Good day all

I’d like to start by thanking all our loyal readers for your ongoing support, we reached 50 000 views in October, every month this year we have increased in readership and it’s all due to your support

We in for a busy weekend this weekend with events all over South Africa so there is no excuse for sitting around wondering what to do.

Potties Vliegklub will be hosting their annual MISASA Bosveld Fly-in over the weekend.

For those in KZN, Volksrust Airfield Club will be hosting a Breakfast Run (Free breakfast to all pilots and passengers) coupled with a Hangar dance. To RSVP Whatsapp Robert 082 907 4917

Stellenbosh Airfield will be the home of the first Qualifying Rally for the National Team briefing will be at 9:00 at the clubhouse.

The SAAF Museum will be holding their monthly Flying Training day on Saturday 3 November, please support the amazing work done by our SAAFM staff in keeping these magnificent machines in the air where they belong.

SAPFA’s new points system for selection of National Team

South Africa will be hosting the 2020 World Rally Flying Championship in Stellenbosch and we would like to have a South African Team win the World Championships. Therefore we have a point system that will allow all pilots to qualify for the teams, we are in discussion about possibly having 2 teams - A and a B team each of 5 crews to compete.

Frank and Cally Eckard have been appointed as the international Route Planners

Mary de Klerk and Collin Jordaan have been appointed and Competition Directors

Jonty Esser (Official Team Coach)

Sandi Goddard (Assistant Coach)

Stellenbosch Airfield has been the approved venue for the 2020 championships

Jonty Esser with the help of Sandi Goddard and Mary de Klerk have developed a points system to gauge the eligibility for the teams.

Pilots and Navigators will be scored individually on the Fun Rallies but will have to compete as the intended team at the National Events.

All competitions from this weekend comings competitions will be considered as training for the worlds, if you would like to be in the team you will need to accumulate 800 points over the events in from now until March 2019.

Comair in new aerotech joint venture

Private SA airline Comair and IT company Infinea have entered into a joint venture to launch a new SA aerotech company called Nacelle.

Comair operates under its low-fare airline brand, Kulula.com as well as under the British Airways livery, as part of a license agreement.

The new company will provide digital solutions aimed at delivering a seamless passenger experience. According to Amanda Mocellin, CEO of Nacelle, a competitive market is forcing players to compete with ever more innovative and cost-effective ways of attracting and maintaining a customer base. She said the need for new and creative adjacent revenue streams are becoming a priority for many airlines, airports and property organisations.

“Passengers have changed, and they are demanding a seamless experience. Industry trends and customer demands usually end up on the plate of the in-house technology department, who are further constrained by decreasing budgets, more stringent regulatory and governance requirements and dwindling resources,” she said.

Erik Venter, CEO of Comair, added that: “like most industries, technology plays a pivotal role in our business. That’s why we’ve decided to spin off our IT budget and team into a separate entity that will provide a variety of IT related services, which will include the commercialisation of our intellectual property".

Fred Baumhardt, CEO of Infinea, said Nacelle is forging partnerships with property and airside management providers, parking companies, and aviation technology specialists with a view of bringing into Africa leading inexpensive aviation platforms and solutions and supporting them locally, whilst empowering local engineers with global skillsets.

"Comair holds itself to highest standards of performance and won’t compromise on safety. The delays are a result of problems with the scheduling of maintenance and challenges with logistics at SAA Technical, which maintains the aircraft of Comair’s two airline brands, and those of other local airlines," stated Venter. "We are actively working with our internal and external stakeholders to address the underlying causes of the delays."

As far as possible, Comair has moved all major maintenance requirements overseas. Comair has also, with Lufthansa Technik (LHT), initiated registration of an Approved Maintenance Organisation (AMO), with the objective of moving Comair’s new aircraft deliveries directly to LHT AMO as they arrive in SA.

Investigators focus on the 737 Max 8 after Lion Air tragedy

Officials in Indonesia, where a low hour Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed into the sea on Monday, killing all 189 on board, ordered on Tuesday that all Max 8 aircraft in the country operated by commercial airlines must be inspected. It was not clear if the aircraft are grounded pending the inspections, or precisely what the inspectors would be checking. A government official told CNN that Lion Air has 11 of the models in its fleet and national carrier Garuda Indonesia has one. The airplane that crashed had been worked on the day before, after the crew snagged the aircraft due to “unreliable” airspeed readings. The crew also reported the altitude readings differed on the captain’s and first officer's instruments. Engineers checked and repaired the issue, and cleared the aircraft to return to service, Lion Air CEO Edward Sirait told local media.

The search for the crashed Lion Air plane has found aircraft debris and passenger belongings on the seafloor. Search and Rescue Agency chief Muhammad Syaugi said the seafloor findings give the search team confidence they will find the fuselage of the aircraft. The location of the airplane's "black box" flight data recorder has been identified, he said, but strong currents prevented it from being recovered. Lion Air director Daniel Putut told reporters his staff would meet with a Boeing team soon. “We have many questions for them,” he said. “This was a new plane.” The airline had acquired the airplane just two months ago, and it had logged 800 hours. Boeing released a statement on Monday stating they are “deeply saddened by the loss of Lion Air Flight JT 610,” and will provide technical assistance “at the request and under the direction of government authorities investigating the accident.” The accident investigation will be conducted by the National Transportation Safety Committee of Indonesia.

Etihad Airways celebrates 15 years of flying!

Etihad Airways is celebrating fifteen years since its first flight and its subsequent rise as one of the world’s leading airlines. The major milestone is being marked with a series of events and initiatives in Abu Dhabi and around the world, beginning with the unveiling of an exclusive collaboration with iconic New York fashion designer, Diane von Furstenberg.

Etihad one of the youngest and most innovative global airline brands

Exclusive Formula 1 collaboration with designer Diane von Furstenberg launches series of 15-year celebratory events

Etihad Airways commenced flying on 5 November 2003, with a single Airbus A330-200 aircraft, which performed a symbolic flight to the emirate of Abu Dhabi’s historic city of Al Ain. Regular commercial flights were launched on 12 November of the same year from Abu Dhabi to the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

The UAE national airline now operates a next-generation fleet of over 110 modern Boeing and Airbus aircraft, flying to 84 passenger and cargo destinations. Over the span of 15 years, Etihad Airways has operated over 840,000 passenger flights and has carried 139 million guests globally, served by a dedicated workforce of over 22,000 talented individuals hailing from over 150 countries.

Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “We are tremendously proud of Etihad’s achievements in just fifteen years. In this short time, we have emerged as one of the world’s most respected and recognised airline brands, known for leading the way through innovation, and upholding the best aspects of Arabian hospitality, delivered to millions of customers with a style and flair synonymous with the national airline of the United Arab Emirates. We can look to the future with renewed vigour and vitality, as the airline of choices, showcasing Abu Dhabi everywhere we fly.

“We express sincere thanks to our customers, our corporate and travel trade partners here in Abu Dhabi and around the world, and our people for their invaluable loyalty and support.”

To mark the occasion, Diane von Furstenberg has worked with Etihad Airways to design limited edition cabin crew scarves and ties, which were introduced at a star-studded event at the spectacular Louvre Abu Dhabi. The stylish new accessories will be worn by the airline’s cabin crew throughout the month of November to celebrate its 15-year anniversary and its 10-year partnership with the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

There are three distinguished patterns for the various cabin crew positions on board, chosen to match the airline’s colour pallet: bold yellow for cabin managers, purple for cabin crew and white for Food and Beverage Managers.

Diane Von Furstenberg, the designer, said: “Formula 1 is such an elegant event and I was thrilled to collaborate with Etihad Airways on this exciting project. The geometric pattern was inspired by the Yas Marina Circuit and there are so many layers of meaning to the colours. Purple is the colour of royalty and the orange is inspired by the beautiful hues of the desert sand at sunset. I hope the cabin crew feels very proud to wear the scarves and ties. They reflect everything Etihad is about – elegance and style.”

The event at Louvre Abu Dhabi was jointly hosted by Etihad Airways, IMG supermodel Joan Smalls, who unveiled the new scarves via a model diary video, and actress Liv Tyler, and attended by some of the UAE’s most influential figures including global fashion and lifestyle media.