MIDWEEK UPDATE 25 MARCH 2020     CORONA VIRUS AND AVIATION EVENTS In line with advice from public health organisations and government legislation that prohibits all events with more than 100 people, aviation events advertised on Pilot's Post will most likely be cancelled or postponed. Those planning to attend or participate in any of these events are advised to contact the event organisers direct for confirmation.  There are no events planned. We will keep our readers informed of any changes to the calendar.    31 March - 5 April: Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo. Lakeland, Florida, USA Website: www.flysnf.org Postponed due to COVID 19. New date 5 to 10 May 2020. 1: EAA Chapter 322 Monthly Meeting. Dickie Fritz Moth Hall, Edenvale 1 to 4: AERO Friedrichshafen, Germany Global show for General Aviation. Contact Stephan E-mail: Stephanie.keller@messe-fn.de www.AERO-EXPO.com Postponed due to COVID 19. New date 14 to 17 April 2021. 2 to 4: SAPFA Rally Nationals and Fun Rally at Stellenbosch airfield. Contact Frank Eckard E-mail: frank.eckard@mweb.co.za Cell: 083 269 1516 Postponed due to COVID 19. Rescheduled to be held at Brits Airfield 23 - 25 July 2020 4: Robertson annual fly-in breakfast. Contact Alwyn du Plessis E-mail: boeredata@breede.co.za Cell: 083 270 5888 Postponed due to COVID 19. 4: Wings and Wheels Airshow Festival at Uitenhage airfield. Contact Lourens Kruger E-mail: lmk@telkomsa.net Cell: 082 320 2615 Postponed due to COVID 19. 4: SAAF Museum AFB Zwartkop Open and practice day 5: Groblersdal Flying Club fly-in at Groblersdal airfield. Contact Richard Nicholson E-mail: flybenchmark@gmail.com Cell: 082 490 622 Due to COVID 19 this event will be limited to a fly-in only on the Saturday only. 25: Garden Route Airshow at George Airport. Contact Brett Scheuble E-mail: info@gardenrouteairshow.co.za Cell: 084 418 3836 Postponed due to COVID 19. New date 26 September 2020.   1 to 3: Aero Club Air Week at Middelburg airfield. Contact Rob Jonkers E-mail: rob@aerosud.co.za Cell: 082 804 7032 Postponed due to the COVID 19 to a date to be advised. 1 to 3: EAA National Convention at Middelburg airfield. Contact Sean Cronin E-mail: sean@glutek.co.za Cell: 083 447 9895 Postponed due to the COVID 19 to a date to be advised. 1: SAPFA Middelburg Speed Rally Middelburg airfield. Contact Jonty Esser E-mail: jonty@promptroofing.co.za Cell: 082 855 9435 Postponed due to COVID 19. Rescheduled to 21 and 22 August. 2: SAAF Museum AFB Zwartkop Open and practice day 1 to 3: MISASA and SAGPA North meets South at Gariep Dam. Contact Donald Hicks Cell: 083 626 3180 E-mail: wendonair@gmail.com Postponed due to COVID 19 - new date to be confirmed. 5 to 10: Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo. Lakeland, Florida, USA. Website: www.flysnf.org New date 5 to 10 May 2020. 6: EAA Chapter 322 Monthly Meeting. Dickie Fritz Moth Hall, Edenvale 8 to 10: 20th Battlefields fly-in to Dundee KZN Contact Dave O'Halloran E-mail: gm@battlefieldslodge.co.za Cell: 079 496 5286 9: SAAF Museum Airshow at AFB Zwartkops. Contact Mark Kelbrick Cell 082 413 7577 E-mail: markkelbrick@yahoo.com Postponed due to COVID 19 new date to be confirmed. 16: The Coves annual fly-in closed event by invitation only. Contact JP Fourie E-mail: jp.fourie@nac.co.za Cell: 083 625 4804 Provisionally cancelled due to COVID 19. A new date may be set. 12 to 15: NAMPO Harvest Day at NAMPO Part outside Bothaville. Contact Bennie Zaayman, Wim Venter: E-mail: Wim@grainsa.co.za Cell 082 414 8099 Due to the COVID 19 this event has been re-scheduled for 11 to 14 August 2020 23: EAA AGM at the EAA Auditorium Rand Airport. Contact Sean Cronin E-mail: sean@glutek.co.za Cell: 083 447 9895 23 to 24: SAC Eastern Cape Regionals Wings Park, East London. Contact Annie Boon E-mail: chunge@mweb.co.za 22 to 24: SAPFA President's Trophy Air Race at Ermelo airfield. Contact Rob Jonkers E-mail: chairman@sapfa.co.za Due to the COVID 19 this event has been cancelled but will be reviewed later in the year. 30: Botswana International Airshow at Matsieng Flying Club. Contact E-mail: hentie@dwddrilling.com Cell: +267 713 10935 Provisionally cancelled due to COVID 19. A new date may be set. 31: Fly-Mo fund raising breakfast fly-in at Springs airfield. Contact Fanie Bezuidenhout E-mail: ansan@tiscali.co.za Cell: 083 789 5507   3: EAA Chapter 322 Monthly Meeting. Dickie Fritz Moth Hall, Edenvale 5 and 6: Newcastle Airshow. Contact Johan Pieters E-mail: Johan@champ.co.za Cell: 082 923 0078 3 to 7: Zim Navex Prince Charles Airport, Harare. Contact Marion Kalweit E-mail: zimairrally@gmail.com Tel +26 377 257 0009 6: SAAF Museum AFB Zwartkop Open and practice day 13: Maputo Air Land and Sea Airshow. Contact Gavin Neil E-mail: airshow@acm.co.mz 13: SAPFA Silver Queen Air Rally AFB Zwartkop. Contact Rob Jonkers E-mail: rob@aerosud.co.za Cell: 082 804 7032 15 to 19: SAC National Championships New Tempe - Bloemfontein. Contact Annie Boon E-mail: chunge@mweb.co.za 20: SAC full day Airshow New Tempe - Bloemfontein. Contact Conrad Botha E-mail: rowco24cc@mailbox.co.za Cell: 082 465 4045   23-25 Brits Rally Nationals 23 - 25 July 2020. Contact Frank Eckard E-mail: frank.eckard@mweb.co.za Cell: 083 269 1516   21-22: Bethlehem Speed Rally 21 - 22 August 2020 - replaces FAKR ANR. Contact Jonty Esser E-mail: jonty@promptroofing.co.za Cell: 082 855 9435      It has been a few months since the last communique, and much has happened in the interim, especially the year 2020 which has had such a run up of expectations worldwide from many aspects, a new shiny decade, the connotation of Vision 2020 had many countries latching onto their growth and prosperity prospects. For the Aero Club and the SAAF their Centenary years having come to naught in celebratory terms, as right after New Year's the Australian bush fires waged, war footing with Iran escalating and now the Covid 19 virus pandemic taking hold globally to apocalyptic proportions in economic terms. The world would probably not return to normality for years to come. This has affected all our planned recreational and centenary events, most in the next two months and future uncertainty beyond June also at risk. As some have said, can we rewind this virus infected 2020 edition to a working 2019 edition.... or do we hold out for Edition 2021 with a fresh perspective? In the interim, life has had to move on at the Aero Club. Our AGM was successfully held on the 17th March, right at the start of restrictions and curfews, where we deployed Skype technology to help us hold meetings partially virtual and partially physical which turned out to work extremely well with good quality connections. A new Executive / Board was voted in, with Chairman now being Rob Jonkers (previously Vice Chair), Vice Chairman Marthinus Potgieter and Hon. Treasurer John Gaillard. Outgoing Chair Paul Lastrucci and Treasurer Hanke Fourie were thanked for their long-term invaluable service to the Aero Club and Recreational Aviation. The new Exco together with the Council will now continue with the work of supporting our aims and charter to uphold recreational aviation and continue to work closely with the regulator to ensure we secure fair regulations in which we all can enjoy our aviation passion. In particular Part 24, 115, 149 amongst others are being looked at, and of course the current difficulties on the renewals process, turnaround times, documentation standards. These may be trying times, spare a moment when you can to renew your membership if not yet done so, we need the funds to support our recreational aviation freedom. https://aeroclub.blueboxonline.com/? The EAA has initiated a support proposal to the JOC and the CAA for Covid-19 related matters, that where we have amongst our members many light aircraft available that can transport medical supplies around the country to our many airfields some being bush strips that can support our types of aircraft as needed. Should you wish to offer yourself and aircraft for possible missions, please contact Karl Jensen on 082 331 4652 in a WhatsApp giving your name and aircraft type and home base, who will be part of an operations centre to coordinate activities should it be deemed useful for us to support with such a proposal. There would be a plan of some cost reimbursement that would form part of the proposal.   Denel Aerostructures is in the process of appointing an Auctioneering Service Provider to manage the asset disposal process. It is anticipated that the Auctioneering Service Provider will have been appointed by the first half of March 2020 to begin with the disposal process. Advice is hereby issued to potentially interested buyers of the Manufacturing Assets to be on the lookout for the Assets Disposal Tender expected to be issued during the first half of March 2020. All enquiries will be noted and made available to the service provider upon appointment.   Repairs will continue to be available for the non-WAAS 400/500 series 28v units with 16W COM Transmitter and all 14/28v non- WAAS 400/500-series units. These units will not be able to be eligible for the WAAS upgrade after May 29, 2020, but repairs will continue to be available after this date. To book your upgrade before this date, please contact us on sales@aeronautical.co.za   The new helicopters will be customized to the Botswana Police Service specifications and include state of the art Trakka Systems day/night cameras and searchlights, navigation and communication equipment, cargo slinging and Light Emergency Medical Systems. The Botswana Police Air Support selected the Enstrom 480B following a lengthy and detailed tender and acquisition process. The 480B safety, power and value with light agility at the controls, combined with low maintenance, reliability and operating costs, so as to ensure consistent, cost effective and uninterrupted aerial support are the main factors for the selection of the Enstrom 480B. The helicopters robust design is built from the skids up for safety and its unprecedented visibility and cabin space gives the Enstrom's diversity to perform multiple operations with a helmet interface. The versatility and flexibility of the helicopter configuration allows it to transform from a three-person crew to a 5-person crew in minutes.     "We are delighted to add NAC as a new distributor," said Daniel Lafrance, vice president and general manager for Professional Aviation Associates. "NAC is a well-established company that has been serving a broad range of general aviation customers since 1946. They have an excellent reputation for customer service, and we are excited to work with them to better support the needs of our Beechcraft 1900, Embraer 120 and King Air customers in Africa." "We are honoured that the leadership team at Professional Aviation Associates recognizes our strengths and has appointed us to represent them in Africa," said JP Fourie, Executive Director : Aircraft Division for NAC. "We are convinced of their superior abilities and service and we look forward to working closely with Professional Aviation Associates to achieve their success in our region." NAC will distribute Professional Aviation's inventory items from its facility at Lanseria International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa.   The Ministry of Defence was looking for a new, highly efficient training platform to provide advanced training for Spain's future military pilots tasked with protecting future generations. After a long and extremely professional evaluation, Pilatus beat several prestigious competitors to win the tender with the PC-21. The contract, which is worth over 200 million euros, was signed yesterday evening with the Spanish Dirección General de Armamento y Material (DGAM). Comprising an integrated training system. The order includes simulators developed and produced by Pilatus, spare parts and logistics support in addition to the PC-21 aircraft. The PC-21 will provide Spain with the most advanced training system currently on offer and will also deliver a cost-effective, ecologically viable training platform. Experience with existing PC-21 customers has shown that the cost of training for a military pilot can be reduced by over 50 percent with the PC-21. These single-engine turboprop aircraft require much less fuel than any comparable jet trainer.   The significant increase in revenues in all business sectors, driven by the success achieved in terms of sales, was accompanied by an increase in operating profit capable of also offsetting the lower contribution given by certain strategic joint ventures. The sustainability of this growth over the long term and the creation of value for the group are guaranteed by the investments made in people, skills and innovative technologies. The net result for the period, showing a considerable increase compared to the previous year, benefitted from sharp growth in the net result before extraordinary transactions, lower restructuring costs and a reduction in the amortisation and depreciation of assets arising from the Purchase Price Allocation, as well as from the effects arising from the transaction with Hitachi, classified under the result from "discontinued operations". New orders, amounted to EUR 14,105 million. The orders gained in 2018 included the acquisition of the NH90 Qatar order for about € 3 bn in the segment of helicopters; while excluding this event, the performance improved in all business sectors. Order backlog amounted to EUR 36,513 million, ensures a coverage in terms of equivalent production equal to more than 2.5 years.   Additionally, the Cessna Citation Latitude remained the most-delivered midsize business jet for the fourth consecutive year. The data from GAMA arrives as the global Cessna Citation jet fleet recently surpassed 40 million flight hours. The jet line-up is recognized as the most popular series of business aircraft ever produced, with more than 7,700 delivered to customers and operators worldwide. In 2019, Textron Aviation delivered 206 Citation business jets - nearly 60 more than the nearest competitor, according to the GAMA report. Citations joining the worldwide fleet last year include the super-midsize Cessna Citation Longitude, with 13 deliveries since its September 2019 certification. For the fourth consecutive year, the Citation Latitude topped GAMA's list as the most delivered midsize business jet with 58 aircraft delivered in 2019. The popular midsize jet entered the market in 2015 and quickly established itself as the Citation with the highest average daily utilization. For operators, the Latitude delivers an unmatched combination of best-in-class short-field performance with extended maintenance intervals and lower operating costs. Passengers benefit from the most refined cabin in the midsize class, offering a six-foot stand-up flat-floor cabin, added legroom and class-leading baggage weight capacity.   Ansat helicopters equipped with the Emergency Floatation System will be capable of flights at a considerable distance from the coast, as well as of participation in search and rescue operations. The installation of the Emergency Floatation System will be optional, at a customer's request.    USA, southwest of Salt Lake City: A Southwest Boeing 737-700, was enroute at FL390 about 130nm southwest of Salt Lake City over terrain rising up to above 3000 meters/10.000 feet MSL when the crew initiated a rapid descent to FL220 due to unstable cabin pressure. The cabin pressure stabilized at FL220 and the passenger oxygen masks had not deployed, so that the crew continued the flight to Boise where they landed safely. An inspection by the FAA revealed a 12inch/30cm long crack in the crown skin of the aircraft in an area. Canada, Montreal: An Air Canada Rouge Boeing 767-300 with 73 people on board was climbing out of Montreal, for a flight to Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe when the noticed vibrations on one of their engines. The tower also advised the crew of flames out of the left-hand engine. The crew declared an emergency, stopped the climb at 2500 feet and returned to Montreal for a safe landing on runway 06R about 22 minutes after departure.    After considerable study, the RCAF selected a dramatically more powerful design and serious development began in March 1955. The aircraft was intended to be built directly from the production line, skipping the traditional hand-built prototype phase. The first Arrow Mk. I, RL-201 was rolled out to the public on 4 October 1957, the same day as the launch of Sputnik I. Flight testing began with RL-201 on 25 March 1958 and the design quickly demonstrated excellent handling and overall performance, reaching Mach 1.9 in level flight. Powered by the Pratt & Whitney J75, another three Mk. 1s were completed:- RL-202, RL-203 and RL-204. The lighter and more powerful Orenda Iroquois engine was soon ready for testing and the first Mk.II with the Iroquois, RL-206, was ready for taxi testing in preparation for flight and acceptance tests by RCAF pilots by early 1959. On 20 February 1959, Prime Minister of Canada John Diefenbaker abruptly halted the development of the Arrow (and its Iroquois engines) before the scheduled project review to evaluate the program could be held. Canada tried to sell the Arrow to the US and Britain, but no agreements were concluded. Two months later, the assembly line, tooling, plans and existing airframes and engines were ordered to be destroyed. The cancellation was the topic of considerable political controversy at the time and the subsequent destruction of the aircraft in production remains a topic for debate among historians and industry pundits. "This action effectively put Avro out of business and its highly skilled engineering and production personnel scattered.   |
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