CATEGORIES

SLING HIGH WINGS - Epic Adventure to Oshkosh

The intrepid entrepreneurs of the Sling Aircraft Factory have done it again.

JET-A DIESELS - NOW A MATURE TECHNOLOGY

As Avgas prices head for R40/ litre the need for an alternative to Avgas powered planes becomes ever more pressing. The good news is that, for the past 16 years, Jet-A diesel piston engine technology has been quietly maturing. It has now become a well-developed aero engine that is a serious contender to compete in the piston market.

THE TRUTH ABOUT EXPERIENCE

"Money lost - nothing lost; health lost - little lost; spirit lost - everything lost." - Igor Sikorsky The key to a long career in any chosen profession is to never fall out of love with the work you do. Because, as the quote attributed to the father of the helicopter, Igor Sikorsky, intimates, if you lose your spirit, you lose everything. Evangelist Billy Graham took the quote a step further, saying he believed the loss of character was the greatest loss a person could experience.

BRAVE PILOTS, YELLOW ARCS

A dozen or so years ago, after the trend toward very powerful and fast turbocharged singles had begun, competition between the Lancair Columbia and the Mooney Bravo shed a fleeting light upon some odd quirks in the rules under which such aeroplanes were certificated.

Van's RV-15 too little, too late?

There is a lifecycle in owner-run businesses. The dynamic founder gets old and steps back, and the business becomes professionally managed - which means cumbersome, with slow decision making. Such a fate may have befallen the iconic Vans Aircraft.

VNAV LEATHER FLIGHT BAGS

Finding the right flight bag has always been a tricky undertaking and has deterred my wife from trying to buy me one.

A CENTURY OF OPERATIONS: THE 10 OLDEST AIRPORTS IN EUROPE

Can you believe that some airports in Europe are significantly older than the grandparents of those who work there? Here is a list of the oldest airports in Europe, all of which are still in operation.

BEST OF THE BEST - CHARLIE SUNSHINE’S BREEZY

When I visited AERO Friedrichshafen in April this year, I met a most interesting man Carl-Friedrich Schmidt who had built his Breezy aircraft and this is his story.

RUSSIAN AGGRESSION TRIGGERS NEW INTEREST IN KC-46

Boeing expects to sell up to 42 KC-46 tankers in addition to its current backlog, said Mike Hafer, the company’s senior manager for KC-46 business development.

CATASTROPHIC STRUCTURAL FAILURE

ACCIDENT REPORT

KOREAN AIR RANKS FIRST IN GLOBAL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FOR 18TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR

Korean Air took first place in the air passenger transportation sector of the 2022 Global Customer Satisfaction Index (GCSI) awards.

MULTI-DOMAIN ADVANTAGE: MQ-9B

The first quarter of the 21st century has unfortunately proved one constant from the previous one: The world is not getting any safer.

BOEING SAYS IT CAN MAINTAIN $80M PER UNIT COST FOR THE F-15EX

Boeing's Steve Parker said he expects a contract for F-15EX lot 2 and 3 'will be at the advertised price' when it is finalised in a couple months. The price claim comes after lawmakers bemoaned lack of oversight on unit costs for the fighter.

KUMBULULUKA KWA BAFANA (FLIGHT FOR THE CHILDREN)

In 2016, Felix Gosher created an initiative to provide an opportunity of flight to under-privileged children from various shelters in Johannesburg. With the support of many within the aviation fraternity, this has been very successful. As he is now Zambia based it was only logical that he has would expand this into the African continent. The first ever Zambia Children's Flight held at the Zambia Air Force (ZAF) base in Lusaka on 23 July 2022.

METAL MASTER PREPARES TO FLY SECOND FLARIS LAR-1 TEST AIRCRAFT

Metal Master expects to fly the second production-conforming Flaris LAR-1 in the coming weeks, with Polish certification to follow in mid-2023.

ROYAL INTERNATIONAL AIR TATTOO

Three years since its last edition, the world's largest military airshow made its triumphant return to RAF Fairford, United Kingdom in July with its most successful show ever.

COPING WITH THE FEAR OF FLYING

"Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me and when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

AERO SOUTH AFRICA

Staged at Wonderboom National Airport over three days from Thursday 7 to Saturday 9 July, AERO South Africa was a wonderful opportunity for aviation companies to show off their business to the market.

REMEMBER THE GERMAN AEROPLANE?

My son Nick, who was screening a series of classic films for his friends, put on the 1981 Spielberg pulse-pounder, Raiders of the Lost Ark, which came out in the year he was born and therefore stood to him, in terms of the history of film and the decline of taste, as Casablanca does to me.

UITENHAGE WINGS AND WHEELS 2022

The Klinicare Uitenhage Wings and Wheels Festival had the distinction of being one of two airshows held in South Africa on 2 April.

PRESIDENTS' TROPHY AIR RACE 2022 – NEW TEMPE BLOEMFONTEIN

The Presidents’ Trophy Air Race has been contested annually since 1937, baring the war years and 2020, which had to be scrapped due to Covid.

THE GREAT ‘GATE GUARD' MOVE

For many years two aircraft have guarded the entrance to the Gqebetha International Airport (formerly Port Elizabeth). Then one fell off its plinth.

THE PARYS AIRSHOW – A WONDERFUL NEW MODEL.

The Parys Airshow held in the last weekend of May was an extraordinary event which looks set to define a new genre for country airshows.

THE RAINBOW SKYREACH BUSHCAT

“AN AFFORDABLE BUSH AIRCRAFT” Africa is a naturally strong market for a locally developed and built, yet thoroughly proven, light sport bush plane. The Bush Cat is one such aircraft that has evolved into what many consider the almost perfect, tough yet affordable, bush plane.

QUEENSTOWN FLY-IN FESTIVAL

The remote but dynamic Queenstown Flying Club celebrated the 90th anniversary of the De Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth.

GRAND CENTRAL AIRPORT

The Covid-19 pandemic hit general aviation hard - and Grand Central airport was no exception.

NOSE LEFT, LOW RPM HORN SCREAMING

Since the beginning of powered flight, pilots have had one unifying dread – a dead stick landing.

AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT

FLUTTER - BE VERY AFRAID

FACE TO FACE DIRECTOR OF THE CAA: MS POPPY KHOZA

Ms Poppy Khoza has been the Director of the CAA for more almost 10 years something of a record. She must be doing something right to have lasted so long in such a difficult job. Guy Leitch caught up with her.

RAND AIRPORT - AVIATION COMPANIES GUIDE

Rand Airport in capitalising on its excellent location and facilities to lead the post-Covid recovery in general aviation.