Flightcom Magazine October 2022

Cover: Trevor Cohen

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OCTOBER 2022 EDITION 166

Publisher Flyer and Aviation Publications cc

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Guy Leitch guy@flightcommag.com

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Bush Pilot - Hugh Pryor

Pilots - Laura McDermid

Defence - Mike Pietrucha and Guy Leitch

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A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:

SAA is at a cross roads – and all its options are dead ends.

SAA FACES TWO DEADLINES: First, and most immediate, the 90-day deadline (to 3 November) to provide proof of its viability to the air services licencing council (ASLC). Second; its promise to finalise the Takatso deal by March 2023. Both of these deadlines are looking impossible.

The most implausible deadline is end March next year when all regulatory hurdles must be cleared for the Takatso consortium to pay its R3bn contribution. This includes the need to amend the South African Airways Act 5 of 2007 –which would normally require up to two years – and the need to amend the airline’s Air Operators Certificate –which normally requires 18 months.

a mockery of SAA’s advertising claim

The more time passes, the faster the airline deteriorates. It has fallen a long way from its glory days before Dudu Myeni – when it only lost R1 billion a year. Five years ago it had 42 aircraft, now it has just nine, which makes it unable to service the route rights it still has. Fleet renewal is critical, yet discussion with the major airline manufacturers indicates that SAA is so unsure of its future that it has not been able to issue a Request for Information (RFI) for fleet renewal as it has no idea what routes it will be able to fly. An RFI is but one of the many early steps required before an airline can issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) that specify the actual aircraft type and number requirement.

The recently appointed ASLC is vigorously implementing a ‘use it or lose it’ policy. Earlier this year this effectively wiped out the last vestiges of value in the moribund SA Express. The ASLC has now revoked 20 out of SAA’s 52 routes, as the airline had not serviced them within the three-month limit. Given the value of SAA’s routes, particularly its regional and long-haul routes, there is speculation as to what impact the removal of almost half of the airline’s permissions will have on its value to the Takatso consortium.

Due to the regulatory requirements the Takatso deal remains as out of reach as a carrot before a donkey. Meanwhile, the pressure mounts as the airline has the overhead structure of a much larger carrier and it must be fast burning through the R2.6 billion that was set aside for working capital.

The general decay continues; in the latest Skytrax award SAA has gone from being the best airline in Africa to the third best. This makes a mockery of SAA’s advertising claim that; ‘Those who know fly SAA’ – it appears the opposite is true. In 2013 SAA was rated 21 amongst the world’s airlines. It has dropped to 79.

The demise of this once proud airline continues to gather speed. The chances of it pulling out of this flat spin are remote.

FIRSTLY, THERE IS THE International Committee of the Red Cross, the 'ICRC', which is based in Geneva and is in charge of the Geneva Conventions, the Rules of War and the treatment of prisoners.

Then there is the Federation of Red Cross Societies. This is made up of all the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, like the South African Red Cross and the Somali Red Crescent, for example.

If the ICRC gets a call from one of the signatories of the Geneva Conventions, they swing into action and call the National Societies for staff to carry out the investigation. Technically speaking, the ICRC only operates in declared War Zones, so if you take a job flying for them, you also take on the possibility of being the target for anybody on the ground who feels like popping off at passing aircraft.

Their total tally with our company was two of our Twin Otters and the C130. We lost another Twin Otter but that was to an anti-personnel mine.

The strange thing was that although everybody on the C130 was killed, the two Twin Otters, which were hit by the same type of missile, managed to get everyone back on the ground without injury. We put this down to the design of the Twin Otter.

many holes which had appeared in the roof

The Pratt & Whitney PT-6 on the Twin Otter is mounted out in front of the wing and because the PT-6 is built back to front, its exhaust stacks sprout from the front end of the engine nacelles, so the DHC-6 which was hit, on the approach to Kitui, basically lost its left engine, but managed to glide in for a landing, with the assistance of the remaining right engine. The other thing is that the DHC-6 has her main fuel tanks in her belly, quite a way away from the engines.

The Swiss company I flew for in Angola was operating six DHC 6-300 Twin Otters and a C130 Hercules for the ICRC. Angola was a very busy war zone where there were lots of people on the ground who felt like 'popping off' at passing aircraft and some of them carried SAM-7 missiles which target any hot spots they see after they are launched.

6 FlightCom: October 2022 MARGARET

As Mike, the Captain, rather humorously mentioned later, the emergency shut-down procedures were greatly simplified because the missile had already taken care of the No 1 engine!

Matti had an equally adventurous escapade. He and his

As you probably already know, there are two Red Cross organisations, both closely linked, but separately administered.

son, Essa, were on the approach to Melange to pick up sixteen ICRC people who were actually under fire at the airstrip.

Matti called for 'Flaps 15', Essa selected the flaps and suddenly there was a jolt and a loud explosion above the aircraft. This was followed by a chorus of whistling sounds, caused by the many holes which had appeared in the roof.

They were committed for a landing and so Matti decided to get on the ground as quick as he could, before the next bang.

It was after they had landed that they realised that they were under fire and the sixteen figures racing towards them were actually dodging bullets, some of which were now hitting the aircraft.

Essa rushed down the back to open the air-stair door and help the evacuees to board, then, before jumping aboard himself, he nipped out to the end of the wing and checked the outside of the plane, to make sure that there were no really important bits missing.

the engines and avionics, took the wheels off and threw the rest away. I don't know what they did with the missile...shame really...it would have made quite a nice lamp stand.

The C 130 is, of course, much, much bigger than the Twin Otter and so you would expect it to absorb a lot more punishment. In fact, the opposite is true, simply because the engine jet pipes come out right under the wing. As the Sam-7 missile is a heat seeker it goes for the exhaust stacks. They are made of thin metal in the Hercules and the missile carries straight on through them into the fuel tanks. That is why we only found three of the engines, the Flight Data and Cockpit Voice Recorders, a girl's left hand, with an engagement ring on it and a six-foot-square piece of the tail fin. The rest was just a pile of unrecognisably charred rubble with ten burned out wheels.

the C130 jet pipes come out under the wing

But I digress.

To his astonishment he found that the missile was still stuck in the outboard exhaust stack of the left engine! The warhead had obviously detached itself on impact and gone off above the fuselage, which accounted for the holes in the roof.

Matti shoved on a grunt of power to grab his son's attention and Essa raced up the steps, hauling the door closed behind him, as the Twin Otter began to accelerate down the runway. Essa managed to scramble into the front right-hand seat as a bullet drilled a neat hole in the windscreen just where his head had been one and a half seconds before.

The take-off went well, as did the flight back to Luanda, with the missile still attached, but, when they got back on the ground, the repairs would have been so expensive that the insurance company just removed

Two doctors came out from the British Red Cross. They were booth middle-aged ladies. One was a general practitioner and the other was an anaesthetist and neither of them had been to Africa or visited a fully-fledged war zone before, so I felt that I should try and look after them a bit.

We used to have breakfast at 05:45 each morning, because we had to get airborne by 06:00 so that we could get back to the safety of our base before dark, after a hard day's flying. The hospital was very busy and the anaesthetist used to join us for breakfast. The first morning after her arrival, in my adopted role as tour-guide and comforter, I greeted her as she entered the mess.

"Good morning, Margaret!" I said as I waved her theatrically to join us. "Tea?"

"Oh yes please!" she replied, "Just a splash of milk and no sugar please, Hugh."

I delivered her tea with a welcoming flourish of gold bars and wings.

"Thank you, Hugh." She smiled, acknowledging the pantomime welcome in these otherwise grim circumstances.

This ritual continued every morning until a couple of weeks later, when she walked into the mess and I greeted her with. "Morning Margaret, your usual?" And she smiled and said, "No thank you, Charles, I think I'll have coffee this morning,"

"Charles?" I said, raising my eyebrows in surprise. "How long have we known each other, Margaret?"

there were no really important bits missing

"Oh, about two weeks, isn't it?" She looked up.

"And you think my name is 'Charles'?"

"Well, my name is not 'Margaret'" she said, with a mischievous laugh. Her name was actually Elizabeth and I just had to join her laughter, because it would take me a couple of weeks to get my foot out of my mouth! 

At first I thought that I had miss-heard her and then she added, "Just one teaspoon of sugar and no milk please, Charles." I was rather taken aback.

MCDERMID

FLYING A NAVION RANGEMASTER FROM LAGOS TO NAIROBI

WE DECIDED THAT WE would depart on 1 May and fly to Entebbe, a distance of 1790 nm, leaving us with a sufficient safety margin.

With the wing tip-tanks and auxiliary fuel tanks full, the Navion had a range of approximately 2000 nm and we calculated that it would take us around 12.5 hours flying at 150kt.

Thanks to the Trimble Trimpack GPS and the Jeppesen Africa charts, our navigation would be relatively straightforward. I jotted down some of the frequencies which I stuck on the centre console where we would both be able to see them.

I bought a few bottles of water and bars of chocolate and the hotel in Lagos where we’d spent the last four nights packed a hamper for our trip. I also made sure that we had a couple of bottles of whiskey stashed away in case of emergency.

We awoke to an azure sky which I took to be a good omen. We had a long trip ahead of us and we were keen to get an early start. However, Lagos International Airport was chaotic that morning and we only got off the ground at 09h00 local time.

bottles of whiskey stashed away for emergency

I filed our flight plan, thinking how much easier it was to fly IFR, provided of course that the beacons and radios worked, which they often didn’t in Africa.

10 FlightCom: October 2022 PART 2

With the main and ferry tanks full we anticipated a long, slow climb to FL110. I was excited but nervous too. Neither of us had ever flown a Navion, so this was virgin territory for us both.

Ashraf was designated PIC on the first leg, with the understanding that we would share the workload. Since we were at maximum weight, Ashraf kept her

Laura McDermid continues her stories of Iris McCallum’s flying exploits.

Finally the Rangemaster was ready for her trip from Nigeria to Kenya. Ashraf Khan and I began the preparations for the long flight.

on the ground beyond the recommended rotation speed, before easing her into the air, ensuring that the aircraft had the required energy to fly. We were at least 400 ft above the ground and quite far over the Atlantic Ocean when Ashraf retracted the undercarriage.

The red undercarriage light remained on. “Iris, I’m going to recycle the wheels, I’m hoping that it's just a bit stiff from standing so long.”

Ashraf hit the switch and I watched the wheels extend in the little mirror on the fuselage.

“Okay, select ‘Up’ again; I’m watching.”

I watched as the wheels slowly retracted. The main wheels folded neatly into the wheel well whilst the nose wheel still protruded like a timid turtle emerging from its shell.

“It’s stuck there, Ashraf.”

We both knew from experience to leave well enough alone.

We considered turning back but the authorities would most likely ground the aircraft again, a prospect that filled us with dread.

The temperatures and pressures were all within the normal range, the propellor was working perfectly, so we decided to carry on.

The additional drag had slowed us down considerably. All our calculations were based on 150K, and we were doing 110K, a good 25% slower.

“Iris, we won’t make it to Entebbe; we are going to have to find an alternate place to land.”

I looked down at my knee pad. Our route took us over Yaoundè International Airport in Cameroon, but I wanted us to get further than that if we could. I calculated that we would safely make it to Bangui M’Poko International Airport in the Central African Republic. It was approximately 911NM from Lagos, half the distance of our intended destination of Entebbe.

The LCD screen of the Trimble Trimpack GPS was

Flying into the the ITCZ in a light aircraft with faulty avionics is not recommended.

glowing orange, a reassuring sign. This remarkable piece of equipment was a game changer in aviation. Due to the inaccessibility and often hostile nature of central African countries, there were no detailed charts and the traditional way of navigating from Lagos to Entebbe was to follow the coastline for the first sector.

My friend Jonathan Savage had shown me how to use the GPS and had thrown in a box of batteries to ensure that the Trimpack would last for at least 24 hours.

The land below us was an unrelenting, unbroken mass of dark green. The canopies of trees are so thick that there was nowhere to put down a plane in an emergency. Although it’s not something I obsessed over, the thought was never far from my mind.

What do pilots talk about when they are in a confined space, suspended 3.5 km above the earth, sharing a

once-in-a-lifetime experience?

We spoke about the preservation of kinship with the elemental forces and the purpose of life. We marvelled at the mysteries of the Universe, and the events that all conspired to culminate in this moment.

Above Cameroon, clouds began to gather. We were still 400 nm from Bangui which was southeast of us, and the white puffs stretched as far as the eye could see. We were both seasoned pilots and were used to flying in storms, but we were in an area known by scientists as the ‘Intertropical Convergence Zone’.

The zone's shape is more like a slithering snake than a straight line and can sometimes be several hundred miles wide. Winds from the northern and southern hemispheres clash, spawning violent thunderstorms that can grow up to 60,000 ft.

“I hope these clouds don’t develop,” I say to myself.

Logboook entries cannot capture the drama of the flight.

As we head east, the benign puffs expand vertically at an alarming rate into ivory towers that appear to stretch into infinity.

I glance at my watch which shows ten minutes to six. Almost sunset. The sky darkens ahead as the clouds coalesce into a black wall.

Our altitude of almost 4 km above the earth is less than half that of the most prominent thunderheads. The phalanx forms a solid precipice that tumbles straight down, grey-black and purple in the last light.

We fly parallel to the cliff of clouds and seem to hang dreamlike and nearly still in the air. Great blossoming fists churn within the core and inside the darker areas malevolent explosions of lightning cause crashes in our headsets. Thunder reverberates through the plane, setting every cell in my body vibrating. The pitch-black night is illumined by light bulbs flashing across the sky, guiding us around the ominous areas and marking out the best course.

but at this moment I would gladly return the entire amount for the privilege of being dry and safely on the ground.

I fish for the mini-Maglites in my flight bag, handing one to Ashraf which he grips between his teeth, directing the beam onto the artificial horizon, the altimeter and air speed indicator as he scans.

I had fortunately just changed the batteries in the Trimpack GPS and I turn on the handheld King nav/ com radio that Jonathan lent us. This amazing device can pick up VOR and ILS as well as communicate with the tower. The problem is that it can’t do them simultaneously.

The thunder and lightning abate but the rain is still coming down in sheets.

we have lost all our electronics

Ashraf’s attention remains entirely within the cockpit and focused on the instruments. Light rain hisses along the windshield before the full might of the storm unleashes itself upon us and our forward visibility is obliterated. We bounce along, plummeting 1300 ft one minute whilst rocketing up the next. I feel like a tiny plane in a snow globe that is being violently shaken by a giant invisible hand.

I watch Ashraf wrestle with the yoke; he adds more power and shoves the propellor control to full fine.

Suddenly we are not in an aeroplane but in a leaky ship. Water spews through the nose, the windshield beading, my side window and the roof. It dribbles down the instrument panel, drenching us.

Then we are plunged into darkness. We check fuses and wiggle wires but alas, we have lost all our electronics.

John Hall is paying us handsomely for this ferry,

To fly in unbroken darkness with the knowledge that somewhere ahead are lights and life, and a well-marked airport is surreal to the point where life on earth seems as remote as life on Mars.

I enter 119.7 into the King handheld; the approach frequency for the airport. We had already been handed over by the regional controllers and the tower was aware of our situation.

“Bangui, this is November-Two-Four-Eight-SixTango. We are approximately twenty miles east of yours. Requesting clearance for an immediate landing.”

“November-Two-Four-Eight-Six-Tango cleared to land; runway one-six in use”.

We descend through heavy clouds and Ashraf lowers the undercarriage. We have no idea if the nose wheel is going to hold.

He turns on to final approach, setting the plane up perfectly.

Tatters in the cloud base show the runway lights ahead. Ashraf takes full flaps and kills the power. We

PILOTS

swoop down through the rain above the runway, but without landing lights, we cannot see the asphalt and have no idea how high we are.

We have to ‘feel’ our way down. We open our doors and hang out as far as possible, shining our Maglites downwards. It is a feat of strength as the slipstream from the propellor keeps trying to push the doors closed.

My unruly curls hang in wet strings over my brow, channelling water into my eyes.

“A BIT LOWER…. KEEP HER STEADY….FIVE FEET MORE….”

I shout to be heard above the roar of the wind and rain.

The main wheels gently kiss the ground; Ashraf keeps the yoke back for as long as possible until the nose wheel succumbs to the pull of gravity.

We hold our breaths; and the undercarriage holds.

We taxi to the parking bay and within minutes are surrounded by a swarm of soldiers. Although the airport knew we were coming, the military had no knowledge of our unplanned arrival.

“I’ll get out first,” I say to Ashraf. This is a tactic that my friend Heather Stewart and I learned early on. No one expects a woman to emerge from the cockpit. This disarms the other party and generally eases hostilities.

I must have cut a dismal figure as I alighted; drenched to the bone and dishevelled from 13 hours of solid flying.

I flashed them my biggest smile. “Bonjour gentleman, my name is Captain Iris McCallum, pleased to meet you.”

We were ushered to a dingy precast room where our papers were checked. Satisfied we were not a threat, the soldiers drove us to the two-star Hotel Oubangui, close to the airport. It was not the Ritz, but the place was clean and offered a respite from the crazy day we’d endured.

After a warm shower and change of clothes, Ashraf and I raided the rations and made good work of the whiskey that we’d put aside in the event of an emergency.

The daunting direct route to Bangui from Lagos.

SACAA DIRECTOR POPPY KHOZA

ELECTED PRESIDENT OF ICAO ASSEMBLY

South Africa’ Director of Civil Aviation Ms Poppy Khoza was unanimously elected President of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) 41st Assembly in the Montreal.

Commenting one her election, Ms Poppy Khoza said: “This nod from the ICAO Member States can only be a sign of how the rest of the world perceives South Africa’s contribution and value on world aviation matters.

South Africa is also seeking re-election to the 36-country ICAO Governing Council with an announcement being expected after this issue of

SACAA Director Poppy Khoza as President of ICAO General Assembly.

FlightCom has been published.

South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Transport, Sindisiwe Chikunga, said, “It is historic for ICAO to have elected a first woman President of the Assembly, with this happening when gender issues have taken centre stage globally. We are fostering gender equality, particularly in this male dominated sector.”

RUSSIA’S AIR CAMPAIGN IN THE UKRAINE

- MORE LESSONS FOR AFRICA

Russia’s much publicised failures in the air battle for the Ukraine contain many lessons for African air power strategists. In this article Mike Pietrucha (of the inappropriately named ‘Amateur hour”) outlines some of the key failings of the Russian airpower strategy.

THE KEY LESSONS are fascinating: From what is the role of an air force? Is it to just deliver artillery? – as Pietrucha claims Russia sees it, of is it complete air superiority? –which requires technology that it appears neither Russia, nor Africa, could effectively operationalise. In particular – the need for combined operations across Africa – which combine disparate services and countries is noted as being effectively impossible.

Also noteworthy for Africa’s many underfunded air forces is the basic need for pilot currency, specially for the coordinated delivery of advanced technology aerial military systems.

is the hallmark of all successful air forces. Effective air campaign planning is founded upon the professional mastery of air force personnel which includes an understanding of the interface between military and other national security operations. Quoted from: The Air Campaign: The Application of Air Power, Sanu Kainikara and Bob Richardson, Royal Australian Air Force Air Power Development Centre

Russian pilots fly a fraction of NATO pilots

The ongoing war with Ukraine continues to cause some head scratching among Western observers with respect to the Russian use of airpower.

An air campaign is the controlled conduct of a series of interrelated air operations to achieve specified objectives. The conduct of effective air campaigns

From the beginning of the invasion, the Russian Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye sily or VKS) have astounded airpower advocates by their manifest failures, including an inability to gain air superiority, limited use of precision weapons, and poor targeting selection.

Russia appears to be making basic mistakes in using its Air Force for ground support - as the loss of many Su-25s shows.

Blinded by the technological potential of Russia’s newest combat aircraft, Western military analysts fell deeply into the “capabilities-based analysis” trap, deceived by the ease of comparing equipment, divorced from cultural preferences, training, and the human element.

In reality, however, what we’re seeing is exactly what we should have expected from the Russian air force. The Russian military does not use airpower the way the United States and NATO do because they’ve never had to, and they’ve never suffered from an adversary who did.

World War II and Beyond

It isn’t that the Russian military doesn’t use airpower: It’s simply that they have never conducted a campaign with airpower used as a strategic tool.

Instead, they support a ground campaign with airpower employed tactically in support of ground forces.

a lesson for African governments who keep their pilots current

Russia cannot plan an air campaign because it has never seen one from either side — offensive or defensive — and Russian airpower has always been used for flying artillery and not as a strategic tool. What we are seeing from Russian airpower in Ukraine is the logical outcome of the way the Russian military fights, not a failed mirror-image of the way the United States and its allies employ airpower.

In 1937, Russia had the largest air force in the world, but it was one without a coherent doctrine that was further crippled by Stalinist purges. The Soviet Air Force (Voenno-Vozdushniye Sily or VVS) was of little interest to Stalin in the run-up to World War II, as he did not foresee Hitler’s intentions towards the Soviet Union and anticipated little need for strategic airpower.

By 1939, Russian airpower capabilities were declining, not advancing, and by 1940, many of Russia’s prewar airpower advocates were dead or in jail, caught up in purges that eliminated 75 percent of the Soviet Air Force leadership, including most of the aviators who had participated in the Spanish Civil War.

Russian airpower in the Winter War in 1939 was ineffective against an air force that was well trained, if not superbly equipped, with only two squadrons of the obsolescent Dutch Fokker D.XXI. In threeand-a-half months, the Finnish aviators downed 300 aircraft and racked up a five-to-one kill ratio, with 10 aviators making ace. Finnish gunners did as well, downing another 300 Soviet aircraft.

The Soviet planners took little notice of their experience, and in 1941, Germany attacked an unready and incompetent Russian air arm, downing over 200 aircraft in aerial combat and destroying almost 900 on the ground on the first day. Within a week, the Russian air force was combat-ineffective.

This was completely in line with the prevailing German airpower philosophy, which had gaining air superiority as its first task. Still, the German military themselves were not executing an air campaign. The Luftwaffe’s twin-engine bombers could not reach Russia’s industries east of Moscow, and the few four-engine bombers were too little to have an effect, particularly without escort.

Then, air superiority was not an opening move to an air campaign by the Luftwaffe, but it instead allowed the Luftwaffe to be entirely focused on the tactical fight, expecting a short war of ten weeks where strategic attacks that destroyed infrastructure were counterproductive to Nazi war goals.

While it’s true that the Luftwaffe provided support for the rapidly moving advance, it was German ground mobility that shattered the Red Army, not the Luftwaffe.

It’s not clear that the Russian military suffered strategically from the loss of its limited airpower. Yes, the massive loss ratio at the onset of the operation shattered the Russian air force, but it’s not likely that it had the equipment, trained personnel, or doctrine to be more than an annoyance to the Wehrmacht divisions raging across eastern Europe, even were it functional. Lucky for Germany. According to the U.S. Air Force’s Historical Studies No. 153, “it was impossible for the Luftwaffe to perform simultaneously its two assigned missions, the achievement of air superiority and support of the ground forces,” and the main effort switched to the latter mission three days into the war.

The German forces would lose air superiority after the Battle of Kursk, not because the Russian side gained it through force of arms, but because the German military was by then on a losing battle of attrition and could not keep up with the Allied powers in terms of training or aircraft production. But if Russia was no longer bedevilled by German control of the air, it did not conduct a strategic air campaign against Germany but instead did the exact same thing the German military had done — used aircraft as flying artillery to support ground forces. It’s no surprise really, as Russia intentionally mirrorimaged its German opponents.

The Russian Su-34 may be high technology but is being used wrongly in the Ukraine.

Airpower was simply not independently decisive on the eastern front, although it was an effective supporting arm for whichever side could put it into play. As imperfect as the Royal Air Force and U.S. Army Air Forces were in designing air campaigns of their own, there simply was no German or Russian equivalent. German air superiority, which was not an end in itself, did not prevent Russia from turning back the German advance into Russia. And when the Russian forces gained air superiority, they did not conduct an air campaign against Germany but instead returned to their preferred application of airpower as flying artillery. The chief benefit of air superiority for Russia was to reduce its losses of airmen, who had been treated as expendable assets exactly like their Red Army brethren.

More recently, air superiority was not an issue in Afghanistan, and it was irrelevant in Chechnya (1994 and 1999), Georgia (2008), and Ukraine (2014-2015). In Syria (2015- ), Russia had it and used it, but airpower still played a supporting role to ground forces — and mostly Syrian and not Russian ground forces at that.

into the same “short war” mentality that bedevilled the German military leaders in 1941 and NATO force planners in 1999 prior to Operation Allied Force during the Kosovo War.

If a major power with an airpower tradition like the United States can fall prey to “short war syndrome,” then it should come as no surprise if the Russian military felt that an air campaign was unnecessary. There does not appear to be a Russian equivalent to Col. Warden’s The Air Campaign: Planning for Combat, which has served as the foundational document for modern air campaign planning for the United States since Operation Desert Storm.

unguided ordnance is the weapon of choice for Russian aviation

There was no Russian air campaign against the Islamic State designed to dismantle the Islamic State as a system, unlike the American effort alongside. Instead, Russia used Syria as a testing ground, delivering aerial artillery at the behest of their incountry command elements. This was completely in line with the Russian preference for delivering fires via massed artillery, and this preference extends into the aerospace forces, where tactical aircraft are often employed as “flying artillery.”

Precision-enabled close air support, as practiced by the United States, NATO, and Australia, is simply not an element of the Russian combat paradigm either.

Ukraine Lessons

In retrospect, it seems pretty clear that the Russian forces did not plan an air campaign, instead falling

Similarly, they have not developed the follow-on tools, processes, or techniques which are routinely used by the United States and NATO for air campaign planning.

In short, the Russian military may have passed over an air campaign plan because it had no air campaign planners — or if it did, then those individuals don’t appear to have been involved in the preparation of the war plan for Ukraine.

The initial strikes against Ukraine on February 24 looked like textbook counter-air operations: target fixed radars, impede command and control, and suppress airfields. Fixed radars were definitely caught, as were S-300P (SA-10A) elements that had long since lost their mobility due to a lack of spares. There is no question that Ukraine lost comprehensive low-altitude coverage of its airspace, and S-300s from Belarus successfully engaged at least one Ukrainian fighter over Kyiv, demonstrating a Russian ability to contest airspace control at higher altitudes from outside Ukraine.

Russian tactical aviation entered play with sunrise: The Ukrainian military claimed to have downed seven Russian aircraft before nightfall on that first day. The Ukrainian forces were not without aircraft losses themselves, losing aircraft to both surface and air threats.

Ukrainian airmen adapted very early to the use of low altitude, where simple earth curvature provided sanctuary from long-range missiles in Belarus and Russia. Interviews with Ukrainian aviators revealed that the MiG-29 pilots tend to fly fast and low, taking advantage of the low-altitude regime to enable lookup shots while capitalising on the inherent difficulty of engaging a fast-moving aircraft in a high clutter (radar and infrared) environment.

This was not a sudden adaptation of necessary tactics. The Ukrainian pilots trained for low-altitude operations where the Russian pilots did not.

Absent a campaign plan, however, the Russian forces still made basic mistakes. While the initial Russian plans might have been superficially correct, they failed to follow through. Airfields are notoriously difficult to suppress, and the Russian military did not commit the weight of metal necessary to do so. Cratering runways must be comprehensive and precise: Runways are easy to repair and the least vulnerable to damage of all airfield components, while the Soviet-era MiG-29 Fulcrum in Ukrainian service was designed to operate from damaged,

The loss of fixed-site radars is expected by professional air defence forces, which always have some plan for remaining in the fight. Most critically, Russian forces did not follow up with an effort intended to use the confusion in the opening round of a fight to make sure that any air defence that had been put down stayed down — they appear to simply have discounted the possibility of Ukrainian resilience.

They did not put a major weight of effort into counter-air sweeps with fixed-wing aircraft to clear the skies of Ukrainian fighters. Another critical failure was the missed opportunity to bag the TB-2 drone control stations while they were in garrison. Those systems scattered after the opening round and are unlikely to be vulnerable again.

Also noteworthy was the assumption that an air assault could be carried through without air supremacy. How the Russian military leadership expected to reinforce the air assault on Hostomel airfield is open to question and may have rested on

gravel-strewn airfields.

Chief of the Russian Air Force, Sergey Dronov.

the expectation that Ukraine would fold early. In any event, at least Russia realised that committing the airborne corps to an airdrop without air superiority was suicidal.

Beneath the Surface

The flaws in the Russian tactical airpower enterprise are not limited to doctrine or planning limits. Russia also lacks depth in its fighter force. Though it has advanced aircraft, the Russian air force might well have been designed as a living advertisement for export sales rather than as a credible air arm.

True, Russia does possess a world-class mix of strategic bombers and cruise missiles, but its tactical aviation fleet lacks the realistic training and precision capabilities of its NATO opponents. It may also lack staying power: Total sortie counts with some 300 tactical aircraft appear to have run from 200 to 300 sorties per day in theatre, far less than comparable with U.S. or NATO air operations.

peacekeeping force is that of joint engagement zones where aircraft from different air forces combine – as is currently the case with eastern DRC and northern Mozambique operations. Running a joint engagement zone is so difficult that neither the United States or NATO attempt it, instead relying on procedural and geographic deconfliction measures to separate a missile engagement zone from a fighter engagement zone.

Russia failed by Western standards of airpower

Even transiting a missile engagement zone with friendly aircraft can be chancy: The Patriot missile system has never downed a hostile air-breathing target, only friendly ones. And while Russia has invested in precision munitions, they have largely been concentrated in cruse and ballistic missiles rather than air-delivered precision munitions: Russian fixed-wing aircraft can deliver precision weapons, but not all of them are so equipped, and unguided ordnance remains the weapon of choice to Russian tactical aviation. It is also possible that risk aversion plays a role, as the number of advanced fighter-bombers in Russian service remains relatively low.

Five days into the invasion, Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute wrote on the surprising inability of the Russian forces to gain air superiority, citing a number of possibilities, including low aircrew experience, a lack of precision munitions and targeting sensors, risk aversion, and lack of confidence in their ability to manage a joint engagement zone as possible inhibitors.

Each of those factors is credible and welldocumented: Russian aviators receive a fraction of the flying hours of most of their NATO counterparts, some 100-120 hours per year according to Russian public figures. This is a salutary lesson for African governments which cannot afford to keep their front-line fighter pilots current.

A further lesson for Africa’s multinational

Another explanation offers itself — unrealistically high expectations by analysts who focus entirely too much on equipment and not enough on the human element, combined with a tendency to mirror-image.

Mere possession of airborne sensors and GPS-aided weapons does not a precision capability grant: Precision targeting of aerial munitions requires an entire enterprise to back it up, from the mindnumbing work of collecting and cataloguing a target library to the actual expertise needed to task the correct aircraft with appropriate munitions and then giving the aircrew sufficient data to detect, identify, and engage the target. But those are tactical considerations.

Also missing is the obvious link between a campaign plan and what the United States calls the master air attack plan. Wasting precision munitions hitting

civilian targets like hospitals, shopping malls, and theatres is merely precision munitions being used in an old-fashioned, Douhetstyle terror bombing campaign — a style of aerial warfare that has never worked.

Next Up?

At this writing, neither side has air superiority, but Russian fixedwing aviation has learned to avoid Ukrainian-defended airspace at any altitude. At low altitude, shoulder-launched missiles remain a lethal threat, which is playing out mostly against helicopters and the Su-25 Frogfoot attack aircraft, on both sides.

At higher altitudes, radar surface to air missile systems still prove effective. The Kh31 Krypton anti-radiation missile — similar to the American AGM-78 Standard used in Vietnam — is simply too slow and is typically launched from too far away to interrupt an engagement sequence, which is characterised by tight emissions control. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian forces have suffered some radar attrition that they attribute to this missile and are thus limiting the amount of time that their radars remain on air. Ukrainian radar batteries are also successfully defending against cruise missiles, with Ukrainian claims for successful engagements exceeding 50 percent. While unverifiable, the fact that numerous videos show cruise missiles being employed singly instead of in dense salvos make the claim credible. The Soviet-era S-300s in Ukrainian service were designed to perform this mission, even against low altitude targets.

The opportunities for airpower employment normally accruing on the side with the initiative have been squandered, and Russia will not get them back. Russian airpower has largely returned to the three areas where the Russian military is

most comfortable: flying artillery support, artillery spotting, and the haphazard employment of longrange weapons against civilian targets against a population that is long since past terror.

Russia failed by Western standards of airpower employment, but it’s not at all clear that Western standards apply. The Russian use of airpower is not an aberration by Russian standards. However, it’s not entirely clear that what Western analysts regard as an abject failure is viewed that same way inside Russia, at least among all of the other, more compelling failures highlighted by the invasion of Ukraine.

It is not reasonable to judge Russian air activities as a failure by Western standards because Russia is not using Western metrics to judge success (a cautionary note also for China). Russian forces have never exhibited the same view of airpower as the other Allied powers in World War II, and thus their use of airpower is largely what we should have expected — if we were looking at Russia and not in a mirror.

Did Russia's overwhelming strength give it a false confidence?

AIRLINK FRANCHISES FLYNAMIBIA

Airlink is acquiring a 40 percent strategic equity holding in privately-owned a Windhoek-based FlyNamibia.

The investment is underpinned by a franchise agreement under which FlyNamibia will adopt Airlink’s “4Z” International Air Transport Association (IATA) designator for its ticket sales and scheduled flights, while retaining its corporate identity, brand and aircraft livery. It will also see FlyNamibia’s inventory attaining higher visibility and being promoted on Airlink’s computerised reservation system and on those of major foreign airlines which have partnered with Airlink.

Namibia is unique

we will be well-placed to achieve the economies of scale to make it economically feasible to connect and serve Namibia’s smaller towns and cities with Windhoek and other regional destinations while also providing convenient and easy access to other markets around the world,” explained Airlink Chief Executive and Managing Director, Rodger Foster.

Airlink will also provide additional airline operations, technical and commercial skills training and development support for FlyNamibia.

“Namibia is unique, not only in its natural, mineral and human wealth, but its relatively small population relative to the size of its territory. With this in mind,

“To realise its full economic potential, Namibia will depend increasingly upon air connectivity to move people and goods between markets. By joining hands with Airlink and becoming part of its global network, we will be even better able to serve foreign and local tourists and businesses. In addition, we will be building capacity, developing aviation skills and creating direct and indirect job opportunities,” said FlyNamibia Managing Director, Andre Compion.

FlyNamibia now has a franchise with Airlink

AAD 2022

– BACK WITH A BANG!

Text and Images - Guy Leitch

AAD has become increasingly military with senior air force delegates much in evidence.

THE LACK OF APPETITE , and probably budget, for the show was evident in the failure of the organisers to sell out the show exhibition space. They reported 70% of the stands sold – and that number may be on the inflated side as the expo seemed far smaller than previous years when all the hangars had been filled with exhibitors. This year there were some eerily empty hangars and show stands where exhibitors just failed to arrive.

Despite the AAD organisers best efforts, the bifurcation between the military side of the show and general aviation has grown even bigger. This year general aviation occupied just a corner of one of the hangars – which was noteworthy for its skeletal emptiness and lack of enthusiasm from the few exhibitors. These exhibitors were parastatals – notably the CAA and the SA Weather Services (SAWS). It was a hopeful sign of the long-awaited independence of the Accident Investigation Division that it had its own stand, however it was still manned by CAA staffers. So true independence for the Accident Investigation Division seems to be illusive.

had a chalet but were focussed mainly on their helicopters – perhaps showing how low the two major manufacturers reckon their chances are of a new airline order from SAA – or any of the other local airlines.

It has become painfully expensive to participate in AAD and most of the chalet operators reported having to spend well above R2.5 million to participate. Worryingly few said that they had achieved value for money.

skeletal emptiness and lack of enthusiasm

The Exhibition

This year the expo was most marked by the absence of key players – most notably Boeing. Airbus

A notable exception was Execujet, who jumped at the opportunity to take over a chalet paid for by the intriguing “Queendom of Sheba” – which had pulled out at the last minute. For those wondering what this exotically named organisation is all about; the Queendom of Sheba is based in the remote Mai Ndombe province in the central DRC. In 2021 a Protocol of Agreement had been signed with the Mai Ndombe Province which led to, “The start of the fourth autonomous Monarchy in Africa and the 45th in the World. The Protocol of Agreement includes a massive development agenda for that Kingdom establishment, its Province and Congo DRC as the start of a continental development agenda in line with the AU 2021 agenda for development over the next 40 years, by the Crown Of Sheba Central Bank, and its international banking alliance.” They appear to be well funded, but it was speculated that the logistics of participating in the AAD show defeated the many Royal Highnesses in the Queendom.

It has been four years since the last African Aerospace and Defence show (AAD), so the public was looking forward to the return of a military show with great anticipation. Much to the SAAF’s credit – the public were not disappointed. But the exhibitors may not have been as happy.

There were no less than nine country exhibitors, of which notable ones were the Sudan and Turkey. India, Russia and Pakistan also staged a large presence. Despite their continued bankruptcy, Denel featured strongly.

The SAAF did themselves proud

The Air Show

Thankfully the weather for the two public days, Saturday and Sunday 24 and 25 September, was perfect for an airshow.

Saturday kicked-off with the now traditional parade of emergency vehicles – which ended with a water canon salute. The emergency services had unfortunately been called into action on the Thursday of the Trade Days when a soldier had been badly injured when he fell from a fast rope demonstration from an Oryx helicopter.

This year’s public got their first taste of jet flying with a solo display by Grant Timms in the Aero Vodochody L-29 he had flown up from Gqeberha (PE). Later, Pierre Gouws displayed the later model Aero Vodochody L-39 – giving the crowd live commentary from the cockpit.

The Americans were thankfully out in force with two huge Boeing C-17s, a Lockheed C130J Hercules, a UH60Pavehawk helicopter and even a Predator drone, which had been flown out in a C-17. The Lockheed C130J and Pavehawk performed a first for South African audiences – a simulated fixed wing to helicopter air to air refuelling.

The SAAF surprised everyone by managing against huge odds to get two Gripens flying.

An unusal national stand was that of Sudan.

Pakistan's stand showed their interest in the African market.

It took a herculean effort to get their maintenance contracts reinstated, the aircraft serviced, flown and signed off. Both the SAAF and SAAB are to be congratulated. The Gripens were flown by test pilots Musa "Midnight" Mbhokota and Blokkies Joubert.

The SAAF’s 85 Combat Flying School in Makhado brought a very impressive four-ship BAE Hawk display team including the Hawk painted in the colours of the South African flag.

a warning to drone operators

The SAAF also managed to field their full five ship Siler Falcons team. Despite having had a minor mid-air collision in practicing the month before, the latest team made the SAAF proud. The SAAF also displayed a four ship C208 Caravan formation called the ‘Pointers’.

The SAAF also wowed the crowd with show stopping pyro technical anti-missile flare displays from the Rooivalk and C130B Hercules. These dramatic flares are a great favourite with the photographers and commentator Brian Emmenis was able to give them excellent forewarning

Happy to be outnumbered, the Zimbabwean Airforce brought a single Karakorum-8 KA8. This jet trainer sported a new paint

The USAF brought large aircraft to AAD.

Boeing's KC-46 Pegasus tanker. The mighty C-17s came from New York.

scheme which made it look somewhat like the sabotaged BAE Hawks it replaced.

The history of the glory days of the SAAF was much in evidence. An ex-SAAF Harvard, no 7111, naturally known as Nelson, flew a smooth aerobatic display. Helicopter action was provided by a BK117 which was flown with verve, showing what this rigid rotor design is capable of.

The SAAF Museum also came to the party with two Allouette IIs and two Allouette IIIs. These helicopters performed an aerial ballet which enthralled the cognoscenti. A SAAF museum Kudu had a door fall off over the suburbs of Pretoria – luckily there were no reported injuries.

The RV Raptors Formation Aerobatic team sets a high standard with their four-ship RV display. There was an assortment of Extra aerobatic displays, notably by Andrew BlackwoodMurray and then the duo of Nigel Hopkins and Jason Beamish.

The big crowd pleaser is the ‘mini-war’ with much explosions, smoke and machine gun fire. The scenario called for a ‘highjacked’ business jet which had been forced to land at Waterkloof. A tactical operation using several multi-disciplinary teams was put through their paces to liberate the jet and capture the hijackers.

More business jet action came from a Bombardier Challenger 350 recently imported into South Africa. Flown by Robbie Rautenbach and Antonie

The USAF UH60 Pavehawk was a welcome new visitor and thrilled with air to air refuelling.

Another novelty was this USAF General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drone.

The SAAF pulled off a miracle to get the Gripen flying.

AIRSHOWS

The mini-war is a great crowd pleaser.

The CAA split their stands into General Aviation and the Accident Division.

Blackhawk CEO Jim Allmon (R) came out from the USA - here with his local representative Cisca de Lange.

Froneman it made a number of low passes and touch and goes to impress the crowd with its smooth performance and sleek lines.

As a warning to the public and drone operators in general, the SAAF made a big thing about showing their anti-drone capability – with state-of-theart detection and ‘shoot down’ equipment.

the glory days of the SAAF

Another remarkable performance came from the formation flying of two of Safair’s aircraft: a Lockheed L100 (the civilian Hercules) and a Boeing 737800, flown by ex SAAF pilots now flying for the fast growing FlySafair low cost carrier airline.

At the opposite end of the size spectrum, Pitts Specials have long been a mainstay of airshows. AAD 2022 again featured two teams - the Goodyear Eagles and the newer Hired Gun Pitts team.

Another stalwart display was provided by the national airshow treasure of Menno Parsons, who brought ‘Mustang Sally’ his pristine P-51 Mustang. The roar of the Rolls Royce Merlin and the whistle of the gun ports is music to any show enthusiast's ears.

General aviation only managed a small corner of one of the remote display hangars.

43 Airshool restricted themselves to a gazebo on the main apron to display their Pipistrel.

Commentary was provided by a massive deployment by the Capital Sounds team.

AAD EXPO 2022

VIGNETTES

Is the SAAF selling advertising space on its jets?

The war against drones is realanti-UAV detection gear in action.

The mysterious Queendom of Sheba's unused stand was taken over by Execujet.

Even on trade days there were queues for food.

The sting in the tail of the USAF Boeing KC-46 Pegasus tanker.

AAD

VIGNETTES

Loadshedding = the roar of generators was a steady background accompaniment.

.... and queues for the toilets - which were spotlessly maintained.

AAD

PHOTO REPORT

PICTURES BY TREVOR COHEN

PHOTO

The SAAF C130B Herc also performed a spectacular flare discharge.

The huge and appreciative crowd on the airshow days - pic Brian Emmenis.

ABOVE: Lt Col Musa “Midnite” Mbhokota was one of just two Gripen pilots. BELOW: The Gripen E flying with 5 Hawks.

ABOVE: The USAF demonstrated fixed wing to heli air to air refuelling. BELOW: The USAF UH60 Pavehawk chopper in action.

PHOTO

ABOVE: Another unique treat for spectators was the Safair L-100 and 737-800 formation. BELOW: The Safair Boeing also got to fly with the Silver Falcons.

ABOVE: The "mini-war" in full swing. BELOW: The show was not just about aviation - but all things military.

PHOTO

ABOVE: Aerial ballet - a Rooivalk dances with the BK117.

BELOW: The Flying Lions Harvards doing their show closing sunset display.

SAAF GRIPENS FLY AGAIN

In a massive joint effort between the SAAF and SAAB two of the SAAF’s Gripen fighters were returned to airworthy status.

The objective was to get the jets flying in time for South Africa’s AAD 2022 exhibition at AFB Waterkloof. After more than a year of wrangling, SAAB a service and maintenance support contract was signed.

The contract is worth more than R532 million

The contract is worth more than R532 million over a three-year period, from 2022 until 2025. It covers service, repairs and maintenance as well as minor updates of the support and training systems for 13 of original 26 Gripens.

South Africa has been operating the Gripen C/D since 2008. Of the original 26 aircraft delivered, one was written off following a ground incident and the remaining 12 will remain in storage.

The SAAF grounded the Gripen in September 2021 due to budget constraints that saw a delay in finalising a new maintenance support contract with SAAB and GKN as the airframe and engine manufacturers. With the maintenance contract finalised, a Gripen flew on 5 September.

It was widely reported in February 2022 that just 25% SAAF aircraft were serviceable.

In August, Armscor announced that all SAAF aircraft maintenance contracts had been resolved, with around 40 contracts in place, including the Gripen and Pilatus PC7 Mk2 fleets, as well as the VIP aircraft fleet.

The Gripen flew in time for AAD 2022.

Where romance meets nature

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Legend Sky083 860 5225 / 086 600 7285 info@legendssky.co.za www.legendsky.co.za

Litson & Associates (Pty) Ltd

OGP, BARS, Resources Auditing & Aviation Training karen.litson@litson.co.za

Phone: 27 (0) 21 8517187 www.litson.co.za

Litson & Associates Risk Management Services (Pty) Ltd. eSMS-S/eTENDER/ eREPORT/Advisory Serviceskaren.litson@litson.co.za

Phone: 27 (0) 8517187 www.litson.co.za

Loutzavia Aircraft Sales

Henry Miles 082 966 0911 henry@loutzavia.co.za www.loutzavia.co.za

Loutzavia Flight Training

Gerhardt Botha 012 567 6775 ops@loutzavia.co.za www.loutzavia.co.za

Loutzavia-Pilots and Planes Maria Loutzis 012 567 6775 maria@loutzavia.co.za www.pilotsnplanes.co.za

Loutzavia Rand Frans Pretorius 011 824 3804 rand@loutzavia.co.za www@loutzavia.co.za

Lowveld Aero Club Pugs Steyn013 741 3636 Flynow@lac.co.za

Marshall EagleLes Lebenon 011 958 1567 les@marshalleagle.co.za www.marshalleagle.co.za

Maverick Air Charters

Chad Clark 083 292 2270 Charters@maverickair.co.za www.maverickair.co.za

MCC Aviation Pty Ltd

Claude Oberholzer 011 701 2332 info@flymcc.co.za www.flymcc.co.za

MH Aviation Services (Pty) Ltd Marc Pienaar 011 609 0123 / 082 940 5437 customerrelations@mhaviation.co.za www.mhaviation.co.za

M and N Acoustic Services cc

Martin de Beer

012 689 2007/8 calservice@mweb.co.za

Metropolitan Aviation (Pty) Ltd

Gert Mouton 082 458 3736 herenbus@gmail.com

Money Aviation Angus Money083 263 2934 angus@moneyaviation.co.za www.moneyaviation.co.za

MS Aviation Gary Templeton 082 563 9639 gary.templeton@msaviation.co.za www.msaviation.co.za

North East Avionics

Keith Robertson +27 13 741 2986 keith@northeastavionics.co.za deborah@northeastavionics.co.za www.northeastavionics.co.za

Orsmond Aviation 058 303 5261 info@orsmondaviation.co.za www.orsmondaviation.co.za

Owenair (Pty) Ltd

Clive Skinner 082 923 9580 clive.skinner@owenair.co.za www.owenwair.co.za

Pacair Wayne Bond 033 386 6027 pacair@telkomsa.net

PFERD-South Africa (Pty) Ltd Hannes Nortman 011 230 4000 hannes.nortman@pferd.co.za www.pferd.com

Pipistrel Kobus Nel 083 231 4296 kobus@pipistrelsa.co.za www.pipistrelsa.co.za

Plane Maintenance Facility Johan 083 300 3619 pmf@myconnection.co.za

Precision Aviation Services Marnix Hulleman 012 543 0371 marnix@pasaviation.co.za www.pasaviation.co.za

PSG Aviation Reon Wiese 0861 284 284 reon.wiese@psg.co.za www.psg aviation.co.za

Rainbow SkyReach (Pty) LtdMike Gill 011 817 2298 Mike@fly-skyreach.com www.fly-skyreach.com

Rand Airport Stuart Coetzee 011 827 8884 stuart@randairport.co.za www.randairport.co.za

Robin Coss Aviation Robin Coss 021 934 7498 info@cossaviation.com www.cossaviation.co.za

SAA Technical (SOC) Ltd SAAT Marketing 011 978 9993 satmarketing@flysaa.com www.flysaa.com/technical

SABRE Aircraft Richard Stubbs 083 655 0355 richardstubbs@mweb.co.za www.aircraftafrica.co.za

SA Mooney Patrick Hanly082 565 8864 samooney@border.co.za www.samooney.co.za

Savannah Helicopters De 082Jager 444 1138 / 044 873 3288 dejager@savannahhelicopters.co.za www.savannahhelicopters.co.za

Scenic Air Christa van Wyk+264 612 492 68 windhoek@scenic-air.com www.scenic-air.com

Sheltam Aviation Durban Susan Ryan083 505 4882 susanryan@sheltam.com www.sheltamaviation.com

Sheltam Aviation PE Brendan Booker 082 497 6565 brendanb@sheltam.com www.sheltamaviation.com

Sky-Tech Heinz Van Staden 082 720 5210 sky-tech@telkomsa.net

www.sky-tech.za.com

Sling AircraftKim Bell-Cross 011 948 9898 sales@airplanefactory.co.za www.airplanefactory.co.za

Solenta Aviation (Pty Ltd)Paul Hurst 011 707 4000 info@solenta.com www.solenta.com

Southern Energy Company (Pty) LtdElke Bertram +264 8114 29958 johnnym@sec.com.na www.sec.com.na

Southern Rotorcraft cc Mr Reg DenysschenTel no: 0219350980 sasales@rotors-r-us.com www.rotors-r-us.com

Sport Plane BuildersPierre Van Der Walt 083 361 3181 pmvdwalt@mweb.co.za

Starlite Aero Sales Klara Fouché +27 83 324 8530 / +27 31 571 6600 klaraf@starliteaviation.com www.starliteaviation.com

Starlite Aviation OperationsTrisha Andhee +27 82 660 3018/ +27 31 571 6600 trishaa@starliteaviation.com www.starliteaviation.com

Starlite Aviation Training Academy

Durban: +27 31 571 6600 Mossel Bay: +27 44 692 0006 train@starliteaviation.com www.starliteaviation.com

Status Aviation (Pty) LtdRichard Donian 074 587 5978 / 086 673 5266 info@statusaviation.co.za www.statusaviation.co.za

Superior Pilot Services Liana Jansen van 0118050605/2247Rensburg info@superiorair.co.za www.superiorair.co.za

The Copter ShopBill Olmsted 082 454 8555 execheli@iafrica.com www.execheli.wixsite.com/the-coptershop-sa

Titan Helicopter Group 044 878 0453 info@titanhelicopters.com www.titanhelicopters.com

TPSC Dennis Byrne 011 701 3210 turboprop@wol.co.za

Trio Helicopters & Aviation cc CR Botha or FJ Grobbelaar 011 659 1022 stoffel@trioavi.co.za/frans@trioavi.co.za www.trioavi.co.za

Tshukudu Trailers Pieter Visser 083 512 2342 deb@tshukudutrailers.co.za www.tshukudutrailers.co.za

U Fly Training AcademyNikola Puhaca 011 824 0680 ufly@telkomsa.net www.uflyacademy.co.za

United Charter cc Jonathan Wolpe 083 270 8886 jonathan.wolpe@unitedcharter.co.za www.unitedcharter.co.za

United Flight SupportClinton Moodley/Jonathan Wolpe076 813 7754 / 011 788 0813 ops@unitedflightsupported.com www.unitedflightsupport.com

Unique Air Charter Nico Pienaar 082 444 7994 nico@uniqueair.co.za www.uniqueair.co.za

Unique Flight Academy Nico Pienaar 082 444 7994 nico@uniqueair.co.za www.uniqueair.co.za

Van Zyl Aviation Services Colette van Zyl012 997 6714 admin@vanzylaviationco.za www.vanzylaviation.co.za

Vector AerospaceJeff Poirier +902 888 1808 jeff.poirier@vectoraerospace.com www.vectoraerospace.com

Velocity Aviation Collin Pearson 011 659 2306 / 011 659 2334 collin@velocityaviation.co.za www.velocityaviation.co.za

Villa San Giovanni Luca Maiorana 012 111 8888 info@vsg.co.za www.vsg.co.za

Vortx Aviation Bredell Roux 072 480 0359 info@vortx.co.za www.vortxaviation.com

Wanafly Adrian Barry082 493 9101 adrian@wanafly.net www.wanafly.co.za

Windhoek Flight Training Centre Thinus Dreyer0026 40 811284 180 pilots@flywftc.com www.flywftc.com

Wings n Things Wendy Thatcher 011 701 3209 wendy@wingsnthings.co.za www.wingsnthings.co.za

Witbank Flight SchoolAndre De Villiers 083 604 1718 andredv@lantic.net www.waaflyingclub.co.za

Wonderboom Airport Peet van Rensburg012 567 1188/9 peet@wonderboomairport.co.za www.wonderboomairport.co.za

Zandspruit Bush & Aero Estate Martin Den Dunnen 082 449 8895 martin@zandspruit.co.za www.zandspruit.co.za

Zebula Golf Estate & SPA Reservations 014 734 7700 reception@zebula.co.za www.zebula.co.za