Jim Davis TRIM – look, Ma, no hands It’s traditional to bitch about the Regulator, but we have been lucky to have some really brilliant CAA /DCA bosses in South Africa. I think of Barry Radley, an ex-RAF Farnborough test-pilot who taught me a very valuable lesson – basically thatRead More →
Guy Leitch Pooleys Air Pilot Manual. Volume 4H The Helicopter – Technical British based Pooleys have become the industry standard for ab-initio flight training books in the UK and Europe. This month I look at Air Pilot Manual #4H: The Helicopter – Technical Despite the high costs of helicopter trainingRead More →
Guy Leitch Pooleys Air Pilot Manual. Volume 4. The Aeroplane – General Knowledge British based Pooleys have become the industry standard for ab-initio flight training books in the UK and Europe. They have brought out Southern African editions of their Air Pilots Manual series and I have been reviewing oneRead More →
Tribute Guy Leitch Too often we only present tributes to remarkable people when they have died. This article is a tribute to a man who is very much alive, yet who has already made a greater impact and touched more lives in general aviation in South Africa than anyone elseRead More →
Jim Davis SOUTH AFRICAN CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY This discussion is to promote safety and not to establish liability. CAA’s report contains padding and repetition, so in the interest of clarity, I have paraphrased extensively. Aircraft registration: ZS-IFK Date and time of accident: 15 September 2014 1808Z Type of aircraft: Read More →
THE DREADED HAMMERHEAD AGAIN. This discussion is to promote safety and not to establish liability. CAA’s report contains padding and repetition, so in the interest of clarity, I have paraphrased extensively. Aircraft registration: ZU-YUM Date and time of accident: 14 February 2015 1345Z Type of aircraft: LancairRead More →
The Effects of Controls Ask a dozen people why the sky is blue and you will get a dozen woolly answers about refraction and reflection but not one honest, I don’t know. So nobody learns anything. And now ask a dozen pilots why Madame Beech or Mr Piper put aRead More →
Guy Leitch asks the question in his Attitude for Altitude column. 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. The modern car now has mature technology engineRead More →
In 2016 musician, Michael Ferguson and commercial Pilot Felix Gosher joined forces to offer underprivileged children the opportunity to experience the joys of flight, a privilege that many of us take for granted. The initiative was inspired by a song by Michael, ‘Paper Plane’ about a young boy with aRead More →
The piston twin is making a comeback. In the 1980s, under the pressures of high maintenance and high Avgas prices, the demand for piston twins collapsed in the face of Cessna Caravan and Pilatus PC-12 turbines. But now, the value proposition of a 40-year old piston twin is once againRead More →
