Bookings open for Restricted Radio Certificate

I received my accreditation today from the SA Civil Aviation Authority as an approved Radio Telephony Examiner. This enables me to set the practical oral exam and conduct skills tests for the Restricted Radio Telephony Certificate required for NPL and PPL pilots - evidencing their competency to operate the radio equipment in their aeroplanes.

Our Flight School has therefore launched our short training course which will brief students on the requirements for the CAA Online Exam and after the course and the Online exam I will conduct the practical skills test required by each student to obtain his radio certificate. Bookings are now open for the September course.

Go Sharks Go!

I had a great day at the Flight School today with several new Pilot training enquiries as well as some good friends who came flying with me in our Sling ZDL.

Billy and Bernard from Tyson Properties Amanzimoti came to visit and fly over the Durban and Umhlanga beachfront with me.

Yak Pilot Chris is doing his taildragger rating with us

Jonathan from ATS Flight School in Johannesburg paid us a visit

Theuns is keen on getting his PPL licence and came to check out my Sling

The view of the Umhlanga beachfront from ZDL

Bernard from Tysons enjoying the flight with me

Mark is one of my service providers who took naturally to the skyye over Durban with me

Sharks Academy rugby player Marc-Alexander is keen to get his pilot's licence and follow in his Dad's footsteps

Left or Right

As joint owners of our Sling ZDL we have notched up well over 100 hours flying together over huge mountains, past many scary clouds and thunderstorms from one side of Southern Africa to the other, but this was the first flight we have done together with Llew in the left seat and me in the right with me being comfortable flying from both sides now. Most right-handed instructors prefer the right seat, but I am left-handed and it has taken a bit of adjustment to fly with my right hand. Fortunately I did my early training in the Foxbat which has a centre Y-stick, needing the pilot's right hand to control the plane from the left seat so my first flying experience was with my right hand. 

Llew gets into the left seat while I handle the selfie

 We did a jaunt to Pietermaritzburg hoping to have a toasted sandwich in the coffee shop there which opens when the scheduled Airlink jet flies in, but unfortunately they don't serve food over the weekend.

The air was pretty bumpy today with crosswind landings in both Pietermaritzburg and Durban, but the visibility was excellent and we got some good snaps of Durban's beautiful stadium and coastline.

Llewellyn prepares for the flight to Pietermaritzburg

Gazing intently ahead for oncoming traffic

Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium in all its glory

On a clear day you can see forever

Thumbs-up Dave (left, in the right seat) and Llew (right, in the left seat) ha ha

Durban Harbour as we turn inland for Light Flight, then on to Pietermaritzburg

Pietermaritzburg Airport

Looking a bit windswept as the wind was gusting 25kts

Our Durban Skyye Sling ZDL at Pietermaritburg Airport

In a first, our flight school CFI, Brad, was passing by in the flight school Sling FYA and took a snap of us alongside before we continued on our separate ways

The Bluff and Harbour entrance as we rounded it on the return leg to Durban

Congratulatory drink after our first flight in reversed seats

200th Sling delivered

I am incredibly proud, as Durban Distributor and Agent of the Sling Aircraft,  to be associated with The Airplane Factory which has delivered its 200th aircraft. This is an amazing achievement for this Johannesburg team of guys and it pushes The Airplane Factory to within the top 10 aircraft manufacturers in the world today, with assembly plants in Johannesburg, the United States, Australia and home-kitbuilders worldwide. I am also proud to be the part owner of two of these fine aircraft on register at our Flight School. They have carried me around Table Mountain and Saldanha Bay in the west of South Africa, over the Victoria Falls in the north of Southern Africa and up Mozambique in the north east of Southern Africa and next year will take us across the Mozambique Channel to Madagascar... nothing like the achievement of the guys from The Airplane Factory who have circumnavigated the world twice in their Slings, but exhilarating nevertheless to be part of this adventure.

Check out the YouTube video clip as they make international history.

The Airplane Factory delivers its 200th Sling on YouTube

Taildragger next

If you like dodgem cars, you will love the Explorer Taildragger we have as a training aircraft at Durban Skyye Flight School and I had a lesson with our rated Instructor Ian today.. the difference between a taildragger and a tricycle plane is that the centre of gravity is behind you, so instead of it balancing on a nose wheel and two main wheels, it leans backwards with a little "supermarket trolly" type wheel at the back just above the ground. The huge difference this makes is that when you taxi or land the plane, the heavier back tail keeps trying to overtake you and can easily result in a ground loop or spin-around unless you can keep the tail centred behind you. Pilots like the taildraggers because they keep you on your toes and are fun to fly - certainly no docile plane!!

Here is Ian with the Explorer taildragger and then a few happy snaps as we took advantage of the clear Durban skyye after the rain and he showed me how to land the little bugger.

Ian poses before showing me how the plane works.. just taxiing the plane was taxing!

I think I can do this thing!!

Smart MGL glass cockpit of the Explorer with all the information you need to fly

Beautiful Durban and the harbour on take-off from Virginia Airport

National Flight Instructor

I passed my flight test today for my National Flight Instructor Rating Grade C, so I will now be able to train my own students.. very chuffed and looking forward to this next phase of my aviation life. Thanks to my Instructor and flight school partner Brad for the hours he spent with me having as much fun as I was in my plane teaching me some of the more advanced techniques the Sling is capable of. Thanks also to Johnny our airline pilot who handled the flight test. Looking forward to working more with you. I am the first student of Durban Skyye Flight School to commence and complete training at the fledgling flight school.. many more to follow!! 

Johnny (right) with Dave during the flight test

It's a thumbs-up from Dave enjoying his flight test

About to go 

The view of the beachfront homeward bound on a poor weather day finishing off the flight test

Johnny completes the skills test assessment for submission to Raasa

Survival and emergency Equipment for our flight over the sea

In preparation for our  4 and a half hour flight over the sea next year from Mozambique to Madagascar, and in preparation for my Commercial Pilot Airlaw exam this week, here is the researched information on our Civil Aviation Regulations and Technical Standards (CARS and CATS) which apply to flights over the sea which exceed 30 mins or more than 50 nautical miles..

91.04.24 Life jackets and other flotation devices

No owner or operator of an aeroplane, shall operate the aeroplane –

(i) when flying over water and beyond gliding distance of land in the case of the aeroplane not capable of continuing the flight to an aerodrome with the critical power-unit becoming inoperative at any point along the route or any planned diversion;

(ii) when taking off or landing at an aerodrome where the take-off or approach path is so disposed over water that in the event of an incident, there would be a likelihood of a ditching, unless such aeroplane is equipped with a flotation device or a life jacket containing a survivor locator light, for each person on board, stowed in a position easily accessible, with safety belt fastened, from the seat or berth of the person for whose use it is provided, and an individual infant flotation device, containing a locator survival light for use by each infant on board.

91.04.25 Life Rafts and Survival Radio equipment for extended over-water flights

(1) An owner or operator must ensure that the aircraft is equipped with sufficient life rafts to carry all persons on board. Unless excess rafts or enough capacity are provided, the buoyancy and seating capacity beyond the rated capacity of the rafts must accommodate all occupants of the aircraft in the event of a loss of one raft of the largest rated capacity.

(2) The life rafts must be equipped with –

(a) a survivor locator light; and

(b) life saving equipment including means of sustaining life as appropriate to the flight to be undertaken.

(3) The following shall be included in each life-raft –

(a) a means for maintaining buoyancy;

(b) a sea anchor;

(c) life-lines and means of attaching one life-raft to another;

(d) paddles for life-rafts with a capacity of 6 or less;

(e) means of protecting the occupants from the elements;

(f) a water resistant torch;

(g) signalling equipment to make distress signals;

(h) for each 4, or fraction of 4 persons which the life-raft is designed to carry –

(i) 100 g glucose tablets;

(ii) 500 ml of water. This water may be provided in durable containers or by means of making seawater drinkable or a combination of both; and

(i) first aid equipment.

Note – Items (g) – (i), inclusive, should be contained in a pack.

(4) An aircraft must be equipped with at least two sets of survival radio equipment capable of transmitting on 121.5 MHz and 243 MHz.

(5) Unless the life rafts and survival radio equipment are clearly visible, their location must be indicated by a placard or sign, and appropriate symbols may be used to supplement the placard or sign.

91.04.23 Minimum number of ELTs to be carried

(1) Aeroplanes to be operated on extended flights over water or over areas where search and rescue would be especially difficult, shall carry at least one automatic ELT (emergency locator transmitter);

Emergency locator transmitters (ELTs), required to be fitted in terms of CAR 91.04.23, shall be capable of transmitting on the frequencies 121,5 MHz and 406 MHz simultaneously.

ps with aircraft weight being a consideration, I would swop sea anchor for more water!

Last day of Instructor's training

I did my last training flight with our Flight School A Grade Instructor and CFI Brad today in preparation for my Instructor's Rating Skills test during the week. It is going to be a bit of a crazy week as I have registered for two Commercial Pilot exams on Wednesday and Thursday and hope to do my Instructor's Flight Test on Friday. Today we had a bit of fun in the skyye, avoiding some clouds and practising some simulated emergency landing on some ploughed sugarcane fields and the beach. We also did turning stalls and some advanced manoeuvres, getting really comfortable with the aeroplane n various unusual attitudes.

In the skyye and taking a selfie on the last training flight of my Instructor's rating with Brad

Taking off from Virginia for our adventure in the skyye. Isn't is great to have aviation aficionados to capture these special moments on camera!! Thanks Brian.

Banking away to the left cutting our own path through the skyye away from the clouds

The coastline around Amanzimtoti seen from the Virginia General Flying area

I also had a chance to jump on the back of Brad's microlight just to help him put the plane away in the hangar. With gusting winds someone needs to hold the wing (which moves in the wind) whilst the other handles the hangar doors.

Flight School Manuals

Many months of my "spare" time were spent burning the midnight oil compiling the training manuals for our flight school which were approved in April. I have just completed a first revision and added the set of Practical Training Modules with the help of our Instructor Ian so that we have the theoretical and practical training syllabuses covered. These are for Part 62 (National Pilot Licence) training and I have also completed and submitted a full set for Part 61 (Private Pilot Licence) training as well to the CAA for approval.

I believe the learning process is enhanced if the students know where they are in the process, what needs to be achieved and what is expected of them. Ground instruction covering the full theoretical knowledge syllabus is also available, as well as the General and Restricted Radio Certificate. We are also registered as an online exam centre for the NPL exams.

Completing Instructor's

I'm in the last throws of completing my NPL Instructor's course and today we spent 2 hours in the air north of Durban around the Tugela River mouth and Isithebe. We practiced a few simulated forced landings on the beach - the pics look like we were walking on the beach but the photo was taken a few seconds from a possible landing on the beach, then gave the engine full power and took off before a touch-down on the sand. We practiced this from several angles to ensure that I was comfortable making an emergency landing from any approach and would be able to successfully train a student to do the same.

We completed today's training doing similar "glide approaches" simulating engine failures around Isithebe airfield at random times.. closing my eyes whilst Brad manouvered the plane and then cut the power, then opened them to bring the plane down to a safe landing.

This could be a good landing. The wind was pumping up to 30 kts which means we could get the ground speed down to 30 kts before being in danger of connecting with the beach sand.

Brad (right) and I in the sky over Isithebe

Tugela River mouth and lighthouse up the north coast from Durban.

Brad has cut the power and we are floating down aiming for the stretch of sand on the other side of the river as it breaches the coastline

The glide takes us down close to the Lighthouse

Isithebe runway - an asphalt runway inland of the Tugela River mouth and suitable for practising emergency landings

On the way home past the Umhlanga Lighthouse

Coming in to land back at Virginia we tried an "Initial" - an approach towards and over the runway, taking a steep left turn and over to the beach then returning to land.