Boeing appoints new President – and he is an engineer – not an accountant
Sticky
2024-07-31
Boeing’s new President – is an engineer – not an accountantRead More →
Jim Davis: Right Seat Rules.
Sticky
2024-07-12
EXERCISE 5: Taxying In the olden days when everything was black and white, the RAF taught me that a taxying accident is unforgivable. Their exact words. Now, fast forward to the 1960s and the subject comes up again. I am enjoying a chat with Phil Smullian, the boss of AirRead More →
FLIGHT TEST: Douglas DC-3 – Dakota
Sticky
2024-07-10
[intro] After an incredible life of 89 years since first flight, the South African Air Force announced the retirement of its Douglas DC-3/C-47 in May 2024. The “Dak’ is a genuine legend and to commemorate its retirement, we put you in the pilot’s seat to find out what it isRead More →
Gulfstream 695A Commander 1000 – The Smart Choice
Sticky
2024-05-08
Flight Test: Gulfstream 695A Commander 1000 – The Smart Choice Text: Guy Leitch. Images: Ken Clark, Mitchell Hill and Guy Leitch Twin turboprops have always been about performance compared to their piston progenitors. So it is remarkable that by far the best all-round performer is also the biggest secret –Read More →
AirVenture – Oshkosh – just 75 days to go!
Sticky
2024-05-06
There are still a few seats available from Joburg and Cape Town on Neil Bowden’s hugely popular Oshkosh AirVenture tours.This is a bucket list item for every aviation aficionado. Don’t delay – call Neil on 084-674-5674Read More →
Have you be booked for Oshkosh 2024 yet?
Sticky
2024-04-23
Well we have broken the 100 day mark and before we know it we’ll be on our way to Oshkosh! Over the next 3 months we will be sending out regular e-mails covering travel reminders, tips for your trip and latest news updates. If you have any questions please fireRead More →
Airbus H145 – 5 Blade: The evolution of the old BK-117.
Sticky
2024-03-11
South African has had a long and happy relationship with the Airbus H145 series and its pre-genitors. In its MBB BK-117 form the helicopter was the mainstay of SA Police operations in the urban centres, where two engine safety was considered essential. Since then the type has undergone many improvements,Read More →
Back to the DRC
Sticky
2024-02-22
Darren Olivier The upcoming deployment of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), designated SAMIDRC, is yet another attempt to address the persistent conflict and instability within the region. It follows on from the United Nations peacekeeping mission that ran for moreRead More →
Face to Face: James Pitman
Sticky
2024-02-20
Sling’s 1000 and Onwards Guy Leitch chats to Sling Aircraft Executive Chairman, James Pitman, about the company’s rapid growth. GL: Congratulations on over 1000 Sling deliveries. Many of these were sold as kits – do you have any idea how many are flying? JP: We’ve taken orders for 1,250 Slings:Read More →
How not to Crash
Sticky
2024-02-15
Pilots seem to be finding new ways to kill themselves. In the bad old days, the Christmas holidays always featured a couple of fatal accidents where pilots, usually flying from the Highveld, pushed their luck with the weather over the escarpment and ended up smeared across implacable rocks. These areRead More →
SAA Makes a loss of R776m in 9 months
Sticky
2024-02-15
from Business Day 15 Feb 2024 So much fo0r SAA’s claims that it was running profitably.Read More →
Peter Garrison – What worked on his homebuilts – and what didn’t
Sticky
2024-02-13
After 20 years of flying my second homebuilt, preceded by 9 years in my first, I wish I could say that most things that can go wrong already have; but the gods might think me insolent. At this point, however, I can at least say what has worked and whatRead More →
Flight Tested: The Cape’s Fire firefighting beast – the Air Tractor AT802F
Sticky
2024-02-08
With the Cape fire season having a particularly bad year, many property owners owe a large debt of gratitude to the huge Air Tractor 802F firebombers. They have become an invaluable weapon in the armoury against the fires that sweep through the Cape nature reserves and threatened farms and houses.Read More →
Cirrus launches a 7th generation SR 22 – and not a new trainer.
Sticky
2024-01-12
Turns out that our speculation that Cirrus was going to be new small Chinese based trainer was off the mark. All they have done is given the SR series a make-over and called it the G7. And it aint cheap. A well equipped Turbo SR22 will now cost over US1Read More →
Cirrus to launch AG100 trainer?
Sticky
2024-01-10
Cirrus is teasing a new product introduction it calls “The next evolution of personal aviation,” but it won’t be saying what it is until Thursday night. It is expected to be the Rotax-powered SR10 trainer based on a plane developed by its Chinese operation a few years ago. The ChineseRead More →
Cessna’s 340: The Best Personal Piston Twin?
Sticky
2023-12-31
For the pilot with the means to step up from piston singles to true cabin-class personal transport, the Cessna C340 is a great proposition. It is also the aircraft that many airline pilots chose to move down to – which says a lot about its capabilities. The subject of ourRead More →
YouTuber Jailed For Intentional Crash Stunt
Sticky
2023-12-05
Trevor Jacob, the California pilot and YouTuber who intentionally crashed a Taylorcraft for video views in 2021, will spend six months in a federal prison for the stunt. Jacob took a plea deal in the protracted case and pleaded guilty to one count of destruction and concealment with the intentRead More →
All electric Cessna Caravan flies
Sticky
2020-06-02
The world’s largest all-electric aircraft made its first successful flight on Thursday (May 28). A Cessna Caravan flew for around 30 minutes before landing back in Moses Lake, Washington, about 180 miles southeast of Seattle. The nine-seater plane is the brainchild of engine-maker magniX and aerospace firm AeroTEC. In DecemberRead More →
Position Report
Sticky
2020-05-08
We are in a war against Covid-19, and desperate times call for desperate measures. As I write this we have been forced into a three-week nationwide lockdown. This is unprecedented – like a plot from a noir sci-fi novel. We are in unknown territory, so it’s difficult to guesstimate whatRead More →
NAVIGATION KISS – Jim Davis
2025-10-06
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’sRead More →
RANS S-21: The RV of Bush Planes?
2025-10-04
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. SinceRead More →
Guy Leitch – Why SA Flyer is closing
2025-10-03
And so it ends. SA Flyer has been killed by not one, but two, fatal wounds. First, by the idiocy of the SACAA, which has forgotten that it is not just supposed to make the industry safer, but actually develop it. Second, the magazine industry has been killed by theRead More →
Oshkosh AirVenture
2025-10-03
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?Read More →
The Indomitable Craig Ritson
2025-10-03
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,Read More →
The Journey of Philile Mdletshe – Rewriting the Flight Plan
2025-10-03
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 abilityRead More →
Guy Leitch: GA’s two Big Battles
2025-10-03
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 CAARead More →
Peter Garrison Remembrance of Things Past
2025-10-03
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 ofRead More →
Jim Davis Right Seat Rules #33
2025-10-03
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 giveRead More →
Opening shot:
2025-10-03
This month’s Opening Shot is one of many we received from the vast numbers of enthusiasts at AADs public days. This one caught our eye because of the juxtaposition of the Silver Falcons and the DC-3 Dakota. Eksteen Jacobsz took the picture on the Saturday afternoon. He says that asRead More →