CATEGORIES

BELGIAN AIR FORCE

Two new rescue divers for the 40th Squadron

Airbus And Air Methods Sign Additional HCare Support Contract For Fleet Of 80 EC135s

The new contract will extend the number of Air Methods helicopters covered by HCare to 111 to become the largest civil Airbus-covered fleet worldwide.

Aviator Expands Market Presence With SAS Startups In Norway

Following a previously secured agreement with Scandinavian Airlines in late July 2020, Aviator Airport Alliance AB successfully launched the start-up of ground handling operations for the airline across multiple airports in Norway.

HAL Hands Over ALHs To The Indian Navy And Indian Coast Guard

During early February HAL handed over three Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH Mk III) to the Indian Navy and two ALHs to Indian Coast Guard as part of its 16 ALHs contract at the ongoing Aero India 2021.

Sky's The Limit

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be a pilot? To take to the skies and soar above places you’ve never visited before?

The B-52 Is America's Longest-Serving Plane – And The Most Badass

Like many of America’s legendary aircraft, the B-52 was built to offset the Soviet threat that characterised the Cold War. The US needed a bomber to reach far-flung Soviet targets, defeat their air defences, and carry a massive atomic payload.

Volocopter launches campaign to bring electric air taxi services to U.S. cities

Volocopter, the German air taxi start-up and “Pioneer of Urban Air Mobility (UAM),” announced in early January this year that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had positively accepted their application for concurrent Type Certificate validation on 22 December 2020.

Off Script Instructors

We all have that yearly, sometimes twice yearly, check with an instructor. Be it a PPL renewal or a more sophisticated professional license with instrument rating review. It’s a process we must all endure to stay proficient and within the standards required.

Husky battles Cub

For years my home airport was the domain of the Piper Cub. This is, until recently when two similar Husky's joined the fleets of two separate rental companies. If, like me, you've become quite addicted to the Piper Cub you simply cannot escape any comparative research. A trained spotter has to do his best to distinguish between the two types, so how big a difference can it be for a pilot?

DHL Global Forwarding is investing R127-million in a new facility in Johannesburg

Aimed at cementing its position in South Africa, the new 13 000 m2 facility will be located within the bonded zone at Skyparks Business Estate, next to the OR Tambo International Airport.

Chapman Freeborn Airchartering, Inc. adds Cargo Director and a new Northeast office in USA

Expanding its international operations, Chapman Freeborn is growing to meet the increasing demands of the air charter sector and support existing customers in the US market.

CH-53K completes first sea trials

The CH-53K King Stallion was seen working in a modern naval environment for the first time in early January when it completed a two-week period of sea trials in the Atlantic.

Extreme Flight Hooked By A Stall

Patrick McAlee, airline pilot, airshow pilot extraordinaire and owner of Extreme Flight, experienced his first flight at the tender age of five years old when his father rented an Aeronca Champ to fly to the EAA AirVenture Fly-in at OshKosh. He did a stall, which Patrick says he still remembers vividly! It both scared and hooked him at the same time!

Maldives - More Popular Than Ever

Ravaged by a tsunami the islands took eight years to recover but are now more popular than ever.

Belgium Says Goodbye To Its Loyal Workhorse

As in many other countries and air forces, the Lockheed C-130 Hercules has also been the workhorse within the Belgian Air Force for many years. This military transport aircraft has proven its value several times during numerous military missions and humanitarian deployments and was an essential part of military logistics and tactical transport within the Belgian armed forces

Royal Flying Doctor Service adds FlightSafety's MissionFit® to its Pilatus PC-12NG training programme

FlightSafety has been selected by the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia Central Operations to provide a MissionFit® Flight Training Device for use in its Pilatus PC-12NG pilot training programme.

Zanzibar: A journey into ancient times

Centuries ago, Zanzibar was an important area for the spice trade, first with the Arab world from around the eleventh century, before falling under the rule of Arab sultans who reigned over the islands and with the local Swahili.

WOOD

Think about your favourite aviation museum – anywhere in the world, then remember the oldest aeroplane there. Almost certainly, that aeroplane will have been substantially made out of wood. It doesn’t matter where in the world you were, it was – with a certain amount of steel, aluminium alloy, and fabric, the material of choice

EJECT! EJECT!

In a grim reminder of the risks associated with flying over sea, an Indian Navy MiG-29K fighter crashed at about 16h30 on 26 November, 2020, reportedly soon after take-off from “mother”.

A HERO DEPARTED

How does one say a befitting farewell to a human being who achieved true legendary status? How does a fellow human find the right words without falling back on cliché and fable? Well, I’ll tell you, it’s tough and in most circumstances it’s nigh impossible but this is my version of a gentleman, a decorated military veteran, a friend, a farmer, a husband and my Father.

Vertigo Can Bite

It’s not easy to admit having succumbed to such a serious bout of vertigo that it brought me and a fellow crew member to within seconds of losing our lives. However, if by telling the story others are cautioned against making the same mistake, then too bad about the shame of it.

Spidertracks Announces Sponsorship

Spidertracks has announced its partnership with Eco Helicopters (“Eco”), which recently launched its Ecomax™ on-demand urban air mobility service. Based on the EcoMax™ all-electric helicopter, EcoMax™ urban air mobility will commence in early 2021.

2020 Royal Black Hawk Exercise

This year was the eighth time the 1st Regiment of Artillery of Bourogne had organised the "Royal Black Hawk 2020" exercise held in the vicinity of Belfort and its surrounding areas, and lasting for about two weeks. More than 400 soldiers and a dozen combat helicopters participated in this life-size exercise.

Lockheed Martin Flies Mission-enabling Kubernetes Onboard U-2

The U-2 flew a Kubernetes cloud that connected in-flight to a ground node, extending the U-2’s network-of-networks connectivity.

Hi Fly Bids Farewell To Its A380

On 17 December Hi Fly said goodbye to the A380 by drawing a heart in the sky as a final tribute to the Mirpuri Foundation and the “Save the Coral Reefs” campaign, raising awareness of the need to protect the world’s oceans.

LICENCES

It’s generally accepted that the baseline qualification for professional pilots worldwide is the CPL/IR, or Commercial Pilot Licence with Instrument Rating.

The Yakolev Yak-130

The Yakovlev Yak-130 is a subsonic two-seat advanced jet trainer and light fighter originally developed by Yakovlev and Aermacchi as the "Yakovlev-Aermacchi Yak-130/AEM-130"

Tef's Test

So that time of the year rolls around again, well actually a bit longer than a year due to the 'Chinese' flu. I eventually am allowed to complete a renewal of my license without the fear of interacting with the public and hence bursting into flames.

HX50 Revolution: A HIGH PERFORMANCE, LOW COST HELICOPTER

Hill Helicopters, whose concept has been under study since 2007, regards its HX50 helicopter as the best type of personal helicopter – crafted on field-proven engineering, state-of-the-art manufacturing and iconic British design. The HX50 has been introduced by Hill as “a first of its kind platform, every minute detail has been elaborately crafted to deliver a helicopter specifically focused on the needs of private owners”. It will be able to carry five passengers and luggage with ease.

BAIL OUT! BAIL OUT!

When a young naval instructor and his pupil — a trainee flight cadet from Indian Air Force — marched across the tarmac to their aircraft on 21 November 2003, little did they know they would be ‘walking the wing’ a few minutes later.