“Aviation and space travel, in particular – have always been especially captivating.” Felix Baumgartner Since last week’s mystery aircraft was relatively easy to identify, according to the number of correct answers I received, this week I have provided another interesting aircraft type. Please send your answers to me at editor@africanpilot.co.za. I will publish the names of those that identified the aircraft correctly within the Thursday edition of APAnews. Shocking ATC transmissions from OR Tambo tower Recording https://www.facebook.com/duncan.gillespie.0/videos/407767402208 ..read more

“It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.” Thomas Sowell Spartan Executive 7W The Spartan Executive is a cabin monoplane aircraft that was produced by the Spartan Aircraft Company during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The 7W features an all-metal fuselage, as well as a retractable undercarriage. The 7W Executive was popular with affluent buyers worldwide. Designed expressly for the executive market, the Spartan Executive was configured for both performance and c ..read more

“Aviation is for the common man. My goal is to enable everyone to fly. It shouldn’t be only for the rich.” Tony Fernandes Since last week’s mystery aircraft was relatively easy to identify, according to the number of correct answers I received, this week I have provided another interesting aircraft type. Please send your answers to me at editor@africanpilot.co.za. I will publish the names of those that identified the aircraft correctly within the Thursday edition of APAnews. Who really represents Commercial Aviation in South Africa? To assist those who do not really underst ..read more

“Any pilot can describe the mechanics of flying. What it can do for the spirit of man is beyond description.” Barry Goldwater SAAB 210 (Information from Wikipedia) The Saab 210 is an approximately 70% scale research prototype for the double-delta configuration of the Saab 35 Draken supersonic fighter. It became known by the unofficial nickname Lilldraken (Little Dragon or Little Kite). Its first flight was on 21 January 1952. The 210 retrospectively gained the unofficial name Lilldraken from the larger Type 35 Draken which it led to. The Swedish word ‘Draken’ has a double meaning, trans ..read more

“Aviation is poetry. It’s the finest kind of moving around, you know, just as poetry is the finest way of using words.” Jessie Redmon Fauset Since last week’s mystery aircraft was relatively easy to identify, according to the number of correct answers I received, this week I have provided another interesting aircraft type. Please send your answers to me at editor@africanpilot.co.za. I will publish the names of those that identified the aircraft correctly within the Thursday edition of APAnews. Duncan Gilespie’s response to the DCA’s appeal letter Dear SACAA Hotline, Followi ..read more

“Learning to fly an airplane taught me a way of thinking, an approach to problem-solving that was applicable and effective. Pilots are very methodical and meticulous and artists tend not to be.” Chris Carter Yak 38 (Information from Wikipedia) The Yakovlev Yak-38 (Russian: Яковлев Як-38; NATO reporting name: ‘Forger’) was Soviet Naval Aviation’s only operational VTOL strike fighter aircraft in addition to being its first operational carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft. It was developed specifically for and served almost exclusively on, the Kiev-class aircraft carriers (heavy aviation crui ..read more

“Pilots are a rare kind of human. They leave the ordinary surface of the world, to purify their soul in the sky and they come down to earth, only after receiving the communion of the infinite.” Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra Heinkel He-274 (Information from Wikipedia) The Heinkel He 274 was a German heavy bomber purpose-designed for high-altitude bombing with pressurised crew accommodation during WW II. Due to the Allied advance through Northwest Europe, the prototypes were abandoned at the French factory where they were being built. They were completed after the war by the French and used f ..read more

“The only security men can have for their political liberty, consists in keeping their money in their own pockets …” Lysander Spooner Since last week’s mystery aircraft was challenging to identify, according to the number of correct answers I received (35), this week I have provided another interesting aircraft type. Please send your answers to me at editor@africanpilot.co.za. I will publish the names of those that identified the aircraft correctly within the Thursday edition of APAnews. First casualty of the ridiculous SACAA ATC requirement at unmanned airfields Last week ..read more

“I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery de Haviland DH.91 Albatross The de Havilland DH.91 Albatross was a four-engined British transport aircraft of the 1930s manufactured by de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited. Seven aircraft were built between 1938 and 1939. The DH.91 was designed in 1936 by A. E. Hagg to Air Ministry specification 36/35 for a transatlantic mail plane. The aircraft was notable for the ply-balsa-ply sandwich construction of its fuselage, later used in the de Havilland Mosquito bomber. Another unique feature was ..read more

“Let’s get one thing straight. There is a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight.” Elrey Borge Jeppesen Since last week’s mystery aircraft was challenging to identify, according to the number of correct answers I received, this week I have provided another interesting aircraft type. Please send your answers to me at editor@africanpilot.co.za. I will publish the names of those that identified the aircraft correctly within the Thursday edition of APAnews. ATC crisis in South Africa It seems just when all ..read more