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Contributors
John Bassi
Laura McDermid
Darren Olivier
Jeffery Kempson
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:
CONTRAILS HAVE LONG BEEN a favourite subject of the tin-foil hat brigade to attack the airline industry.
But now no less a body than IATA has acknowledged that contrails are part of aviation’s impact on the climate.
Some basic science: Jet engines produce water vapour – and other stuff. At high altitude, and in high humidity, the water vapour condenses onto condensation nuclei from the jet combustion chambers. If the air is sufficiently humid the water vapour condenses into crystals and a cloud is formed. These clouds are called condensation trails – or contrails.
The climate effects of contrails depends on how long they last, the place and time of the day at which they are formed, the weather conditions, the combined effect of multiple contrails, and, importantly, whether they have a cooling or warming effect.
formation and climate impact. No methods exist yet to monitor contrails on a per flight basis or tools to mitigate them at scale.”
IATA says that the aviation community, consisting of industry, governments, universities, and research institutions, are engaging in initiatives to further understand the climate impact of contrails and potential mitigation.
Part of the work that IATA is leading is focused on increasing the confidence of where contrails might form, and what their climate effect could be. This involves equipping aircraft with humidity sensors, performing contrail avoidance trials and researching and testing the non-CO2 effects of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and hydrogen.”
they have a warming effect
This makes calculating their net climate effect on a per flight basis extremely complex. Despite this, IATA has seemingly bowed to pressure from the environmental lobbyists to recognise that one of the main climate change contributions is from persistent contrails and the resulting aviation-induced clouds.
While the climate effect of these emissions has been estimated at an aggregate level, the capacity to accurately measure their impact at an airline or individual-flight level is very limited. Also, large uncertainties remain regarding the overall climate effect of these emissions.
IATA has accepted that, “On balance, they have a warming effect, with diurnal, seasonal and geographical variations. The scientific understanding of the non-CO2 climate effects of aviation has grown, but significant uncertainties exist in predicting contrail
A report commissioned by IATA calls for a strengthening of collaboration between research and technological innovation, coupled with policy frameworks to address aviation’s non-CO2 emissions through more atmospheric data.” The short term (20242030) objective is to prioritise the reduction of CO2 emissions over uncertainties in contrail detection and climate impact through: Increasing airline participation in sensor programs, continuing scientific research, improving humidity and climate models. The medium term (2030-2040) objectives are to establish standards for data transmission, continuously validating models, and encouraging aircraft manufacturers to include provisions for meteorological observations.
For the longer-term (2040-2050): IATA believes that aircraft should be continuously providing data, and the models and infrastructure should be reliable.
All this is intensely complex – and reflects the pressures on the airline industry from climate activists.
As
TIGHT JEANS
a role model for someone who wants a lot out of life, Frank had quite a lot going for him. Ex-Dutch Air Force, he had flown in the early days
of the jet era. Meteors and Sabres, that sort of thing.
HE WENT ON FROM the Air Force to be a test pilot. In fact, he was responsible for test flying the Alpha Jet, that little twin engined jet trainer used by the French Air Force, (and the ‘Patrouille de France’ aerobatic team).
He is a burly open-faced man with a ready smile, an uncomplicated nature and not very much white-blond hair trained over the sun tanned dome of his head.
Among his many stories there was a hilarious one of a flight he did with the Alpha Jet from Ystres in Southern France. It was to be an endurance test, with the drop tanks full.
military controller of his predicament. He reached just over thirty thousand feet before everything went quiet.
The distant coast line of France seemed hopelessly far away, but the little Alpha Jet was a willing glider and not a keen swimmer and after what seemed like hours, the Ystres runway slid temptingly towards the nose and with it, a minute gleam of optimism.
the road as a landing ground
It wasn’t until he was a long, long way out over the Mediterranean Sea that he found that the ground crew had omitted to fill the drop tanks and he had omitted to check them. After a quick calculation he discovered that he was indeed going to have the opportunity of finding out the EXACT fuel endurance of an Alpha Jet with full main tanks and empty auxiliaries.
He turned the aircraft around and, in order to reduce drag and prolong his anticipated glide, he dropped the tanks into the sea and began to climb, advising the
But it was not to be. At ‘Best Angle of Glide’, the little jet just hadn’t got quite enough height to make it back to the field.
As luck would have it, Frank noticed a long straight dirt road, leading through the surrounding fields towards the airport. He decided that this would make a very satisfactory alternative to the real thing. So he set himself up for a landing on it. It wasn’t until he was fully committed that he discovered that the Germans, during the Second World War, had also spotted the suitability of the road as a landing ground for aircraft. They had therefore erected concrete barricades across it to prevent the Allies from doing what Frank was now going to try.
The touch-down was one that even Frank was proud of, but try as he might, there was no way around the
obstruction on the track in front of him as he slowed down. He hit it with the left main gear, which bent with the impact, bringing the aircraft to a halt with a jolt. Frank opened the canopy and climbed out onto the ground. The damage was surprisingly light and the ‘plane looked easily recoverable, particularly since the runway was just the other side of the fence.
He had lost all communications soon after the engines flamed out and the last information received by the controller put him somewhere out to sea. The search therefore concentrated on an area of water either side of the track which he had taken for the test flight, and nobody seemed to be interested in the little jet parked on a concrete block just beside the airport’s perimeter fence, however much the pilot shouted and waved his arms at the passing helicopters.
Finally Frank admitted to himself that no-one was going to come and pick him up and so, grabbing his bone dome he climbed over the fence and walked the two kilometres to the Administration building. He opened the door of the Ops Room and went in.
“I would like to report an accident.” he announced.
fuel. Hardly any damage really, considering. Bloody miracle if you ask me. The poor guy must have had a malfunction on the bang seat because it’s still in the ‘plane. He must have just bailed out over the sea. I’m surprised that the canopy stayed on really. Bloody strong little airplane if you ask me. Shame about the driver. I’ve come to Ops to find out who he was. They didn’t seem to know over the other side.”
“The man you are looking for is ME!” said Frank, laying a calming hand on the other pilot’s shoulder. “And after what I’ve just been through, I need a hot shower and an enormous Scotch, and since I cannot find anybody who is prepared to listen to me, I’m going to get both of those right now. If you find anybody who is interested I would be most obliged if you would advise them that they can call off the search. They will find me in my room.”
Bloody
miracle if you ask me
“I’m sorry sir,” came the flustered reply from the Duty Ops Officer, “Come back later. We’ve got an aircraft missing and we’re too busy to deal with your problem right now.” And before Frank could get a word in, he turned importantly, strode into his office and slammed the door. Frank tried knocking on the closed office door, but all he could hear was the Ops Officer screaming down the telephone in 3000 wpm French. Frank was just turning around, wondering who to talk to next when the main door of the Admin Building opened and a colleague walked in, obviously fresh from the cockpit, by the sweat which stained his flying overalls. He looked worried.
“What’s the problem?” said Frank.
“One of the new Alpha Jets went up on a test flight this morning and put out a Mayday call somewhere miles south of here, out over the Med. We’ve found the aeroplane. It landed back close to the runway with no
...But Frank’s true love affair was with the Seastar. After finishing the flight testing on the Alpha Jet, he was headhunted by the Dornier aircraft company who were producing an extraordinary little twelve passenger amphibian.
She was not only graceful but also extremely strong and her airframe was constructed completely of composites. Her ancestry was obvious. The hull which swept up to a nicely proportioned tail, sported flared stub-wing balance floats, just like her Second World War forebear, the Dornier “Wal” or Whale.
The Seastar’s fuselage was suspended below a finely sculpted wing with the engines mounted on it and so was the Wal’s. The difference here was that the Seastar’s engines were situated one behind the other, giving centre-line thrust in the event of an engine failure and considerably reducing drag in normal flight. Another departure from the Wal’s design was a retractable undercarriage, with the main wheels housed conveniently in the stub-wing floats.
The design’s incredible strength was demonstrated admirably one day when Frank and a colleague took her out with an engineer, for some heavy weather tests. The Baltic sea is well known for the violence of its
short sharp waves. These can reach heights in excess of five metres and have been known to get even larger vessels into trouble. Frank wanted to see just how good the Seastar was in these conditions and so they ventured out on a windy day which was producing white horses on the wave-tops. The idea was to fly out to sea to find the big swells and try a landing. Then they would try taxying at progressively increased speeds until a take-off could be achieved.
Conditions were rather rougher than they had anticipated and, after landing on the shoulder of one wave, the little amphibian wrestled her way up, barging past the crest of another wave before surfing into the hollow beyond and nosing up the back of the next. Speed was building nicely as the engines laboured to drive the hull up onto the plane and then, suddenly the sea seemed to open up and the Seastar dropped into a dark watery chasm before being hurled high in the air by a massive brutish wall of water. It was all Frank could do to ram the power levers to the panel and stuff the stick forward in a last ditch effort to prevent a stall.
“HOLD ON!” he shouted as they nosed over and dived into the roaring turmoil of storm tortured water. The fuselage stayed under the water for measurable seconds before slowly struggling back to the surface.
Not only did they make it, but when the engineers lifted her out of the water and examined every square millimetre of her structure, they could find no evidence of what she had been through. She was as sound as the day when she came out of the factory. The engines needed seeing to of course. Drinking sea water doesn’t do anyone a lot of good.
Sadly, a major squabble developed inside the Dornier family about the Seastar’s future and she never went into production, which broke Frank’s heart, but gave us the benefit of his company when he joined us as Chief Pilot.
- - -
The first time I actually met Frank, I was in Aden, the then capital of South Yemen. I was flying with a great friend, an Austrian called Franz and Frank introduced himself to us as he came out through the new arrivals building.
a couple of ice-cold Seerah beers
“Hi” he said, his beaming smile breaking down the barriers as we shook hands, “I’m Frank Tuytjens. You must be Hugh and you must be Franz. Good to see you and thanks for coming to meet me.” He appeared to be travelling extremely light.
Frank did not know how long they would have to evacuate before she foundered. Then, while he was checking on the condition of the other members of the crew, he realised that the sound he could hear was not the thunder of the storm, but the rumble of two Pratt & Whitney PT6s. The engines were still muttering away happily in spite of the dousing they had just received. There was no surging in rush of water through shattered bulk heads either. In fact the old girl seemed to be much the same shape as she had been before the plunge. He could almost hear her saying “So? That was fun! What’s next?”
“Well, I suppose we could try and taxi her back to shore and see if she can make it in one piece,” he said and the other two heads nodded in agreement. Any craft that could get you through an experience like that without killing you was definitely worth saving.
“Hello Frank,” I greeted him. “Can we give you a hand with your bags?”
“I wish you could!” said Frank, “But they must have gone astray in Paris. I spoke to the Air France Station Manager here and he assured me that they will arrive on Thursday’s flight. It’s not the first time I have suffered at the hands of Aerogares de Paris! So we can only live in hope!”
“I’ve got some spare clothes if you need them and I’m about your size.” I offered encouragingly and he accepted the offer gratefully.
“I see what they mean about Aden!” said Frank, looking around the crumbling buildings as we left the car park.
Khormaksar Airport, had been built for the Royal Air Force, across the isthmus which connects Aden to the mainland of Arabia. It was still littered with quietly corroding reminders of a busy past, more than twenty years after the Brits had left. A Meteor, a Hunter, lines of old DC-3’s, bits of a Canberra bomber, an old Rolls Royce Griffon engine, presumably off a Shackleton, and the remains of what I could only make out to be an A-26 sweated in the salt-laden sauna along with some artefacts left by more recent tenants.
Mig-15s and 17s and even a 21, shared the apron with Antonov 24s and a Mil Mi-8 helicopter, in front of the tattered remnants of the RAF hangars. An enormous scrap yard, piled high with torn wreckage from previous crashes provided a feast for anyone interested enough to probe out beyond the rear of the Alyemda hangar. Turbine wheels from condemned Russian Ivchenko turbine engines rolled around aimlessly on the concrete aprons which had previously bristled with activity when the RAF were running things. A deserted RAF paint store accommodated mounds of time-ex aircraft instruments. It fascinated me that the Russian Air Speed Indicators had the same classic dodecahedral shape as the American ones. I wish I had kept some of them. The only bits I ever took home with me were the Pratt & Whitney plates off a couple of scrapped R-2000s.
I bought the beer and returned to our table. “Good Health.” We clinked bottles, “And thanks for the jeans Hugh,” Frank added. “However, I think I will have to change my name. No longer Tuytjens,” he smiled. “Now it’s going to have to be ‘Tight Jeans’, I fear, until I get my luggage, of course!”
We had a relaxing evening and the following morning Frank took us up for our Instrument check rides and proficiency checks. They proved to be almost fun and certainly highly educational as we searched the Twin Otter’s performance envelope with the benefit of Frank’s test-piloting background.
His luggage did arrive on the Thursday flight, as promised, (and to our barely suppressed amazement,) and Frank was able to escape from the strictures of having to wear my jeans and extend himself to the more generous dimensions allowed for by his own.
“See you in the bar.”
When we got back to the Hotel, Frank settled into his room and I fed a pair of my jeans round his door as promised.
“See you in the bar.” I said and left him to get sorted out.
Ten minutes later, Frank marched into the bar where Franz and I had broken into a couple of ice-cold Seerah beers.
“Beer?” I enquired, walking over to the bar.
“Many thanks,” said Frank, “I could murder one.” I could see that he meant it.
The evening before he left for Europe, we settled down to explore the possibilities offered by a bottle of Glen Morangie which Frank had managed to secrete away in the check-in baggage which had so miraculously managed to find its way, unaccompanied, from Paris.
“So!” said Frank, holding up his glass, “Here’s to the end of Frank Tight Jeans!” We raised our glasses respectfully to his memory. “And to the return of Frank Tuytjens to civilization...hopefully with his luggage this time!”
“And here’s to a new and very welcomed friend,” I stood up as I reached across to make the toast. “To ‘Frank Two Chins!’”
Frank let out a guffaw of laughter “Don’t you forget!” he wagged his finger at me, “You’ve got another Prof Check coming up in six months’ time.”
“Where will we all be in six months’ time?” I gesticulated, throwing care to the winds. Little was I to know that in six months Franz and I would be in the middle of a war zone and Frank would be sitting with his feet up on a desk in Zurich.
ETHIOPIA GRADUATES 750 AVIATION PROFESSIONALS
Ethiopian Aviation University has graduated close to 800 aviation professionals including international trainees from eight African countries and one from Asia.
The graduation ceremony on 15 June took place at the university’s facility. The graduates were trainees in Ethiopian Aviation University’s Pilot, Aviation Maintenance, Cabin Crew and Commercial Training programmes.
Congratulating the aviation professionals, Ethiopian Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer Mr. Mesfin
Tasew, said, “We are delighted to witness the fruits of our effort in realizing a self-sufficient Africa, in terms of aviation professionals supporting the industry within the continent. We believe in the potential of Africa’s youths to shape the continent’s aviation and continue to educate them at our centre of excellence."
"Training globally competitive professionals, today, we graduate 308 aviation maintenance, 142 pilots, 297 cabin crew, 25 electro-mechanical professionals and 15 ticket agents. I urge Africans to invest in training their youth for the future of aviation at Ethiopian Aviation University.”
The Ethiopian Aviation Academy.
Laura McDermid continues her stories about Iris McCallum’s early years in East Africa.
THE YEAR WAS 1980 and, despite Kenya achieving independence in 1963, the British influence persisted. Fascination with the country was at an all-time high. Many Britons were familiar with the exotic wildlife and scenic landscapes through literature and nature documentaries.
The media exposure spurred a sense of adventure and a desire to experience safaris firsthand, which benefited the local aviation companies, including Sunbird Aviation, the company I’d been working for since April.
On 14 September 1980, I was asked to charter a film crew that were making a television series based on Elspeth Huxley’s book; ‘The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood’. The memoir tells the story about Elspeth’s family’s ambitious move from Scotland to Thika, a remote area of Kenya, to establish a coffee plantation just before WWI.
IRIS FAREWELL TO ARN in fright before the shadow of my wings PART 1
the local workers and the personal dramas amongst the settlers. The series went on to be nominated for three BAFTA television awards, including Ian Wilson for best cinematography.
A week earlier I had flown Belgian missionaries from Nairobi to Sudan, my first long distance flight which involved some nerve -wracking moments flying over unchartered territory. It’s disconcerting before a proposed flight to find that in many cases the bulk of the terrain over which you had to fly was bluntly marked ‘Relief Data Incomplete’ on the aviation chart. At those times, looking out the cockpit merely confirmed that you had no cooking clue where you were and that Mordor may be an actual place.
Huxley captures the difficulties of transforming wilderness into a farm, the relationships formed with
I flew a total distance of 1600 nm on that trip in the trusty Piper Aztec 5Y-ARN. Although I had only been flying ARN for a few months, he had grown on me and I’d come to view his shortcomings as tolerable quirks, in the same way a parent views the behaviour of a delinquent child in a mildly amusing light.
This day I loaded my film crew’s four passengers, together with their endless bags of fragile camera equipment, and we took off from Wilson at 08h30 local.
My heading would have been direct north-east had Mount Kenya not been in the middle of the flight path.
At over 17,000 ft at its highest point, Mount Kenya is Africa’s second highest mountain and has claimed many unsuspecting aeroplanes over the years, including four WWII SAAF airmen who crashed their Bristol Blenheim MkIV in 1942 during a training flight.
With its snow capped peaks, it is without doubt an amazing spectacle, and always elicits gasps of awe from my passengers.
Many mountaineers have attempted to climb this formidable mountain, but one of my favourite stories is of three Italians that were held in a British POW camp during WWII at the base of the mountain in Nanyuki.
They escaped the camp and managed to climb the third highest peak, Point Lenana, before ‘escaping’ back into camp 18 days later. The story is retold in the book ‘No Picnic on Mount Kenya’ written by their team leader Felize Benuzzi. Apparently an image of Mount Kenya on an Oxo tin of rations, provided the three escapees with information on the unseen south face of the mountain.
Stories like these serve as a reminder of the almost godlike achievement of our species which are perpetuated throughout history, often supported on the twin crutches of fable and human incredulity.
The filming was taking place at Lewa Downs, the home of the Craig family who, in order to protect the dwindling black rhino population, converted 62,000 acres into a wildlife conservancy in the early 1980s.
It was a quick flight and soon I was overhead the dark red strip. The place is home to over 70 species of mammals, and at that time of the year the zebras were starting their migration.
The forlorn wreckage of 5Y-ARN.
I buzzed the strip which had the effect of churning a bunch of wildebeest into a frenzied gallop, the clownish beasts ending back where they started. I came in lower the second time and watched them plunge in fright before the shadow of my wings, this time scattering into a thicket of acacias.
I glanced at my watch, it was 09h15, and I could already see the heat shimmering above the red sand airstrip, a portent of afternoon thunder showers.
As I opened ARN’s door, the passengers tumbled out in a tangle of limbs and camera equipment, eager to get started with the day’s filming.
Once my passengers were collected, I performed my post-flight checks and sought out a shady spot from where I could watch the filming.
My young friend Jacky Kenyon oversaw the oxen and ox wagon which played a crucial role in the series. He waved and gave me a wide toothy grin when he saw
me, before returning his attention to the jet black zebu bull, which at its hump stood at least a foot taller than Jacky.
I watched David Robb and Hayley Mills in their roles of Robin and Tilly Grant face various hardships in their beautiful but hostile new Kenyan home with their eleven year old daughter Elspeth (played by Holly Aird).
Lewa air strip with its dark red earth.
Mt Kenya as seen from the air.
The image of Mount
on an Oxo tin of rations.
Kenya
The Flame Trees of Thika - David Robb and Hayley Mills as Robin and Tilly Grant with Elspeth played by Holly Aird.
The set was made up to resemble a picnic scene. A large white sheet has been draped between two large umbrella thorn trees and Elspeth and her mom are being served tea by headman Njombo out of fine bone china cups.
Suddenly a bunch of curious Maasai materialize out of the bush and stare at the spectacle of the two well dressed European women who couldn’t have looked more out of place if they tried. Njombo is incensed by the intrusion and shouts at the onlookers in Swahili to go away.
The actresses must be sweltering in their Victorian dresses which are buttoned all the way up to their ears and I am grateful that society had evolved to allow women to wear pants and bare some skin.
By late afternoon the sky is grey, and I can hear the faint rumble of thunder in the distance.
the horizon is the colour of a ripe aubergine
The Maasai are meant to look contrite after being admonished, but each time Njombo shouts at them, one of them begins to snort with mirth which triggers the rest into peals of laughter and the scene has to be shot again.
At midday clouds begin to coalesce, offering some respite from the relentless sun. By late afternoon a pall of malaise descends over everything, even the noisy cicadas are quietened into submission.
Ian Wilson calls time out and the arduous process of lugging the camera equipment back to the plane begins. As the first fat plops of rain strike the dusty runway, the fizz of ozone fill my nostrils. Time to go.
When I lift off at 17h40, the southern horizon is the colour of a ripe aubergine and rain is falling in a solid sheet. As soon as I trim ARN for straight and level, I file an IFR flight plan which takes me over the November Victor VOR and clears me to the Tango Hotel Beacon for an ILS approach onto runway 07 at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Lewa Downs Conservancy.
BOEING PRESIDENT APOLOGISES
Boeing President Dave Calhoun has apologised to victims of Boeing plane crashes.
CALHOUN TURNED TO FACE the gallery at a Senate committee. “I would like to apologise, on behalf of all of our Boeing associates spread throughout the world, past and present, for your losses,” Calhoun said after numerous calls from those in the gallery to turn around and face them. “I apologise for the grief that we have caused.”
Calhoun was already in for a rough ride before hundreds of grieving relatives flooded into the chamber carrying posters of their dead loved ones and slogans shaming Boeing.
The night before the hearing, another whistleblower came forward alleging Boeing hid infractions from FAA safety inspectors and allowed unapproved parts to be installed in aircraft. Under questioning from the senate, Calhoun said he was aware of the company retaliating against whistleblowers.
As Calhoun was testifying, the Seattle Times revealed that Boeing’s MAX aircraft have a system in their engines that is not included in their flight manuals and has been activated in a couple of serious incidents.
The load reduction device (LRD) decouples the primary fan from the engine if the fan becomes unbalanced. That occurred in two serious bird strike incidents which resulted in heavy smoke in the cabin in one and in the cockpit in another.
The LRD worked as intended to stop the engines from literally shaking themselves apart but in doing so could also have altered the pilots’ response to the damaged fans. The FAA told the Seattle Times there is no evidence the LRD affected pilot responses to the two engine incidents and Boeing said that since the systems cannot be controlled by the pilots there is no need for them to know about it.
But Southwest Pilots Association Vice President Tom Nekouei disagreed. “If I have a system in the airplane that has a function, I need to know about it,” he said, noting the lack of transparency is like the lack of pilot knowledge of the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System that was a major factor in the crashes of two MAXes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun apologises to Boeing victim families.
IATA - THE GLOBAL AIRLINE INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
Addressing the IATA annual general meeting in Dubai in June, Willie Walsh, the IATA Director General said that globally airlines performed well in 2023 with improved profitability. It was also the safest ever year – and a key thrust for the future is the drive towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
IATA Director General Willie Walsh.
WALSH NOTED THAT
by February 2023, domestic markets had fully recovered from the pandemic shock and the recovery of long-haul markets was largely complete by year-end.
“All told, airlines lost about four years of passenger growth as a result of the pandemic. The expectation is that 2024 will see travel exceed 2019 levels and progress toward an average annual growth rate of 3.8% to 2043.”
Profitability
Walsh says that latest estimates indicate a $27.4 billion profit for 2023 with the expectation of strengthening profitability in 2024. Considering the enormous losses of 2020-2022, achieving this level of profitability is a major achievement. But with net profit margins of just 3.0%, sustainable profitably continues to elude airlines at the aggregated industry level.
Safety
The airline industry’s safety performance recorded “best-ever” results by several key measures. In 2023, there were no fatal accidents involving any IATA member airline, and there were no fatal accidents by any airline on the registry of the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA).
Globally, there was a single fatal accident involving a turboprop. And that is a reminder that safety is a continuous challenge. A key tool that is helping address that challenge is IOSA. In 2023, IOSA marked the twentieth year since the first airline joined the registry. Carriers on the registry have consistently outperformed those not on the registry by a significant margin.
a $27.4 billion profit for 2023
The cargo business also transitioned to a more normal level of activity in 2023. After seeing extraordinary demand in 2021, followed by a sharp drop in 2022, a gradual strengthening set in during most of 2023. Cargo rates experienced a different pattern and are continuing their downward correction to normality after unprecedented highs during the pandemic.
It is also notable that both air cargo and passenger traffic have defied a challenging macro-economic environment. Despite consumer inflation, people continue to travel in growing numbers. And emerging opportunities, such as time and temperature sensitive cargo and e-commerce, have been strong air cargo performers.
Persistent supply chain issues continue to affect the maintenance of existing fleets and the delivery of new aircraft. This is an enormous frustration for airline planning and operations, the impact of which extends to airline financial performance. Walsh insists that solutions must be found.
Several initiatives are further improving safety, notably a Safety Leadership Charter, the strengthening of IATA data capabilities with the advancement of the Global Aviation Data Management (GADM) initiative, and the progressive transition of IOSA to a risk-based approach that will deliver even more meaningful results.
Sustainability
A major focus for 2023 was on progressing the industry’s goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. IATA estimates that 65% of the carbon mitigation needed for net zero by 2050 will come from Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF).
Walsh notes that the industry has used, ‘every drop of SAF produced. But in 2023 that was just 0.2% of total fuel used. The problem is simply that not enough SAF is being produced.’
In November 2023, governments, through ICAO, set a target of a 5% reduction in CO2 emissions through SAF. ‘This emphasizes the urgent need for those same governments to be more effective with policies to support the scaling up of SAF. And it highlights the need for policies to support the other decarbonization levers, such as direct air capture, which will be needed to complement SAF.’
IATA
IATA will establish the SAF Registry to accelerate the uptake of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) by authoritatively accounting and reporting emissions reductions from SAF. The Registry will help meet the critical needs of all stakeholders as part of the global effort to ramp-up SAF production.
Some of the key capabilities of the SAF Registry are:
• Its wide geographic scope: The Registry will allow airlines to purchase SAF regardless of where it is produced. Each batch’s certified environmental attributes can be tracked and assigned to the purchasing airline. By ensuring that the environmental attributes of SAF are properly recorded and transferred between parties, airlines and their customers can report emissions reductions accurately, aligning with any reporting obligations and international standards.
• Broad application and neutrality: The Registry will be neutral with respect to regulations, types of SAF, and any other specificities under relevant jurisdictions and frameworks, making it capable of handling all such user requirements.
Global standards
Global standards are essential for aviation as they are the bedrock of its safety. They will also be a key to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. A focus of IATA’s advocacy efforts has been defending global standards, for example:
• IATA resisted plans from the Dutch Government to ignore the ICAO Balanced Approach on Noise and illegally impose a capacity-cut at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
airlines would face enormous cost and complexity
• IATA is opposing international corporate income tax proposals that would require airlines to report revenue in each location where it was generated. Currently, airlines report all revenue in their headquarter’s jurisdiction. There are no flags of convenience giving access to friendlier tax regimes, so governments will gain nothing from the change. But airlines will face enormous cost and complexity should the proposals be adopted.
• IATA is also promoting standards that modernise business practices. This includes:
• Governance: Independent governance will ensure the system’s impartiality and robustness.
• Cost efficiency: Participation in the registry will be on a cost recovery basis to avoid adding unnecessary cost barriers to the SAF ramp-up.
• The Registry is being developed in consultation with airlines, government authorities, international organizations, OEMs, fuel producers and suppliers, airports, and corporate travel management companies.
• Modern airline retailing to serve air travellers better, by replacing complex legacy processes with a system of “offers and orders” system that will parallel what most other retailers use.
• Working with aircraft and engine manufacturers to promote best practices, recognizing that airlines own the operational data generated by their fleets and that they must be in control of how it is used.
• IATA’s Financial Settlement Systems (IFSS) continue to process transactions between airlines and agents (passenger and cargo), “efficiently, safely and on time. In 2023, the IFSS processed a total of $445.3 billion excluding $18.2 billion in refunds,” Walsh concluded.
BOEING INSISTS STARLINER
‘NOT STRANDED’
Boeing claims its first crewed mission of the Starliner capsule is “going well” despite yet another delay in the return of its astronauts from the International Space Station.
IN A STATEMENT in late June, the company said the delay is part of the programme and not a failure. “The mission is still going, and it is going well. It is a test flight,” the company said.
Boeing insists the Starliner could return to earth at any time if necessary.
The Starliner docked with the ISS on June 6 and was supposed to leave a week later. But five helium leaks and issues with the thrusters pushed that back.
The return was delayed again and by the end of June, Boeing and NASA had stopped giving projected return dates, saying that the departure is now scheduled for sometime in July.
Many commentators have used the word “stranded” to describe the plight of astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. However the company is emphatically rejecting this assertion.
It is significant to note that Boeing’s budget to develop the Starliner was more expensive than SpaceX and it was given far more time. The Dragon cost of $2.6B is about two thirds the Starliner’s $4.2B cost to develop and build. Yet SpaceX may still have to launch one of its Dragon capsules to rescue the Boeing astronauts. In 2019 NASA pegged the Crew Dragon’s cost per seat at $55m and Starliner’s cost per seat at $90m.
OKAVANGO DREAMING:
LOVE IN THE MOPANI BELT PART 3
One summer morning my girlfriend persuaded me to visit a homeopath, a Dr Hisbeeck. I was sceptical but had read Lyall Watson’s bestselling book “Supernature” so kept an open mind.
AT THE DOCTOR we each handed over the fee and filled in a form. All that was required was our names, date of birth, and signatures.
My girlfriend went in first while I went outside for a smoke. Several minutes later I was invited into the consulting room.
Dr Hisbeeck looked at me, and what she said changed my life. Without any diagnostic equipment she gave me an excellent medical, and also a surprising psychological assessment.
If you desire something, once rhythm-entrained, the trick is to visualise it, then believe you already have it. I practised the technique and found it worked. It’s not foolproof and doesn’t always work, particularly if you think you’re meditating, but are actually wondering what’s for dinner.
Many of my wishes came true
Running her finger down a list she had compiled, she spoke of important events in my past. Her analysis was so accurate and comprehensive that I decided to find out how she’d gained these insights. I studied a book called Silva Mind Control and then enrolled in a Silva Mind Control Course. The course uses a small loudspeaker that cycles 10 beats a second which entrain the brain to that frequency while an instructor talks you through a meditation technique.
Many of my wishes came true. I wished for a small affordable home-built plane, called a KR-2. Somehow, a few weeks later I was able to pay cash for one. My KR-2 was beautifully finished but had a higher than usual empty weight and an aft CofG, which made the already very responsive plane into a little death trap.
I survived the KR-2 long enough to sell it and buy a pre-owned Mooney Executive. Now I could travel long distances with an improved chance of arriving.
I was by then girlfriend-free and so decided to practise my augmented wishing program to get a new model: I desired an attractive blue-eyed blonde, articulate and personable.
On a night stop in Maun. I stayed with friends who had invited a few folks to lunch. One was a very attractive, articulate blue-eyed blonde I’d admired around Maun since she was a teenager, and she was now a thirtysix-year-old successful business owner. By dusk I was head over heels in love.
We had a fling, facilitated by the Mooney Executive, so I could often fly off to Maun at a moment’s notice. However, as a long-range relationship it never really worked. I did not want to abandon my prize girlfriend, so I moved to Maun. I knew some folk who were operating a pair of four engine Lockheed Electra freighters carrying food and beer out of Joburg to Pointe Noire in Congo.
I undertook negotiations with the DCA in Gaborone, and the prospective boost to the Botswana economy won the day. A DCA type asked me, “What will you do if you lose an engine at Maun?” I replied, “We’ll do a 3-engine ferry,” hoping it would never happen.
A few weeks later I moved to Maun and one afternoon the first Electra arrived. Unfortunately, the ‘woofer’, a small jet engine which provided compressed air to start the engines, had been left in Pointe Noire. So, the crew kept the No. 1 engine running while the aircraft was loaded from two large shipping containers.
No. 1 engine had seized
My lady in Maun had started a business selling groceries from the back of a small truck in Maun and had progressed to owning a large supermarket. So, all the goods for the Congo were available in Maun.
It was easy to persuade the Electra owners to ship the goods out of Maun instead of Joburg and save almost 4 hours on the round trip.
Shortly after the aircraft had been loaded, the No. 1 engine stopped. It had seized, and there was nothing to be done about it that afternoon.
An inauspicious start to our enterprise.
The next morning an Air Botswana ground power unit was found, the remaining engines started and the previously unhoped for 3-engine ferry to Safair for repairs in Joburg was flown without incident.
A Lockheed Electra at the Maun fuel pumps.
The operation then ran smoothly – and I learned to drive a forklift.
We had a query from Pointe Noire about flying meat into Congo. There was an abattoir in Maun, so a French speaking gentleman arrived on the now almost daily Electra flight and asked to see a cow map.
We had no idea what he was talking about, but the abattoir had a poster of a cow with prices per kilogram. An invoice was generated but we were told we could not just buy the meat and fly it out. The abattoir insisted on knowing the temperature of the aircraft’s freight area, and the flying time. We came up with some figures that satisfied them.
The meat flights were profitable, until one day they suddenly stopped. I enquired why, and was told they had sourced best Botswana beef from a subsidised Botswana meat mountain in Europe. It was cheaper to import it from Europe in frozen container shipments than flying it directly from the Maun abattoir.
I could have bought a better plane
At this juncture the Electra owners asked us if we would be able to supply diesel to Pointe Noire, as the grade required there was not readily available. I declined, saying “You are flying over Angola and a civil war. The Geneva Convention says that diesel is a weapon of war, so we reluctantly prefer not to supply it.”
After a fortnight’s delay, all the paperwork was accepted, even an end user-certificate. I remonstrated with the abattoir officials, saying that the meat was not being weaponised, so should be of no consequence to those who ate it, but all to no avail.
The normal Electra freight runs continued until sometime later a Dutch Electra Captain arrived with an attractive lady. He said she was a friend he had met in Pointe Noire.
“You know that’s not permitted on these operations, for insurance reasons and so on,” I said.
Jeffery with the Mooney at Lanseria - before the new terminal was built..
He shrugged, “Okay, it won’t happen again.”
About two weeks later, I was on the Maun apron waiting for the morning Electra, when a pilot walked up and said, “Do you listen to the BBC Africa Service? Because you’re busted!”
“What are you talking about?”
“A couple of weeks ago a woman journalist got a ride on an Electra down here to Maun, then back to Pointe Noire.”
“So?”
“Well, on its way here, that Electra landed on a bush airstrip in Angola. The plane was fitted with a big rubber bladder tank carrying diesel fuel to supply the engine on a diamond dredger. The place is surrounded by UNITA land mines to keep the enemy out, and there are lots of European owned spaza shops selling most of the goods that come out of Maun. They pay $100 for 12 beers there. That’s how the airfreight can handle the costs involved.”
“Well, I’m shocked” I said, “Who would have imagined that?”
He continued; “The mercenary group, Executive Outcomes, are being flown into Sau Rimo now, so it’s just a matter of time before they take that diamond mine”.
“What a shame,” I answered. “ But now excuse me as I have to load lots of Castle beer onto the Electra that’s just taxying in.”
About three weeks later the Electra operation from Maun ceased, and I went back to Joburg. Then, feeling that light aircraft charter operations were rather dull by comparison, and not particularly lucrative, I took a couple of months off.
Sometime later, still besotted by the Maun beauty, I tried to exorcise the lady from my mind, but with little success. I also took a precious gem course specialising in the mineral Beryl, more specifically the precious Emerald variety.
Jeffery Kempson loading beer at Maun.
One day at the local Mall I noticed a fellow sealing goods into tin cans. I gave him a nice Emerald to can, well packed in protective tissue paper, then had it couriered to the Maun lovely. It was well received.
I never made any real money out of my occasional gem dealing, so I carried on flying. However, l was still obsessed by the Maun lady.
I had developed the habit of collecting a Mopani leaf whenever I travelled to areas where they occurred. One late afternoon, having dropped my passengers at Maun, I took off empty to return to Lanseria. In my shirt pocket I had a fresh Mopani leaf.
the time I arrived, the storm had abated. I landed and taxied to the rain-soaked apron.
On the apron I took the Mopani leaf from my pocket, said a request out loud, and let it go. As the leaf blew away into the night, I declared aloud that the spell was broken. And so it was.
rather dull by comparison
The weather at Lanseria was really bad. A large thunderstorm was in progress, and for the last forty minutes of the flight I listened to other pilots entering the holding pattern, then diverting. Fortunately, by
I had only achieved this mental state once before, when I had used it to give up drinking. If I had done it to my booze habit earlier, I could have bought a better plane.
Many weeks later the two Electras flew into Lanseria and were stored in open parking. Several years after that, a company called Air Spray bought them, fixed them up, and flew them to Canada where they were converted into fire bombers.
Starting an Electra with a special ground power unit.
JEFFERY
BLOCKED FUNDS DROP
IATA HAS REPORTED a 28% decrease in the amount of airline funds blocked from repatriation by governments. The total blocked funds at the end of April 2024 stood at approximately $1.8 billion, a reduction of $708 million (28%) since December 2023.
IATA reiterated the call for governments to remove all barriers to airlines repatriating their revenues from ticket sales and other activities in accordance with international agreements and treaty obligations.
“The reduction in blocked funds is a positive development. The remaining $1.8 billion, however, is significant and must be urgently addressed. The efficient repatriation of airline revenues is guaranteed in bilateral agreements. Even more importantly, it is a pre-requisite for airlines—who operate on thin margins—to be able to provide economically critical connectivity. No business can operate long-term without access to rightfully earned revenues,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
The main driver of the reduction was a significant clearance of funds blocked in Nigeria. Egypt also approved the clearance of its significant accumulation of blocked funds. However, in both cases, airlines were adversely affected by the devaluation of the Egyptian Pound and the Nigerian Naira.
At its peak in June 2023, Nigeria’s blocked funds amounted to $850 million, significantly affecting airline operations and finances in the country. Carriers faced difficulties in repatriating revenues in US dollars, and the high volume of blocked funds led some airlines to reduce their operations and one carrier to temporarily cease operations to Nigeria, which severely impacted the country’s aviation industry. However, as of April 2024, 98% of these funds have been cleared. The remaining $19 million is due to the Central Bank’s ongoing verification of outstanding forward claims filed by the commercial banks.
“We commend the new Nigerian government and the Central Bank of Nigeria for their efforts to resolve this issue.
Individual Nigerians and the economy will all benefit from reliable air connectivity for which access to revenues is critical. We are on the right path and urge the government to clear the residual $19 million and continue prioritizing aviation,” said Walsh.
Just eight countries account for 87% of the total blocked funds, amounting to $1.6 billion. The leading problems are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria, XAF Zone and Ethiopia.
HOW IS SAA SURVIVING?
Talking to SAA Interim CEO Prof John Lamola at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Dubai, Guy Leitch gets the latest on SAA.
WITH THE END of the Takatso deal
the big question is whether SAA still needs an equity partner – or yet another taxpayer bailout?
Lamola says, “We may never need an equity partner. If we don’t get one, we can still have the airline we have now, but with a maximum of 20 aircraft. But if we want to move up to an airline with 30 to 35 next generation aircraft, then we need a strategic equity partner, preferably an airline, to partner with.”
Getting new long haul aircraft poses a tricky problem. Normally an airline first develops a route structure, then it gives the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs: Airbus and Boeing), a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the best planes to operate those routes. But currently SAA does not fly to Europe, the USA or the Far East, so how can it order new aircraft, which it needs to do now, given the manufacturers’ 5-year waiting periods?
He says that their current plan runs from 2022 to 2029 and uses a 2023 baseline of nine aircraft. “By 2029, we will need eight A320neos. But we had to revise that strategy after the Takatso deal fell through. We are flying on our own now, with the expectation that when we start a route, it must pay for itself. We will not start a route for vanity.”
As a state-owned carrier there must be pressure to fly politically important but unprofitable routes. Lamola acknowledges this and says that he frequently gets asked: “Why not London? New York? Mumbai? China?
I was in Seattle last year
Given Boeing’s current troubles, would he consider the American manufacturer? He says that as “SAA is the national carrier, to mitigate the national security risks, we have to be friendly to both Airbus and Boeing.
Lamola says that they do in fact have a route plan, devised in September 2022. He says that what drives the airline’s route strategy are the questions: “What do we need to break even operationally: How many aircraft, flying what routes?”
“Pilots will tell you that it’s better to avoid the complication of a mixed fleet, but if you are a national carrier we cannot be beholden to one national industry if there are sanctions against Boeing. I was in Seattle last year and everybody raised an eyebrow. But we also talked to Airbus about what we’re doing. We presented them with our rollout strategy for the coming five years. That for instance, we will fly to London in 2027.”
SAA needs to improve its fleet and frequencies to operate long-haul routes like Perth.
When asked if that was still the plan, Lamola said, “Perhaps that no longer makes sense because the competition is too fierce. We’re doing continuous research on all routes, so I have business cases for Germany, London and Nairobi, which we are refreshing all the time.”
On SAA having recently restarted its Johannesburg-Perth route. Lamola admits; “Our frequencies are terrible [too infrequent], and we need new aircraft. So we are partnering with Singapore Airlines to operate Sydney on a codeshare.”
the CAA takes its time
Lamola says that the airline’s key challenge is a skills shortage; “We need to benchmark SAA to world standards in the quality of management, the vision, and the kind of equipment we operate. Because of the rescue process we have not been able to recruit the best skills for route analysis. But fortunately there is now technology that analyses data on how our competitors are doing on those routes, and we can extrapolate that.”
“We gave Boeing and Airbus the London route to analyse. Boeing flew in a route analysis team who concluded that a 777-9, and not a Dreamliner
AIRLINES
787-9, would be best. Naturally Airbus also came, and they said an A350-900 would be best. In the end we said, ‘Thanks, but we’re not ready.’ An extraneous consideration was that they don’t look at the competition.”
When asked about the airline’s immediate fleet needs, Lamola said that the plan for 2024 is to get a further eight aircraft. “Three are delayed from last year.”
For SAA’s fleet update, a significant problem is that it is a full service carrier with business class – yet most A320s are all-economy. Lamola says, “We struggle to get aircraft, and when we do, we don’t get suitable aircraft. At first we were very successful because we were getting back ex-SAA planes which were already configured to our needs, but those aircraft are no longer available.
He notes too that they can’t fly their latest A330-300 long haul because it is all-economy. So SAA is still relying on its old 4-engine A340-300s.
Many analysts argue that, with its A340 four engine ‘quads’ SAA will not be able to compete against new generation airliners. However, Lamola disagrees, “It may have been the case two years ago, when everyone was decommissioning A340s as gas guzzlers. But we have done a study that shows that although the A340-300s use more fuel compared to A330s, plus there’s the additional two engines to support, the extra costs are marginal when you consider the capital costs.”
we have to take between 6 and 10 years, which will make it hard to get to a 60:40 split if we are bound to 10 year operating leases.”
The cost of capital is a key input and this requires a strong balance sheet. Lamola says that SAA V2.0’s credit is good because it doesn’t have any debt. He says, “The lessors are all over us. They look at the cash flows and at our payment record. SAA V2.0 has never skipped one payment on our current leases, and also for our ACMI leases, so we have a good credit record.”
Much of SAA’s balance sheet is in its property holdings. “We now have a property strategy with new leases. Additionally we are getting paid for leasing out our Heathrow slots. The banks understand the difference between commercial property and aeronautical property. So they are willing to give us a R1 billion facility.”
It’s a terrible job
“We don’t have debt, but we need a cash buffer. If there’s another COVID pandemic and we are grounded for six months, we must be able to pay salaries for those six months.”
Lamola acknowledged that it would not be easy for SAA’s current revenues to fund that cash buffer; “We have a high cost structure because of the aircraft leases and our exposure to forex.”
Lamola pointed out that for Sao Paulo, “We need a backup aircraft, so we had no choice but to take an A340 back into the fleet, but in two to three years they have to go.”
When asked if SAA has any pending orders for replacement aircraft at this stage, Lamola said, “We’re not there until our strategy is mature enough for us to be in a procurement position to do operating leases on new aircraft on a 60-40 split between leased and owned.”
A feature of the airliner market is that lessors are insisting on longer lease terms. Lamola confirms that the lessors are no longer accepting six-year leases, “So
SAA has been using expensive ACMI ‘wet’ leases for Boeing 737-800s from Sun Express. Lamola says, “These leases provide schedule stability – and are good for our passenger loyalty programme. When you are running an airline, you have to decide if it is better to have cancelled flights, or to operate flights at a loss – which we cannot afford.”
“Our partnership with Sun Express is an innovative intervention to mitigate not getting the aircraft that we had we expected. It works for both airlines’ peaks and troughs strategy: during their winter they have spare aircraft, yet it is our high season. So in October, two of those aircraft will be coming back onto our strength. And then we will take an additional two in December. This is particularly important in case we have a crisis getting the new seats fitted into all the A320s that we are taking. There are always mishaps – and the CAA takes its time.”
Qatar Airways recently said they are going to partner with an airline in southern Africa. When asked if that was SAA, Lamola replied, “No it’s not us. It’s a mystery – rumour has it that it’s TAAG.”
Finally, SAA is recruiting a permanent CEO. Has Lamola thrown his hat in the ring for that position? He says, “No. However there is an automatic assumption that the incumbent will do so. It’s a terrible job, so I’ll be happy to go back to academia.”
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
IATA
FOCUS AFRICA SAFETY INITIATIVES – CASIP & IOSA
One of IATA’s most successful initiatives has been the IOSA audit. This is now being supplemented by the multi-pronged IATA Safety Leadership Charter and the CASIP programme.
Africa has an excellent safety record despite the tragedy of the Ethiopian Boeing Max crash.
THE IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) has become the globally recognized standard for airline operational safety auditing since its inception 20 years ago.
IOSA-registered carriers recorded no hull losses or fatal accidents in 2023. IOSA is now being adapted into a risk based audit by tailoring the audit activity to the operator’s profile and focusing on high-risk areas. In addition to airlines, IOSA is also being used by numerous authorities in their regulatory safety programs. Key facts:
• 425 operators are on the IOSA registry, including 100 non-IATA members.
• The all-accident rate for airlines on the IOSA registry in 2023 was 56% better than the rate for non IOSA airlines.
• The 2019-2023 average accident rate of IOSA airlines was zero, almost three times better than the non-IOSA average.
African Safety Initiatives
In 2024, after registering no fatal accident in 2023, African airlines marked their fourth safe year in a row, according to the IATA aviation safety review for 2023.
Nonetheless, IATA has created Focus Africa initiative and the IATA Safety Leadership Charter. The Charter is aimed at strengthening organisational safety culture, which is an area of focus in IATA’s Collaborative Aviation Safety Improvement Program (CASIP), under Focus Africa.
Launch partners in the CASIP programme are: The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), The African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boeing and The Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA).
the IATA Safety Leadership Charter
• The 19 accidents involving IOSA members led to neither hull losses nor fatalities.
• Since 2005, the all-accident rate for airlines on the IOSA registry is almost three times better than for non-IOSA airlines.
IATA’s Regional Director For Africa and the Middle East, Kamil Alawahdi, notes that, “The implementation of global standards improves safety. IOSA’s recent transition to a risk-based audit model will contribute to raising the safety bar even higher by focusing on pertinent safety risks while maintaining a baseline of safety.”
Under Risk-Based IOSA, audits will be tailored to the airline’s individual operating profile and history.
Additionally, IOSA is introducing a maturity assessment of the operator’s safety management system (SMS) and other safety critical programs.
IATA says, “together, the CASIP partners will prioritise the most pressing safety concerns on the continent and rally the resources needed to address them. The benefits of improving aviation safety in Africa will be spread across the economies and societies of the continent.”
“The starting point for safety improvement is the effective use of global standards for safety. At government level, a key indicator is effective implementation of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS).
Data for the year 2022 reveals considerable room for improvement with only 28 of 54 African states reaching an effective implementation rate for ICAO SARPS of 60% or higher.
The CASIP partners will identify deficiencies in operational safety and implement corrective action plans. They will provide continent wide safety training and workshops, and a data-driven approach to safety performance with emphasis on making safety data available to decision-makers and ensuring efficient accident/incident reporting.
IATA
“Improving safety performance is a priority for Africa. And we don’t need to reinvent the wheel to deliver the needed results. Collaborative safety teams in Latin America have demonstrated that safety improves when government and industry work together to implement global standards. By working together, the partners will pool resources to have a greater impact on areas where risk can be reduced, leading to measurable improvements in safety,” said IATA Director General, Willie Walsh.
More than 40 airlines were the first signatories. RwandAir was the second carrier in Africa to sign, following Ethiopian Airlines who made the commitment at the launch of the Safety Leadership Charter in September 2023.
“At RwandAir, safety is not just a priority but a fundamental principle guiding our operations. Our organizational culture is deeply rooted in robust safety practices, making it the cornerstone of our operational integrity. By signing the IATA Safety Leadership Charter, we are not only reaffirming our unwavering commitment to a culture of safety but also recognizing the imperative to continuously build on the work that has gone before,” said Yvonne Makolo, CEO of RwandAir.
IATA's Africa and Middle East Regional Director Kamil Alawadi explains CASIP.
The IATA Safety Leadership Charter was developed in consultation with IATA members and the wider aviation community to support industry executives in continuing evolving a positive safety culture within their organizations.
Safety Leadership guiding principles include:
• Leading the obligation to safety through both words and actions.
• Fostering safety awareness among employees, the leadership team, and the board.
• Creating an atmosphere of trust, where all employees feel responsible for safety and are encouraged and expected to report safety-related information.
• Guiding the integration of safety into business strategies, processes, and performance measures and creating the internal capacity to manage and achieve organizational safety goals.
• Regularly assessing and improving organizational safety culture.
BAGGAGE HANDLING IMPROVES
The industry agency SITA has announced an improvement in the air transport industry’s rate of mishandled baggage.
SITA’S BAGGAGE IT INSIGHTS 2024 reports the number of bags mishandled by the industry falling from 7.6 to 6.9 per 1,000 passengers in 2023.
This is despite passenger numbers rising above 2019 levels for the first time in five years, growing to 5.2 billion. The long-term trend underlines the positive impact of technology investments.
A steep 63% drop in the mishandling rate from 2007 to 2023 happened as passenger traffic rose by 111%. But the industry still faces challenges, particularly managing surges in baggage volumes. Pushing ahead with the industry’s digitalisation agenda is vital, argues the
survey, focusing on AI for data analysis and computer vision tech in automated baggage handling. That push must include full automation, good communication and full visibility of each bag’s journey. Other SITA research reveals that two-thirds of airlines now offer unassisted bag drop and 85% of airports offer selfservice bag drop.
This reflects industry demand for self-service tech for better passenger flows. At the same time, passengers want to use their mobile phones as they travel, including at bag collection. Today, 32% of passengers rely on bag collection information sent straight to their mobile.
MIL’S AMAZING HELICOPTERS
Russia’s Heavy Lift Champions: PART 2
Steve Trichard continues his story on Russia’s massive super-heavy helicopters
Although the Mil V-12 was the largest helicopter ever built, it never went into production, with only two prototypes constructed. The requirement for a heavy-lift helicopter therefore still existed.
THE MI-6 DESIGN was by then 25 years old and so OKB Mil was already designing and planning the next generation of heavy-lift helicopters.
Development started in the early 1970s. The design requirements were ambitious. Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant received a directive to produce a helicopter with a load capacity more than double that of any existing
Mi-26 cargo bay is marginally bigger than a Hercules C-130’s.
The “very busy” cockpit of a Mi-26, before the glass cockpit upgrade.
operational helicopter, in other words, a helicopter with twice the cabin and payload capability of the in-house Mil Mi-6.
Furthermore, the requirement stated that the empty weight of the helicopter must be less than half its MTOW.
The Mil design team concluded that only a single-rotor helicopter configuration would be able to satisfy the weight requirements.
They required an engine of at least 8,000 kW and a gearbox that could transfer the output of two of these engines to the rotors. It was a huge challenge as nothing like that was already in existence.
Mil’s gearbox supplier was not able to design the required gearbox. So the Mil Design Bureau developed a “non-planetary, split-torque design” gearbox rated at 14,800 kW. The gearbox delivers the engine power to the unique eight-blade main rotor, with a diameter of 32 metres.
the empty weight must be less than half MTOW
The engine design and development were done at the Progress Design Bureau (formerly OKB-478) with lead designer Vladimir Lotarev. The powerplant that was produced was the 8,500 kW Lotarev D-136 turboshaft engine, manufactured by Motor Sich in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.
To meet the empty weight requirement being less than half the max all-up weight, aluminium-lithium alloys are used throughout the helicopter.
The helicopter’s empty weight is 28,200 kg and its MTOW is 56,000 kg.
The prototype hovered for the first time on 14 December 1977, with production starting in October 1980. The initial production rate was thirty helicopters per year.
The Mi-26 design incorporated all the features of a modern transport aircraft. The cargo hold is boxshaped, a feature maintained throughout the length of the loading area. There are two 2,500 kg winches
Mi-26 overhead the Chernobyl nuclear reactor spraying a sticky liquid, “bourda”, a dust suppressant.
This graveyard reflects only a portion of helicopters contaminated. The image also includes Mi-6 helicopters.
installed in the roof to position cargo as required by the loadmaster.
Loading is accomplished through a clamshell door and loading ramp located at the rear of a fuselage. The helicopter can kneel, thereby lowering the fuselage to ease cargo loading.
The internal fuel tanks, with a capacity of 12,000 kg, are situated beneath the cargo hold floor. Notably, the Mi-26 cargo bay is marginally bigger than a Hercules C-130’s cargo bay.
The main landing gear has sensors to measure the weight of the helicopter, displayed at the flight engineer’s workstation. The crew can observe the cargo sling loads with closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV).
The Mi-26 has a standard crew of five, being the pilot, copilot, navigator, flight engineer, and loadmaster. The navigator and flight engineer workstations are behind the pilot seats. Unusually for a helicopter, the cockpit and a four-seat passenger compartment are pressurised and the helicopter is fully air-conditioned.
The cargo compartment can accommodate 82 troops, or 20,000 kg of cargo. The Mi-26 can cargo sling a maximum external load of 20,000 kg.
The operational range, with maximum payload, is 318 nm (590 km), at a cruising speed of 138 knots.
The Mi-26 is highly regarded by users for its ease of handling, which is contributed to by the excess of engine power.
Size comparison - a Mi-26 with a Chinook on the sling
challenge to the aircrew and the task was successfully completed by test pilots from the Mil factory. Thirty Mi-26 helicopters were used at Chernobyl, and most of these helicopters are forever stored within the reactor exclusion zone due to radioactive contamination.
Thirty Mi-26 helicopters were used at Chernobyl
Mi-26 Notable Operational Employment
To address the massive radiation leak from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in April 1986 was a requirement that only the Mi-26 could satisfy. It required a cargo sling of air filters, weighing 15,000 kg each, with a cable length of 244 m (800 ft). It was a huge
It is interesting to note that the crew of the helicopters seems to have been relatively unaffected by their heroic efforts to reduce the spread of radiation. An in-depth Wikipedia article lists the 31 more or less immediate deaths from the disaster and it does not have any air crew members. It is speculated that while some may have suffered some delayed cancers, it was at a rate not detectable in the background cancer rate that we all risk.
Another notable deployment is that in early 2002, a civilian Mi-26 was contracted to recover two U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters from a mountain in Afghanistan.
Mi-26 Upgrade Challenges
By 2019 more than 380 Mi-26 helicopters had been built with the latest production derivative being the Mi-26 T2. The T2 is fitted with a comprehensive glass cockpit, eliminating the flight engineer and navigator stations.
In the early 2010s, upgrade plans included a new engine, being the Motor Sich D-136-2, rated at 9,120 kW to improve hot-and-high performance.
After the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, the supply of engines to Russia stopped. However, a “workaround” was established to supply D-136 engines and spares to Russia, albeit on a limited scale. The supply stopped with the arrest of high-ranking officials of Motor Sich by the Ukrainian government.
The destruction of the Motor Sich engine manufacturing plant by Russian forces in May 2022 put an end to any chance of the D-136-2 or the new generation D-127, powering the upgraded Mi-26.
Even before the annexation of Crimea, the Russian Aviation Industry was tasked to develop a homegrown Russian engine. Development was slow, and a change in the preferred supplier extended the development timeline even further, with the first flight only expected in 2025.
a Mi-26 recovered two U.S. Army CH-47 Chinooks
Until the Kuznetsov PD-8V is operational, the Mi-26 fleet will be forced to fly with the original D-136 engine, sourced from existing stock. This will have a major impact on the serviceability of all Mi-26 helicopters operated around the world.
An Aeroflot Yak-24.
The Yak-60 was a massive increase on the Yak-24.
Soviet Union’s early rotorcraft development
OKB-3 (Bratukhin) designed and developed eight experimental helicopters during the 1940s, culminating in the B-11. The helicopters all featured the transverse rotor layout. The B-11 was a competing design for the Mil Mi-1.
OKB-115 (Yakovlev) developed the Yak-24 ‘Horse’ during the early 1950s. It is the only Yakovlev helicopter design that reached operational status. The paperexercise Yak-60 is noteworthy as it was a competing design for the Mil V-12.
Yakovlev is well-known for the development of fixedwing aircraft and more than a hundred Yak designs went into production. Russia produced 61,000 fighter aircraft during WWII of which 38,000 were built to Yak designs.
fills a niche in the world helicopter market
OKB-938 (Kamov) designed the Ka-22, with the first flight in 1959. The “gyrodyne” had the unique ability to change between vertical and horizontal flights. However, this change was a complicated and delicate process, which only highly skilled pilots could master.
The Kamov Ka-22.
ABOVE: A size comparison of the MiL V-12.
BELOW: The huge V-12 from the front.
The prototype reached a speed of 195 knots and lifted a payload of 16,500 kg. The lower part of the nose could “swing” away to facilitate loading. It was a competing design for the Mil Mi-6.
Kamov continued developing helicopters and it fills a niche in the world helicopter market with its coaxial rotor products.
BUMPPPFFF:
The similarity between a Falcon and B52 in profile have long fascinated design geeks.
Last Thoughts
The Mil helicopter company was, and still is, highly successful. Ninety-five percent of the helicopters in the former Soviet Union were built to Mil designs.
Mil merged with Kamov and Rostvertol to form Russian Helicopters in 2006 and the Mil brand name has been retained. j
A tranverse main rotor location - on the Bratukhin B-11.
An owl successfully carries off a mouse.
IATA
Q&A: YVONNE MANZI MAKOLO; CHAIR IATA GOVERNORS
RwandAir CEO Yvonne Manzi Makolo was the first black woman to chair the IATA Board of Governors. She describes her experiences.
RwandAir's Yvonne Makolo has completed her year as Chair of the IATA BoG.
What has your experience been as a woman leader of IATA?
In Rwanda, we have a long legacy of gender equality, but the aviation sector has been traditionally dominated by men. As the first female Chair of IATA’s BoG, I was aware of the optics and responsibility it conveyed on me as an agent of change. That’s why I have been so strongly supportive of IATA’s 25by2025 voluntary global initiative, which is designed to change the gender balance within aviation.
Over 180 companies, from airlines to aircraft manufacturers and airports, have signed up to this initiative, committing them to increasing female representation in senior roles in areas traditionally underrepresented by women.
IATA recognises the incredible level of female talent available and how vital it is that we, as a global industry, create real opportunities for women to allow them to grow and thrive. Airlines can help lead the way to make our sector diverse and fully inclusive and embrace the extraordinary tale
real opportunities for women
How is IATA’s Focus Africa initiative different from previous efforts to support aviation on the continent? What has this achieved so far? And ultimately what will be its contribution to the future development of African aviation?
IATA’s Focus Africa initiative aims to improve safety; facilitate an efficient, secure, and cost-effective aviation infrastructure; enable greater connectivity through the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM); accelerate secure, effective and cost-efficient financial
services and modern retailing standards; support the net zero carbon emissions by 2050 targets; and promote aviation-related career paths and ensure a steady supply of diverse and suitably skilled talent to meet our industry’s future needs.
There have been many attempts to boost the African aviation sector, and it is not hard to understand why. Despite being home to over one billion people and nearly a fifth of the world’s population, Africa has a very limited presence in the aviation industry and accounts for just 2% of air global passengers. This means there is enormous potential for growth in Africa, which could, in turn, bring huge economic benefits to the continent if we dramatically increase air traffic and flying capacity.
It is widely agreed that the sector needs a major injection of capital to improve its infrastructure, build and modernise airports, improve air traffic control, and increase connectivity between regions and countries.
MAPUTO AIRSHOW KHANIMABO!!!
After a triumphant post Covid return in 2024, the Maputo Airshow returned on 15 June 2024 – and it was acclaimed as being even better than the high standard set by the 2023 air show.
The Flying Lions did their sunset performance over the bay.
The Maputo Airshow was very well publicised.
THE AERO CLUB OF MOZAMBIQUE
and the Municipal Council of Maputo worked together to pull off a wonderful airshow over the Maputo Bay coastline that was safe, and above all thrilling, for the large and appreciative crowd.
A key ingredient was the availability to the best teams and airshow professionals from South Africa, who were persuaded to tackle the logistics of a cross-border airshow by Airshow Boss Gavin Neil, from the Maputo Aeroclub, who demonstrated incredible organisational skills in pulling it all together, with little if any prior experience.
Taking advantage of the public holiday, some of the air show teams arrived on the Friday and had the opportunity to explore the delights of festive Maputo.
Katembe Bridge as a backdrop. This makes it ideal for photographers, especially with the glow of the evening sun through the long spans of the suspension bridge.
As the airshow was not held at an airport, the work of the Flying Display Director, Col Keith Fryer, was complicated by having to coordinate the teams taking off from Maputo Airport, 6 km away. Lt Col Keith Andrews was the Ramp Director.
elegant high speed swooping passes
The Maputo Bay waterfront is an almost ideal airshow venue. Sponsors were able to erect hospitality tents on the wide palm tree lined promenade. Over 1 km long, it faces south-west and has the magnificent
Key airshow teams that thrilled the airshow hungry crowd were the Puma Flying Lions who filled the sky with the roar of their Harvard’s radials and smoke. Nigel Hopkins and Jason Beamish impressed as always with their high energy precision teamwork in the Extra 330s. Jason also doubled up as a pilot in the Pitts Specials of the Goodyear Eagles. Coming from all corners of South Africa was the Marksman team, led by Mark Hensman in his MX2 with Jonny Smith and Eugene van As on his wings in Extras.
Menno Parsons showed once again his value to airshows by also bringing the iconic Mustang Sally P-51.
ABOVE: Menno Parsons also brought his evocative Huey.
BELOW: The Marksmen team led by Mark Hensman - all the way from Cape Town
ABOVE: Jet action from Grant Timms in the L-29 Delfin. BELOW: There was something for everyone in the crowd.
ABOVE: The esplanade was a riot of colourful stalls. BELOW: Brian Emmenis with protege Addison Vilanculos and his Capital Sounds team are essential for these air shows.
Helicopter action was provided by Juba Joubert doing amazing feats of flying the Aerospatiale Gazelle and by Menno Parsons in his tiger-striped Huey. Menno also flew his Huey on the Friday to provide flips for more than 20 disadvantaged children.
A highlight of the show was Menno Parsons in his P-51, Mustang Sally, with its elegant high speed swooping passes and the music of its V12 Merlin engine combined with the whistle of its gun ports.
So the spectators got a wide variety of aircraft types.
an almost ideal airshow venue
In between the airshow acts there was a continual stream of water sports with skydivers landing in the warm waters of the Bay and jet skis racing around with plumes of water.
The show ended with a spectacular display by Mark Hensman in his MX2, streaming fireworks from its wingtips in the gloaming. The spirit of the airshow was fantastic and the parties carried on late into the night along the promenade.
Andre van Zyl ably demonstrated his diminutive gyrocopter along the shoreline to the amazed crowd.
Mark Hensman in a spectacular spiral finale.
FAKE TITANIUM
The FAA and Spirit AeroSystems, a supplier of fuselages for Boeing and wings for Airbus, are investigating counterfeit titanium found in recently manufactured jets.
ACCORDING TO The New York Times, falsified documents were used to verify the material’s authenticity, prompting concerns about the structural integrity of the airliners. Titanium that was distributed with fake documentation has been found in commercial Boeing and Airbus jets.
The aerospace industry has had a series of problems recently with quality and safety issues. The investigation comes after small holes were discovered in the material, apparently from corrosion, according to the Times report.
Boeing said the questionable parts come from a limited set of suppliers, and tests performed to date have indicated that the correct titanium alloy was used.
“To ensure compliance, we are removing any affected parts on airplanes prior to delivery. Our analysis shows the in-service fleet can continue to fly safely.”
Spirit said the investigation is looking into counterfeit documents that allowed the questionable titanium to enter the supply chain. “When this was identified, all suspect parts were quarantined and removed from Spirit production,” said Joe Buccino, a spokesperson for Spirit.
Airbus said it is aware of the situation. “Numerous tests have been performed on parts coming from the same source of supply,” it said in its statement. “They show that the A220’s airworthiness remains intact.”
AVIATION CONSULTANTS
SA Flyer and FlightCom are increasingly being used as a key information resource. We have therefore implemented a ‘Consultants Directory’ that provides those who are looking for consultants with a ready reference guide as to skills and specialities. Important too are the major qualifications of the consultants – such as for instance whether they are accredited with IATA’s IOSA, ICAO BARS and other industry bodies.
AS AVIATION DEVELOPS and grows it has become exponentially more complex to deal with the regulatory requirements and the inherent challenges of the industry.
Given that aviation is characterised by low margins yet high capital requirements it is essential that the industry players navigate these challenging waters in the most efficient way.
An effective aviation consultancy is able to offer a cost-effective solution to the challenges without the client company having to commit to long term costs.
• Government functions, such as the Air Services Licencing Councils
• Regional Aviation Safety & Security Bodies
• Aircraft Maintenance Organizations
• Aircraft Manufacturers
• Aviation Training Organisations
often a challenging subject
Aviation consultants need to have a broad range of expertise that includes:
• Dealing with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
• International regulators such as the FAA and EASA
• Associated service suppliers such as ACSA, ATNS and ICASA
In addition, consultants must be able to advise on a wide variety of broader aviation industry issues such as assisting under-resourced governmental departments with the following services:
• Feasibilities studies,
• Research
• Benchmarking the Civil Aviation Regulatory Authorities, Airports Authorities, Air Traffic & Navigational Service Providers, Airports Authorities and Service Providers, National Airlines
• Developing Aviation Regulations, Technical
Standards, Guidance Materials and applicable policies, procedures and manuals covering the following areas;
• Aircraft Certification
• Aircraft Airworthiness
• Flight Operations;
• Aviation Personnel Licensing
• Aerodromes and Air Traffic Control
• Aircraft Accident & Incident Investigation
• Aviation Security.
• Assisting countries in setting up their aviation regulatory systems, to ensure that they comply with the eight critical elements of a Safety Management System (SMS).
• Providing training to senior and operational managers, flight operations, cabin crew, airworthiness, aerodrome, aviation security, dangerous goods & manufacturing inspectors, certification engineers & accident investigators
• Conducting Flight Inspection and Calibration of Navigational Equipment located at the airports.
Aviation security is often a challenging subject for new entrants. Consultants need to be able to advise on:
• Develop an Aviation Security Policy
• Provide Aviation Security Manuals, Procedures and Technical Guidance Materials
• Training of Aviation Security personnel
• Assisting operators and airports to comply with Aviation Security Legislation
• Conduction Aviation Security Audits and Inspections
• Organizational Restructuring.
OTHER SERVICES PROVIDED BY CONSULTANTS
For airports:
• The development of Airport Pavement Maintenance System (APMS), Maintenance Policy and Manual
• Designing and supervision of rehabilitation and improvements of airport airside facilities
• Structural analysis of concrete pavements
• Life Cycle Cost Analysis study (LCCA) for the implementation of an alternative concrete pavement compared to a traditional asphalt pavement
• Rehabilitation of concrete pavements
• Ad hoc pavement repairs on runways and taxiways
• Pavement upgrade.
Organisational Restructuring
This often involves:
• Advising on restructuring for governmental departments, national regulatory authorities, airports, commercial and general aviation
• Undertaking detailed due diligence and forensic audits
• Development of Strategic, Business and Operational Plans
• Implementing Business Turnaround Strategies
• Executive & Senior Management Coaching.
Expert Witness Services
Specialist aviation consultants within legal firms often need to be able to carry out independent research on matters under litigation and provide independent expert witness.
JOHANNESBURG
VIO Aviation 083 230 7821
PRETORIA
Ardent Aviation 082 784 0510
CAPE TOWN
www.vioaviationsolutions.co.za
www.ardentaviation.co.za a a a yolanda@ardentaviation.co.za
Litson and Associates (Pty) Ltd +27(0)21 851 7187
safety@litson.co.za
www.litson.co.za *FSF BARS/IOGP/IATA/ICAO/CAP 437
Where romance meets nature
Located in South Africa’s Safari hub of Hoedspruit, Safari Moon is a boutique base from which to discover the wonders of South Africa’s Lowveld region. Explore a range of nearby attractions from the famed Kruger National park to the scenic Panorama Route, or simply chose to relax and unwind in nature, making the most of your private piece of Wildlife Estate wilderness.
OPERATING FROM GRAND CENTRAL Airport in Midrand, Superior Pilot Services prides itself in its wealth of knowledge and experience in the aviation sector, offering a variety of certified courses, from the Private Pilot’s Licence to the Airline Transport Pilot Licence, Instructor’s Ratings and Advanced training. The school specialises in personal outcome-based training and combines the latest techniques, methods and training aids to maintain a high level and standard throughout. Superior is proud to have been selected as a service provider to numerous institutions like, TETA, Ekurhuleni Municipality, KZN Premiers office, SAA, SA Express and SACAA cadets, however their ideally situated location allows the general aviator and businessman to conveniently access and utilize the same services.
With highly trained and qualified instructors and a fleet of Cessna 172s, a Cessna 182, Sling 2, Piper Arrow, Piper Twin Comanche and R44 helicopter, the school has the know-how and experience to prepare the best pilots in the industry. Making use of a state-of-the-art ALSIM Flight Training Simulator, the Superior Aviation Academy offers unmatched facilities that ensure students’ social needs are catered for and that the training offered is at the forefront of international training standards. The Alsim ALX flight simulator model provided by Superior Pilot Services is EASA and FAA approved and has proven itself worldwide. It provides up to four classes of aircraft and six flight models that cater from ab-initio all the way to jet orientation programmes in one single
The school offers a range of advanced courses, including IF Refresher Courses, Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS), GNSS/RNAV, CRM and Multi Crew Coordination (MCC) conducted by its qualified instructors. The school also offers PPL and CPL Ground School and Restricted and General Radio Courses. Superior Pilot Services has accommodation available. The lodge is conveniently located just six kilometres from the airport. All rooms are based on a bachelor’s unit which includes laundry and room cleaning services as well as breakfast. Students have access to the communal lounge, gym and entertainment room, pool and ‘braai’ area.
(ATO 1155)
AMO LISTING
South Africa
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208 Aviation
Ben Esterhuizen +27 83 744 3412 ben@208aviation.co.za www.208aviation.com
