Tail wags Dog
2023-11-15
Peter Garrison ‘Hinge moment’ is the technical name for the force required to deflect a control surface. In small, relatively slow aeroplanes hinge moments are not very large; pilots move the controls with ease. But as control surfaces get larger and speeds get higher, hinge moments grow rapidly. Hinge momentsRead More →
The FAA’s MOSAIC proposals – how they will lead to big changes in general aviation
2023-11-08
Guy Leitch How the FAA is Fixing Recreational Flying We often forget that South Africa still has some world class institutions that make our country a much better place than that supposed paragon of excellence – the USA. The American banking system is archaic compared to South Africa and ourRead More →
The Dakota Gamblers Weekend – Jeffery Kempson
2023-10-22
One Friday afternoon, two venerable Douglas DC-3 airliners started their engines at Lanseria Airport and taxied out for takeoff. This was in the pre ‘bantustan’ era when legal gambling was prohibited in South Africa. Instead, local gamblers were obliged to journey to one of the neighbouring countries such as Botswana,Read More →
Jim Davis – Right Seat Rules N0.10
2023-10-20
The sometimes surprising effects of the controls So it’s the mid 1990s, I think – I’m not good with dates and times. I am flying from Jan Smuts to Port Elizabeth in one of SAA’s new Airbus A320s. Tupperware aeroplanes I’m told. Those were the days when SAA was stillRead More →
Kalahari Bundu Bash – Part 2
2023-10-17
Story and pics – Jean Tresfon In part 1 of this photo essay well known Cape gyro pilot and environmentalist Jean Tresfon described the flight from cape Twon’s Morningstar airfield to the remote Koppieskraal Pan in the Northern Cape. The 2023 Kalahari Bundu Bash Flying Adventure is a fly-in ofRead More →
Flight Test – The Comanche 400: The Boss
2023-09-13
Jim Davis with Guy Leitch. Images Guy Leitch There is a popular saying that you can’t have a plane with too much power. Piper put that to the test when they increased the engine in their beautiful Comanche from 180 hp to a stonking 400 hp. So – does itRead More →
Have 2-stroke diesels finally arrived for planes?
2023-07-25
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 →
Felix Gosher does it again – in Zambia
2023-07-15
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 unbeatable value proposition of Big Twins
2023-07-13
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 →