Good day all

October has started very badly for general aviation in South Africa with three fatal accidents in the first few days of the month claiming the lives of five people, Please people be safe out there.

Stellenbosch Flying Club will be hosting a Breakfast Fly-in on Saturday 13 October this will be coupled with a Vintage Wheels exhibition and a beer tasting for those who are not flying out again.

A Breakfast Buffet will be available from 9:00 at R95 per person and there will be live music from 10:00. A spot landing competition has also been organised with prizes up for grabs.

Irene Radio Flyers will be very active this Saturday with the annual “Warbirds and vintage planes over Irene” It will be a full day of flying starting off at 8am and ending at 5pm. Some of these RC aircraft are exact replicas of the real thing and its really entertaining watching them fly.

FAA Announce LSA Weight Limit Increasing To 3600 Pounds

A high-ranking FAA source has confirmed that the FAA plans to almost triple the maximum weight for most light sport aircraft to 3600 pounds in rulemaking that will be introduced in January. The source confirmed the scant details of a Facebook post written by AOPA Senior VP of Media and Outreach Tom Haines from the AOPA Regional Fly-In at Carbondale, Illinois. “Great news out of AOPA: your freedom to fly Fly-in at Carbondale,” Haines wrote. “In January the FAA will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking increasing max weight for a light sport airplane from 1320 lbs to 3600 lbs. And ADS-B rebate will be back again in a few days. More to come.” The FAA source declined to elaborate on details of the proposed rulemaking but suggested more information will be forthcoming "soon."

EAA Chairman Jack Pelton announced at AirVenture in July the FAA was planning a weight increase for the class of aircraft, which is now set at 1320 pounds for wheeled aircraft and 1430 pounds for seaplanes. Some designs, like the Icon A5, have been granted weight exemptions to accommodate safety features and equipment. The new limit will capture a wide range of aircraft that now require a minimum of a private pilot certificate to fly. What’s not clear is precisely how the rulemaking will alter performance limits, passenger loads and weather requirements for LSA operations. AOPA reported Pelton told the Carbondale event that the new rule "will allow you to fly in a C 172, have four seats in the airplane, and fly 150 MPH.” He also said there were plans to allow professional builders to assemble homebuilts.

Later on Sunday, AOPA President Mark Baker issued a formal statement in response to numerous inquiries about the news. "Over the past two years, AOPA has been working with the FAA, ASTM International Light-Sport committee and other general aviation organizations to improve and advance light-sport aircraft, including increasing the weight limit and incorporate new technologies like electric propulsion. The FAA has indicated it is on track to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in early 2019 which will include many of the suggestions for improvement," the statement said. "The rule will be a major step in making new, innovative aircraft accessible to pilots, by removing prescriptive barriers that are limiting aircraft designers, the flight training industry, and the strength of the pilot population.”

This could have a significant “knock-on” effect is South Africa , hopefully the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) will take their que from the FAA, and make the world of flying more financially accessible to people who are currently excluded due to the high cost of training for a PPL.

Cape Town International Airport named Africa's leading airport

Cape Town International Airport was named Africa's Leading Airport for the second consecutive year at the 25th World Travel Awards Africa & Indian Ocean Gala Ceremony held at the Durban International Convention Centre.

The gala awards ceremony was attended by senior executives from major travel companies, operators and destinations. Representatives of CTIA, Yolisa Mlawuti, key Account manager and Razack Rawoot, senior manager: finance was in Durban to receive the award on behalf of the airport.

“Cape Town International Airport is honoured to once again receive this very important accolade. Being named Africa’s Leading Airport for the second year is extremely gratifying and reinforces the hard work and commitment to excellence demonstrated at this airport in the past 12 months,” said Deidre Davids, Cape Town International Airport senior manager: corporate affairs.

Recognised across the globe as the ultimate independently assessed travel accolade, the World Travel Awards are voted for by travel and tourism professionals and consumers worldwide. The awards serve to recognise, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the global travel and tourism industry.

Airports Company South Africa is delighted to be named among the travel sector’s top performers of 2018, with both O.R Tambo International and Cape Town International airports also being nominated for the World’s Leading Airport 2018, which will be announced at the World Travel Awards Grand Final Gala Ceremony on 1 December 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Cape Town remains a firm destination of choice for global travellers and over the past few years, Cape Town International Airport has shown sustained growth in passenger numbers with a 5.3% increase year-on-year in 2017. Growth in international passengers has been in double digits for the past few years. The airport exceeded the 10 million passenger-per-year milestone for the first time in December 2016, which repeated again in December 2017 when passenger numbers significantly exceeded this mark.

Through partnerships such as Western Cape Air Access, the airport has seen 13 new routes and 18 route expansions since 2015. October marks the start of the peak season where its seasonal carriers start up their summer schedules. Cape Town International has already welcomed Edelweiss which connects the city to Zurich, Condor which connects the city to Frankfurt and Lufthansa with its Munich-to-Cape Town frequencies in operation.

AAD 2018 aerospace and defence exhibition reports attendance figures

Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) reported on Wednesday that its Tenth edition received 32 538 trade visitors.

AAD 2018 had 415 exhibitors from 40 countries. There were 15 country pavilions and 40 hospitality chalets, and 128 aircraft were on static display. The show received 71 official delegations. Visitors came from 102 countries and 287 members of the media attended.

The two public days (Airshow days) together attracted 55 000 visitors.

The lead partner for AAD 2018 was the Commercial Aviation Association of Southern Africa (CAASA). The management of AAD is a partnership between CAASA, the South African Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Industries Association (AMD), national defence acquisition (and disposals) agency Armscor, and the Department of Defence. (The lead partner for AAD 2020 will be AMD.)

“AAD lives by the mandate of showcasing high technologies for the benefit of South Africa, its neighbours and the world at large and so we wish to thank all our exhibitors and sponsors for their contribution to another successful edition,” highlighted CAASA CEO Leon Dillman. “We look forward to welcoming them all back in 2020 on 16 to 20 September.”

The theme for AAD 2018 was “Unlocking Africa’s Aerospace and Defence Potential”. It was the first edition of AAD to be opened by the country’s Head of State and Government, President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The previous edition of the exhibition, AAD 2016, received 33 862 trade visitors and 56 924 visitors on the public days. It was attended by 532 exhibitors from 34 countries. AAD 2016 had 13 country pavilions and also had 40 hospitality chalets, with 86 aircraft on static display. It received 75 official delegations. Visitors came from 105 countries.