CATEGORIES

AIRBUS HELICOPTERS

Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services

UKRAINE TO GET ITS FIGHTER JETS: POLISH MiG-29s TO ARRIVE WITHIN 'DAYS'

At the time of writing Poland planned to send a dozen MiG-29 jets to Ukraine, with the first four likely to come within the week. But what state the jets will be in and who else might send them, is a big question mark

VOUGHT F4U CORSAIR A KOREAN WAR HERO TWICE REBORN

In 1981, business-owner Jim Tobul and his father purchased a Chance-Vought F4U Corsair in three truckloads of parts that, over the following decade, they re-built into a flying warbird

ELDERS FLIGHT AT BRAKPAN AIRFIELD

What an incredible day that Felix Gosher planned at Brakpan airfield with the Elders Flight, where somewhere in the region of 300 Elders and Military Veterans were flown by an amazing group of pilots

MD HELICOPTERS

The preeminent manufacturer of American made commercial, military, law enforcement and air-rescue helicopters, the MDHI family of rotorcraft is world renowned for its value, versatility and performance

CABRI G2

Helicopteres Guimbal was founded late-2000, with the purpose of developing and certifying the two-seat helicopter Cabri G2

BELL

THE FUTURE FLIGHT OF VERTICAL IS NOW

THE WESTERN CAPE's HELIHACKERS

Every so often, a group of courageous mountain climbers are helicoptered into the highest reaches of the Western Cape mountains to remove alien invaders

SIKORSKY HELICOPTERS

Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut USA

ENSTROM HELICOPTER CORPORATION

With crisp handling, well-appointed features, incredibly smooth ride, beautiful style and roomy interior, Enstrom’s line of helicopters offers the attributes of the ultimate luxury sports car and for an unexpectedly affordable price

HILL HELICOPTER HX50

THE LIGHT HELICOPTER REVOLUTION IS HERE

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.

THE AMAZING ELDERS FLIGHT: 2023

As just one person, Felix Gosher does more to develop aviation in South Africa than any number of Cadet Schemes or CAA outreaches.

BLUE LASER ATTACK GETS TWO YEARS

A Minnesota USA man whose lasered a Delta Air Lines flight was sentenced to two years in jail.

AERO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN 2023

Aero Friedrichshafen is Europe’s premier general aviation Expo. Unlike conventional airshows, it is an expo as it uses static displays inside the hangars, rather than flying displays, as for instance Oshkosh Airventure does. Given the German weather and a train strike, it is perhaps appropriate that the organisers were not relying on the gee-whizz crowd pull of an airshow.

JMB AIRCRAFT VL-3 EVOLUTION

Speed and small sexy bodies may be cute for supercars – but they can be a dangerous cocktail for inexperienced pilots. Beech had this problem with the V-tail Bonanza, Piper with its Malibu and Cirrus with the SR-22. The good news is that in time, all these problems were solved.

COBRA IN A BARON

RUDOLF ERASMUS and four friends were flying in his Baron 58 when he felt something cold under his shirt near his hip.

CAA INDUSTRY AWARDS 2023 NOW OPEN

In the spirit of developing excellence in aviation, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) is again sponsoring a major awards event.

THE ROTAX 916

You may have to forgive us for listing a whole new aero engine as a mere gadget – and thus suitable for review in our Gadget of the Month series. But the Rotax 916iS so small, yet so powerful it represents the ultimate gadget.

RAND AIRPORT AVIATION COMPANIES GUIDE

A Management era at Rand Airport has ended. Six years since his appointment, Rand Airport General Manager, Stuart Coetzee has ‘been retired’. It is notable that he has not resigned for greener pastures but was essentially forced into retirement due to advancing age.

THE LONG JOURNEY OF A MISSION PILOT

Eivind Lindtjørn is a typical Mission Aviation fellowship pilot flying in Africa, in that he combines a higher calling with a passion for flying.

SANSA: SUPPORTING MOON SHOTS AND WATER RESOURCES

The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) has become a world class resource for aviation and space missions. SANSA is now supporting projects as diverse as the first Arab moon landing to monitoring water resources in the Eastern Cape.

MARCH 2023

March has been a pretty average month with regard to aircraft movements on to and off the register, however there are some exciting new arrivals.

ZIPLINE UNVEILS NEW AUTONOMOUS SYSTEM CAPABLE OF QUIET, FAST AND PRECISE HOME DELIVERY

Last month Zipline unveiled its new platform that provides quiet, fast and precise autonomous delivery directly to homes in cities and suburbs. The company’s next-generation home delivery platform is practically silent (designed to sound like wind rustling leaves) and is expected to deliver up to seven times as fast as traditional automobile delivery, completing 10-mile deliveries in about 10 minutes

US GOVERNMENT EMPHASISES SPEED AND SUSTAINABILITY AS TOP AERONAUTICS PRIORITIES

The Administration’s vision for continued global leadership notes supersonic flight’s emerging commercial interest and underscores the criticality of sustainable aviation

SUPERSONIC TRAVEL WITHOUT THE SONIC BOOM

Imagine flying faster than the speed of sound. With its X-59, NASA could re-open the door to supersonic travel, this time without the explosive boom. For decades, flying faster than the speed of sound has meant speeding across the skies in an aircraft that creates a powerful sonic boom, a significant noise that travels down to the ground below like a crack of thunder

MALIAN AIR FORCE COMMISSIONS BAYRAKTAR TB2 UAVs

Mali’s Air Force continues to expand through new equipment deliveries, with the most recent batch of hardware accepted into service including Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Turkey and L-39 trainer and light attack jets from Russia

TURKISH AKSUNGUR UAVS FOR ANGOLA

Becoming the first confirmed African nation to order Aksungur medium-altitude, long endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) Angola has ordered the drones from Turkish Aerospace Industries

JETBLUE AND SHELL AVIATION ANNOUNCE LAX SAF AGREEMENT

On 14 March 2023 the US low-cost airline JetBlue, currently at odds with the Biden administration over its proposed acquisition of Spirit Airlines and Shell Aviation announced that the two companies would collaborate to bolster the Los Angeles International Airport’s (LAX) supply of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). JetBlue and Shell Aviation look to commence SAF deliveries to LAX in the first half of 2023