Laura McDermid continues her stories about Iris McCallum in East Africa.
GRANTED, THE AEROPLANES weren’t as modern, in fact the old Piper Aztec 5Y-ARN was the most cantankerous of any aircraft I’d ever flown; however I embraced the differences, knowing that mixing things up would help shape me into a better pilot.
Thanks to the invaluable tips and advice from fellow colleagues, I had recently flown my first solo cross-country from Wilson Airport in Nairobi, to Uganda in ARN.
Due to the fact that ARN had a single 12-volt battery, starting him was always a challenge as often all the energy would be spent in starting the left engine.
I’d have to wait patiently for the battery to recharge before I was able to start the right engine, a process that would always have me on tenterhooks as I feared burning out the starter-motor.
Over the past month I’d worked out more or less how long to crank and how long to wait, and ARN and I had established a mutual understanding.
Captain Brian Nicholson was my supervisor and mentor, it was Brian who would divvy up the charters each week between the pilots.
‘Iris, how would you and ARN like to fly Patrick Walker to Somalia tomorrow?’
Patrick was the husband of my sister-in-law’s best friend and over the years I had met them at various family gatherings and had developed a great fondness for them both.
‘That sounds like fun, pencil me in.’
I pulled out my map of Somalia, smoothing out the crease lines with the palms of my hands. The country was situated on the Horn of Africa and had the longest coastline on Africa’s mainland. It was bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest and Kenya to the southwest.
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SACRIFICE
John continues his anecdotes about the sacrifices he has had to make in the course of his helicopter bush flying career.
KENYA - SAA PARTNERSHIP DELAY
KENYA AIRWAYS AND South African Airways announced the establishment of a highly anticipated Pan-African Airline Group three years ago.
TO PARIS FOR LUNCH
One morning I arrived back at Lanseria from a two day charter to a dreary Northern Cape iron mine. Entering the terminal, I removed my wings and epaulets, thrust them into my flight bag, and headed for the restaurant.
ASCA'S MPUMI MPOFU: READY FOR TAKE-OFF
Ms Mpumi Mpofu has occupied the hot seat as Chief Executive of ACSA, the Airports Company of South Africa for a tumultuous past four years.
HYDROGEN POWERED PLANE TESTED
WORLD’S LARGEST liquid hydrogen-powered aircraft, using a 1 MW fuel cell engine, has been tested.
CAMEROON - BLAMES BOEING
BOEING JUST CANNOT STAY out of trouble. It has become the whipping boy for endless absurd claims.
IRIS GOES TO SOMALIA
Having spent the last couple of years flying to a rota, I was thoroughly enjoying the freedom and randomness of flying charters at Sunbird Aviation.
TELEPORTATION
One of the best clients for whom I ever flew was BP, the British oil giant. I was with them in Algeria for about seven years, from the very start of their large gas projects, right in the heart of the Sahara Desert, near the small towns of In Amenas and In Salah.
FEBRUARY 2023
February has shown steady growth in the number of aircraft registered. Four fixed wing and one helicopter were added while the non-type certified (NTCA) register grew by seven.
RIGHT SEAT RULES NO. 16 FUEL SYSTEMS WHY SO COMPLICATED?
You know those aggranoying people who say, “Oh I wouldn't fly in one of those little things - you can't just pull over and fix it if something goes wrong\"? What makes this particularly irritating is that the bastards are right.