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NAVIGATION KISS – Jim Davis
RSR #34 Last month we looked at the theory behind map, clock and compass (MCC) nav. It’s the basis of ALL nav. Now let’s put it into practise. 2500 years ago Confucius said, ‘Life is simple, but we insist on making it complicated.’ Then in 1960 Kelly Johnson – Lockheed’s
RANS S-21: The RV of Bush Planes?
Over the past twenty years the experimental ‘homebuilt’ aircraft industry has undergone a seismic shift; from planes built for speed, to planes built for low and slow ‘bush flying’ – or what the Americans call ‘back-country’ operations. RANS aircraft was well positioned to take advantage of this groundswell change. Since
Oshkosh AirVenture
Oshkosh – Landing on the Dot Story and pics – Laura McDermid I was lucky enough to make the pilgrimage to Oshkosh again this year, flying the flag for SA Flyer. Whenever I tell people I’m off to the States, they ask the same thing: So, where are you going?
The Indomitable Craig Ritson
Laura McDermid Craig Ritson is one of those rare people you meet once and never forget. Born in Eshowe and raised in Pinetown, he has spent more than 25 years in the United States, yet still speaks with an unmistakable South African accent. The most striking thing about Craig, however,
The Journey of Philile Mdletshe – Rewriting the Flight Plan
Laura McDermid In aviation, there are moments that define a career — the first solo flight, the first type rating, the first time you take the controls of a high-performance aircraft. For Philile (pronounced Pee-lee-leh), there have been many such moments, but perhaps the most defining has been her ability
Guy Leitch: GA’s two Big Battles
The CAA Doesn’t Care When Engines Fail General aviation in South Africa is facing the biggest crisis to its existence since it started over 100 years ago. The SACAA has embarked on a campaign to ground all aircraft with piston engines older than 12 years. In June 2025 the CAA
Peter Garrison Remembrance of Things Past
Vicarious experience is the second best teacher. Santa Paula Airport is a 20-minute flight from my home base, Whiteman. The fuel there is $1.00 or more a gallon cheaper, however, so when I’m flying around the local area I often stop at Santa Paula to refuel. The precise economics of
Jim Davis Right Seat Rules #33
NAV MADE EASY M is a friend for whom I am acting as a sort of long-range mentor as she finds her way into instructing. One of her pupes has a mental block about navigation. He says it’s too complicated – he’ll never understand it so he’s going to give
August 2025 Edition
Training and Gifting Supplements
Emirates upgrades their Johannesburg fleet
Current News
Government has nothing to show for SAA, says Guy
ATNS issues threaten aviation safety
Training
Exercise 8 – DESCENDING
Jim Davis Descending is a remarkably complicated subject and us overworked instructors have to be able to field all manner of questions about it. To ease you gently into it – here’s the story about Joe’s picture. It was 1964 when I clambered on to an SAA Skymaster at Eros
Air shows and events
Sun n Fun Report
Laura McDermid Whenever the annual calendar of events is put together at the beginning of the year, October always seems like a million miles away. And so inevitably the EAA Sun ‘n Fun fly-in arrives far sooner than anticipated. The Spar up the road from where I live is already