compressor cases for the Rolls Royce 250-C20B compressors.

Contact Southern Rotorcraft cc on: Tel no: +27 (0) 219350980 Email: sasales@rotors-r-us.com

SA Flyer 2019|09

Website: www.rotors-r-us.com

Cell: +27(0) 82 495 8179 info@dealalliance.co.za w w w. d e a l a l l i a n c e . c o . z a

DIEPKLOOF AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE SACAA approved AMO / AME / AP (NTCA) – 100 years experience under one roof

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• Robinson R22 & R44 Helicopters NON-TYPE CERTIFIED (NTCA): • All NTCA Aircraft work - Homebuilts, Ultralights etc…

Nick Kleinhans 083 454 6366 Pieter v Aswegen 082 784 7133 Danie Vermeulen 079 248 9188 Jurgens Potgieter 071 672 3007 diepkloofamo@gmail.com

SPECIALIST SERVICES: • Hartzell & Mc Cauley Propellers • Licenced for complete rebuilds • Specialised sheetmetal work • Fabric covering and interiors • Aircraft weighing • Welding • Propeller Balance SACAA # AMO 1398 Diepkloof Airfield - Malmesbury 7299. S 33° 21’ 6.93

96 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

E 18° 41’ 55.11”

AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE THE ULTIMAX WAY The maintenance and servicing of aircraft, be they fixed-wing or rotor-wing can never be under estimated and is crucial to aviation safety.

L

IKE all aircraft, helicopter maintenance is something

(Pty) Ltd is a South African company with over 20 years’ experience,

that needs to be ongoing, with helicopters requiring

that specialises in helicopter maintenance and is based in the General

regular check-ups to make sure they are safe to fly.

Aviation area at Cape Town International Airport. Ultimax takes great

Even new helicopters need a look-over before they are

pride in its ability to deliver reliable maintenance and repair to all its

allowed to fly with passengers.

customers combined with excellent service.

Helicopters are complex pieces of machinery, and

Ultimax Aviation does maintenance of helicopters, sales of parts

even the tiniest thing out of place or not attached properly, and even

(dynamic components) and helicopters, lease pilots, in fact, everything

a bit of debris in the mechanical parts, can be enough to make the

about helicopters.

helicopter unsafe for transporting people.

Ultimax Aviation is not only an approved South African Civil

There have been several high profile cases in recent years of

Aviation Authority (SACAA) Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO

helicopter accidents caused by a lack of proper maintenance. This is

1426), but also holds approvals with the Civil Aviation authority in

why it is essential to make extra sure that your helicopter gets the best

Angola (INAVIC) and the Democratic Republic of Congo Civil Aviation

possibly maintenance treatment. One such company, Ultimax Aviation

(AAC).

j

ME406 ELT

ELT 4000

AMO 1011

SA Flyer 2018|01

JOHANNESBURG Tel: 011 701 3200 Fax: 011 701 3232 CAPE TOWN Tel: 021 934 5373 Website: www.aeroelectrical.co.za Email: ofďŹ ce@aeroelectrical.co.za

OFFICIAL ACRARTEX DEALER

406 MHZ EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER

97 www.saflyer.com | October 2019

SNIPPETS la nding The RV-10

at OR Ta m

bo.

SA POLICE CHOPPER SHOT

O

N 3 September the SAPS Airwing took automatic gun fire on their R44 helicopter during a cash in transit heist outside Bloemfontein. One of the bullets hit the engine oil quick-drain causing the sump to crack, resulting in rapid loss of engine oil. The police

pilots managed to land safely at the Bram Fischer Airport without any further damage or injury and the helicopter was trucked to Ferreira

j

Aviation at Tempe airport for repair.

Bullet holes and oil leak on SAPS R44.

RV-10 LANDS AT OR TAMBO

T

HERE was much consternation in the media when a Boeing 737 co-pilot filmed an RV-10 landing on the taxiway to 03L at OR Tambo. It was initially believed that the pilot had just arrived – unannounced and without a

flight plan – to ‘drop off his friend.’ However it was subsequently reported that a VFR flight plan had in fact been filed but that the

j

RV-10 pilot had confused the taxiway for 03L with the actual runway.

Pelican 16, 25 years after it went down in the Sahara enroute to England.

98 October 2019 | www.saflyer.com

FlightCm African Aviation

SKYSOURCE

Edition 132 | OCTOBER 2019

THE BEST OF SOUTH AFRICAN AND FAA MAINTENANCE

FACE TO FACE: AIRLINK’S RODGER FOSTER

ROUND AFRICA IN A VINTAGE CESSNA 180

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Ed's note...

OCTOBER 2019 Edition 132

5 Bush Pilot - Hugh Pryor 7 Airlines - Mike Gough 11 New Arrivals

15 Defence - Artificial Intelligence 19 GIB Events 22 Face to Face: Rodger Foster 23 Keep it Lite 27 Airlink Pilot Profile

29 Skysource International 31 Around Africa in 60 days: Part 2 33 AEP AMO Listing 39 Gryphon Flight School Listing 41 AME Directory 42 Back Pages 43 Federal Airlines Charter Directory 45 Industry Update

D

ESPITE claims that China is rapidly becoming Africa’s new economic coloniser, China appears to have been slow to grow and leverage its currently small involvement in the African air transport industry.

Geographer Dr Gordon Pirie, writing in the University of Cape Town’s ‘Conversation’, points out that, “even though Ethiopian Airlines started flying to China in November 1973, there were few other air links between Africa and China for 30 years. The involvement of former colonial powers such as the British, Dutch and French goes back to the 1920s; former Soviet bloc countries began to show interest during the height of the Cold War. And in the last 20 years, Persian Gulf petro-states and their airlines – Emirates, Qatar and Etihad – have become major offshore hubs for a huge range of commercial flights serving Africa.

“However, China’s involvement has been different. None of China’s biggest three airlines (Air China, China Southern, China Eastern) are prominent in African skies. It is on the ground that China has been flexing its aviation muscles in Africa. This is consistent with China’s 50-or-so years of infrastructure funding and construction on the continent.

Energy, water, road and rail infrastructure projects have been the major spheres of Chinese investment in Africa.

“Civil airports have been a recent addition. China’s experience of planning, funding, constructing and managing airports at home stands it in good stead. Funds from China’s Exim Bank or other agencies are expected to help build a new US$3 billion airport outside Addis Ababa in Ethiopia,

Publisher Flyer and Aviation Publications cc

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Managing Editor Guy Leitch guy@flightcommag.com

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and a new US$1.4 billion airport outside Khartoum in Sudan.

The fears of those who see the Chinese investment model as an economic annexation of Africa and in particular its mineral wealth may have some basis, according to Pirie.

He notes that Chinese investment “involves loans and grants, but also, it would seem, part-exchange deals over oil and minerals.

These arrangements have more of a resources-for-infrastructure or barter quality.

“At the same time Turkish, French, Italian and British contractors have been bidding for airport improvement projects in Africa, and for terminal or runway newbuild schemes. These, it would appear, are of a lesser scale, and have greater transparency.

“For those looking for strategic equity partners for struggling state owned African airlines, China’s penetration of African civil aviation may occur via partnerships with African airlines, and taking equity shares.

Some of this has already happened. For example, the Hainan corporation in China has reportedly made forays into airlines in Ghana and into a Kenyan all-freight carrier.

“Sales to Africa of Chinese-manufactured aircraft have also started. Attendant spare parts stocks are being pre-positioned. In addition, there are plans for Chinese-led aviation technical and managerial training schools in Africa. These will reduce the risk of wasted physical infrastructure and of any associated reputational damage. What can be accomplished technically is not always what should be done. There have always been white elephants and rogue elephants in Africa.”

Guy Leitch

© FlightCom 2019. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronically, mechanically, photocopied, recorded or otherwise without the express permission of the copyright holders.

Editor

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Industry Update

LEFT: Rolls Royce has been developing its electrical expertise with Airbus and this EfanX.

ZERO-EMISSIONS

AVIATION Rolls-Royce and Norwegian airline Widerøe have launched a joint research programme on zeroemissions aviation. The programme is part of the airline´s ambition to replace and electrify its regional fleet of 30+ planes by 2030.

T

HE aim of the programme is to develop an electrical aircraft concept, not only to fulfil the Norwegian ambition of zero-emissions by 2030, but also to replace Widerøe’s legacy fleet of regional aircraft.

Rolls-Royce will use its electrical and systems design expertise to help advise on all elements of the project. The initial phase, which involves operational studies

and concept proofing, is already underway, with expert teams in Norway and the UK working closely together on a daily basis.

“We are aiming to have emissionfree commercial flights in the air by 2030.

Partnering with Rolls-Royce for this research programme puts us one step closer to reaching that goal,” said Andreas Aks, Chief Strategy Officer, Widerøe.

“The development of electric aviation looks promising, but we need to progress faster. We are therefore pleased to have the world’s most renowned engine manufacturer onboard with us on this pioneering green journey” said Aks. Rolls-Royce already has a high-tech electrical research facility based in the Norwegian city of Trondheim, employing a group of people dedicated to finding solutions for emission-free aviation, who are taking part in this initiative. 

PRIVATEER MAKES FIRST FLIGHT LEFT: The Privateer-amphibian has flown for the first time.

T

HE Privateer is an unusual, big, powerful amphibious aircraft designed and developed by two men over the past ten years – and it’s finally made its first flight.

The flight from Florida’s Titusville Space Coast Regional Airport is said to have been successful though some instrument

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FlightCom Magazine

issues curtailed the testing. Privateer is powered by a 724shp Walter 601 turboprop, an engine that has now been taken over by GE Aviation and developed further. Max cruise speed is quoted as 215 knots. A sixseat cabin is planned with a max takeoff weight of 5,600 lb.

Airframe construction is mostly carbon

fibre and the designers say the centre of gravity is kept low to give the aircraft more stability on the water. The Privateer is the work of entrepreneur John Meekins and Bill Husa, a former Boeing aeronautical engineer who has since died.

Preliminary specifications claim a max cruise of 195kt at sea level, 215kt at 15,000ft for a 1000 mile range. A Service ceiling 25,000ft nand a rate of climb 2100ft/min.

Empty weight is 3600 lb and Gross weight 5600 lb. 

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SA Flyer 2018|10

CONTACT:

BUSH PILOT HUGH PRYOR

LEOPOLDO LOST IN LIBYA There can hardly be anything more sleep-inducing than searching the desert with an aeroplane for a lost Land Cruiser.

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URING forty-five years of flying, much of it in the more remote parts of the Earth, I have carried out countless searches and only on six occasions did I pick up anyone alive.

It is weird really. You would think that the urgency of trying to find people who will die of thirst if you don’t spot them would reduce the tendency to drift off, but in fact, the monotony of not finding them actually puts lead in your eyelids and it is very difficult to stay awake.

It may sound strange, but most clients in those remote locations limit the amount of fuel in their vehicles, so that if they do get lost, then our search area could be reduced to the locus limited by their fuel range.

In the desert, during the hot season, when daytime temperatures hover around 50 Celsius, life expectancy with twenty litres of potable water is just three days, four maximum, so it is important that drivers do not have enough fuel just to keep going until they are so far away from the beaten track that they are beyond help.

I vividly remember finding twin brothers who were driving from Salalah, in the south of Oman, to Muscat in the north.

What condemned them to a miserable and lonely death was that they decided to follow the coast, off-road, without informing anybody of their intentions. Their Land Rover became mired in quicksands, they ran out of drinking water and they ended up drinking the glycol coolant from the car’s radiator.

On another occasion, in Oman, we received information from the local Bedouins that a pair of Palestinian terrorists had been encountered in transit along the Saudi/Omani border. They were carrying a briefcase full of gold ‘Talas’ (the origin

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of the word ‘Dollar’?) and were seeking information regarding the movements of the Sultan. Bedouin suspicions were aroused and they reported their encounters to the security services.

One of the most remote and sinister places I know in the World is known as the ‘Umm as Samim’. It is a vast flat salt marsh, which is normally black in colour until, once in a decade, it rains. This brings the salt to the surface and it turns white, until the salt dries and is blown away by the scorching winds. The surface of the marsh is so fragile that it barely supports the weight of a man

pair of rather eccentric American geologists, called Jack and Bill.

They took a Land Cruiser on a survey of the Canadian Occidental oil concession in South Yemen. They were planning to be away for a couple of weeks, so they took a radio transceiver along with their food and water and charcoal and they called every day at 1800 hrs with a progress report. This was in the days before GPS, so the positions they gave were rather approximate and when they called, to say that their vehicle had become ‘unserviceable’, they could only tell me that they were on a small plateau to

I suggested that we should think about turning back. The other two aircraft had already given up. and when the two terrorists tried to drive across it, they got about halfway before their truck broke through the surface and became irretrievably bogged down.

We followed their wheel marks until we found the two corpses. Of their vehicle there was no sign. It was as though it had simply been swallowed by the marsh. We called for a helicopter to recover the remains. Their brief case had been sliced open and its contents had disappeared.

Not all searches end in tragedy, though.

In fact they sometimes finish up with laughter. One such occasion concerned a

the South West of a sickle-shaped mountain called Jebel al Furht.

I positioned myself in the approximate area and turned the aircraft’s propeller up to fully fine pitch, to make as much noise as possible, then I called them to ask if they could hear me.

“Sure can, Captain! We got you in sight!” Bill replied.

“That’s great Bill! Now can you tell me where you are?”

There was a slight pause and then Bill came back “Okay Captain... I am the one on the right, wearing the red jacket.”

It took me some moments to stop laughing before I spotted their location. I managed to land right beside Bill. There was no sign of the truck.

“Where is your truck, Bill?”

“Well that’s the problem.” said Bill, “It’s over there.”

To say that the truck was simply ‘unserviceable’ would be a slight understatement. In fact they had forgotten to apply the hand brake the previous evening, when they crawled into their tent and the truck had gently trundled to the edge of the plateau, before plunging sixty feet onto the rocks below.

We managed to rescue most of the contents of the truck, although several bottles had not survived and I would not be surprised if the truck is still there, because there are not many people in that corner of the World.

Just to finish on a happy note, I still receive a Christmas card from Leopoldo, a Phillipino electronics technician with a Wireline Service Company in Libya.

He was sent to sort out a problem on an oil rig in the desert, to the South of Sirte on the Mediterranean coast. There are few

roads in that part of the country, just desert tracks. A severe dust storm enveloped the whole area and Leopoldo did not reach the rig that evening...nor the next. We began to get concerned by the second evening.

Horst, the German explosives engineer did not have any jobs in progress at the time, so he agreed to come with me as a second pair of eyes, when I started the search the following morning.

We followed the road to Dhara and then took the left fork, marked by an oil barrel, and kept going until we got to the rig. Leopoldo had not arrived, so we started a radial search going forty miles out from the rig on each 60 degree radial...no sign of Leopoldo.

By the third morning, we had recruited the help of another two aircraft and we extended the search to the north, into the Sirte Military prohibited area. I was flying at sixty knots at extremely low level, so that I would appear to be a truck to any inquisitive radar operator.

On the fourth day Horst and I were beginning to give up hope and as evening approached and fuel began to run low, I suggested that we should think about

turning back. The other two aircraft had already given up.

There was a little dust devil on the track, up ahead and I decided to use that as our turning point and told Horst as much and he reluctantly agreed. The thought of leaving Leopoldo to his fate filled us with gloom but there was no alternative.

Then, as we approached the spiral of dust, I noticed that it was being caused by a truck...and the truck turned out to be Leopoldo!

We flew over him so low that I had to watch out for his tall radio antenna. He screeched to a halt and leaped out of the car jumping up and down and waving like a football hooligan.

We landed on the track just in front of him for an extremely emotional re-union.

Tears of joy still come to my eyes when I think about that experience.

We had six large watermelon’s in the cabin and Leopoldo had finished them all by the time we landed back at Base Camp.

It was lucky that Libya was alcohol free in those days, otherwise I would probably still be getting over the hang over! 

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10

AIRLINES MIKE GOUGH

PILOT FOR SALE The worn-out saying along the lines of “the only people at work at 2 am are policemen, prostitutes and pilots” may have a certain amount of truth to it – but possibly only in First World countries.

Fancy taking home US$22k pm with low living expenses? - become a Hainan direct entry captain.

H

ERE in South Africa, the policemen will probably be sound asleep or AWOL, the prostitutes would be finished with those that actually have money to pay for their services, given our sinking economy, and those South African pilots actually flying at that time would be the handful that operate long haul for our shrinking national carrier, or those who have given up with this country and are plying their sought-after trade overseas.

While South Africa enthusiastically beats itself to economic death, with the good guys such as the Minister of Public

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FlightCom Magazine

Enterprises, the head of SARS and the pilot group of the aforementioned carrier being vilified, the openly incompetent and corrupt seem to sail along unfazed and certainly untouched by those dozy law enforcement types.

The rise in the highly-manipulated figures of our unemployment rate points solidly at the hopeless socialist policies that, through years of being in use, simply produce the same dismal results as they always have done. Unsurprisingly.

Having recently (for the fifth time in twelve years) had an invite to the Johannesburg offices of the CCMA, I had a chance (again) to witness the lunacy of our

labour laws in action.

Being the Respondent (read: the accused), my small company had received a case number by SMS with zero details attached. Puzzled, I went through all the possible options as to who the Applicant might be. Who had I recently fired? Who had I recently pissed off? Unusually, this time I could not fathom this one out.

Eventually, it turned out to be two of the five domestic workers servicing the fourteen townhouses which I use to house the international students that are enrolled at my flight school. They had simply decided they wanted more money and did not want to approach me about it.

Stubbornly resistant to any negotiations, we found ourselves in one of the run-down meeting rooms in the Fox Street offices of the CCMA. Correction to that. I found myself with the assigned Commissioner in that room, while the two Applicants stood in the outside passageway, aghast at the thought of having to sit across a table from me.

As their grasp of the English language had mysteriously evaporated, they engaged the interpreter in anguished tones in the hope their bidding could be done by proxy.

While this played out, I commented to the Commissioner that this sort of thing tends to discourage an employer from employing. She replied that this comment was typical of putting profits ahead of people, and that employment and decent jobs were a fundamental human right.

With that socialist fixed mind-set, we are surely doomed in terms of economic

policy. In the eyes of our government, this case may be a potential victory for the working class (however small) and a welldeserved blow to this capitalist running-pig.

Thus, we flounder.

The powers that be are seemingly oblivious to the fact that national policy, its implementation (or lack thereof), coupled with chronic levels of corruption within State Owned Enterprises are sending skilled personnel from all technical disciplines packing.

A few days ago, I had a fellow Airbus Captain on the jump seat of my flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg. This particular gent has taken the leap of accepting one of the thousands of DEC (Direct Entry Captain) positions available worldwide. In his particular case, he has joined Hainan in China.

I have been keenly following the endless opportunities that have arisen world-wide, and have sat back, comfortable with the knowledge that some pretty major operators may want a piece of me. I am acutely aware of the significant hoops that have to be jumped through to get established in such a position, and take my hat off to those who have done this.

China may not be my first choice, but it is certainly one of the more lucrative contracts out there. Established in 1989, and now known as the HNA Group, this consortium of carriers is now the largest civilian run airline in the country, and the fourth largest overall. Operating 474 aircraft, and with significant orders for 787-9s, this group will also become the first operator of the indigenously-developed Comac 919, scheduled to enter service (somewhat optimistically) in 2022.

Interestingly, American Aviation LLC, controlled by George Soros, has been a significant shareholder in the group since 1995. Strong financials and a balance sheet that would turn our national carrier green, HNA Group had a mildly flat last financial year, recording net profits of around USD 70 million.

While in the cruise on that flight up from Cape Town, the process and red tape that is involved in such a venture was described to me in great detail. Undoubtedly, it is a somewhat overwhelming encounter with a massive bureaucracy, but sprinkled with some ingenious and user-friendly aspects.

This highlights where we are in South Africa, specifically in terms of paying lip service to available technology and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The medical and licence conversion

Even for aspirant pilots there are opportunities in the far east.

process is significant, although the simulator phase as described to me seems to offer us a feather in our cap in terms of the level of training we have in this country, specifically the manner in which we comply with Airbus procedures and their overall philosophy.

This aspect was straight forward for this South African Captain.

The flight that I was having this conversation on left Cape Town mostly full and had departed around six minutes early.

This brought chuckles of delight from my jump seater. Apparently, everything is delayed in China, and these delays often run into three to four hours, which snowballs on a multi-sector flight. The Flight and Duty Period gets tested regularly.

As major delays are simply an accepted part of the operation, it is not uncommon for the Captain to decide on commencement of

a morning flight that it is now breakfast time, and with all doors closed and passengers seated, the cockpit crew indulge in a leisurely meal before obtaining clearance for push-back and start.

An interesting modification to the Before Start Checklist is a line stating: “All Crew…….On Board”, which must have been added after an incident which involved getting airborne without all the requisite crew being present…

To say this operation has some cultural nuances would be an understatement.

However, these aspects are amply compensated for by the remuneration on offer. Without going into too many specifics, the net take home pay for a new Direct Entry Captain is around USD 22k per month. Pretty good considering the current ZAR/USD exchange rate, and the fact that

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very little needs to be spent to survive each month. Accommodation and transport is free, and food is subsidised.

This is absolutely nowhere near my current salary, and is an indication where the stakes are in terms of what is required to attract experienced air crew.

The Middle and Far East, as well as many other places, are actively looking for the skills they need in this regard, and are doing their best to be pro-active, friendly and accommodating to their migrant labour.

I have stated a few times in the past that South Africa cannot continue to be the net exporter of experienced pilots that it has been for the past 15 years or so. We are headed for major crunch time in this regard, and let’s see where the money would come from to compete in this arena globally in the next few years.

At best, we will permanently become the training pool for these regions, with 3000 hour pilots gaining valuable jet time at our local carriers’ expense, before being pushed by our demented local policies and perilous security situation, or pulled by the

An advert for A320 captains with US$ 290k per annum.

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An experience with the CCMA reminds us that South Africa is still locked in destructive socialist policies.

increasingly desperate offers overseas.

This bodes reasonably well for our local flight training industry, and I expect business to boom for the next ten years at least.

In the meantime, this particular pilot is not for sale – at least not yet. I watch with morbid fascination at the bizarre

shenanigans at all our SOEs, airlines included. I’ll buy a few more light aircraft for my flight school and resign myself to the fact that my labour lawyer is a permanent part of my payroll and do my best to keep the blue side up. 

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SA Flyer 2019|03

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New Arrivals R eport : M orne B oij L ewis

TWO NEW CORPORATE JETS MAKE THEIR SA DEBUT IN AUGUST Two notable new high-end corporate jets, the super-large cabin Gulfstream G500 and ultra-long-range Bombardier Global 7500, made their South African debut during August.

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HILE both were visiting the country on businessrelated, rather than demonstration flights, it gave the local market the first upclose look at these new jets on home soil.

The G500, owned and operated by Qatar Executive, arrived at Lanseria International Airport on 4 August while operating a regional charter. The private jet division of Qatar Airways was the international launch customer for the G500, taking delivery of the first two on 17 December 2018.

Bombardier’s flagship ultra-long range Global 7500 N282WQ arrived at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport on 25 August after a remarkable non-stop 15 hour 15 minute flight from New York’s Newark Liberty International Airport that amply demonstrated its ultralong-range credentials.

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G500 The Gulfstream G500, which replaces the G450, received its Type and Production Certificates from the US Federal Aviation Administration on 20 July 2018, paving the way for the first customer delivery to a Texas-based client on 1 October. The G500s bigger sibling, the G600, received its US FAA Type and Production Certification on 28 June 2019 with the first customer delivery following on 8 August. It visited South Africa in late September 2018 as part of a demonstration tour of the region.

Time to market for the G500 was about 47 months, significantly shorter than other clean-sheet models. G500 test aircraft flew more than 5,000 hours during certification flight testing and established more than 20 new city-pair speed records earlier this year during a high-speed tour that covered 44 cities in 18 countries. The aircraft is equipped with the Honeywell Symmetry

Flight Deck featuring extensive use of touch screen technology and Gulfstream’s thirdgeneration Enhanced Flight Vision System.

It is also the first business jet to feature active side stick controllers in its fly-by-wire cockpit. It is powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney PW814GA turbofans. It has a 27,87m wingspan and fuselage length of 26,55m. The G500 has a range of 5,200 nm and at its high-speed cruise of Mach 0.90, it will fly 4,400 nm.

QATAR EXECUTIVE Qatar Executive currently operates a fleet of 18 state-of-the-art private jets, including six Gulfstream G650ERs, four Gulfstream G500s, three Bombardier Challenger 605s, four Global 5000s and one Global XRS. Their aircraft are becoming frequent visitors to our shoes as the company increases its fleet and thus its market presence internationally. The

company announced a further order for 14 Gulfstream G650ERs and four G500s valued at over $1 Billion on 9 July during a visit to the White House by His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar.

GLOBAL 7500 What strikes you is the sheer size of the Global 7500: measuring 33.8m in length with a massive 31.7m wingspan. The 16,59m cabin length offers up to four living spaces and a full kitchen. It is also offers Bombardier’s new patented Nuage seat and

nice Touch cabin management system and the latest Vision flightdeck. Its powered by a pair of General Electric Passport turbofans producing 18,650lb thrust.

The Global 7500 was first launched in 2010 as the Global 7000, making its maiden flight on 4 November 2016. The name change reflects a 300 nm increase in range during flight-testing to a claimed 7,700 nm.

The aircraft received its Type Certification from Transport Canada on 28 September 2018 followed by the FAA in November.

The first client delivery took place on 20 December with the plane being leased back

OPPOSITE PAGE: Arriving for the first time in South Africa, a Gulfstream G500, - this one owned and operated by Qatar Executive.

to Bombardier for a 12-month period to be utilised as a company demonstrator.

On 29 March this year Bombardier delivered the first European-based Global 7500 to long time Bombardier customer and former multiple Formula F1 World Champion Niki Lauda – just days before his death. 

Bombardier’s flagship Global 7500 arriving at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo Airport after a 15h15m flight from New York.

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Defence D arren O livier

COULD AI-DRIVEN APPROACHES DRIVE DOWN COSTS FOR AFRICAN AIR FORCES? Smart Drones used AI for the Zanzibar Mapping Initiative.

Last month’s column discussed the background behind recent revolutionary advances in machine learning as applied to artificial intelligence (AI) problems, in particular, the impact that it was having on route planning, electronic warfare, and surveillance. I also outlined the nature of ‘swarm’ intelligence, where autonomous unmanned systems could be made far more effective by being able to communicate and coordinate actions.

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HEN it comes to military applications of artificial intelligence (AI), most of the public and media’s attention is on those technologies at the high end of the spectrum and things like ‘loyal wingmen’ and autonomous ‘killer’ drones, but realistically, these are out of the reach of just about all African air forces. While some may be able to afford such systems, they lack the industrial and academic foundation to effectively support, develop, and exploit them. Instead, the applications we are most likely to see on the continent are much less flashy, but no less interesting.

We already know that AI techniques can be used to increase military effectiveness to some extent. But what most African air forces have yet to explore is to what extent they can be used save costs as well. Is there an opportunity for the continent’s resourcestarved air forces to use these techniques to not only become more effective, but to save money while doing it?

There are two main avenues by which an air force can save costs without harming military effectiveness.

The first is through operational efficiencies via measures such as maintenance schedule optimisation, the identification of redundant effort, and fleet usage optimisation. This is an area where machine learning techniques are able to assist, but only in cases where the force has collected, preserved, and verified a large and complete dataset with all the relevant parameters included. That’s vanishingly rare: Most air forces still rely on paper records that are never digitised or, if they are, are done so via error-prone manual methods.

Even the South African Air Force, with its technically sophisticated Operational Support Information System (OSIS) maintenance and fleet tracking system, continues to struggle with data quality and completeness issues which it has to correct via post facto audits. If the data quality is poor, it doesn’t matter how good the machine learning algorithm is, it’ll still result in incorrect conclusions. Garbage-ingarbage-out. This approach also requires both substantial internal statistics and data

science skills and hefty data processing pipelines.

The second way of saving costs is by being able to do more with less through being able to achieve the same mission requirements with fewer aircraft, especially if you can move to cheaper and lighter platforms at the same time. This is where artificial intelligence might have the largest impact for those African forces that

traditional military equipment. As an example, electro-optical camera turrets used to be relatively basic, using software only to overlay flight and pointing direction data on the imagery and requiring a skilled operator for any tasks. Modern examples can be ordered with all kinds of enhancements driven by AI models, such as automatic detection and recognition of human forms, vehicles, moving objects, and so forth.

Zipline drones in Rwanda use AI to stay out of controlled airspace and avoid other aircraft.

embrace it, both because the cost of systems is steadily falling and because far more complete systems are available with prebuilt models already included, taking away the need to train and verify them first.

The past decade has seen a revolution in the ’SWaP-C’ metric (size, weight, power, and cost) in aircraft electronics, driven primarily by the huge advances in consumer technology that have emerged during the smartphone era. Since 2007 the number of transistors that can be squeezed onto an average mobile phone central processing unit chip has gone from around 20 million to over 10 billion, which means that performance has been able to grow exponentially while retaining or improving on power and thermal requirements.

We’ve also seen the rise of specialised chips designed specifically to run artificial intelligence models at high speed.

What this miniaturisation of technology has meant is that it’s now possible to buy, off the shelf, relatively sophisticated selfcontained systems that already incorporate artificial intelligence models and can be pressed into service in the same way as

This means an operator spends less time at maximum zoom and that a single aircraft can cover more terrain in less time. Reduced mass means that these turrets can be fitted to smaller and cheaper aircraft like the South African Air Force has done with its C208 Caravans. Similarly, aircraft can now more easily be fitted with multiple sensor suites, using statistical and AI techniques to filter and combine their data and allow a single aircraft to carry out tasks that used to require multiple specialist types.

Perhaps the most interesting potential application however lies in what can be done with extremely low cost, low weight, and low complexity autonomous drones that can be networked into co-operative swarms.

The key innovation of this so-called swarm intelligence is the understanding that you don’t need much individual intelligence to achieve a useful level of collective intelligence. For all the hype, AI is still nowhere close to a human level of judgement, it’s just good at making lots of heavily constrained decisions very fast.

So even with the best hardware and latest techniques, a single autonomous aircraft

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L3 using AI for object tracking.

remains rather stupid when compared to human intelligence. Link a bunch of them together though, with the ability to communicate their positions, trajectories, and tasks with each other, and they become capable of extraordinary things.

This shouldn’t surprise us, after all it’s a concept borrowed from nature where swarming is a common evolutionary behaviour. Individual ants or bees are quite useless, but an army of ants or a hive of bees can construct massive structures, engage in complex social behaviours, and transport material surprising distances.

As Sun Microsystems famously stated: The network is the computer. At a certain scale the intelligence and durability of any particular node begins to matter less and less: Lose one and others will detect it and take up its assigned tasks without the need for any central co-ordination or human intervention. Obstacles, whether environmental or dynamic (such as antiaircraft fire) are communicated to the entire swarm the moment they’re detected by even a single drone, allowing the rest to immediately change their routes. Most importantly for search tasks, the first drone to discover all or part of the target communicates that find to the rest, allowing them to converge on the location and discontinue fruitless searching.

While some of the conceptual work around drone swarms is focused on using them as weapons platforms or electronic

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warfare sensors and effectors, the cost and complexity of that approach is likely to remain impractical for African air forces. Instead, the use of low-cost drone swarms for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, and perhaps also for low-mass cargo delivery, is where focus should be. Especially because we’re starting to see all-in-one solutions from commercial providers in these areas that takes away the need to develop the

then map hidden targets in complex terrain and difficult conditions. There have already been successful projects, like the Zanzibar Mapping Initiative, using low-cost drones to produce high-resolution 3D maps of entire cities, regions, and countries within a short amount of time, and the next step is to automate these with swarm intelligence to be able to autonomously remap areas on an ongoing basis. Needless to say, this may be invaluable for air forces that need to maintain high quality visual and elevation maps of certain areas, yet can’t afford to do so through traditional means.

Given the low cost of entry, it makes sense for at least the larger and better equipped African air forces to begin looking into the use of smaller drone swarms for ISR tasks, at least in order to prepare for a future where the cost and capability of each drone keeps falling and the technology becomes widespread. Even if they don’t plan to use the technology operationally just yet, they need to understand it: how it interacts with other military systems, and what obstacles are posed by prevailing legislation. 

realistically ‘loyal wingmen’ and ‘killer’ drones are out of the reach of just about all African air forces necessary skills locally first.

Some of the early experiments have been interesting. The UK for instance has sponsored competitions and trials to use swarms for search and rescue, with small camera-equipped drones co-ordinating with each other to swiftly cover a specified area in an optimum search pattern that ensures no spot goes unchecked. Other experiments have seen swarms successfully locate and

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PART 1

Face to Face:

CEO: RODGER FOSTER

In Part 1 of this wideranging conversation, Guy Leitch talks to Airlink CEO Rodger Foster about the feeder airline’s operations – and opportunities for pilots – and lots more.

Airlink CEO Rodger Foster has paid his dues in General Aviation - and is still passionate about flying his Tiger Moth.

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GL: WITH A LOOMING PILOT SHORTAGE AND THE UNAFFORDABLE COST OF PRIVATE TRAINING, DO YOU HAVE A CADET PILOT TRAINING SCHEME?

RF: Yes, but many people don’t know about it. Our history of pilot training goes back to the very first SAA Cadet pilot scheme.

Capt. Duke Morosi, a former head of the CAA and CEO of Lesotho Airways, was first employed by us. In 1995 we enticed him out of exile and one of his first tasks was the Cadet Programme. SAA Cadet Scheme 1 was in fact an SAA and Airlink initiative. Duke worked with SAA captains; Doc Malan, Brett Gebers, Scully Levin and many others.

We now we have a different approach, based on the principle of: first show us your commitment. Thus, one of our young pilots, Walter Mmamari, started as a flight dispatcher. He worked his way up the ranks, and as he earned a salary, he invested in his PPL. When he achieved his PPL we told him that we would match every hour he paid towards his CPL. We also paid for his CPL and ATPL academic studies. The moment he had earned his CPL we moved him into the cadet programme, and we trained him up as a J41 Cadet First Officer. But we had to bridge him, at our cost, as a CPL with zero experience is not qualified to sit in the right-hand seat of an airliner on a Part 121 Operation. We paid for his simulator training and then for flying as a jump seat observer until he was up to speed with our CRM and SOPs etc.

DO YOU HAVE TO LOWER YOUR STANDARDS FOR NEW CADETS?

For cadets we lower the application criteria but don’t compromise on proficiency.

Walter was our first ‘self-help’ cadet, but we have around four or five pilots in our system now. It’s a continuous throughput. We do it ourselves as the SAA cadet programme doesn’t exist any longer.

DO YOU MANAGE TO KEEP THE PILOTS YOU TRAIN?

Unfortunately most of our cadets move on to bigger airlines and aircraft. SAA will take them all. But people like Walter Mmamari have been flying with us for ten years – he now has command. He went from dispatcher to Captain in ten years.

TYPICALLY HOW LONG FOR NONCADET NEW PILOTS TO GET TO COMMAND?

RF: Around four years to make the 3500hour minimum. We have a complex career

path where you can come in at different points and into different pilot pools, which determines how long it will take to achieve command. And you can move across pools and fleets, depending on what opportunities are available.

WITH DIFFERENT PILOT POOLS, IS THERE STILL JUST ONE SENIORITY SYSTEM?

Yes – even as a Cessna Caravan copilot you are already on the seniority scale. The way the seniority system works is that once you are in the airline your seniority is determined by your start date.

But your promotion is determined by your qualifications and meeting the criteria.

When we need to promote someone to say an Embraer Captain, we look at the next number on the seniority list, check whether they meet the criteria, and if not, move on down the list until we find someone who is qualified. So it is possible that you could get command earlier than someone who is more senior to you on the seniority system because you meet the criteria but they don’t.

WHAT IS YOUR PILOT CAREER PROGRESSION – IS IT FROM CARAVAN TO J41 TO EMBRAER ERJ TO E-JET?

It can be, but it can also be from the Caravan directly into the Embraer 135. It goes Caravan right seat to left seat, so you get command experience - even if just of a single engine plane. Then the moment you meet Embraer First Officer criteria you can move into the right seat of the Embraers. We only have four Caravans, so it is a relatively small entry point to the airline.

FOR YEARS THE BAE JETSTREAM J41S WERE THE CORE OF YOUR FLEET. HOW HAVE THEY BEEN FOR YOU?

They have done very well for us. We first got them in 1995 and had 16 at one stage, but now, after 25 years, we are retiring the last ones soon. The J41 was the only aircraft we could operate out of the old Nelspruit Municipal Airport. And Nelspruit was the origin of this company, operating as Magnum and Lowveld Air Services as far back as 1967.

Unfortunately, BAE decided to abandon all their commercial airliners, including the RJ-85, so it’s an orphan aircraft. When the OEM is no longer manufacturing or properly supporting an aircraft its value drops. But we have had full value from ours. There were only 104 J41s ever built, so its is a bit of a speciality, yet they have been great

from an operational efficiency perspective.

They are very light on fuel and payload is excellent compared to say a Beech 1900. It burns similar fuel to a 1900 but flies faster and carries more. It has a toilet and a galley - and 29 seats. It’s a great aircraft and it was built as a Part 121 aeroplane, so it’s strong, robust and reliable.

HOW DOES THE J41 COMPARE TO THE EMBRAER 120 BRASILIA?

The reason we chose the J41 over the EMB 120 is because of its hot and high performance. The 120 may have a slightly larger cabin, but in terms of economics, the J41 came out best.

LET’S TALK ABOUT ST HELENA – YOU HAVE BEEN OPERATING IT FOR OVER TWO YEARS. HOW HAS IT BEEN GOING? HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO CANCEL ANY FLIGHTS?

No, we have never cancelled any flights, but we have delayed if, for example, the weather is below the ETOPS minima, or if there are high winds – we have had 100 knot winds and sometimes a belt of fog for days at the airport. The risk becomes unpalatable, so we do not despatch, and rather postpone the flight. There has been one instance where a postponed flight was merged with the next available flight because it was postponed more than 2 or 3 days.

HAVE YOU EVER LAUNCHED AND HAD TO TURN BACK?

We have. We had one situation where we turned back mid-ocean because an unforecast batch of bad weather overcame the island. And we have had situations where we have got as far as Windhoek where the forecast was good enough to despatch but at the Windhoek weather check, it had dropped below the ETOPS minima. Still we have only one or two isolated no-go situations where we have had to pay the passengers’ accommodation.

WHAT AIRCRAFT ARE YOU OPERATING TO ST HELENA?

The Embraer 190s, as they have ETOPS approval and we can use any one in our fleet of ten. We have two aircraft that have the higher rated engines, and these are useful for departures from Windhoek’s hot and high environment during the summer months (which is only a consideration if we ever return to Windhoek for our re-fuelling stop).

We always go with max fuel and then use as much of the remaining payload as we have left, determined by the temperature on the day. Typically, it is around the mid-thirty

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As a pilot, Airlink CEO Rodger Foster understands the needs of his pilots better than most airline CEOs.

degrees centigrade out of Windhoek. Out of Walvis we don’t have the same payload restrictions so we can basically get max takeoff weight each time. And that’s why we cannot operate direct from JHB – we just don’t have the payload/range.

We cannot fly JHB - St Helena nonstop, because it is against the prevailing winds and there are no alternate or diversion airports. But when we return, we can fly St Helena – JHB non-stop because it is with the prevailing winds and there are many diversion alternates.

WHO PAYS YOU TO RUN THESE FLIGHTS?

The flights are essentially self-sustaining.

However, the St Helena Government has an aggressive desire to develop tourism to the island and this entails the provision of abundant airlift capacity. The British Department for International Development (DFID) supports the St Helena government.

WHAT ABOUT ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF REVENUE? – YOU RECENTLY BOUGHT A NEW LEVEL D SIMULATOR. DO YOU DO OUTSIDE TRAINING ON IT?

The primary objective behind the simulator was to localise our training. So we could maximise the productivity efficiency of our aircrew by reducing downtime resulting from having to fly our crews around the world to the various simulator training venues, and having reduced training costs, especially flight costs, hotel accommodation costs, and subsistence and travel allowances.

We are not yet doing training for other airlines, although we have had approaches from many ERJ operators within the region..

But we have 28 ERJs of our own, so we keep our Sim busy.

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WHAT OTHER REVENUE STREAMS ARE YOU LOOKING AT?

There are other latent revenue streams that are still a big opportunity. We could for instance use the first few rows of economy class as a premium economy. But we can’t do that yet because SAA’s reservations and departure control system has not been set up for this. And we can’t at this stage do preallocation of seating. But our new system - which is ready now - will enable us to do all of that.

AS A FULL SERVICE CARRIER, YOU DON’T HAVE MUCH SCOPE TO CHARGE FOR EXTRAS ANYWAY – I CANNOT IMAGINE YOU STARTING TO CHARGE FOR BAGS?

Sure, but we can charge for extra legroom and preferential seats. But being a network carrier as well as a full-service carrier means we are not about to charge people for the on-board catering. Our business model is not that of a low cost carrier, our niche is thinner markets with smaller aircraft that have a higher unit cost. We constantly benchmark against international airlines and we find that Airlink is typically cheaper on a like-for-like basis, compared to European and North American carriers.

WHAT SORT OF AIRCRAFT UTILISATION ARE YOU GETTING?

About six hours per day. The markets that we service are quite specific in terms of time to connect to other flights. We would only be able to get to LCC utilisation rates if we could operate a couple of flights a day to another market, but utilisation opportunities are limited and invariably highly competitive.

DO YOU THINK YOU WILL EVER HAVE A PROBLEM WITH PILOT AVAILABILITY?

At the moment we don’t, but we do suffer quite a high rate of attrition. We lose on average 15% of our pilots each year. Our retirement policy is 63 but in some instances we have been able to retain our experienced Captains until 65.

We lose a lot of our junior pilots to Emirates, and to the far east; to Cathay and Dragon. The reason is because there is an enclave of South African pilots in those airlines and it just carries on from there. A young lady pilot who got her command here went off to Hong Kong where she earns three times what she earned with us as a captain.

But it costs a lot more to live in Hong Kong.

To get past the high cost of living in Hong Kong they establish their roster and commute – say 8 days on, 8 days off. It is invariably worthwhile travelling back home and avoiding Hong Kong costs. So far this year we have lost 21 of our 230 pilots. Our information has it that 30% of our leavers go to Emirates, 24% to Hong Kong, 15% to Australia and New Zealand, 13% to other local airlines, and 4% to Japan with the balance going to other airlines domiciled outside of South Africa. So pilot attrition is a problem – and that’s why we established the training centre. At this stage the pipeline of new pilots remains strong.

An interesting statistic is that Airlink pilots fly over 60,000 flight missions per year or about 520 missions per crew, or about 780 pilot flight hours each per annum.

AND FINALLY, HOW IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CAA? ARE THEY REASONABLE AND FAIR?

We don’t have any major issues. Our biggest concern is turnaround times, but we work closely and carefully with the SACAA and ensure compliance with regulations and standards on our part, whilst also enabling the SACAA to carry out its mandate; being operational safety oversight and the promotion of civil aviation.

On the recreational aviation side, I can say from personal experience gained from owning and operating a number of GA aircraft, including a Tiger Moth, that aircraft owners and operators were spoiled by RAASA which used to perform administrative functions such as processing the paperwork and issuing “authority to fly” within minutes, and since this function has been reinstated at SACAA the process takes far too long – this is an area requiring improvement. 

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Profile T ammy K ing

AIRLINK PILOT PROFILE:

Tammy King is a Training Captain and the Head of Flight Training Admin and Compliance at Airlink. Mike Wright hooked a jump seat ride on an Airlink Embraer 190 with her to see her in action.

MW: LET’S START WITH SOME BACKGROUND: TK: I was born Tammy Crouse in Johannesburg. My highest qualification is an MBA read at the University of Liverpool.

I’m married to a wonderful man, Michael King, the owner of a software development company. I have two boys aged 4 and 13 as well as two stepchildren aged 16 and 21. I also take care of an under-privileged 9 yearold boy who lives with our family.

WHAT MADE YOU GET INTO FLYING? My parents live in a house on short final for 21L at FAOR and it was there that I got my love for flying. I spent many a day on the wall watching aircraft fly over and wishing I could fly. My Dad said no to a career of flying, saying it was not a career for girls. I therefore only started flying at the age of 28, once I had saved up enough money. Now he proudly announces to all that I am a pilot.

I joined Airlink in 2006 as a First Officer on the Embraer 135 and have had the best time of my life there. Over time, I was promoted to Captain, then Training Captain and am now a Designated Flight Examiner (DFE) and Head of Flight Training, Standards and Compliance.

WHAT’S IT LIKE WORKING FOR AIRLINK?

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I love training and therefore my job is my hobby. I have the opportunity to fly to the most gorgeous places and our route network continues to expand. This is a testament to our brilliant Executive team and Board. Also, the company does a vast amount of good work in assisting its staff and communities.

HOW CHALLENGING IS IT FOR A WOMAN TO MAKE IT IN AN AIRLINE? I do not believe it is a major challenge for a woman as we have equal opportunity to our male counterparts. The challenge however is learning to work in a male dominated industry. My advice to women in the industry, or considering entering the industry, is that you simply need to work hard, earn the respect of not only your fellow crew, but that of the entire company through your deeds and conduct, and do what is right. Challenge what is wrong with facts, using diplomacy and negotiation where necessary.

HOW MANY HOURS ARE NEEDED TO BECOME A FIRST OFFICER AND CAPTAIN AT AIRLINK? Our entry requirements vary from fleet to fleet. The minimum hours for a Cadet First Officer with a CPL with IF is 200 hours, whereas a First Officer will be required to have a minimum of 1000 hours including 200 hours twin time and 200 hours turbine time.

Under normal circumstances we do not take direct entry Captains, thus allowing our intake of First Officers to attain command at the airline within a reasonable time.

TELL US ABOUT BEING HEAD OF TRAINING. The Training Department’s output directly affects line operations, thus making it a critical service function. We currently service five fleets - the C208B, J41, E135/145 series, Avro RJ85 fleets and the E170/190 fleet. Each fleet has a Fleet Training Captain who, within the bounds of standardisation, is responsible for all training within their respective fleets. They are the men and woman without whom, I could not achieve what we do. My biggest challenge is standardisation amongst these fleets.

As part of career progression, we graduate our crew from smaller to bigger aircraft. This makes the crew member’s initial entry fleet as important as all the other fleets. Therefore, all crew members receive the same training programmes, initial and recurrent, on their type. Most of our crew intake is from contract flying jobs which is usually their first airline experience, making their initial training especially important.

Our training programmes are intense and in-depth and made possible by my very experienced team of Trainers who are always on call, day and night, for our crew.

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WHAT AIRCRAFT DO YOU LIKE THE MOST? I have many aircraft on my Licence. My favourite of course is the E135/145 series which operates at FL370 at M0.77. It is a slick and sexy jet that I hope to continue to fly for many years to come. I have around 8000 hours logged, dedicating my time between administrative duties, training and line flying.

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Company Profile

Skysource International: South Africa “Quality is our Passion” Skysource International South Africa is a South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) approved Aircraft Maintenance Organisation, which also has a USA FAA Approved Maintenance and Repair (MRO) facility.

Skysource International at Lanseria specialises in turboprop repair maintenance and overhaul.

T

HE Skysource International South African operation is situated on the north side of Lanseria International Airport, in Hangar 203, which is accessed through Gate 5.

Under the leadership of Manny Farinha and his team, the company strives to provide its clients with the best quality service, ensuring a relationship with trust, confidence, integrity and customer peace of mind that comes from the assurance that the job was well done.

Specialising in turboprop aircraft, Skysource International’s South African operation provides quality maintenance including, but not limited to: Phase 1 through to 6 inspections, annual inspections, airframe, avionics, sheet metal repairs, as well as interior and exterior refurbishment.

In addition to the above, the company has an unmatched reputation for delivering the highest quality aircraft refurbishments, with an excellent lead time.

With highly skilled, experienced and

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professional technicians and engineers, Skysource International SA strives to deliver the best quality service – far beyond its clients’ expectations. “As we have the knowledge of the time constraints involved in aviation, we work hard to ensure we keep to a reasonable timeframe to have your aircraft ready and serviceable when you need it,” says Owner and CEO Manny Farinha.

Skysource International SA is partnered with Skysource International LLC, a USA based aircraft sales company and this partnership opens up the international market to South Africans. The Billings Montana USA based Skysource International Group is a family owned and operated business that takes great pride and puts great emphasis on instilling family values into how it conducts business.

The association with the USA operation means that Lanseria based Skysource has access to the world-class experience of the American company and a local access point and experience base for dealing with

the American FAA. In addition, it enables the South African company to source the perfect aircraft for its customers - and to have access to the USA market for aircraft sales and trade-ins. If we do not have an aircraft you require in our fleet, we will source one for you,” Manny says.

In addition to its turboprop maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) skills, the South African operation also provides; aircraft pre-purchase inspections, maintenance management, aircraft recoveries, and aircraft re-weighing.

To find out more about this remarkable South African MRO business, which is ideal for every turbo-prop operator, contact Manny Farinah on : +27 72 036 3433. Alternatively, you can call the South African office on +27 10 900 4300. Manny can also be reached through email: Manny@ skysourceinternational.com For the USA contact USA Luke Overstreet: +1 406-698-2413 or email: info@skysourcesa.com 

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General Aviation - Adventure Flying Story: Edge Bisset

AROUND AFRICA IN 60 DAYS: PART 2 Due to the Arab Summit, DKN was relegated to an abandoned piece of apron at Tunis.

INTRODUCTION (BY EDGE): It’s 4.00 in the morning. I’m lying in bed looking up at the mosquito net above my bed, unable to sleep because of the heat.

Outside I can hear the sound of waves crashing on the beach. Somewhere a sheep is bleating. This is Dakar.

I

T’S been four weeks since Jaap and I left Cape Town and started up the West coast of Africa, and we’ve done a lot of flying since then. It’s easy to lose track of where we are: towns go by, sometimes without making too much of an impression. Lubango, Luanda, Libreville, Abidjan, Bamako… exotic names for towns that I could not have picked out on a map until a month or two ago. Sometimes, looking back, they all

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blend into one. But each flight has something unique about it that we remember.

Often, after hours of flying, it’s the approach to the airfield that one remembers most clearly. That first sight of the runway is always a good feeling; when I see the runway, I feel like we’ve made it. Of course, that’s not true at all. There’s still the matter of landing the aircraft. It’s one thing to do a good landing at one’s home airfield. Every pilot does plenty of those, often dozens of them in a single practice session. But it’s

quite another thing to do a good landing on an airfield you’ve never been to, after five and a half hours of hands-on flying through hot, bumpy conditions with limited visibility.

On a flight like that, fatigue becomes a new enemy. And doing a good landing in a heavily loaded tailwheel aircraft under those conditions is another thing altogether.

One has to have one’s finger out.

If visibility is poor, as it often is in this part of the world, I would have spent a good few hours flying on instruments, with no clear horizon at all to use as a reference. Our trusty Cessna 180, ZS-DKN is not equipped with an autopilot and it’s tiring work, handflying on instruments through hot, bumpy weather. Thankfully I’m not alone. While I’m focussing on the instruments, Jaap keeps the ground in sight, manages the fuel systems and so on. We share the workload equally.

This part of the world is plagued by a thick haze. The Sahara desert is an enormous sand bowl and at this time of year the NorthEasterly wind blows a gale, churning up the golden desert sand and carrying it high up

into the atmosphere. That same wind, the Harmattan, carries the dust all the way across the Atlantic. The famous red sunsets of the Bahamas are caused by sand from the Sahara which has been blown right across the ocean. It is well-travelled dust.

And here, on the border of the Sahara, as we fly along in our little Cessna 180, the air is thick with it. Sometimes we can only see the outlines of land features directly below us. At anything more than 45 degrees to the ground, all we see is haze. Looking straight up, we can just make out a faint blue tinge to the dust. Somewhere up there there’s blue sky, but it’s hidden from us. There is no horizon. It’s just dust, dust, dust.

Books have been written about the dangers of flying in poor visibility and the statistics are not encouraging. This is “How and why pilots die”, as one author famously put it. So this Harmattan haze is not really the kind of weather one chooses to fly in.

But if you want to fly around this part of the world it cannot be avoided as the Harmattan season lasts for months. So we fly on the best days and we sit it out on many other days, whether we want to or not. Still, even on a good day, it’s hard flying. We work as a team, managing all the variables that make for a safe flight through an unknown country. And when we sight the destination airfield, we feel a sense of relief.

But it’s not over. We’ve got to put the aircraft down in one piece. As we approach the field, conversation is reduced to single words; we focus on the task at hand while listening out for instructions from the tower.

“Sanitise”, Jaap mutters. I nod and we go through the routine of de-cluttering the cockpit: iPads and charger cables are stowed, loose items packed away and so on.

That done, I go through my before-landing checklist. Brakes, Undercarriage, Mixture, Pitch, Throttle… all of the memory items which every pilot knows by heart happen naturally. When the time comes, I tell the tower that we’re established on the ILS. We don’t really need the ILS of course, since we have the field in sight and are flying visually, but many of the airfields we’ve been flying in to only ever see big airliners and they expect us to be using the ILS too, so we do.

“Rodger”, he replies.

“Raaadger”. ICAO be damned, these controllers sound like the coolest guys in the world when they speak like that. “Cleared to land, runway one niner, wind two-threezero degrees, twelve knots”. I read back the

clearance and crane forward in my seat, looking for a windsock. These controllers often give incorrect wind readings. A 15 knot crosswind is not a big deal for a 737 perhaps but for a heavily loaded C180 with an aft centre of gravity, it’s a different matter.

We learned this the hard way at Lubango in Angola when a controller cleared us to land with a horrible quartering tailwind while telling us the wind was “calm”. There was no windsock on that day and with a density altitude of over ten thousand feet the ground speed was already high. That quartering tailwind landing just made it that much worse. It was not a pleasant experience and I was curious as to whether or not Jaap would be willing to get into the aircraft again after

that. But I need not have worried. He’s made of tough stuff. So now we are extra-cautious.

Jaap reads my mind. “Just to the right of the runway, by the second taxiway”, he says. I spot the windsock and adjust my approach.

We may have navigated hundreds of miles of treacherous terrain in bad weather, but the landing is still the main event. If the landing itself is particularly impressive, or otherwise, it leaves a lasting impression.

Thankfully it goes smoothly and we vacate the runway at the first taxiway.

Opening the windows to let in some cool air, we look at each other and grin. We survived another one. Welcome to Dakar!

Cape Town to Italy.

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JOURNAL: DAY 30 (JAAP) “The weather has not looked this blue for days” we commented as we left Dakar this morning. A good day for flying, and a good way to say goodbye to the harmattan dust, we thought.

Except, not.

Our “blue skies” turned hazy as we

sure we stay in visual contact with what’s below us. The western end of the Sahara is largely featureless, so spotting a tarred road became an event to celebrate. We tracked the coast as we approached Dakhla - the airport is on a thin peninsula and not easy to spot in severely reduced visibility. After a tough flight, Edge greased the C180 neatly

A tired looking Edge, after landing in Dakar.

Western Sahara. At ten thousand feet we were just above the dust. Note the coastline visible at the bottom of the picture.

followed the coastline northwards towards Dakhla. The long 5 hours plusd flight became another exercise in teamwork, with one on the instruments with the other looking out the window to make

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in the fierce winds they have here.

JOURNAL: DAY 31 (JAAP) Today we tackled our stretch from Dakhla to Agadir. Breakfast in the dark,

a quick check out, and the long drive back to Dakhla airport. One could use this landscape for a Star Wars episode! It’s hard to describe an empty landscape. “Barren” or “desolate” don’t quite capture it.

It was another long flight but slowly the desert dust gave way to low cloud.

Finally,we were routed in directly to Agadir, where Swissport handling gave us the most efficient and professional service ever. We were parked, fuelled up, customs / military / police cleared, dollars changed, all in record time and heading for our overnight homestay.

Next leg: Marrakech. Our first real tourist stop after São Tomé.

JOURNAL: DAY 32 (EDGE) I’m standing on the ground floor of a small courtyard, staring at the ornately tiled mosaics that cover every wall and pillar. It is incredibly tranquil here. The host smiles warmly and invites us to make ourselves comfortable, gesturing to a table and chairs which lie off to one side beneath a curved archway. We put down our heavy bags with relief, take off our caps and fall into the chairs as if we’ve been cut off at the knees.

Our flying suits are rumpled, there are patches of sweat under our arms and I wonder whether we smell more strongly of Avgas or sweat. The host doesn’t seem to notice either way and before we know it, he’s arranged for a pot of tea to be brought.

We have arrived at our lodgings for the night. We are staying in a riad, or traditional home, in the medina - the crazy, bustling old city centre in the heart of Marrakech.

A warren of narrow alleyways crammed with stalls and throngs of pedestrians, the medina bustles with energy. Only a few metres from where we sit is the main souk, or marketplace, where snake charmers and acrobats compete with musicians and fruit salesmen for the attention of every passerby. It is noisy, colourful, chaotic. And yet here we are, only a small distance away, in the calmest environment one could imagine.

There’s almost something magical about it. Whoever built this riad, some 800-odd years ago, had certainly perfected their art.

Our flight today was beautiful. We took off in cool, calm air from Agedir and pointed the nose of the aircraft at the mighty Atlas mountains while we climbed up to seven thousand five hundred feet. Our route took us around a huge ridge of mountain, up a beautiful valley and down the other side again, to Marrakech. It was a short flight -

Contrary to what we had expected, the Algerian countryside was lush and green along the coast.

just over an hour - and before we knew it we were touching down. While our host checks us in, I drink my tea with a smile. It was almost a perfect flight.

For pilots, the quest for perfection takes various forms. While we are on these long cross-country legs, we take turns flying the aircraft and I take particular pride in handing over a perfectly trimmed aircraft.

When I hand over a well-trimmed aircraft in smooth conditions, there should be no input required from the other pilot to maintain heading or altitude. It should be steady as a rock. If we are in a quiet phase of the flight and I’m feeling cheeky, I sometimes take my hands and feet off of the controls, stretch theatrically and look out of the window for a while with my arms crossed. Just minding my own business here. Nothing to see.

Of course, Jaap immediately notices that I’m not flying the machine and watches with interest from the corner of his eye.

Have I forgotten that I’m still in control?

Eventually, feigning boredom, I’ll give the instruments a final, casual scan and seeing nothing of any interest whatsoever, I’ll keep my arms crossed and in a sleepy voice say to him “you have control”. As I do it, I’ll nod and point my eyes at the altimeter which is still pegged, firm and unwavering, exactly on the desired altitude. The message is clear: I’m giving you a perfectly trimmed machine and I want it back in the same state.

Jaap laughs as he takes control. It’s a game we both know.

Today, after we landed, Jaap dipped the tanks and tallied up the fuel. Strolling around to my side of the plane with his hands in his pockets, he mumbled “Before we took off, I estimated we would land with about

a hundred litres left over today.” I pay little attention, busy with my own procedures, but eventually I become aware of a silence.

I look up to see Jaap idly leaning against the wing strut, casual as can be, looking out at the distant mountains. Eventually he yawns, stretches and mumbles “we have a hundred and one litres left over”. He winks. I laugh.

Silly bugger still can’t trim a ‘plane but he’s

distance the coastline around Casablanca.

Soon enough we were picking up the approach frequency of Fes, and realised we were facing a new challenge. Contrary to the met forecast, which had predicted fine conditions, we were experiencing a monster of a gusting crosswind: at first contact, the controller gave us a wind reading of 22 to 29 knots gusting at 040 degrees. With a runway heading of 090 degrees, this was going to be interesting.

We were on a long final, and every update from the tower reaffirmed the horrid wind situation, though the direction and gust factor changed with every reading. Not that we needed ATC to tell us there was a strong wind; the aircraft was bucking and swaying more dramatically with every passing minute. The cockpit smelled of avgas and adrenaline. Edge was doing his “wake-up” routine. Get the feet to push the rudder a few times. Roll the shoulders to get your arms loose. Reset yourself firmly in the seat. Ready for action.

We joined on a long final approach, nose crabbed into wind at 050 degrees, runway falling away from us at 090 degrees. To our

Suddenly I become aware of how cold it is as the sweat evaporates from my skin. got the fuel management dialled better than I ever would have.

Still, there’s always the next flight. I sip on my tea and enjoy the moment. It is perfect.

JOURNAL: DAY 34 (JAAP) We climbed out from Marrakech in still, cold air today but had a somewhat tricky start to the flight: we simply couldn’t translate the Arabic waypoint names into meaningful words, and it caused some confusion between us and the ATC. But once that was sorted out - basically by a process of elimination - we sat back and admired the scenery. Morocco is beautiful from the air, with amazing mountain landscapes, snaking rivers, cliffs and valleys, and in the

frustration, there was no windsock to be seen as we approached the field. The airspeed indicator needle was flailing around between 80 mph and suddenly nothing, as the gusts threw us around. Short final and things were starting to get very interesting.

Into-wind wing down to compensate for drift and opposite rudder to align with the runway....but even with ailerons and rudder at maximum, we were still being pushed sideways from time to time. Strong bursts of power were required to catch the downdrafts. A sudden lull between the gusts and the controls became totally slack. Catch it and get it back on centre. A momentary touch down, but it was not controlled and the wind swept us up again before we could settle. More power, maintain attitude, let her

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After an almost impossible crosswind landing, Edge looking happy to be safe on the ground at Fes.

settle again. We still have 2000m of runway.

But it was not to be. We’re going around.

Good decision-making.

As we’re formulating a new strategy, the tower casually asks, “Reason for going around?” I hear Edge’s parched and raspy reply: “Extreme winds.”

“OK”, she says, “join right hand downwind call final.” As Edge brings the plane around on to downwind, we discuss the plan. On the next attempt, which could

easily just be a fly-past, I’ll inspect the grass next to the tarmac for possible landing or run-off areas that might allow us to land into wind. Worst case, we can head for our alternate field but it’s a long way away and if the wind has picked up this much here, we may find the same at our alternate, so it’s worth giving this another try.

Edge goes back to previously learned lessons. Less flaps, more power, higher approach speed, using the width of the

runway to land diagonally across it to reduce crosswind component. Fighting our way through the bumps, we approach on the far right of the runway. Edge calls a raspy “Final” over the radio. The wind snarls at us, let’s go, and then hits us with full force again. The Cessna is blown like a leaf in the wind but we fight it all the way down to the ground and eventually we touch down, firmly but safely. We breathe again. The tower gives us casual parking instructions, none the wiser, but taxiing is just about impossible. Even full brakes and heavy use of power can’t prevent the wind from turning the aircraft around.

Eventually we get it to the tie-down area. The windsock, we finally see, is in the middle on the runway (1,6 km from where we touched down), stiff and bellowing.

Suddenly I become aware of how cold it is as the sweat evaporates from my skin.

JOURNAL: DAY 36 (JAAP) It turns out that there is political unrest in Algeria and we don’t want to get stuck there, so we need to adjust our route. On top of that, Tunisia is hosting the Arab League Summit next week and there are no slots

The mighty Stromboli was active as we flew past.

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available to land in Tunis. The military have also annexed all avgas for the time being.

We realise that we’re stumped. But another day or two in Fes won’t hurt us.

JOURNAL: DAY 39 (JAAP) After some more juggling of weather, fuel, and political stability, driven by the need to advance on our route, we decided to fly to the very north-eastern tip of Morocco today. This is a town called Oujda, chosen by us for its location only as it’s our stepping stone to overfly Algeria and progress to Tunisia.

JOURNAL: DAY 40 (JAAP) We took off from Oujda with full tanks, readying ourselves for a very long flight.

Hardly 20 minutes into the flight, the deep blue colour of the Mediterranean showed up on our left. The coastline here is green, with large dams and we spotted a well-developed canal system. To the south the mountains were still thick with snow.

We overflew Algeria and crossed the border into Tunisia after almost 5 hours of flying, and here the landscape changed to large folds of granite mountains. Eventually Tunis popped up on the horizon - it’s a large city. On the ground we were swiftly met by the usual flurry of handlers, officials, security, and to our surprise a big military avgas bowser.

Formalities were super quick: immigration, local currency, new SIM card, and off to our hotel. The taxi ride in peak hour traffic is another story altogether…

JOURNAL: DAY 43 (JAAP) After having spent a few intoxicating days in Tunis, it was difficult to leave. But leave we must. DKN looks a bit forlorn, parked on the edge of the faraway apron.

A bird has started making a nest in the tailwheel cone and marked his or her territory on the prop, the spinner, stabiliser... oh she’s real dirty now!

It’s a short hop across the Med, from Tunisia to Italy, and before we know it we are in the Rome FIR. The controller greets us with a friendly “Ciao, Zooloo Sieeerra Deeelta Keeelo Novaambre!” We certainly are a long way from Cape Town!

Soon, Sicily pops up in front of us, and it’s spectacular. The autostradas, the coast line, massifs of volcanic rock – and the airport. We get guided in, and our handler is waiting for us on cue. Here one can pay by card for avgas, handling... it’s all very firstworldy. Now to go exploring Palermo!

JOURNAL: DAY 44 (JAAP) Leaving Palermo behind, after having spent just one night there, was both exhilarating and sad. We’re excited to fly north into Italy but it would be nice to enjoy more of the easy Sicilian lifestyle.

As we were flying along the West coast,

an easterly direction, heading for the heel of Italy. The views are breath-taking. As we route eastwards, we can see the Gulf of Taranto, part of the Ionian Sea, appear. The controllers accommodate us by speaking English, but communicate in rapid-fire Italian with other aircraft. We listen out for

Tea is taken seriously in Tunis.

Mount Etna stood proud of the cloud bank, her slopes still covered in a thick blanket of snow. We flew a dog-leg route, hopping from one volcanic island to the next, until we got to the mighty Stromboli volcano.

Then we turned east, across the Tyrrhenian Sea on our way to mainland Italy. The Lucanian Apennines form the spine of Italy, a beautiful, rugged range of mountain with snow still lying thick on the higher peaks and ridges. We followed them northwards as far as their highest point, Mount Polline, which stands at 7438ft. There we turned in

“zoolu sierrrra, djelta keeelo novembre...”

Following a Ryan Air 737 on final, we get vectored in to Brindisi. We sanitise the cockpit, complete the pre-landing checks, and enjoy a spectacular approach over water as we turn final. A short landing into a stiff breeze and we expedite, as there is more traffic inbound.

Our handler is already waiting at the fuel bay. In no time, we’re on our way to our hotel. It’s been a long flight. Never have soft taxi seats felt this comfortable... now it’s time to explore Brindisi! 

Island hopping, from one volcano to the next.

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Alpi Flight Academy

(082)

556-3592

086-605-8948

Aviatech Flight Academy

(082)

303 1124

www.aviatech.co.za/

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DURBAN j j jjjjjjj j j

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GEORGE AIRPORT Savannah Helicopter Training

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KRUGERSDORP j jjjjj j

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LANSERIA AIRPORT / RANDBURG Aeronav Academy Gryphon Flight Academy Skyhawk Aviation

(011) (082) (011)

701-3862 562-5060 701-2622

701-3873 701-2623

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(044)

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(064)

756 6356

(041)

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MOSSEL BAY Starlite Aviation Training Academy

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PANORAMA Johannesburg Flying Academy

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PORT ELIZABETH Algoa Flying Club

086-461-7067

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RAND AIRPORT Central Flying Academy

(011)

824-4421

U Fly Training Academy

(011)

824-0680

390-1738

Richards Bay Air Carriers

(035)

786-0146/7

786-0145

Rustenburg Flying Club

(082)

821 1690

082 619 8633

RICHARDS BAY8 RUSTENBURG

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VEREENIGING AIRPORT Bird Aviation

(016)

556-1007

info@birdaviation.co.za

Desert Air (PTY) LTD

+264

61 228101

+264 61 254 345

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Blue Chip Flight School

(012)

543-3050

543-1826

Loutzavia

(012)

567-6775

543-1519

Legend Sky

(083)

860-5225

086-600-7285

Powered Flight Training

(078)

460-1231

086-666-2077

Vortx Aviation Training

(072)

480-0359

086-524-0949

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WINDHOEK - EROS AIRPORT

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WONDERBOOM AIRPORT / AEROPARK / RHINO PARK - PRETORIA111

41

FlightCom Magazine

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Where pilots speak for themselves

SURNAME

FIRST NAME

LOCATION

TEL NO

E-MAIL

Other countries

AME Doctors Listing

EASA registered

www.gryphonflight.co.za

“I did my ATPL Preparation, my B190 Proficiency Check as well as my MCC course with Gryphon Flight Academy and I was very pleased with the service!

Anton really listened and tailored a fitting package to my needs, unlike many other major Flight Schools, thus saving me a lot of money but still offered a great Training Experience. Only can recommend this school.” Patrick Heintschel.

FAA registered

SA Flyer 2019|01

FLIGHT TESTING CPL • ATPL •PROFICIENCY CHECKS • IF RENEWALS

Off-site Specialist tests

For other aircraft types contact Anton Rousseau - 082 562 5060 anton@gryphonflight.co.za

On site Specialist tests

We offer Type Ratings on: PC12 • B190 • E120 • Embraer 135/145

Senior Class 1, 2, 3, 4

SPECIALISED ADVANCED AVIATION TRAINING

Regular Class 2, 3, 4

CAA/0322

“My training experience at Gryphon Flight Academy could not have been more positive and rewarding. The Ground phase was delivered by an experienced Captain on both aircraft, who portrayed the utmost professionalism both as a pilot and instructor. Similarly, the simulator sessions were instructed by experienced South African airline pilots with a genuine passion for the work they do. Their enthusiasm and professionalism were infectious and I completed the course feeling entirely confident that I was ready to operate commercially with a high level of expertise and professionalism” Garth Greyling

✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

Britz

Rudi

Wonderboom Airport

083 422 9882

rudiavmed@gmail.com

Church

Belinda

Valhalla

079 636 9860

churchbs@live.com

Du Plessis

Alexander

Athlone Park

031 904 7460

dex.duplessis@intercare.co.za

Erasmus

Philip

Benoni

011 849 6512

pdceras-ass@mweb.co.za

Govender

Deena

Umhlanga Rocks

031 566 2066/7 deena@drdg.co.za

✗ ✗

Ingham

Kenneth

Midrand

011 315 5817

kaingham@hotmail.com

✗ ✗

Marais

Eugene

Mossel Bay

044 693 1470

eugene.marais@medicross.co.za

✗ ✗

Opperman

Chris

Pretoria Lynnwood

012 368 8800

chris.opperman@intercare.co.za

Schutz

Ernest

Germiston

011 825 5300

schutzfm@iafrica.com

Tenzer

Stan

Rand Airport & JHB CBD

083 679 0777

stant@global.co.za

✗ ✗ ✗

Toerien

Hendrik

White River, Nelspruit

013 751 3848

hctoerien@viamediswitch.co.za

✗ ✗ ✗

Van Der Merwe

Johann

Stellenbosch

021 887 0305

johann.vdmerwe@medicross.co.za

Van Niekerk

Willem

Benoni

011 421 9771

http://willemvanniekerk.co.za

✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

✗ ✗

BACKPAGE DIRECTORY A1A Flight Examiner (Loutzavia) Jannie Loutzis 012 567 6775 / 082 416 4069 jannie@loutzavia.co.za www.loutzavia.co.za

Alpi Aviation SA Dale De Klerk 082 556 3592 dale@alpiaviation.co.za www.alpiaviation.co.za

Adventure Air Lande Milne 012 543 3196 / Cell: 066 4727 848 l.milne@venture-sa.co.za www.ventureglobal.biz

Apco (Ptyd) Ltd Tony/Henk + 27 12 543 0775 apcosupport@mweb.co.za www.apcosa.co.za

AES (Cape Town) Erwin Erasmus 082 494 3722 erwin@aeroelectrical.co.za www.aeroelectrical.co.za

Aref Avionics Hannes Roodt 082 462 2724 arefavionics@border.co.za

Chem-Line Aviation & Celeste Products Steve Harris 011 452 2456 sales@chemline.co.za www.chemline.co.za Comporob Composite Repair & Manufacture Felix Robertson 072 940 4447 083 265 3602 comporob@lantic.net www.comporob.co.za Corporate-Aviators/Affordable Jet Sales Mike Helm 082 442 6239 corporate-aviators@iafrica.com www.corporate-aviators.com

Fly Jetstream Aviation Henk Kraaij 083 279 7853 charter@flyjetstream.co.za www.flyjetstream.co.za Flying Frontiers Craig Lang 082 459 0760 CraigL@fairfield.co.za www.flyingfrontiers.com

Flying Unlimited Flight School (Pty) Ltd Riaan Struwig 082 653 7504 / 086 770 8376 riaan@ppg.co.za Atlas Aviation Lubricants C. W. Price & Co www.ppg.co.za AES (Johannesburg) Steve Cloete Kelvin L. Price Danie van Wyk 011 917 4220 011 805 4720 Foster Aero International 011 701 3200 Fax: 011 917 2100 cwp@cwprice.co.za Dudley Foster office@aeroelectrical.co.za Sales.aviation@atlasoil.co.za www.cwprice.co.za 011 659 2533 www.aeroelectrical.co.za www.atlasoil.africa

info@fosteraero.co.za Dart Aeronautical www.fosteraero.co.za Aerocore ATNS Jaco Kelly Jacques Podde Percy Morokane 011 827 8204 Gemair 082 565 2330 011 607 1234 dartaero@mweb.co.za Andries Venter jacques@aerocore.co.za percymo@atns.co.za 011 701 2653 / 082 905 5760 www.aerocore.co.za www.atns.com Dart Aircraft Electrical andries@gemair.co.za

Mathew Joubert Aero Engineering & PowerPlant Aviation Direct 011 827 0371 GIB Aviation Insurance Brokers Andre Labuschagne Andrea Antel Dartaircraftelectrical@gmail.com Richard Turner 012 543 0948 011 465 2669 www.dartaero.co.za 011 483 1212 aeroeng@iafrica.com info@aviationdirect.co.za aviation@gib.co.za

www.aviationdirect.co.za DJA Aviation Insurance www.gib.co.za Aero Services (Pty) Ltd 011 464 5550 Chris Scott Avtech Aircraft Services 0800Flying Gryphon Flight Academy 011 395 3587 Riekert Stroh mail@dja-aviation.co.za Jeffrey Von Holdt chris@aeroservices.co.za 082 555 2808 / 082 749 9256 www.dja-aviation.co.za 011 701 2600 www.aeroservices.co.za avtech1208@gmail.com info@gryphonflight.co.za

Dynamic Propellers www.gryphonflight.co.za Aeronav Academy BAC Aviation AMO 115 Andries Visser Donald O’Connor Micky Joss 011 824 5057 Guardian Air 011 701 3862 035 797 3610 082 445 4456 011 701 3011 info@aeronav.co.za monicad@bacmaintenance.co.za andries@dynamicpropeller.co.za 082 521 2394 www.aeronav.co.za

www.dynamicpropellers.co.za ops@guardianair.co.za Blackhawk Africa www.guardianair.co.za Aeronautical Aviation Cisca de Lange Eagle Aviation Helicopter Division

Clinton Carroll 083 514 8532 Tamryn van Staden Heli-Afrique cc 011 659 1033 / 083 459 6279 cisca@blackhawk.aero 082 657 6414 Tino Conceicao clinton@aeronautical.co.za www.blackhawk.aero tamryn@eaglehelicopter.co.za 083 458 2172 www.aeronautical.co.za www.eaglehelicopter.co.za tino.conceicao@heli-afrique.co.za Blue Chip Flight School

Aerotric (Pty) Ltd Henk Kraaij Eagle Flight Academy Henley Air Richard Small 012 543 3050 Mr D. J. Lubbe Andre Coetzee 083 488 4535 bluechip@bluechip-avia.co.za 082 557 6429 011 827 5503 aerotric@aol.com www.bluechipflightschool.co.za training@eagleflight.co.za andre@henleyair.co.za www.eagleflight.co.za www.henleyair.co.za Aircraft Assembly and Upholstery Centre Border Aviation Club & Flight School Tony/Siggi Bailes Liz Gous Elite Aviation Academy Hover Dynamics 082 552 6467 043 736 6181 Jacques Podde Phillip Cope anthony@rvaircraft.co.za admin@borderaviation.co.za 082 565 2330 074 231 2964 www.rvaircraft.co.za www.borderaviation.co.za info@eliteaa.co.za info@hover.co.za

www.eliteaa.co.za www.hover.co.za Aircraft Finance Corporation Breytech Aviation cc Jaco Pietersen 012 567 3139 Emperor Aviation Indigo Helicopters +27 [0]82 672 2262 Willie Breytenbach Paul Sankey Gerhard Kleynhans jaco@airfincorp.co.za admin@breytech.co.za 082 497 1701 / 011 824 5683 082 927 4031 / 086 528 4234 www.airfincorp.co.za paul@emperoraviation.co.za veroeschka@indigohelicopters.co.za Bundu Aviation www.emperoraviation.co.za www.indigohelicopters.co.za Aircraft Maintenance @ Work Phillip Cronje

Opelo / Frik 083 485 2427 Enstrom/MD Helicopters IndigoSat South Africa - Aircraft Tracking 012 567 3443 info@bunduaviation.co.za Andrew Widdall Gareth Willers frik@aviationatwork.co.za_ www.bunduaviation.co.za 011 397 6260 08600 22 121 opelonke@aviationatwork.co.za aerosa@safomar.co.za sales@indigosat.co.za Celeste Sani Pak & Inflight Products www.safomar.co.za www.indigosat.co.za Aircraft Maintenance International Steve Harris Pine Pienaar 011 452 2456 Era Flug Flight Training Integrated Avionic Solutions 083 305 0605 admin@chemline.co.za Pierre Le Riche Gert van Niekerk gm@aminternational.co.za www.chemline.co.za 021 934 7431 082 831 5032 info@era-flug.com gert@iasafrica.co.za Aircraft Maintenance International Cape Aircraft Interiors www.era-flug.com www.iasafrica.co.za Wonderboom Sarel Schutte Thomas Nel 021 934 9499 Execujet Africa International Flight Clearances 082 444 7996 michael@wcaeromarine.co.za 011 516 2300 Steve Wright admin@aminternational.co.za www.zscai.co.za enquiries@execujet.co.za 076 983 1089 (24 Hrs) www.execujet.com flightops@flyifc.co.za Air Line Pilots’ Association Cape Town Flying Club www.flyifc.co.za Sonia Ferreira Beverley Combrink Federal Air 011 394 5310 021 934 0257 / 082 821 9013 Nick Lloyd-Roberts Investment Aircraft alpagm@iafrica.com info@capetownflyingclub.co.za 011 395 9000 Quinton Warne www.alpa.co.za www.@capetownflyingclub.co.za shuttle@fedair.com 082 806 5193

www.fedair.com aviation@lantic.net Airshift Aircraft Sales Cape Town Flight Training Centre www.investmentaircraft.com Eugene du Plessis Oraya Laemkaew Ferry Flights int.inc.

082 800 3094 021 976 7053/084 440 7922 Michael (Mick) Schittenhelm Jabiru Aircraft eugene@airshift.co.za admin@cape-town-flying.co.za 082 442 6239 Len Alford www.airshift.co.za www.cape-town-flying.co.za ferryflights@ferry-flights.com 044 876 9991 / 044 876 9993

www.ferry-flights.com info@jabiru.co.za Airvan Africa Capital Air www.jabiru.co.za Patrick Hanly Micaella Vinagre Fireblade Aviation 082 565 8864 011 827 0335 010 595 3920 Jim Davis Books airvan@border.co.za micaella@capitalairsa.com info@firebladeaviation.com Jim Davis www.airvan.co.za www.capitalairsa.com www.firebladeaviation.com 072 188 6484

jim@border.co.za Algoa Flying Club Century Avionics cc Flight Training College www.jimdavis.co.za Sharon Mugridge Carin van Zyl Cornell Morton

041 581 3274 011 701 3244 044 876 9055 Joc Air T/A The Propeller Shop info@algoafc.co.za sales@centuryavionics.co.za ftc@flighttrainning.co.za Aiden O’Mahony www.algoafc.co.za www.centuryavionics.co.za www.flighttraining.co.za 011 701 3114

jocprop@iafrica.com Alpha One Aviation Chemetall Flight Training Services Opelo Wayne Claassens Amanda Pearce Kishugu Aviation 082 301 9977 011 914 2500 011 805 9015/6 +27 13 741 6400 on@alphaoneaviation.co.za wayne.claassens@basf.com amanda@fts.co.za comms@kishugu.com www.alphaoneaviation.co.za www.chemetall.com www.fts.co.za www.kishugu.com/kishugu-aviation

43

FlightCom Magazine

Money Aviation Angus Money 083 263 2934 angus@moneyaviation.co.za www.moneyaviation.co.za Kit Planes for Africa Stefan Coetzee 013 793 7013 info@saplanes.co.za www.saplanes.co.za

MS Aviation Gary Templeton 082 563 9639 gary.templeton@msaviation.co.za www.msaviation.co.za

Tshukudu Trailers Pieter Visser 083 512 2342 deb@tshukudutrailers.co.za www.tshukudutrailers.co.za

Sheltam Aviation PE Brendan Booker 082 497 6565 brendanb@sheltam.com www.sheltamaviation.com

U Fly Training Academy Nikola Puhaca 011 824 0680 ufly@telkomsa.net www.uflyacademy.co.za

United Charter cc Jonathan Wolpe 083 270 8886 jonathan.wolpe@unitedcharter.co.za www.unitedcharter.co.za

North East Avionics Keith Robertson +27 13 741 2986 keith@northeastavionics.co.za deborah@northeastavionics.co.za www.northeastavionics.co.za Landing Eyes Gavin Brown Orsmond Aviation 031 202 5703 058 303 5261 info@landingeyes.co.za info@orsmondaviation.co.za www.landingeyes.com www.orsmondaviation.co.za

Lanseria Aircraft Interiors Owenair (Pty) Ltd Francois Denton Clive Skinner 011 659 1962 / 076 810 9751 082 923 9580 francois@aircraftcompletions.co.za clive.skinner@owenair.co.za www.owenwair.co.za Lanseria International Airport Mike Christoph Pacair 011 367 0300 Wayne Bond mikec@lanseria.co.za 033 386 6027 www.lanseria.co.za pacair@telkomsa.net

SIM Aerotraining (Pty) Ltd 011 395 1326 Keith Roseveare keithr@simaero.co.za www.sim.aero

Legend Sky 083 860 5225 / 086 600 7285 info@legendssky.co.za www.legendsky.co.za

PFERD-South Africa (Pty) Ltd Hannes Nortman 011 230 4000 hannes.nortman@pferd.co.za www.pferd.com

Litson & Associates (Pty) Ltd OGP, BARS, Resources Auditing & Aviation Training karen.litson@litson.co.za Phone: 27 (0) 21 8517187 www.litson.co.za

Pipistrel Kobus Nel 083 231 4296 kobus@pipistrelsa.co.za www.pipistrelsa.co.za

Sling Aircraft Kim Bell-Cross 011 948 9898 sales@airplanefactory.co.za www.airplanefactory.co.za

Solenta Aviation (Pty Ltd) Paul Hurst 011 707 4000 info@solenta.com www.solenta.com

Kzn Aviation (Pty) Ltd Melanie Jordaan 031 564 6215 mel@kznaviation.co.za www.kznaviation.co.za

Litson & Associates Risk Management Services (Pty) Ltd. eSMS-S/eTENDER/ eREPORT/Advisory Services karen.litson@litson.co.za Phone: 27 (0) 8517187 www.litson.co.za Loutzavia Aircraft Sales Henry Miles 082 966 0911 henry@loutzavia.co.za www.loutzavia.co.za

Loutzavia Charters Henry Miles 012 567 3873 charters@loutzavia.co.za www.loutzavia.co.za

Loutzavia Flight Training Gerhardt Botha 012 567 6775 ops@loutzavia.co.za www.loutzavia.co.za Loutzavia-Pilots and Planes Maria Loutzis 012 567 6775 maria@loutzavia.co.za www.pilotsnplanes.co.za Loutzavia Rand Frans Pretorius 011 824 3804 rand@loutzavia.co.za www@loutzavia.co.za Lowveld Aero Club Pugs Steyn 013 741 3636 Flynow@lac.co.za Marshall Eagle Les Lebenon 011 958 1567 les@marshalleagle.co.za www.marshalleagle.co.za MCC Aviation Pty Ltd Claude Oberholzer 011 701 2332 info@flymcc.co.za www.flymcc.co.za

MH Aviation Services (Pty) Ltd Marc Pienaar 011 609 0123 / 082 940 5437 customerrelations@mhaviation.co.za www.mhaviation.co.za M and N Acoustic Services cc Martin de Beer 012 689 2007/8 calservice@mweb.co.za

Metropolitan Aviation (Pty) Ltd Gert Mouton 082 458 3736 herenbus@gmail.com

Plane Maintenance Facility Johan 083 300 3619 pmf@myconnection.co.za Precision Aviation Services Marnix Hulleman 012 543 0371 marnix@pasaviation.co.za www.pasaviation.co.za

PSG Aviation Reon Wiese 0861 284 284 reon.wiese@psg.co.za www.psg aviation.co.za

Skyhorse Aviation Ryan Louw 012 809 3571 info@skyhorse.co.za www.skyhorse.co.za

United Flight Support Clinton Moodley/Jonathan Wolpe 076 813 7754 / 011 788 0813 ops@unitedflightsupported.com www.unitedflightsupport.com

Skyworx Aviation Kevin Hopper kevin@skyworx.co.za www.skyworxaviation.co.za

Unique Air Charter Nico Pienaar 082 444 7994 nico@uniqueair.co.za www.uniqueair.co.za

Unique Flight Academy Nico Pienaar 082 444 7994 nico@uniqueair.co.za www.uniqueair.co.za

Van Zyl Aviation Services Colette van Zyl 012 997 6714 admin@vanzylaviationco.za www.vanzylaviation.co.za

Vector Aerospace Jeff Poirier +902 888 1808 jeff.poirier@vectoraerospace.com www.vectoraerospace.com

Sky-Tech Heinz Van Staden 082 720 5210 sky-tech@telkomsa.net www.sky-tech.za.com

Southern Energy Company (Pty) Ltd Elke Bertram +264 8114 29958 johnnym@sec.com.na www.sec.com.na

Velocity Aviation Collin Pearson 011 659 2306 / 011 659 2334 collin@velocityaviation.co.za www.velocityaviation.co.za

Southern Rotorcraft cc Mr Reg Denysschen Tel no: 0219350980 sasales@rotors-r-us.com www.rotors-r-us.com Sport Plane Builders Pierre Van Der Walt 083 361 3181 pmvdwalt@mweb.co.za

Villa San Giovanni Luca Maiorana 012 111 8888 info@vsg.co.za www.vsg.co.za

Rainbow SkyReach (Pty) Ltd Mike Gill 011 817 2298 Mike@fly-skyreach.com www.fly-skyreach.com

Rand Airport Stuart Coetzee 011 827 8884 stuart@randairport.co.za www.randairport.co.za

Robin Coss Aviation Robin Coss 021 934 7498 info@cossaviation.com www.cossaviation.co.za

Starlite Aero Sales Klara Fouché +27 83 324 8530 / +27 31 571 6600 klaraf@starliteaviation.com www.starliteaviation.com

Vortx Aviation Bredell Roux 072 480 0359 info@vortx.co.za www.vortxaviation.com

Starlite Aviation Operations Trisha Andhee +27 82 660 3018/ +27 31 571 6600 trishaa@starliteaviation.com www.starliteaviation.com

Wagtail Aviation Johan van Ludwig 082 452 8194 acrochem@mweb.co.za www.wagtail.co.za

Starlite Aviation Training Academy Durban: +27 31 571 6600 Mossel Bay: +27 44 692 0006 train@starliteaviation.com www.starliteaviation.com

Wanafly Adrian Barry 082 493 9101 adrian@wanafly.net www.wanafly.co.za

SAA Technical (SOC) Ltd SAAT Marketing 011 978 9993 satmarketing@flysaa.com www.flysaa.com/technical

Status Aviation (Pty) Ltd Richard Donian 074 587 5978 / 086 673 5266 info@statusaviation.co.za www.statusaviation.co.za

Windhoek Flight Training Centre Thinus Dreyer 0026 40 811284 180 pilots@flywftc.com www.flywftc.com

SABRE Aircraft Richard Stubbs 083 655 0355 richardstubbs@mweb.co.za www.aircraftafrica.co.za

Superior Pilot Services Liana Jansen van Rensburg 0118050605/2247 info@superiorair.co.za www.superiorair.co.za

Wings n Things Wendy Thatcher 011 701 3209 wendy@wingsnthings.co.za www.wingsnthings.co.za

SA Mooney Patrick Hanly 082 565 8864 samooney@border.co.za www.samooney.co.za Savannah Helicopters De Jager 082 444 1138 / 044 873 3288 dejager@savannahhelicopters.co.za www.savannahhelicopters.co.za Scenic Air Christa van Wyk +264 612 492 68 windhoek@scenic-air.com www.scenic-air.com Sheltam Aviation Durban Susan Ryan 083 505 4882 susanryan@sheltam.com www.sheltamaviation.com

The Copter Shop Bill Olmsted 082 454 8555 execheli@iafrica.com www.execheli.wixsite.com/the-copter-shopsa Titan Helicopter Group 044 878 0453 info@titanhelicopters.com www.titanhelicopters.com TPSC Dennis Byrne 011 701 3210 turboprop@wol.co.za Trio Helicopters & Aviation cc CR Botha or FJ Grobbelaar 011 659 1022

stoffel@trioavi.co.za/frans@trioavi.co.za

www.trioavi.co.za

Witbank Flight School Andre De Villiers 083 604 1718 andredv@lantic.net www.waaflyingclub.co.za Wonderboom Airport Peet van Rensburg 012 567 1188/9 peet@wonderboomairport.co.za www.wonderboomairport.co.za

Zandspruit Bush & Aero Estate Martin Den Dunnen 082 449 8895 martin@zandspruit.co.za www.zandspruit.co.za Zebula Golf Estate & SPA Reservations 014 734 7700 reception@zebula.co.za www.zebula.co.za

FlightCom Magazine

44

Hangarage

Export Docs & Clearing

Lodge Transfers

(armed)

Line Inspections

Security Based

Aircraft Leasing

Aerial Photography

Maintenance

Surveys

Aircraft Sales

Contracts

Safari Charters

Special Events

Helicopter

Freight

Long-Range

FAX NO

V.I.P

TEL NO

Biz-Jets

CODE

> 20 pax

NAME OF CHARTER

< 20 pax

CHARTER DIRECTORY

BRAKPAN FABB Titanium Air

(011)

914 5810

083 292 0978

j

jjj

ExecuJet South Africa

(021)

934 5764

934 2087

jjjjj

jjjj

MS Aviation

(021)

531 3162

531 4209

jjjjjj

jjj

Streamline Air Charter

(011)

395 1195/8

jjjjj

jj

(031)

564 6215

Avcon Jet Africa

(011)

312 5676

Pambele Aviation

(011)

805-0652/82

805-0649

Batair Cargo

(011)

659 2000

701 2253

ExecuJet South Africa

(011)

516 2300

659 2520

Majestic Air Charters

(018)

632 6477

Out of the Blue Air Safaris

(011)

701 2653

j

CAPE TOWN jjj j

j

jjjj jjj j

DURBAN KZN Aviation

564 6222

j

jjjjjj

j

j

jj

GRAND CENTRAL j

jjjj

j

j

jjjj

j

j

jjj j

LANSERIA AIRPORT j jjjjj j 082 905 5760

j

j jjjjj

jjj

jj

jjj

j

j

jjjj

j

j

jjj

jjj

j

jj

j

j

OR TAMBO INTERNATIONAL Fair Aviation (Pty) Ltd

(011)

395 4552

395 4244

jjjj

Federal Airlines

(011)

395 9000

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RAND AIRPORT FlyFofa Airways

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WINDHOEK - SWAKOPMUND Scenic Air (Pty) Ltd

(+264)

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info@scenic-air.com.na

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WONDERBOOM AIRPORT - PRETORIA Alpha One Aviation

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301 9977

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(083) 279 7853

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