Tecnam has introduced the new P2012 STOL dedicated to Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) operations. TECNAM SAYS THE P2012 STOL is the only twin piston with STOL capabilities compliant to the latest certification amendments. It offers a 3680 kg / 8113 lb Maximum Gross Weight, while guaranteeing a modernRead More →
RAY WATTS – September 2022 This month, although not quite as exciting as last month, nevertheless contains a few delicious items. FIRST OF ALL, there is an Embraer 145 added to the register which was seen operating in Russia with her South African registration, ZS-ABB, applied in the last month.Read More →
(TEXT- Guy Leitch, IMAGES – Garth Calitz and Andre Venter) A WONDERFUL LITTLE PLANE! The humble Ercoupe must be one of the most under-rated planes ever. The reason ‘real pilots’ love to heap scorn at it is because it was designed to be as easy to fly as driving aRead More →
Redundancy ends with the pilot Peter Garrison – Although SS1 was a novel design with an untried type of motor and was venturing into inhospitable territory last visited by the X-15 almost 50 years earlier, the privately funded programme progressed with speed and smoothness that were a credit to RutanRead More →
Ray Watts – August 2022. There are some exciting additions to the register this month. AIRLINK HAS REGISTERED two Embraer 195s ZS-YDA & YDB. These aircraft are only three years old and come from Denmark. These two have the advantage over Airlinks 190s in that they have 32 more seatsRead More →
– THE LATEST ALL SOUTH AFRICAN PLANE! (GUY LEITCH) – The iconic original J3 Piper Cub is now 84 years old. There have been countless attempts to build a modern version that does everything better. Has a small but passionate South African team got it right? THE LATEST VERSION ofRead More →
(Guy Leitch Flight Test) – As Avgas prices head for R40/ litre the need for an alternative to Avgas powered planes becomes ever more pressing. The good news is that, for the past 16 years, Jet-A diesel piston engine technology has been quietly maturing. It has now become a well-developedRead More →
Pilatus Aircraft finally produced the last PC-6 Turbo Porter after announcing the model’s end of production in 2017, completing a 63-year chapter that began in 1959. THE PC-6 IS FAMOUS for its utilitarian looks and for its short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It has been equipped with piston andRead More →
Peter Garrison– The Bugatti 100P was a beautiful blend of art and engineering. THE LEGENDARY BUGATTI 100P racer was a collaboration, begun in the late 1930s, between Italian-French car builder Ettore Bugatti and French freelance designer Louis de Monge de Franeau. The original aeroplane, its development interrupted by the outbreakRead More →
Guy Leitch – Aviation has a fascinating ability to suck people, who should know better, into investing in fundamentally absurd ideas. LEAVING ASIDE THE ONGOING delusion of flying cars, the two absurdities that continue to grip people’s imagination are the notions that: Firstly, supersonic airliners will be with us beforeRead More →
