My second Sling

 Whilst visiting The Airplane Factory USA in California this week we put together a deal and bought a second hand Sling which we will use for my new Flight School in Durban. The airplane appropriately registered as Foxtrot YANKEE Alpha and is presently based in Cape Town.

Large MGL EFIS with backup altimeter and airspeed indicator

The colour scheme of the plane is silver and red so I will have to convert our Flight School logo into a red and grey one for the plane which should look quite pretty. Looking forward to flying the plane back to Durban where I will be able to now do my instructor's rating in the plane and then train my own students for their NPL licence. 

Aerobatics in the Eagle

Well the name of my blog is "Where Eagles Dare" and today I went up in an Eagle bi-plane with Matt from The Airplane Factory USA for some air experience over Long Beach California... there were several firsts for me on this trip so far.. first time flying in an Airbus A380 (will post a separate story about that), first time to fly directly over the North Pole (wow, didn't know you can do that), first time in a taildragger aeroplane, first flight in a bi-plane and my first aerobatic experience as Matt showed me a barrel roll, wing-overs, a complete loop and the hammerhead manoeuvre in which you fly up vertically until the plane can go no further and it then starts dropping and slipping out of the sky until you regain control.

That's me in front of Matt in the Eagle bi-plane in a shot taken by Llew from The Airplane Factory's Sling flown by Ryan over Long Beach, California. Wow, thanks guys, what an incredible experience and opportunity to fly with you guys whom I admire so much for your achievements in the States.

In my element in the sky over Long Beach

We came right up close to the Sling being flown by Ryan from The Airplane Factory USA

Watch the short YouTube video clip as we come up alongside the Sling then do a roll over it and regain position.. I cut the video and don't think I quite knew which was up or down as I held on for dear life.. ha ha.

The magnificant Eagle bi-plane owned by Matt (USA) and Mike (RSA) of The Airplane Factory. The paint job on the black plane is stunning and sexy

Durban Skyye's rad new pics!

This is our Team Skyye - the professional team at our Durban Skyye Flight School - and some more awesome pics, courtesy of aviation photographer Brian Spurr.. Thanks Brian I love these photos.

Instructor Kyle (left), Chief Flying Instructor Brad (middle) and myself Dave (right) Chief Executive Officer of the Flight School. As soon as we have a school fixed wing sorted, I will be doing my instructor rating and will also be able to join my fellow instructors enjoying some good air time!

Instructor Kyle with Calvin in the school's Aquilla Microlight ZU-CCL

Durban Skyye's microlight overhead Umhlanga beach and the lighthouse

Our school microlight with Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium in the background

Durban Skyye over Umhlanga and the Pearls apartments

Our Team Skyye with our planes and branded vehicles

This is how it all started

The Wright Brothers first flight on the 17th December 1903 - now in this dramatic YouTube video you can watch here. Did they ever realise their efforts would go viral?

Today we have Durban Skyye Flight School to take you effortlessly up and train you to fly your own microlight, fixed wing or even bi-plane!

United States next

This is the C172 Seaplane I will be flying in two weeks time on Lake Havasu, Arizona.

My United States FAA Private Pilot's licence will be obtained from the Flight Services District Office in Long Beach California next week as the validation of my South African foreign licence came through last night. As soon as my temporary FAA Airman's Certificate (Private Pilot Licence USA) has been issued we drive from Long Beach to Lake Havasu (about a 3 hour drive) where my training will take place. The lake is huge and it's Colorado River divides Arizona from Nevada.. Las Vegas is not too far away and we will likely stay there for one night after my seaplane course before returning to Long Beach near Los Angeles.

Lake Havasu, Arizona, also near to the Grand Canyon

Microlight Flights Durban beachfront

I have flown over the stunning Durban beachfront in my Sling airplane so many times, but never before in a microlight - so what better first time than with our own Aquilla Microlight airplane ZU-CCL which we bought for our Durban Skyye Flight School which opened this weekend.

Our approval from the Civil Aviation Authority came through on the 11th April and we negotiated permission from Virginia Airport to use the Airport as our home base, offering flight training and breathtaking introductory flights over the Durban beachfront, Golden Mile and to Umhlanga for the first time ever.

It's the first Microlight and Light Sport Aircraft Flying School to operate from Virginia and the first operator to be granted permission to fly in and out of Virginia Airport with microlights, so we are very chuffed with our achivement.

Here are some of the pics I took. I also made a GoPro video and I will be posting that shortly. Join our Durban Skyye Flight School Facebook group here.

Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium from our Microlight flying over the Durban beachfront

Our Chief Flying Instructor Brad takes Llewellyn on his first microlight flight

Durban Skyye, the name of our flight school, emblazoned across the wing

We're off the ground

Having received our flight school aviation training organisation approval (Durban Skyye Flight School ATO 0253) we are getting ready for our first flights this weekend and our flyers have gone to the printers... this is what we have got so far, and thanks to Head Office Restaurant and Budget Car Rental for coming in with us to publicise our training venue at Virginia Airport.

Old and new travel

Here's a photo of a South African Airways / Suid-Afrikaanse Lugdiens plane at the old Louis Botha Airport - Durban's international airport of old. The photo probably dates back to the early 60s and represents our mode of travel in decades past. Note the three vertical stabilisers/tri-tail and rear entry stairs.

The second photo is my electronic travel (visa) approval for my visit to the States later this month for my seaplane rating at Lake Havasu, Arizona. No longer is a formal visa required, nor a visit to the Embassy, and was completed and approved online within minutes and on payment of an application fee of R150. The travel authorisation was granted under the USA's visa-waiver programme with various participating countries. That's convenience for you and the new way to travel smart.

California, here I come

Wing Fixed

It's been a bit of a sweat with aircraft damage.. first the nose wheel, then the bird-strike to the wing. Thankfully the guys at The Airplane Factory have been doing a great job fixing. Here are the pics of the damaged wing, the repair and the finished job. Now we are just waiting for the propeller hub to come back from repair in New Zealand and we can get the plane back.

At this stage, with our trip to the States the last week of this month, it is unlikely I will fly again here before my return.

The damage from the vulture or kite that struck our starboard wingtip

The repair

As good as new again