CATEGORIES

AERO SOUTH AFRICA EXPO - 2023

The third edition of AERO South Africa took place on 6-8 July 2023 at Wonderboom Airport in Tshwane Pretoria.

THE FUTURE IS HERE

The star at this year’s Aero Expo South Africa, held at Wonderboom, was the Diamond DA-62. The demo aircraft was flown out to South Africa especially for the event – showing the easy capability of this latest generation piston twin.

KUMBULULUKA KWA BAFANA 2023 - ZAMBIAN CHILDREN'S FLIGHT

In 2016 musician, Michael Ferguson and commercial Pilot Felix Gosher joined forces to offer underprivileged children the opportunity to experience the joys of flight, a privilege that many of us take for granted. The initiative was inspired by a song by Michael, “Paper Plane” about a young boy with a dream to fly. Through hard work and dedication, his dream is realised.

REFLECTIONS ON INKWAZI

Inkwazi, the South African Air Force’s Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) used for VIP transport, has been reliably racking up the flying hours this year. In just the past two weeks before writing this column it flew President Ramaphosa tens of thousands of kilometres in back to back trips to Switzerland, Poland, Russia, and now France without a single hitch or serious snag and quick turnarounds between missions.

WILLIE WALSH BERATES POLITICIANS

IATA DIRECTOR GENERAL Willie Walsh took the opportunity of the organisation’s AGM to rebuke the governments that will play a crucial role in ensuring airlines’ hard work and investments are not in vain.

I REALLY THOUGHT I KNEW HOW TO FLY AN AIRCRAFT....NOT

There comes a time in one's life when it feels like it's time to re awaken the sparkle and wonder of flight by trying something new. There is nothing quite like the sobering snotklap you get as you begin as a fresh student all over again. I had to try to convince myself that, \"you're not crazy, John\".

IRIS - HER EARLY YEARS - Tanzania Game Tracker Safaris

Laura McDermid continues her stories of Iris McCallum’s flying exploits.

YVONNE MANZI MAKOLO CHAIRS IATA BOARD OF GOVERNORS

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that RwandAir CEO Yvonne Manzi Makolo has assumed her duties as Chair of the IATA Board of Governors (BoG) for a one-year term, effective from the conclusion of the 79th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Istanbul, Türkiye on 5 June.

POL

In Part 1 of this two-part story, Hugh Tells how his engineer Pol got lost in the Libyan desert.

Maputo airshow KHANIMABO!!!

After a four-year hiatus, the Maputo Airshow returned on 17 June 2023 - and it maintained the high standard of the earlier show.

THE PARYS AIRSHOW

In 2022, the first edition of the Parys Airshow was very successful. So it came as little surprise to see aviation enthusiasts queuing from very early on the bitterly cold Saturday morning for entry to the Parys Airfield.

CENTURY AVIONICS TURNS 45!

Century Avionics celebrates its 45th anniversary in 2023. The company has been based at Lanseria Airport since being established in1978.

CESSNA 414 CHANCELLOR - CESSNA'S BEST TWIN?

The piston twin is making a comeback. In the 1980s, under the pressures of high maintenance and high Avgas prices, the demand for piston twins collapsed in the face of Cessna Caravan and Pilatus PC-12 turbines. But now, the value proposition of a 40-year old piston twin is once again hard to beat.

RIGHT SEAT RULES NO. 7 - BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

So far we have been gathering the tools you’ll need to be the best damn instructor around.

BLOCK THAT COEFFICIENT!

I have to admit that when I encounter equations in a book, I usually just skip over them. Often some phrase like, “It may be readily seen that...” precedes them, and so I figure that since plenty of other people must be readily seeing whatever there is to see, there’s no reason that I need to as well.

2-stroke Diesels better late than never

For years I have moaned about how crappy piston aircraft engines are. They are prohibitively expensive, yet have antiquated technology and are far less efficient and reliable than modern car engines.

SOUTH AFRICA'S ON-OFF-ON RELATIONSHIP WITH RUSSIA.

The ongoing controversy around thea suspicious late night docking and cargo handling of the Russian ship Lady R in Simon's Town Naval Base in December shows no sign of going away. Especially not after the explosive allegation, made by the US Ambassador Reuben Brigety in April, that claimed South Africa had shipped military equipment to Russia on board it

POL

Leopoldo was a machinery operator for a very large oil field service company of French origin. I was their pilot and we were all working in Libya, for our sins, before the bottom fell out of the oil market

GRAND CENTRAL AIRPORT

Grand Central, as the name suggests, benefits from having an ideal location in the heart of Gauteng. It’s a quick hop from the apron to the highway to Johannesburg or Pretoria and the nearest Gautrain station is just 5 minutes away

FLYING BOATS

The motor launch ferried us across the tranquil waters of Lake Naivasha in Kenya. Giraffe browsed from flat topped thorn trees, while hippopotami occasionally broke the lake surface with characteristic snorts, before subsiding again, to leave their ears and inquisitive eyes visible to our passage

LOWVELD AIRSHOW 2023 - A WELCOME RETURN

Nelspruit airshows, is known for hosting above average and this year was no exception

PTAR 2023 - BATTLE OF THE BEASTS

Spanning an impressive 86 years, the Presidents Trophy Air Race (PTAR) remains one of the most prestigious annual events in Southern Africa

APRIL 2023

The register amendments this month are very interesting, especially when we see that the Type Certified (TCA) additions include four aircraft for our various airlines

THE BONANZA'S HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

IN 1944, DURING WORLD WAR 2, the Beechcraft Model 26, known as the AT-10 Wichita, was the first Beech Aircraft design to fly with a V-tail empennage

V-TAILS AND SAFETY

THE V-TAIL BONANZA HAS A REPUTATION for being more dangerous than its straight tailed siblings

THE V35 BONNIE - ONE OF THE BEST BUYS EVER?

When the Bonanza first emerged, it set a new standard for light aircraft design and now, 77 years later, it is still regarded by many as the most desirable piston single

GLIDE, SAIL, SOAR

A northeast wind is picking up. Two redtail hawks are circling above this ridge, rising higher and higher, sliding fast when they turn southward but seeming to hover in place when they face north. Each surge and billow lifts them higher. They must soar for pleasure; they're so far up now, no likely prey would hold still long enough for them to stoop to seize it

Single - or no - Pilot Airliners

The pilot shortage has finally arrived. To attract and retain pilots, airlines are having to pay more for pilots with less experience. This will hasten the move, which many see as inevitable, to single pilot cockpits. And single pilot flightdecks require much the same technology as no-pilot flight decks

Squeezing Out Every Last Cent

I have been writing about the CAA for sixteen years and the more time passes, the less I’m able to make much sense of it.

HERE COMES THE PITCH

Writing about a fatal accident that resulted from the pilot’s mishandling of a balked landing, I reflected that I had never assessed the behaviour of my own aeroplane in that manoeuvre. My idea of flight testing is to take trips and wait for something strange to happen, and, as luck would have it, I have never yet had a balked landing in Melmoth 2.