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 →
Jim Davis So if you know how to climb, and you know how to turn, then a climbing turn has to be pretty simple – yep? And if you can glide and turn, then is a gliding turn somehow special? Yes and no to both questions. If you are anRead 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 →
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 →
Text and Pictures – Grant Duncan Smith Helicopters have been very successfully used in a massive environmental preservation operation in the Western Cape. The ‘Helihack’ alien vegetation clearing operation was conducted in October on Table Mountain. The challenges facing those who seek to rid the Cape of alien vegetation wereRead More →
