Megan Stevenson Wilbur Wright said,  ‘It is possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill.’ Pilot knowledge and skill are human factor concepts that have been researched and refined over the decades. When it comes to a proficient pilot, there is little dispute that a calm demeanour,Read More →

SPINNING Jim Davis I have been doing some long-range mentoring of a new instructor. I called her the other night to find out how she was getting on with her patter and preparation for the flight test. She had been due to patter spinning in a little C152 and IRead More →

Jannie Matthysen One of the lesser-known ‘perks’ of being a helicopter pilot is that you occasionally and unexpectedly spend extended periods of time in a car, driving from one stuck / unserviceable helicopter to another – or to relieve a crew that has exhausted a flight and duty cycle. ItRead More →

Laura McDermid Sling Aircraft was awarded the coveted August Raspet award at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh this year. The award is given annually to a business or person that has made an outstanding contribution to aircraft design. Highly regarded for their durability, fuel efficiency and excellent performance, Slings are theRead More →

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 ErosRead More →

Aircraft Registration                             ZS-UZZ Date of Accident                                    22 August 2015                      Time of Accident                                  0758Z Type of Aircraft                                     Pitts Special S-1S                                Type of Operation                                Private  PIC Licence Type                                 Private Pilot       Age                                                       46         Licence Valid     Read More →

SA Flyer columnist John Bassi is one of the last of the one-man businesses to successfully operate a Bell 206 JetRanger helicopter. He uses his helicopter ZS-HFD, in an incredible variety of roles and has published a book called ‘Pilot in the Wild’ describing his helicopter experiences. Apart from theRead More →