July 2021

FlightCm African Commercial Aviation Edition 152 | July 2021

THE ZIM

NAVEX

LOCKDOWN

– a Sling to the rescue

SAA’S THOMAS KGOKOLO AND HUGH PRYOR –

BUFFALO IN A SNOW STORM? 1

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CONTENTS

TABLE OF

Publisher Flyer and Aviation Publications cc Managing Editor Guy Leitch guy@flightcommag.com Advertising Sales Wayne Wilson wayne@saflyermag.co.za Layout & Design Emily-Jane Kinnear Patrick Tillman

JULY 2021 EDITION 152

ADMIN: +27 (0)83 607 2335 TRAFFIC: +27 (0)81 039 0595 ACCOUNTS: +27 (0)15 793 0708

06 10 14 20 24 28 29 30 35 36 38

Thomas Kgokolo - Here to fly the flag Bush Pilot - Hugh Pryor The 2021 Zimbabwe Air Rally Airline Ops - Mike Gough Defence - Darren Olivier Starlite Directory Atlas Oil Charter Directory Sling to the Rescue AME Doctors Listing AEP AMO Listing Backpage Directory

© FlightCom 2021. All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronically, mechanically, photocopied, recorded or otherwise without the express permission of the copyright holders.

A NOTE FROM

THE EDITOR: Airline operations in Africa are characterised by a high level of political interference. Two of the most obvious examples of this are the persistence of ‘closed skies’ with restrictive bilateral air service agreements due to the resistance by many countries to the Single African Air Transport Market – (SAATM). Then there is also the very high percentage of state ownership of airlines – with the result that the national airlines are underfunded, under-skilled and poorly run and therefore need protection by their state owners through closed skies.

All of this makes the African airline industry inefficient, expensive and unable to provide the air connectivity essential for economic growth.

and its being forced to land in Minsk to ‘kidnap’ a journalist critical of the Belarus government.

Fortunately, despite the interception by a MiG 29, there was no loss of life.

On 2 June EASA replaced its recommendation (Safety Information Bulletin) for European airlines to carefully assess the risk of flying in Belarus airspace with a blanket prohibition (Safety Directive) on European aircraft entering Belarus airspace. Arising from this, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has now called on the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to maintain the separation between politics and aviation safety issues.

national airlines are underfunded, under-skilled

However, the one thing we the participants in African aviation, can be grateful for, is that we do not have the state-sponsored piracy that plagues airline operations in eastern Europe and Asia.

Iran has now admitted that it shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 after takeoff from Tehran in January 2020, killing 176 people. The Iranian government blamed a “disastrous mistake” by forces on high alert during a confrontation with the United States.

Canadian investigators said they “found no evidence that Iranian officials ordered the shoot-down or that it was premeditated.” However, they added: “This in no way absolves Iran of its responsibility for the death of 176 innocent people.” The Canadian team also complained that Iran’s official explanation did not answer many important questions.

Perhaps the most flagrant disregard for ICAO SARPS is the Ryanair FR4978 interception in Belarus airspace

“Aviation safety must never be politicized. IATA condemned the actions of the Belarus government and called for an independent investigation. Backing up its call to not politicise airline operations, IATA has come out surprisingly strongly against EASA’s ban on airlines operations over Belarus. IATA says that “Banning European aircraft from using Belarusian airspace with a Safety Directive is also a politicization of aviation safety.

This is a retrograde and disappointing development.

EASA should rescind its prohibition and allow airlines to manage safety as they do each and every day—with their normal operational risk assessments. Two wrongs do not make a right. Politics should never interfere with the safe operation of aircraft and politicians should never use aviation safety as a cover to pursue political or diplomatic agendas,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

This is a lesson it seems African politicians have yet to learn. 

AIRLINES

- HERE TO FLY THE FLAG Despite the controversial arrival of a strategic equity partner for SAA, Mr Thomas Kgokolo is still the CEO, albeit only an interim one. Guy Leitch asks him how he is managing a job many consider impossible.

S

AA HAS HAD 20 ACTING or supposedly permanent Chief Executives in the past 10 years – and Thomas Kgokolo is the fifth in the past five years. Is this job not the ultimate ‘hospital pass’? After all, a well-qualified and experienced South African airline CEO turned the job down – twice.

After all, SAA is a business like any other and I have significant business transformation experience which will enable me to relaunch the airline.”

THE MAIN TASK

the mix of SAA pilots should be representative

Kgokolo hedged his bets by accepting the job only as an Interim CEO. He says, “I told myself that I will apply my experience in business and skills to contribute to the airline’s turn around, as the success of the new SAA is a reflection on all of us as South Africans, so I am here to rebuild SAA into an airline that all South Africans can be proud of.

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Kgokolo says his biggest challenge is the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the airline. “My main task is to get SAA back where it belongs – in the skies and flying the South African flag high with the intent of recapturing the hearts of our customers.”

In the absence of a detailed strategic plan, he says his main aim is “to stabilise SAA during this transition, so that the airline is on a sound footing for the takeover by the new Strategic Equity Partner (SEP). The closure

SAA's new Interim CEO Thomas Kgokolo shares his plan for the embattled airline. Image supplied by SAA.

of borders continues to have a negative impact on the revenue and cash flow of the business. This situation is also making it difficult to plan for a sustainable restart,” he explains.

“The aviation industry is not in a good state; however, the long-term sustainability of the airline will be enhanced by the newly announced SEP.”

members of the SAA Pilots Association (SAAPA) and they have been in a fight to the bitter end with the airline to enforce their Regulating Agreement. At time of writing judgement has been reserved in the labour court matter between SAAPA and the airline.

Regarding the race and seniority composition of the pilot body, Kgokolo says, “Naturally, the mix of SAA pilots should be representative, in line with both their experience and the demographics of the country.”

as a flag carrier, SAA is a tool for nation building and national identity

Kgokolo’s says that the next challenge is to meet the regulatory requirements.

Kgokolo acknowledges that, “this will require a massive amount of work – just in terms of getting the airline back into a regulatory compliant condition.”

An immediate challenge is dealing with the long running pilots’ strike. 89% of SAA pilots were

Regarding the continued absence of a business plan, Kgokolo regards the timeous resolution of the deadlock with SAAPA as essential to enable the airline to do proper planning; “SAA’s main interest is for this issue to be resolved speedily, as it

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Thomas Kgololo hopes to have SAA return to flying domestic routes in early August 2021. Image ACSA.

negatively impacts planning for the restart.”

A late May Labour Court decision dismissing an interim relief application by SAAPA preventing SAA from engaging ‘scab’ pilots and flight trainers/services during the strike means the airline can now proceed with its plans for a relaunch. Kgokolo says, “While we welcome the Labour Court decision, we remain committed to finding a workable solution to end the impasse with SAA pilots. But we are also resolute in pursuing our goal of getting SAA back in the skies in the third quarter.”

Kgokolo says, “With the announcement of the SEP, there is a palpable sense of excitement and optimism among all staff as we collectively look towards new horizons in SAA’s proud history. It would be our

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fervent wish that all staff, including our pilots, as well as passengers, be part of this process.”

THE SUBSIDIARIES A further key challenge for Kgokolo as the SAA Group’s Interim Chief Executive is the airline’s three loss-making subsidiaries: Mango, SAA Technical, and Air Chefs. Kgokolo says, “One of my tasks at SAA is to support our subsidiaries until they receive the R2.7 billion Rand that has been allocated to them by the government.”

Mango was grounded at the end of April 2021, for the non-payment of fees to the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA). 3500 passengers were left stranded.

“We are concentrating on making sure that we have improved communication with Mango’s guests so that we are all clear about the way forward,” he says.

At the same time, SAA Technical is reported to be retrenching 1200 of its 2000 staff. A key question is whether that will leave enough capacity for the support and maintenance of the SAA and Mango fleets when it relaunches? Kgokolo says that the demand for these companies’ services has changed. “They cannot keep doing the same thing while the market has radically changed due to Covid-19. We have to reposition the businesses to align them with the current challenges. But I must emphasise that we regard our employees as significant stakeholders and we are doing everything within our power to safeguard their jobs. Fortunately, we have excellent support from the SAA Board and from the DPE, as our shareholder.”

THE FLEET

SAA AS A FLAG CARRIER Despite all these challenges, plus the less tangible need to rebuild staff morale and trust in the brand from its once loyal customers, Kgokolo clearly believes that the airline has an important role as a flag carrier. “SAA is a tool for nation building and national identity. More importantly, it is a good instrument for promoting both economic and social development, especially in relation to the tourism industry, since one will have to look at the value chain when accessing the success of the national airline carrier,” he says.

“My immediate action is to rebuild trust and identity to the remaining SAA employees who have gone through a difficult period. I intend leading by example and being transparent. Since we are a customer-facing entity, it is key to ensure that we have motivated staff.”

to ensure that SAA has an appropriate fleet for the airline’s restart

There is a pressing need to rebuild SAA’s fleet.

During the rescue process, the Business Rescue Practitioners negotiated the return of most of its aircraft, particularly the newer one, to the lessors. The result is that the airline is left only with a few older planes no one wanted. The remaining fleet consists of three A319s, two A320s, one A330300, four A340-300s and four A340-600s. The Airbus A340s have out-dated in-flight entertainment and being four engine ‘quads’ they are fuel inefficient compared to modern twins such as the A350 and B787. Kgokolo says “Negotiations are underway to ensure that SAA has an appropriate fleet for the airline’s restart, at affordable cost. Thanks to the experience of Global Aviation with its existing fleet and flight operations capacity as a partner in the SEP, we are expecting the role of the SEP to be pertinent in the final fleet configuration.”

Kgokolo acknowledges that SAA has lost much of its pre-COVID market share.

“The longer SAA remains on the ground the more challenging it will be to gain momentum, particularly on regional routes. However, I still believe SAA is a good African brand, judging by social media. Our customers want us back, for the proudly South African hospitality that only SAA can provide in the market. We were once Africa’s favourite airline, and with loyal support from our customers, we are optimistic about claiming this title back.”

When asked if he would be available for a permanent job as CEO at SAA, Kgokolo replied, “My task currently is to get SAA on good ground, so the SEP has the maximum chance of success. Once I accomplish this, it will be up to the SEP to make permanent appointments. Personally, it has always been my intention to start my PhD and I look forward to be able to do that in the years ahead.” 

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BUSH PILOT HUGH PRYOR

The DHC-5D Buffalo is a medium-weight, fixed-wing, two engined tactical transport aircraft. It can carry forty fully equipped paratroopers or a couple of 4x4s in the cabin and it can chuck them out of the back all in one go.

The Buffalo's big black radome is an excellent snow accumulator.

T

HE BUFFALO HAS QUITE extraordinarily

short takeoff and landing capability for such a large aircraft.

On the ground, it looks ungainly and uncomfortable with its stalky undercarriage and the angular sweep of the back end up to the impossibly high ‘T’ tail. Then there are its bulldog features, set off by the large, black, round snout... surely only its mother could love it?

So that’s the Buffalo for you...or is it?

Start the auxiliary power unit and power up the electrics and hydraulics and you are ready to fire up the big boys and find out. As the whistle of the turbines increases in volume and pitch, the great blades of the enormous propeller begin to turn like the sails of some massive metallic windmill.

Slowly the prop gathers speed until the blades become a blur and the engine settles down into a comfortable

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snuffling rhythm, which gives no hint of what is to follow.

Final pre-take off checks completed, the beast is lined up and as power is gently increased the snuffle becomes a low rumble and the aircraft begins to accelerate. The rumble increases to a growl and the airframe begins to quiver in sympathy.

All temperatures and pressures in the green, speed is building...go for maximum power. Now the growl becomes a deep, full-throated roar as the last three inches of each propeller blade break the sound barrier. The acceleration is spectacular, thrusting the flight crew back into their seats.

Coils of condensation stream back from the props as the aircraft surges forward and then suddenly the nose lifts into the air. The stalky, uncomfortable-looking waddler transforms itself into a powerful but strangely elegant flying machine with an unmistakable booming voice.

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A DHC5 Buffalo making vapour trails with its supersonic prop tips.

Any comparison between the portly Buffalo and svelte Concorde would appear to be absurd, but I was tempted to do just that some years ago during a Buffalo trip from the UK to Oman. I was flying with a very experienced old friend called John. He had flown Bristol Brigands with the Royal Air Force during the ‘Confrontation’ with Burma. He had been shot down and bailed-out and on his way out he collided with one of the tail fins during his evacuation. That cost him a kidney which gave him a Medical Discharge from the RAF.

they fell into the hole. This would cause my eyes to jerk nervously to the engine instruments, but they just stayed rigidly glued to their normal parameters as though there was nothing which worried them about flying through thick, thick snow.

the growl becomes a deep, fullthroated roar

We stopped at Larnaka in Cyprus for fuel and then took off for Bahrein. As we approached Beirut we encountered a giant curtain of solid cloud, topped out by an angry-looking roiling pelmet at about 25,000 feet above sea level.

I was only on my fourth UK trip in command and I turned to John and said, “Well, I don’t know about you, John, but if I was on my own, I would probably turn round and go back to Larnaka to wait until this lot goes somewhere else.”

“Mmmmm...” said John. “Let’s have a look at the radar.”

He turned the range up to two hundred miles. “Mmmmm...” he said again, “Well there’s nothing on the radar, so why don’t we just stick our noses in there and have a quick look-see?”

So that’s what we did. I was hand flying the aircraft, in case there were some serious lumps up ahead. As we approached it became evident that the cloud was not actually cloud at all, it was snow...heavy, heavy snow.

As we flew along in flat calm air white moustaches of snow built up over the tops of the engine intakes. Every so often

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Then suddenly there was a rumbling thump as though we had bumped into something large and soft. My heart leapt into my mouth and I shot a nervous glance at John for reassurance.

“How about doing the ‘SADIE’ checks?” he said.

I nodded and worked my way through as I said them out loud; ‘Suction, Amps, DI to Compass, Icing, Engine temperatures and pressures in the green.’

I checked the outside air temperature gauge probe, to see how much ice had built up on it. The probe was mounted just forward of the central windscreen pillar and I had to lean forward in order to get a good look at it.

It was then that I became aware of something so unexpected that it took me some seconds to take it in. The Buffalo seemed to have grown an enormously long, pointed, white nose. It was as though the old girl had decided that she wanted to be Concorde for a while.

Then, as I watched, the Concorde nose disappeared – accompanied by that rumbling thump which had caught my attention just minutes before as the snow-snoot tumbled back down under the fuselage.

So yes - a Buffalo can indeed pretend to be a Concorde, even if it’s only for a short time, while flying in a snowstorm over Beirut! 

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GENERAL AVIATION COMPETITION FLYING

THE 2021 ZIMBABWE AIR RALLY

Story and pictures by Chris Sheppard Imagine flying low level over the Zambezi River on a cold, clear winter’s morning with a bright sun lighting up spectacular water and land views in front of you? Sharply delineated water separated from a brown shore edged with green trees and strangely shaped pans where there was once water but now only cracked mud remains.

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ZS-MRO with Colin Rhodes and Jack Brotherton eases into the sky at Fothergill at the start of the second day of flying the ZAR2021 Rally.

W

ITH ALL THIS GOING ON you have to fly at a certain speed and navigate to a specific point all exactly on time, knowing your progress is tracked by an unemotional GPS logger.

“On track, on time all the time” are the words associated with the Zimbabwe Air Rally. This is not a race, rather a navigational and piloting skill exercise.

As the Rally notes state – “Rally objective - To fly from turning point to turning point using a map, a master clock, the plane’s compass/DI and its airspeed indicator to arrive at turning points at a pre-calculated time.”

The international competitors arrived on the Tuesday prior to briefing which was held in Harare the following day, Wednesday. Rally Organiser Marion Kalweit started the briefing with a warm welcome to everyone and followed with basic housekeeping rules and guidelines. She mentioned that the use of artificial navigation and flying aids was forbidden and against the Rally ethos. There is a lot of trust involved in this event as the Competitors are asked to blank off all these gauges and dials by whatever means necessary.

Air Rally stalwart John Reid-Rowland was tasked to coordinate this exercise as best as possible – he went from aircraft to aircraft on Wednesday and early Thursday morning to inspect the cockpits.

Great revelry followed

This year saw 33 competitors vying for the Southern SunTrophy.

Three nations participated, with 13 aircraft from South Africa, 3 from Zambia and 17 from Zimbabwe. The fastest plane was a Beechcraft Baron (Rally Speed 150kts) and the slowest a Savannah (Rally Speed 78kts). Of interest is the entry of six Cirrus aircraft, not normally considered suitable for such flying.

Route planner Peter Sheppard followed Marion with a pilots’ briefing on what to expect, observing International Airspace, heights, what to do if lost, and so on.

Pete and Marion carried a huge load this year with

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Fothergill Island airstrip with the Navex competitors. Image Peter Sheppard.

the added COVID pandemic pressure as well as an unscheduled closure of Victoria Falls airspace on the Friday necessitating another day at Kariba. Shuffling of people, bed arrangements, extra house boats and more food and drink had to happen within 24 hours.

Ever adaptable aviators on the Rally took everything in their stride and used the spare day to relax and enjoy the camaraderie that goes with flying with other likeminded people.

Day one was 256 NM with 18 turn points, routing north west out of Harare from Charles Prince Airport.

Flying initially over farmlands, then down into the Zambezi Valley, then left at Chikwenya along the Zambezi River over Mana Pools, past Chirundu up to the Kariba Gorge ending just short of Kariba Dam Wall.

Competitors were urged to fly over the wall, turning left around Kariba Town to land at Kariba Airport to refuel. Once fueled up to fly the short leg over

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Kariba to land at Fothergill Island where the aircraft were secured, loggers handed in and lunch and drinks sponsored by Absolute Aviation were laid on at Fothergill Island Lodge.

The opportunity to fly over this expanse of water and to land on an actual island was something everyone enjoyed.

Great revelry followed as competitors compared notes on the route and how they felt they had done against the clock and the track.

Friday was an “Off Day” with everyone taking in the beauty of the lake and surrounds. Many competitors used the time to go over maps by making use of Google Earth to get an image of each turning point.

The 1:250,000 maps are considered the best to fly on. As everyone found out, no matter how much preparation you do, you still have to fly and navigate on point to feature and both days had a quartering tail wind to contend with.

Flying an SF260 of the Air Force of Zimbabwe, pilot Angeline Bosha, Zimbabwe’s first woman jet pilot, and navigator Suprise Mariwati, leave Fothergill Island.

BELOW: Some exceptional flying by the crew of Z-JSB as evidenced by the score sheet and flight track.

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Finally Saturday and the last flying day arrived. Strong winds overnight had created an angry lake and big waves threatened to swamp the ferry boats taking competitors from Spurwing Island to Fothergill. Some soggy aviators arrived at the airstrip.

Once again Craig Davenport and Stewart Judson led the Rally start in their Beechcraft Baron, lifting off 1 hour earlier than the original plan at 07.30hrs. A strong south easterly wind necessitated takeoff on 09 which meant all the aircraft had to taxi in batches down to a holding point before taking their turn every two minutes to takeoff.

It was another spectacular visual spectacle that found many looking at the scenery and not their maps and so losing time and marks in the process.

Prize Giving was held at Illala Lodge, Victoria Falls.

Pilot Hamish Rudland, in his first ever Rally, and Navigator Jim Brown flying a Cirrus were the winners, Andrew Brown and Meina Ferreira (Cessna 210) came in second and third, also in their first Rally was another Cirrus with the South African team of Pilot Andre Senekal and Navigator Rocco Holl.

Full credit and appreciation is due to the Zim Air Rally A few minor mishaps with brakes and magnetos were Team for their incredible efforts in organising such a solved and all aircraft completed the 248nm route, which wonderful, fun and safe event.  again had 18 turn points. This followed the south shore of Lake Kariba and the Zambezi River to Victoria Falls.

All the results.

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TOP: The winners of the Zimbabwe Air Rally 2021 - Hamish Rudland (Pilot) and Jim Brown (Navigator) in a Cirrus SR22.

LEFT BELOW: Second Place - Andrew Brown and Hermien Ferreira flew Cessna 210, Z-JSB. RIGHT BELOW: Third Place - Andre Senekal (Pilot), Rocco Holl (Navigator and Kurt Stock (Crew) flew ZS-DEV a Cirrus SR22.

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AIRLINE OPS MIKE GOUGH

SPLIT SECOND DECISIONS

“This will be a go-orientated takeoff. However, in the event of a decision to stop before V1, I will call STOP, close the thrust levers and apply full reverse thrust. You will monitor and call DECEL, Reverse Green and notify ATC. I will bring the aircraft to a stop, set the park brake, and tell the cabin crew to Standby or remain seated.”

T

HIS WAS A PART OF EACH and every working day for me and my colleagues until the industry, and specifically my current employer, (up till this point) went to hell in a handbasket.

The ‘sing song’ was performed during the preparation for the first flight of the day, and for subsequent sectors (flights) we were permitted to simply mention ‘Standard RTO’, to save a bit of time and verbiage.

This is how we were to prepare ourselves for that one-in-three-thousand chance of having to decide that it was safer to stay on the ground than to continue with the take-off, in a worst case scenario, at around 260 kilometres per hour.

flights per day globally (pre-pandemic) that means we should be seeing at least one or two rejected takeoffs per day. The statistic for runway over-run events (being unable to stop and barrelling off the end of the runway) as a result of a high-speed RTO happens once every 4 500 000 takeoffs, which is somewhat more reassuring that the calculations we make actually work.

I have been fortunate that within the 25 years of airline operations that I have been exposed to, I have had one, low-speed, RTO.

spectacular deceleration, with scant regard for passenger comfort

A quick look at that statistic – one in three thousand – is a little scary. That is the average of rejected takeoffs (RTOs) in commercial transport aircraft versus normal takeoffs, globally.

Considering the entire industry does around 5670 20

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My situation occurred during a training flight in an Airbus 319. It was literally a dark and stormy night at Johannesburg, departing for Maputo, with a trainee First Officer in the right hand seat. It was his sector, so he was Pilot Flying for the take off.

As per the RTO briefing, the Captain is responsible not only for the decision to stop, but also for the actions to initiate it, irrespective of whose sector it is. The FO in this case stabilised thrust (as per Standard Operating

Procedure) to ensure even spool up of the IAE V2500 engines. Then the thrust levers are then advanced through the Climb detent into the Flex / MCT detent. Click Click.

At this point, the Captain is required to forcibly remove the FO’s hand

from the levers, and be ready to close them should the need arise.

This handover should be done no later than 80 knots, which is the “Thrust Set” call by the Pilot Monitoring – in this case me.

At around 50 knots, I heard one of

the Generator Control Units (GCU) relays open with an audible clunk, situated behind the FO’s seat, and knew that trouble was about to be visited upon us.

A few seconds later, the Electronic Centralised Aircraft Monitoring system (ECAM) pinged to life, illuminating the master caution light, and displaying an amber electrical warning indicating an AC Bus 2 Fault. Simultaneously, some display information on the FO’s side disappeared.

“Stop” said I, reverting to ‘simulator’ mode, and thumped the thrust levers closed and into reverse. My somewhat bewildered right-hand-man turned to me and asked “Why?” Definitely not as per script and SOP, but I had my attention elsewhere. I should have heard ‘Decel’ and ‘Reverse Green’, and then a call being made to the control tower.

As the actual stop occurred above 72 knots, the spoilers automatically deployed, triggering the Autobrake system into maximum RTO effort. This causes a spectacular deceleration, with scant regard for passenger comfort. In our case, being low-speed, we were at a near standstill before the next runway exit, and I disengaged the Autobrake to keep us moving. I made a quick call to ATC, and they too wanted to know why we were stopping. I ignored that for the interim and vacated on the next left, and got my FO back on track with changing to the ground frequency for taxi instructions.

The American Airlines Boeing 737Max hard on the brakes after rejecting takeoff at - or past - V1.

We cleared the runway, reassured the passengers, did a computer reset for the GCU, waited for the

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brakes to cool with engines running (we had extra correctly. GIGO, and this has resulted in several major tankering fuel on board) and after phoning the boss, we incidents and accidents. were on our uneventful way.

There is always a trade-off between commercial In this case, we were nowhere efficiency in terms of near any of the limiting using reduced thrust for factors that would make this each takeoff to save engine a scary event. These limits costs, and being on the depend on a multitude of limits of performance in aspects, and can obviously terms of being able to get quite complicated and stop on the remaining technical. runway.

Often, these calculations may show a First, of course is runway stop margin of one metre, length, and its condition which is acceptable, and (dry, wet contaminated, snow etc). This essentially if everything is done properly, will be accurate. This dictates the maximum weight that the aircraft can be, at means that if the decision to stop is made at V1 speed, the commencement of the take-off run. Most operators there will be one metre of runway remaining when the utilise a computerised application that provides accurate aircraft comes to a stop. speeds (specifically that all important Decision Speed, V1), and thrust settings.

Tight margins to say the least, but legal and safe when done correctly.

Provided, of course, that the crew input the data In some situations, the runway is in excess of the accelerate – stop distance (ASD) required by a particular aircraft type. There may well be other limitations that need to be considered, for example an obstacle beyond the airport environment that requires a certain amount of minimum energy for the aircraft to clear it by a certain height, if one engine should fail at or beyond V1.

things would be safer if kept on the ground

A video clip of a Boeing 737 departing an island runway in the USA has done the rounds recently, showing what appears to be a high speed RTO, with what looks like the rotation to become airborne having been started. As I have yet to see any factual reporting on this, it is pure conjecture to assume that the stop was initiated after V1.

It is, however, a fantastic display of the effectiveness of the RTO braking / reverse thrust system, and has the aircraft stopped with ample runway to spare. It looks like it hit a flock of birds at high speed and the Captain elected, in literally a split second, that things would be safer if kept on the ground.

A screengrab of a passenger video of some of the large birds that caused the rejected takeoff. A good decision by the Captain.

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For what reasons would we want to stop on the runway? This, for decision making is divided into two main categories: Low speed (below 100kts) and High speed (100kts to V1).

Passenger comfort is not a priority, smoking brakes and tyres showing the maximium effort stop.

The Low speed scenario (as per my situation) is more Captain’s discretion, and influenced by the manufacturer’s operating instructions. In the case of Airbus, it is recommended that any warning that is annunciated must be considered and acted on appropriately.

Above 100kts, it becomes more defined, but every possible scenario cannot obviously be predicted and anticipated. For Airbus and Boeing, the obvious reasons are fire warning or severe damage (the latter was probably the case with the Boeing video), sudden loss of engine thrust, and the wonderful line of ‘malfunctions or conditions that give unambiguous indications that the aircraft will not fly safely’.

When training in the Airbus simulator, I like to use the simple concept of anything held in your left hand (side stick which is flight controls) and anything held in your right hand (thrust levers, which is everything engine related). This covers the Airbus information that sidestick fault, engine fail, reverser unlocked, reverser fault, and thrust lever fault are rock solid reasons for a decision to stop beyond 100 knots and before V1.

While doing the take-off calculations, we are given a diagrammatic display of the runway and stop margins available, as well as a choice of minimum and maximum V1 speeds. The reasons for a V1 split get pretty technical, and is a bit much for this discussion.

A long runway, with a low V1, can easily result in the ability to reject a take-off beyond V1 and still remain safely on the tarmac, although the reasoning for that has to be that the aircraft has been rendered incapable of flight.

Considering the debris seen flying from an on-board view of this abort, I think the Captain took a wellinformed decision that resulted in a safe outcome.

That is what is important here, and each RTO adds to the data base of knowledge that continues to give us an operational insight as to how well (or poorly) the critical high-speed decisions turn out, within the context that the calculations are made and the actions executed.

Well done that crew.



FlightCom Magazine

23

DEFENCE

The YC-130 first flight in 1954.

DARREN OLIVIER

NEW AIRBORNE COMPUTING SYSTEMS

Open source architecture makes it far easier to transfer data in flight.

For decades, combat aircraft have had their capabilities held back by an inability to keep up with the state of the art in electronics.

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E

VEN AS THE DEMAND for onboarding processing, analysis, and storage has grown exponentially, fed by ever more capable and numerous sensors and more dire threats, it has still been largely impossible for even the newest combat aircraft to enter service with anything newer than ten to twenty year old chips and other technology deep inside its onboard computers.

The reason for this is simple: The harsh operating environment, long required service life, extremely high reliability, and high risk levels of traditional avionics could only have been fulfilled by older and less efficient designs that had undergone hardening and rigorous years-long testing regimes to ensure they could not fail at a critical moment and cause either mission failure or aircraft loss.

Similarly, writing software for traditional avionics systems is a painstaking, expensive, and very slow process that requires a huge amount of verification and testing.

designed for extreme reliability over years, but rather for cheap manufacturing, redundancy, and a relatively short service life.

Just as important, it means that mission-specific software need no longer be developed using highly constrained real-time embedded programming techniques and languages, such as C or Ada, and can instead be developed with more modern and high level languages like Java, Rust, Go, or Python while relying on the supporting infrastructure to handle resource management and scheduling. Software development can therefore be much quicker than the traditional DO-178B/C-compliant approach for avionics.

Software can also be written in a generic fashion without needing to customise it for a specific hardware implementation.

It seems like a small thing, but the potential benefits are huge

If recent experiments by the US Air Force (USAF), Saab, and others are anything to go by, though, we may have reached an inflection point that will soon allow for the safe and rapid installation of much more modern and capable computers and software onboard combat aircraft.

In short, hardened military avionics and data exchange protocols have advanced to the point where they have enough computing power and bandwidth to support proper isolation at both hardware and software levels, meaning that new and relatively untested hardware and software can safely be installed to communicate with an aircraft’s core avionics without being able to harm the integrity of those systems.

It seems like a small thing, but the potential benefits are huge. Combat aircraft mission systems will no longer be held back by the need to develop at the same pace as the most critical onboard components, and being able to quickly install, test, and remove both hardware and software means a much faster iterative improvement process. Full use can also be made of recent advances in electronics, especially in chip design, because mission-specific hardware need not be

There is some similarity to CubeSats and other cheap very low orbit satellites in this regard, as they too have embraced consumer electronics rather than traditional hardened systems, and with it, high level languages, because their intentionally short lifespans in orbit and extreme low cost make it economical. That development has revolutionised the satellite industry, and we should expect similar advances in combat aircraft.

As Saab described it during a presentation on the Gripen E’s modular open avionics system, it’s somewhat like a highly secure smartphone: The operating system is like an aircraft’s core avionics, with slow and careful development often in a low-level language, but mission software can be like apps with rapid development, testing, and deployment and an easy mechanism to install and remove different ‘apps’ for different mission types without harming the underlying operating system.

One very interesting possibility of all this though is being able to update the software on an aircraft midflight over secure data links, to add new capabilities in response to mission data while still on the same mission. Chris Roper, the one-time US Air Force acquisition chief, made it a goal for every aircraft to be able to ‘land with better code than it took off with’.

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25

Kubernetes are a new way to transfer data to planes and back.

Of course in one sense this isn’t new, as we’ve had the ability to remotely update the software on satellites, space probes, and Mars rovers for decades.

However, each of those updates is a risky endeavour that is planned months in advance and tested hundreds of times over before it’s attempted. The USAF’s approach is different, as the updates are to hardware and software that’s not flight-critical so updates can be developed and sent rapidly without any compromise to safety. That’s a game-changer.

Most remarkably, the US Air Force actually demonstrated this in the real world last year when it updated the target recognition software of a U-2 mid-flight. It also later demonstrated the ability to shift raw sensor data from the aircraft in real-time to processing centres on the ground which then returned the processed data to the aircraft’s computers, massively increasing the effective computing power available for a mission.

This remarkable historical feat was accomplished thanks to three key factors: Open Mission System (OMS) protocols, the Kubernetes container orchestration system, and Lockheed-Martin’s Enterprise Open System Architecture Mission Computer (EMC2).

OMS is the USAF’s new approach to Open Architecture avionics, defining a set of standards and protocols that regulate the interaction of both avionics and segregated mission software to a much higher degree than protocol standards like MIL-STD-1553 and IEEE 1394. Amongst its elements are definitions for both an

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Abstract Service Bus (ASB) and Critical Abstraction Layer (CAL) for delinking OMS-compliant software from underlying hardware dependence and details, along with requirements for the effective isolation of the aircraft’s core avionics system from inadvertent modification. In theory, hardware and software that are OMS-compliant can be implemented almost anywhere in any USAF system which has the resources to handle it. So an automated target recognition module could work without modification in an F-35, U-2, or C-130, even though all three carry different base sensors.

One of the first practical implementations of OMS in the real world was the Universal Command and Control Interface (UCI) subset, intended specifically for ground-based control of unmanned systems and to replace what was previously a hodgepodge collection of proprietary systems and protocols with a single open standard. That meant that the same base station could control both a Reaper and Global Hawk, despite them being made by different manufacturers. Obviously this is a huge cost and efficiency improvement as the same infrastructure can be reused.

The second key factor is the open source Kubernetes container orchestration system, originally developed for and still heavily used by the enterprise. Containers are effectively wrappers around software applications which abstract away application-specific functionalities by producing a standardised set of interfaces to control resource usage, security, networking, and other runtime factors, and Kubernetes is the most popular and well-developed solution to manage, schedule, update,

restart, restrict, and otherwise control those containers.

So it means that OMS-compliant mission applications can be delivered in a standardised container form and automatically managed by the Kubernetes system on board an aircraft. Without this sort of system things like reliable and safe in-flight updates just aren’t possible.

In 2019 the USAF demonstrated a Kubernetes installation on board an F-16, and later installed it on U-2 aircraft for the test flights that led to the real-time in-flight software update and off-board processing demonstration.

The final piece of the puzzle is the EMC2 installed on the U-2, informally called the ‘Einstein Box’. It’s an early implementation of both an OMS-compliant computer and a protocol gateway that can translate between a large number of data protocols including data links like Link-16. It’s what allows for mission applications running in the Kubernetes cluster aboard an aircraft to be able to process data from the aircraft’s onboard sensor without them having to know about the specific data protocols and implementation details of the sensor itself, and for far more complicated payloads to be shared over existing data links.

In time, the USAF’s vision is to have EMC2-like computers, OMS, and Kubernetes (or a future equivalent) become standard on all of its aircraft, to finally fulfil the goal of each type being able to land with better code than what it took off with.

Another fascinating possibility that using Kubernetes onboard aircraft has introduced is that those aircraft can be treated as nodes in a broader network that includes large Kubernetes clusters in server farms on the ground, with applications moving between both environments and seamlessly sharing data as necessary. In fact, that’s the basic concept behind the U-2’s distributed data processing experiment described above. Eventually, the USAF hopes this will all become a distributed ‘combat cloud’ with workloads and sensor data being shared to the best location to fulfil each mission’s requirements.

Of course, when it comes to technology and war, it’s never quite that simple and there’s still some way to go from tech demonstrators to real and robust combat capabilities. As attractive as the ‘combat cloud’ concept is, it’s going to bring with it a whole new level of complexity and radio spectrum demand to handle the high levels of data transmission. Left unspecified, too, is how this will all stand up to a war against a peer competitor like China with good enough electronic warfare capabilities to substantively degrade or disrupt data communications.

Nonetheless, for now at least the potential upsides seem to clearly outweigh the downsides, with the huge improvement in capabilities introduced by these new approaches justifying the additional risk they bring.

We should, as a result, expect the rest of the world to follow before long. 

Potential OMS-compliant architecture.

FlightCom Magazine

27

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29

Edmund Farmer

With at least two direct flights a day on Kenyan Airways, or the option of a three-day scenic drive along the rift valley, what could be easier than travelling from Nairobi to Lusaka? Then along came the Covid-19 lockdown!

Preparing to leave Lusaka with Spats on.

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Passing Mt Kilimanjaro.

A

N UNFORTUNATE ZAMBIAN lawyer was on a three-week trade mission to Nairobi in March 2020 when the shutters came down.

All international flights were suspended, borders closed, and inhabitants confined to one-quarter squares of Nairobi. Repeated signals and rumours that restrictions “would lift soon” failed to materialise with KQ opening flights then cancelling again.

This was when I was approached in my capacity as an air charter operator to quote for a repatriation charter flight in a Cessna twin; but as you might imagine, the cost at around $11,000 came in a bit steep, even for a lawyer.

his plane was already allocated to another flight, and there was the same issue as with the Cessna option: Inadequate range to make the 1000 nm from Lusaka to Nairobi in one hop.

This would add all the complications of a stop in Northern Zambia or Tanzania at a time when most international airports were closed.

The solution came in the substitution of the Sling owned by a Zambian consortium, Sling 4 no 003, formerly known as ZU-TAD, now 9J-YUM, and featured on the cover of the Sling 4 POH! The advantage of this machine is that she was built with an expedition around the Antarctic in mind, which saw her fitted with an extra 60 litres per wing in leading edge tanks outboard of the standard ones. This provides an impressive 300 litres total fuel, or 11+ hours endurance!

an impressive 300 litres total fuel, or 11+ hours endurance!

After the unfortunate lawyer had been stranded for three months, the managing partner of a Lusaka law firm offered the use of his beautiful Sling 4, 9J-YAZ, to get the lawyer back. However,

So it came to pass that I set off on the longest

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single sector of my 8,000-hour odd flying career, from Lusaka to Nairobi direct. The flight took exactly 8 hours 36 minutes. Back home with my passenger the next day took 8 hours 30 minutes.

At 990 Nautical Miles that gives an average of about 116 Knots.

For this trip we had re-fitted the wheel spats (or “pants” as the Americans like to call them!) They The direct route is almost a full 1000 nm.

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FlightCom Magazine

make a healthy 5-10 knots difference on the Sling 4, but like all spats they fall apart on Zambia’s bumpy grass runways and prevent daily safety inspections of the wheels, brakes and tyres, so they are usually dispensed with here.

It was not actually my first flight to Nairobi in a Sling 4, having flown the same route in 9J-YAZ with 4 healthy sized guys on board in 2017 for the

Sling 4 No 003 - now working hard in Lusaka, was perfect with its big fuel tanks.

Kenyan Rhino Charge event, but at that time, we had to stop in Kasama for a top-up of fuel in each direction and just made Kasama to Nairobi with about 45 minutes reserve.

my aged and tormented spine would feel after 8.5 hours in the seat without a chance to shift position, but it was fine, even after two successive days of the same.

Weather can be a big issue around Northern Tanzania and Kenya all year-around, and with terrain up around 10-15,000 feet, you must think twice before plunging into cloud! It’s easy to be relaxed about it during our long dry season of dependable conditions and scarcity of threatening terrain in Zambia, but on this mission, I was lucky and could remain genuinely legally VFR the whole way there and back.

The range of this plane was a life saver, but even the regular tanked Sing 4, a couple of years before, was impressive and could take a top up of the Mogas available in Kasama. Cost was a really important factor which made this mission possible.

Burning 26 litres per hour for 116 Knots block average coupled with the ability to run on MOGAS where suitable quality is available, is the real winner of such a trip.

At Nairobi, the only fuel available was Avgas at an exorbitant cost of around $2.50 a litre, (compared to little more than half that cost in Lusaka at that time!) but I had a fair bit of Zambian Avgas still in the tanks to reduce my need.

there is no automatic right to cross borders in nontype certified aircraft

I passed some great scenery including Mt Kilimanjaro sticking up out of the clouds, and had a comfortable, easy flight. 9J-YUM is even fitted with cockpit holes for discharge tubes to safely carry away any overflow fluids on long sectors!

There were some really great features of the Sling for this mission. I was rather dreading how

We operated this Sling 4 in a syndicate contributing US$ 100 per flight hour, take-off to landing, which covered Avgas, all routine and unplanned

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Mountain flying is the most challenging, especially with Cape Town winds.

Edmund Farmer's son Thomas imitating James Pitman skydiving off a Sling.

maintenance as well as hangarage, and it builtup a reserve for engine overhauls as we flew along.

Another life saver (I must have been impersonating a cat!) was the autopilot. I cannot imagine steering a legacy plane without autopilot for that long by hand. 9J-YUM still has the characterful old MGL Odyssey ‘glass panel’ (now scratched plastic!) which has very wisely been supplanted by a Garmin kit, as standard in the later planes. The autopilot function has given some trouble over the years but with careful setting up and tightening of screws on servos, we had it working very well.

As for the challenges faced on the mission, none came from the aircraft per se. Slingers should always bear in mind that there is no automatic right to cross borders in non-type certified aircraft, and that all operations, into and over countries other than that of registration, are at the discretion of the other countries. However, I have never faced any difficulties getting

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FlightCom Magazine

clearances to fly Sling aircraft over borders if a little time is allowed for obtaining permissions. I have always applied for clearance in the usual way clearly stating the aircraft type, and once cleared, I accept that as my permission to fly a NTC aircraft!

In the case of the Kenyan rescue mission, I was assisted by our Zambian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get the clearance, as the passenger to be rescued was on a diplomatic duty. The Kenyans are usually quite sticky though, demanding lots of paperwork in advance for plane and pilot. Tanzanians on the other hand just seem to care about collecting money from you for everything you do!

Despite the Covid situation, Wilson Airport, Nairobi’s no 2, was still surprisingly busy. There were cargo flights mainly, carrying PPE etc around the region and critically, the airport was open for international flights. However, as usual, it was a huge run around to fill in about 20 forms and pay about 10 different fees at different

Although we are still dealing with Covid-19 and lockdowns, restrictions and the partial collapse of the aviation sector, 2021 does not feel at all like 2020. Airports fell almost silent last year and there was a sense of fear, drama, and the unknown everywhere.

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Britz

Rudi

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Off-site Specialist tests

That Sling mission in 9J-YUM will remain one of the more memorable entries in my logbook. 

On site Specialist tests

The rules at that time were very strict for Covid in Kenya and I was originally told I would need to “bring two sets of crew and rotate directly back to Lusaka”. It took some explaining that this was not really a practical option in a day VFR 4-seat NTC aircraft! So, when I reached the health and immigration check, they started saying I must

“Can’t do”, I explained, “I’m returning, and ceasing to be your problem tomorrow and even taking another problem away with me!” This rather confused them and eventually they told me to just get a taxi and go to any nearby hotel. This is exactly what I did and even managed to catch up over a Tusker or two with an old buddy who happened to live in the same quarter sector of town.

Senior Class 1, 2, 3, 4

I strongly recommend finding and paying a handling agent at Wilson! Having said that, there were plenty of friendly people to give guidance and considerable admiration for the beauty of the Sling parked amongst the endless Caravans and squat cargo machines that frequent Wilson, as well as universal surprise that it had flown from Lusaka in one hop!

isolate for 10 days at one of the hotels on their list!

Regular Class 2, 3, 4

windows including some at the bank, which was closed, so “Okay in that case you can just leave the money with me.”

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FLIGHT SAFETY THROUGH MAINTENANCE

FlightCom Magazine

37

BACKPAGE DIR DIRECT ECTORY ORY A1A Flight Examiner (Loutzavia) Jannie Loutzis 012 567 6775 / 082 416 4069 jannie@loutzavia.co.za www.loutzavia.co.za

Algoa Flying Club Sharon Mugridge 041 581 3274 info@algoafc.co.za www.algoafc.co.za

Chem-Line Aviation & Celeste Products Steve Harris 011 452 2456 sales@chemline.co.za www.chemline.co.za

Adventure Air Lande Milne 012 543 3196 / Cell: 066 4727 848 l.milne@venture-sa.co.za www.ventureglobal.biz AES (Cape Town) Erwin Erasmus 082 494 3722 erwin@aeroelectrical.co.za www.aeroelectrical.co.za

Alpha One Aviation Opelo 082 301 9977 on@alphaoneaviation.co.za www.alphaoneaviation.co.za

Alpi Aviation SA Dale De Klerk 082 556 3592 dale@alpiaviation.co.za www.alpiaviation.co.za

Comporob Composite Repair & Manufacture Felix Robertson 072 940 4447 083 265 3602 comporob@lantic.net www.comporob.co.za

AES (Johannesburg) Danie van Wyk 011 701 3200 office@aeroelectrical.co.za www.aeroelectrical.co.za

Apco (Ptyd) Ltd Tony/Henk + 27 12 543 0775 apcosupport@mweb.co.za www.apcosa.co.za

FlightCom Magazine

Flying Frontiers Craig Lang 082 459 0760 CraigL@fairfield.co.za www.flyingfrontiers.com

Corporate-Aviators/Affordable Jet Sales Mike Helm 082 442 6239 corporate-aviators@iafrica.com www.corporate-aviators.com

Flying Unlimited Flight School (Pty) Ltd Riaan Struwig 082 653 7504 / 086 770 8376 riaan@ppg.co.za www.ppg.co.za

C. W. Price & Co Kelvin L. Price 011 805 4720 cwp@cwprice.co.za www.cwprice.co.za

Dart Aeronautical Jaco Kelly 011 827 8204 dartaero@mweb.co.za

Foster Aero International Dudley Foster 011 659 2533 info@fosteraero.co.za www.fosteraero.co.za

Aref Avionics Aerocore Hannes Roodt Jacques Podde 082 462 2724 082 565 2330 arefavionics@border.co.za jacques@aerocore.co.za www.aerocore.co.za Atlas Aviation Lubricants

Dart Aircraft Electrical Aero Engineering & PowerPlant Steve Cloete 011 917 4220 Mathew Joubert Andre Labuschagne Fax: 011 917 2100 011 827 0371 012 543 0948 Sales.aviation@atlasoil.co.za Dartaircraftelectrical@gmail.com aeroeng@iafrica.com www.atlasoil.africa www.dartaero.co.za

Aero Services (Pty) Ltd ATNS DJA Aviation Insurance Chris Scott Percy Morokane 011 463 5550 011 395 3587 011 607 1234 0800Flying chris@aeroservices.co.za percymo@atns.co.za mail@dja-aviation.co.za www.aeroservices.co.za www.atns.com www.dja-aviation.co.za

Aeronav Academy Aviation Direct Dynamic Propellers Donald O’Connor Andrea Antel Andries Visser 011 701 3862 011 465 2669 011 824 5057 info@aeronav.co.za info@aviationdirect.co.za 082 445 4496 www.aeronav.co.za www.aviationdirect.co.za andries@dynamicpropeller.co.za www.dynamicpropellers.co.za Aeronautical Aviation BAC Aviation AMO 115 Clinton Carroll Micky Joss Eagle Aviation Helicopter Division 011 659 1033 / 083 459 6279 035 797 3610 Tamryn van Staden clinton@aeronautical.co.za monicad@bacmaintenance.co.za 082 657 6414 www.aeronautical.co.za

tamryn@eaglehelicopter.co.za Blackhawk Africa www.eaglehelicopter.co.za Aerotric (Pty) Ltd Cisca de Lange

Richard Small 083 514 8532 Eagle Flight Academy 083 488 4535 cisca@blackhawk.aero Mr D. J. Lubbe aerotric@aol.com www.blackhawk.aero 082 557 6429 training@eagleflight.co.za Aircraft Assembly and Upholstery Centre Blue Chip Flight School www.eagleflight.co.za Tony/Siggi Bailes Henk Kraaij 082 552 6467 012 543 3050 Elite Aviation Academy anthony@rvaircraft.co.za bluechip@bluechip-avia.co.za Jacques Podde www.rvaircraft.co.za www.bluechipflightschool.co.za 082 565 2330

info@eliteaa.co.za Aircraft Finance Corporation & Leasing Border Aviation Club & Flight School www.eliteaa.co.za Jaco Pietersen Liz Gous

+27 [0]82 672 2262 043 736 6181 Enstrom/MD Helicopters jaco@airfincorp.co.za admin@borderaviation.co.za Andrew Widdall Jason Seymour www.borderaviation.co.za 011 397 6260 +27 [0]82 326 0147

aerosa@safomar.co.za jason@airfincorp.co.za Breytech Aviation cc www.safomar.co.za www.airfincorp.co.za 012 567 3139 Willie Breytenbach Era Flug Flight Training Aircraft General Spares admin@breytech.co.za Pierre Le Riche Eric or Hayley 021 934 7431 084 587 6414 or 067 154 2147 Bundu Aviation info@era-flug.com eric@acgs.co.za or hayley@acgs.co.za Phillip Cronje www.era-flug.com www.acgs.co.za 083 485 2427 info@bunduaviation.co.za Execujet Africa Aircraft Maintenance @ Work www.bunduaviation.co.za 011 516 2300 Opelo / Frik enquiries@execujet.co.za 012 567 3443 Celeste Sani Pak & Inflight Products www.execujet.com frik@aviationatwork.co.za_ Steve Harris opelonke@aviationatwork.co.za 011 452 2456 Federal Air admin@chemline.co.za Rachel Muir Aircraft Maintenance International www.chemline.co.za 011 395 9000 Pine Pienaar shuttle@fedair.com 083 305 0605 Cape Aircraft Interiors www.fedair.com gm@aminternational.co.za Sarel Schutte 021 934 9499 Ferry Flights int.inc.

Aircraft Maintenance International michael@wcaeromarine.co.za Michael (Mick) Schittenhelm Wonderboom www.zscai.co.za 082 442 6239 Thomas Nel ferryflights@ferry-flights.com 082 444 7996 Cape Town Flying Club www.ferry-flights.com admin@aminternational.co.za Beverley Combrink 021 934 0257 / 082 821 9013 Fireblade Aviation Air Line Pilots’ Association info@capetownflyingclub.co.za 010 595 3920 Sonia Ferreira www.@capetownflyingclub.co.za info@firebladeaviation.com 011 394 5310

www.firebladeaviation.com alpagm@iafrica.com Capital Air www.alpa.co.za Micaella Vinagre Flight Training College

011 827 0335 Cornell Morton Airshift Aircraft Sales micaella@capitalairsa.com 044 876 9055 Eugene du Plessis www.capitalairsa.com ftc@flighttrainning.co.za 082 800 3094

www.flighttraining.co.za eugene@airshift.co.za Century Avionics cc

www.airshift.co.za Carin van Zyl Flight Training Services 011 701 3244 Amanda Pearce Airvan Africa sales@centuryavionics.co.za 011 805 9015/6 Patrick Hanly www.centuryavionics.co.za amanda@fts.co.za 082 565 8864 www.fts.co.za airvan@border.co.za Chemetall www.airvan.co.za Wayne Claassens 011 914 2500 wayne.claassens@basf.com www.chemetall.com

38

Fly Jetstream Aviation Henk Kraaij 083 279 7853 charter@flyjetstream.co.za www.flyjetstream.co.za

Gemair Andries Venter 011 701 2653 / 082 905 5760 andries@gemair.co.za GIB Aviation Insurance Brokers Richard Turner 011 483 1212 aviation@gib.co.za www.gib.co.za Gryphon Flight Academy Jeffrey Von Holdt 011 701 2600 info@gryphonflight.co.za www.gryphonflight.co.za

Guardian Air 011 701 3011 082 521 2394 ops@guardianair.co.za www.guardianair.co.za

Heli-Afrique cc Tino Conceicao 083 458 2172 tino.conceicao@heli-afrique.co.za

Henley Air Andre Coetzee 011 827 5503 andre@henleyair.co.za www.henleyair.co.za Hover Dynamics Phillip Cope 074 231 2964 info@hover.co.za www.hover.co.za Indigo Helicopters Gerhard Kleynhans 082 927 4031 / 086 528 4234 veroeschka@indigohelicopters.co.za www.indigohelicopters.co.za IndigoSat South Africa - Aircraft Tracking Gareth Willers 08600 22 121 sales@indigosat.co.za www.indigosat.co.za

Integrated Avionic Solutions Gert van Niekerk 082 831 5032 gert@iasafrica.co.za www.iasafrica.co.za International Flight Clearances Steve Wright 076 983 1089 (24 Hrs) flightops@flyifc.co.za www.flyifc.co.za Investment Aircraft Quinton Warne 082 806 5193 aviation@lantic.net www.investmentaircraft.com Jabiru Aircraft Len Alford 044 876 9991 / 044 876 9993 info@jabiru.co.za www.jabiru.co.za Jim Davis Books Jim Davis 072 188 6484 jim@border.co.za www.jimdavis.co.za

Joc Air T/A The Propeller Shop Aiden O’Mahony 011 701 3114 jocprop@iafrica.com Kishugu Aviation +27 13 741 6400 comms@kishugu.com www.kishugu.com/kishugu-aviation

Kit Planes for Africa Stefan Coetzee 013 793 7013 info@saplanes.co.za www.saplanes.co.za

MS Aviation Gary Templeton 082 563 9639 gary.templeton@msaviation.co.za www.msaviation.co.za

Kzn Aviation (Pty) Ltd Melanie Jordaan 031 564 6215 mel@kznaviation.co.za www.kznaviation.co.za

Skyhorse Aviation Ryan Louw 012 809 3571 info@skyhorse.co.za www.skyhorse.co.za

United Flight Support Clinton Moodley/Jonathan Wolpe 076 813 7754 / 011 788 0813 ops@unitedflightsupported.com www.unitedflightsupport.com

North East Avionics Keith Robertson +27 13 741 2986 keith@northeastavionics.co.za deborah@northeastavionics.co.za www.northeastavionics.co.za Landing Eyes Gavin Brown Orsmond Aviation 031 202 5703 058 303 5261 info@landingeyes.co.za info@orsmondaviation.co.za www.landingeyes.com www.orsmondaviation.co.za

Lanseria Aircraft Interiors Owenair (Pty) Ltd Francois Denton Clive Skinner 011 659 1962 / 076 810 9751 082 923 9580 francois@aircraftcompletions.co.za clive.skinner@owenair.co.za www.owenwair.co.za Lanseria International Airport Mike Christoph Pacair 011 367 0300 Wayne Bond mikec@lanseria.co.za 033 386 6027 www.lanseria.co.za pacair@telkomsa.net

Skyworx Aviation Kevin Hopper kevin@skyworx.co.za www.skyworxaviation.co.za

Legend Sky 083 860 5225 / 086 600 7285 info@legendssky.co.za www.legendsky.co.za

PFERD-South Africa (Pty) Ltd Hannes Nortman 011 230 4000 hannes.nortman@pferd.co.za www.pferd.com

Southern Energy Company (Pty) Ltd Elke Bertram +264 8114 29958 johnnym@sec.com.na www.sec.com.na

Litson & Associates (Pty) Ltd OGP, BARS, Resources Auditing & Aviation Training karen.litson@litson.co.za Phone: 27 (0) 21 8517187 www.litson.co.za

Pipistrel Kobus Nel 083 231 4296 kobus@pipistrelsa.co.za www.pipistrelsa.co.za

Southern Rotorcraft cc Mr Reg Denysschen Tel no: 0219350980 sasales@rotors-r-us.com www.rotors-r-us.com

Plane Maintenance Facility Johan 083 300 3619 pmf@myconnection.co.za

Sport Plane Builders Pierre Van Der Walt 083 361 3181 pmvdwalt@mweb.co.za

Precision Aviation Services Marnix Hulleman 012 543 0371 marnix@pasaviation.co.za www.pasaviation.co.za

PSG Aviation Reon Wiese 0861 284 284 reon.wiese@psg.co.za www.psg aviation.co.za

Starlite Aero Sales Klara Fouché +27 83 324 8530 / +27 31 571 6600 klaraf@starliteaviation.com www.starliteaviation.com

Rainbow SkyReach (Pty) Ltd Mike Gill 011 817 2298 Mike@fly-skyreach.com www.fly-skyreach.com

Rand Airport Stuart Coetzee 011 827 8884 stuart@randairport.co.za www.randairport.co.za

Robin Coss Aviation Robin Coss 021 934 7498 info@cossaviation.com www.cossaviation.co.za

Starlite Aviation Training Academy Durban: +27 31 571 6600 Mossel Bay: +27 44 692 0006 train@starliteaviation.com www.starliteaviation.com

Litson & Associates Risk Management Services (Pty) Ltd. eSMS-S/eTENDER/ eREPORT/Advisory Services karen.litson@litson.co.za Phone: 27 (0) 8517187 www.litson.co.za Loutzavia Aircraft Sales Henry Miles 082 966 0911 henry@loutzavia.co.za www.loutzavia.co.za

Loutzavia Flight Training Gerhardt Botha 012 567 6775 ops@loutzavia.co.za www.loutzavia.co.za Loutzavia-Pilots and Planes Maria Loutzis 012 567 6775 maria@loutzavia.co.za www.pilotsnplanes.co.za Loutzavia Rand Frans Pretorius 011 824 3804 rand@loutzavia.co.za www@loutzavia.co.za Lowveld Aero Club Pugs Steyn 013 741 3636 Flynow@lac.co.za Marshall Eagle Les Lebenon 011 958 1567 les@marshalleagle.co.za www.marshalleagle.co.za Maverick Air Charters Chad Clark 083 292 2270 Charters@maverickair.co.za www.maverickair.co.za MCC Aviation Pty Ltd Claude Oberholzer 011 701 2332 info@flymcc.co.za www.flymcc.co.za

MH Aviation Services (Pty) Ltd Marc Pienaar 011 609 0123 / 082 940 5437 customerrelations@mhaviation.co.za www.mhaviation.co.za M and N Acoustic Services cc Martin de Beer 012 689 2007/8 calservice@mweb.co.za

Metropolitan Aviation (Pty) Ltd Gert Mouton 082 458 3736 herenbus@gmail.com Money Aviation Angus Money 083 263 2934 angus@moneyaviation.co.za www.moneyaviation.co.za

SAA Technical (SOC) Ltd SAAT Marketing 011 978 9993 satmarketing@flysaa.com www.flysaa.com/technical SABRE Aircraft Richard Stubbs 083 655 0355 richardstubbs@mweb.co.za www.aircraftafrica.co.za SA Mooney Patrick Hanly 082 565 8864 samooney@border.co.za www.samooney.co.za Savannah Helicopters De Jager 082 444 1138 / 044 873 3288 dejager@savannahhelicopters.co.za www.savannahhelicopters.co.za Scenic Air Christa van Wyk +264 612 492 68 windhoek@scenic-air.com www.scenic-air.com Sheltam Aviation Durban Susan Ryan 083 505 4882 susanryan@sheltam.com www.sheltamaviation.com Sheltam Aviation PE Brendan Booker 082 497 6565 brendanb@sheltam.com www.sheltamaviation.com

Sky-Tech Heinz Van Staden 082 720 5210 sky-tech@telkomsa.net www.sky-tech.za.com Sling Aircraft Kim Bell-Cross 011 948 9898 sales@airplanefactory.co.za www.airplanefactory.co.za

Solenta Aviation (Pty Ltd) Paul Hurst 011 707 4000 info@solenta.com www.solenta.com

Unique Air Charter Nico Pienaar 082 444 7994 nico@uniqueair.co.za www.uniqueair.co.za

Unique Flight Academy Nico Pienaar 082 444 7994 nico@uniqueair.co.za www.uniqueair.co.za

Van Zyl Aviation Services Colette van Zyl 012 997 6714 admin@vanzylaviationco.za www.vanzylaviation.co.za

Vector Aerospace Jeff Poirier +902 888 1808 jeff.poirier@vectoraerospace.com www.vectoraerospace.com Velocity Aviation Collin Pearson 011 659 2306 / 011 659 2334 collin@velocityaviation.co.za www.velocityaviation.co.za Villa San Giovanni Luca Maiorana 012 111 8888 info@vsg.co.za www.vsg.co.za

Starlite Aviation Operations Trisha Andhee +27 82 660 3018/ +27 31 571 6600 trishaa@starliteaviation.com www.starliteaviation.com

Status Aviation (Pty) Ltd Richard Donian 074 587 5978 / 086 673 5266 info@statusaviation.co.za www.statusaviation.co.za Superior Pilot Services Liana Jansen van Rensburg 0118050605/2247 info@superiorair.co.za www.superiorair.co.za

The Copter Shop Bill Olmsted 082 454 8555 execheli@iafrica.com www.execheli.wixsite.com/the-coptershop-sa Titan Helicopter Group 044 878 0453 info@titanhelicopters.com www.titanhelicopters.com TPSC Dennis Byrne 011 701 3210 turboprop@wol.co.za Trio Helicopters & Aviation cc CR Botha or FJ Grobbelaar 011 659 1022

Vortx Aviation Bredell Roux 072 480 0359 info@vortx.co.za www.vortxaviation.com Wagtail Aviation Johan van Ludwig 082 452 8194 acrochem@mweb.co.za www.wagtail.co.za Wanafly Adrian Barry 082 493 9101 adrian@wanafly.net www.wanafly.co.za Windhoek Flight Training Centre Thinus Dreyer 0026 40 811284 180 pilots@flywftc.com www.flywftc.com Wings n Things Wendy Thatcher 011 701 3209 wendy@wingsnthings.co.za www.wingsnthings.co.za Witbank Flight School Andre De Villiers 083 604 1718 andredv@lantic.net www.waaflyingclub.co.za Wonderboom Airport Peet van Rensburg 012 567 1188/9 peet@wonderboomairport.co.za www.wonderboomairport.co.za

Zandspruit Bush & Aero Estate Martin Den Dunnen 082 449 8895 martin@zandspruit.co.za www.zandspruit.co.za Zebula Golf Estate & SPA Reservations 014 734 7700 reception@zebula.co.za www.zebula.co.za

stoffel@trioavi.co.za/frans@trioavi.co.za

www.trioavi.co.za

Tshukudu Trailers Pieter Visser 083 512 2342 deb@tshukudutrailers.co.za www.tshukudutrailers.co.za U Fly Training Academy Nikola Puhaca 011 824 0680 ufly@telkomsa.net www.uflyacademy.co.za

United Charter cc Jonathan Wolpe 083 270 8886 jonathan.wolpe@unitedcharter.co.za www.unitedcharter.co.za

FlightCom Magazine

39

A GREAT FLIGHT DESERVES AN ENCORE

40

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Records video, audio, and GPS position

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Makes an excellent training tool, maintenance aid, or souvenir

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Robinson’s New 4K Cockpit Video Camera

Standard on R66 helicopters Optional on R44 and R22 helicopters

FlightCom Magazine

www.robinsonheli.com