CATEGORIES

EXERCISE VUK'UHLOME 2024

The South African Army's Exercise Vuk'uhlome 2024 Distinguished Visitors (DV) Day took place on 21 November at its Lohatlha Combat Training Centre. Although an Army exercise, the event combines SAAF squadrons for ground support.

LANSERIA AIRPORT implements E-Gates

As air travel continues to grow, pressure mounts on the check-in process, resulting in frustration and often leading to missed flights.

LIVING THE DREAM - Part 1: Life in the Trailer Park

A harsh, piercing sound jolts me out of a restful, deep sleep. My alarm clock. Where am I? The ceiling is not familiar, the bed is hard, and the room smells. Well, I know I'm not home. My mind is racing to identify my location on this planet. Oh yes, I'm at work. Houma, Louisiana.

OKAVANGO ECHOES

One Okavango evening, at the luxury Khwai River lodge, a young well-bred English pilot of good character and eloquent public-school accent and I had too much to drink.

RODGER FOSTER STEPS OUT THE COCKPIT

At the end of November 2024 Airlink announced a change of leadership following the decision by current CEO and Managing Director, Rodger Foster, to step down at the end of March 2025. Rodger Foster founded the airline almost 33 years ago.

MARK TIERNEY'S CAFE PROPOSAL

One of the many challenges faced by African airlines is access to cost effective finance.

ENGINE FIRE!

Iris McCallum's continues her stories about her early years with Air Kenya, and we get to revisit one of her more dramatic moments.

GOING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

I'm sure you are familiar with the 'Leave Bug'. It's a little worm which lives in calendars. It hatches in cycles of two. Just before you are due to go on leave it grabs the last five days of duty and makes each one last for 48 hours.

AVIATION'S GOT THE CAREERS - BUT ARE YOU READY?

Now that Covid is receding into being a bad dream and the aviation industry is bouncing back strongly, the aviation press, blogs and websites are abuzz with predictions that we're facing a massive skills shortage. The only way to address this is by dramatically ramping up training to ensure an ongoing flow of new professionals into the industry

FLYING AROUND THE KZN AIRFIELDS

In less time than it takes to drive from one side of Johannesburg to the other, you can fly to beautiful KZN to experience amazing scenery and some fantastic airfields and hospitality.

OCTOBER 2024

The end of the year is fast approaching and so spare a thought for airline staff as this is one of the busiest times for them!

WHAT ARE FRENCH CESSNAS?

IN THE LATE 1950S GENERAL AVIATION WAS BOOMING IN THE UNITED STATES. CESSNA HAD EMERGED AS A LEADER IN THE LIGHT AIRCRAFT MARKET, RIDING THE SUCCESS OF THE CESSNA 140 AND 170 SERIES INTO THE EVEN MORE POPULAR CESSNA 172.

RIGHT SEAT RULES NO.24 SLIPPING IT IN

What a graceful thing a sideslip is. When you watch an aeroplane slip gently onto the very threshold of a grass field and straighten out just before the wheels brush the turf, you know you are looking at an aviator - not an aeroplane driver.

The Amazing PT6A Story

The famous slogan says - 'Trust in God and Pratt & Whitney'. And it is largely thanks to the ubiquitous PT6A that this statement is still true.

VAN CELEBRATES HIS 85TH BIRTHDAY

RICHARD “DICK” VAN GRUNSVEN celebrated his 85th birthday by flying the RV-15X. This event was a celebration of decades of passion, innovation, and dedication to aviation.

AERO CLUB OF SOUTH AFRICA AWARDS: 2024

General aviation is a dynamic and multifaceted pursuit that celebrates the freedom and exhilaration of flight. From piloting aeroplanes and helicopters to soaring with eagles in a glider, it offers a rich tapestry of experiences.

SOLAR CHARGING FOR PLANES

Saxon Air has completed the installation of what it calls a 'pioneering electric charging point' at its Business Aviation Centre in Norwich, believed to be the first of its kind at a UK regional airport, with the purpose-built infrastructure featuring a solar energy array specifically tailored for electric aircraft.

ORYX MEDICAL EVACUATION MISSION

ON SUNDAY, 10 NOVEMBER, a 22 Squadron SAAF Oryx helicopter was mobilised for a critical offshore medical evacuation mission. A German tourist had encountered a sudden medical emergency while aboard a cruise liner off Cape Agulhas.

SLING H2 - HYDROGEN FLIGHT

A team of aeronautical students and their lecturers in Switzerland are building a Sling High Wing with hydrogen propulsion.

FRENCH FLIES

Like it or not, the French know how to make great planes - even if their cars are funny. So imagine what you get when you take French flair to the world's best-selling plane.

Iris - her early years: IRIS FLIES ACROSS SUDAN

Laura McDermid continues her stories about Iris McCallum's early years in East Africa and the Sudan. In part 1 of this story she recounts how she had to fly a bunch of Belgian Missionaries to Aweil, a city in northwestern South Sudan, from Wilson in Nairobi in her old mate 'ARN', the Piper Aztec 5Y-ARN.

UGLY IS PRETTY: LEAR 25 VS PILATUS PC-6

When you go to a party where you don't know anybody, you should always go for the 'Ugly' girl, because she will be happy that you chose to spend time with her.

CIRRUS G7 LAUNCHED IN AFRICA

What makes one aircraft better than another? Range, Speed, or carrying capacity, short field performance, operating costs, high wing, low wing, side stick, traditional control yoke?

PRESIDENT'S TROPHY AIR RACE 2024

The annual Presidents Trophy Air Race (PTAR) is the highlight of the year for many competitive general aviation pilots.

THE ABSA LOWVELD AIRSHOW 2024

This year marked the thirtieth edition of the Lowveld airshow – and it was widely acclaimed as the best ever.

PREVIEW: AFRICAN AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE EXPO(AAD)

Guy Leitch finds out from AAD Exhibition Director, Ms Nakedi Phasha, how the buildup to this year's biennial expo is going, and what visitors and exhibitors can expect.

APRIL 2023

April has been a very quiet month on the local aviation marketplace with only nine new registration allocations and three deletions, according to the officially-supplied register review.

PIPISTREL PANTHERA FINALLY HERE

One of the world's most eagerly awaited piston single engine aircraft designs has finally arrived in South Africa. ZU-KTR is a long awaited Panthera, proudly owned by Bertus Kritzinger, a Free State trucker, and based at New Tempe in Bloemfontein, where the well-known Ferriera Aviation has assembled it.

STAGGERWING - ALREADY OLD WHEN NEW

The Staggerwing was the climax, and the end, of an era.

The Aim of Bombing

In modern warfare it's not the soldiers who die - it's the civilians. One of the best examples of this is carpet bombing.