Flying-Aviation
SA Flyer Magazine
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.
6 min |
July 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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
6 min |
June 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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
8 min |
June 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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
2 min |
June 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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
4 min |
June 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
LOWVELD AIRSHOW 2023 - A WELCOME RETURN
Nelspruit airshows, is known for hosting above average and this year was no exception
3 min |
June 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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
5 min |
June 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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
1 min |
June 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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
5 min |
June 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
V-TAILS AND SAFETY
THE V-TAIL BONANZA HAS A REPUTATION for being more dangerous than its straight tailed siblings
1 min |
June 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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
7 min |
June 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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
5 min |
June 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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
6 min |
June 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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.
6 min |
May 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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.
5 min |
May 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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.
2 min |
May 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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.
2 min |
May 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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.
5 min |
May 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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.
3 min |
May 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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.
4 min |
May 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
BLUE LASER ATTACK GETS TWO YEARS
A Minnesota USA man whose lasered a Delta Air Lines flight was sentenced to two years in jail.
1 min |
May 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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.
2 min |
May 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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.
1 min |
May 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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.
1 min |
May 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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.
1 min |
May 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
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.
10+ min |
May 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
FACE TO FACE - CEO MERCHANT WEST GROUP: BRAAM VILJOEN
Guy Leitch has 10 questions.
4 min |
April 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
MISSION FLYING IN AFRICA - THE BEST AND WORST OF HUMANITY
Child rape is tragically all too common in places like South Sudan where justice isn't often delivered. Mission Aviation Fellowship comes to the rescue.
3 min |
April 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
TURKEY'S DRONES FOR AFRICA
There are few greater recent success stories in military UAVs than Turkey's rapid transformation over the past twenty years into one of the world's key suppliers, mirroring a huge advancement in the rest of its indigenous defence industry.
4 min |
April 2023
SA Flyer Magazine
NEW STRUCTURE STOPS EAST LONDON ILS/VOR
The ILS and VOR approach to the primary East London Runway Runway 11 has been NOTAMed as \"permanently closed\" due to a structure having been erected on the approach to Runway 11.
1 min |