GA-8 A success Story. The Airvan GLOBAL. Yak-130. Flying solo Will co-pilots be a thing of the past? The Ram Air Turbine

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1 The Ram Air Turbine Known as the RAT Yak-130 Yakovlev - Mitten Flying solo Will co-pilots be a thing of the past? GLOBAL MARCH 2015 / Vol. 7 / No. 3 Global Aviator for Civil and Military Aircraft, Space, Airlines, Ground forces, Navy and Intelligence worldwide The Airvan GA-8 A success Story R35 Middle Eastern private aviation is still facing challenges Solar Impulse unveils the route round-the-world attempt Weights and Balances Yak-130 Massive skills shortage in South African aviation Cover Pic: John Miller Available online at

2 By Charmaine de Villiers - Pics by John Miller GA Airvan Africa has for many years achieved great success with the GA-8 aircraft but it was not easy to introduce this aircraft to the market place. Pat Hanly, however, had faith in the aircraft and with the launch of the GA10 will be looking to build on that success. 42 GA / Vol. 7 / No. 2 / February 2015

3 Locally manufactured canvas seat covers provide a more African experience for tourists. Practical and business like panel with modern PFD. The cabin is also more spacious than other aircraft in its class February / Vol. 7 / No.2 / GA 43

4 Port Alfred based Turbo charged 320HP GA8 Airvan owned by James Thompson. Finding a comfortable niche bet een the and e na Caravan was not an easy tas for the irvan b t perseverance and the excellence of the aircraft itself proved successful and in 2003 this brainchild of ustralians eorge Morgan and Peter Furlong received F certi cation after much blood, sweat and tears. The past 12 years have seen the lling the gap between the other aircraft, especially in southern Africa where the Airvan has seen great popularity amongst charter and private operators, particularly in Botswana. The A is solely mar eted in Africa by Port Alfred based Airvan Africa (Pty) Ltd and CEO Pat Hanly explains how dif cult it was to introduce the plane into the mar et at rst. etting the product into market is also not that simple because of the dominance of the US aircraft companies. It takes time and effort to get market share and ultimately it relies on a good product to make the whole business venture y. Maun operators were a good example. hen I took the rst Airvan to Maun on a sales demo along with the late and great John Miller recording and taking photos it seemed that we were just wasting time. If it was not a C20, C20 or B Islander it was no good. Here too long and here too short summed it up. It took the initiative of Derek Flatt from Safari Air to take the rst step. He set a goal for the Airvan to y in and out of akanaxa (Pat can you con rm this. This is the only air eld or place name that I can nd that resembles the name given) with six pax. The plan was to y in with six and then take off with two, then thee, then four, then ve, then six people in stages if the chief ying instructor was happy to do so. The caveat was that if anyone had to be left behind it would be guess who. Many years later Safari Air is one of the largest Airvan operators in Maun. The total number of Airvans sold in Maun is an astonishing 27 easily making it the Airvan capital of the world. While other aircraft are used in the area, the biggest motivating factor contributing to the success of the Airvan is that it just gets the job done safely and more ef ciently than any other aircraft in its class. It is quite literally capable of transporting everything from passengers to the proverbial kitchen sink along with the rest of the kitchen. Frequently described as a solid practical workhorse with no clutter or useless paraphernalia the Airvan A is also available as a turbocharged version and as a oatplane. Not only is it a workhorse but one A Airvan, became the rst Australian designed and manufactured aircraft to y around the world, raising funds for malaria awareness. It was piloted by Australian pilots, Ken Evers and Tim Pryse, who took off from Bendigo Australia on 8 May After ying 27, 7 nautical miles in over 2 3 ight hours and burning over 1,000 litres of Avgas, before returning to Bendigo 2 days after take off. GA10 A turboprop derivative of the A8, the A10, is also being developed by ippsaero, manufacturer of the aircraft. It is a slightly stretched 10 seat capacity aircraft powered by a olls oyce 2 0 B17F 2 turboprop engine. The A10 which is the stretched 10 seater version of the Airvan was present at the Avalon International Air Show. Certi cation is planned to for occur later this year. Airvan Africa has ordered serial number 10 which will allow any possible teething issues to occur closer to Airvan home. Picture thanks only to the HUGE co-operation of many Maun operators getting as many Airvans in one place at one time on a typically busy day. 44 GA / Vol. 7 / No. 2 / February 2015

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