AAD2018 Day 2

Thursday day two of AAD2018,saw a bigger influx of trade visitors then day one of the event,the media were kept busy with a number of briefings and different subjects to photograph and report on.Much of the morning,we spent going through each of the halls and seeing the different defence industry’s showing off their products to the world.

A visit to the western side of the base,we had the opportunity to capture pilots and ground crew as they made their way to aircraft for the validation flights for the weekends Airshow.Most impressive capture today was six Gripens on the apron. A sight you don’t see to often at South African Airshows.The rest of the validations were spot on and some great pictures and airmanship was seen!

Rostec suggests using automobile leasing scheme to renew Russian helicopter fleet

The Russian fleet of civilian helicopters numbers about 1,800 helicopters, over 60–70% of which have been operated for 25 years and longer. Most of those helicopters were put into operation as early as at the beginning of the post-soviet period, and a considerable part of the aircraft was purchased by air carriers in early 1990s. According to the aircraft register, the Russian fleet mostly consists of Mi-8 helicopters. Due to the long-standing need to replace a part of the Russian helicopter fleet, Rostec suggests measures that would facilitate purchase of new aircraft for air carriers.

“We are expecting that renewal of the helicopter fleet will be supported by the state program to facilitate purchase of new aircraft for air carriers, similar to the one implemented in the auto industry,” said Director of the Aviation Cluster of Rostec Anatoly Serdyukov. “A take-back program can be developed, and a leasing scheme may be used. For instance, an old helicopter will be taken in as the first payment, and an air carrier will receive a new helicopter in return.”

Canon AAD2018 to Aviation Photography

We joined the Canon team at the Royal Elephant Hotel & Conference Centre near AFB Swartkop, Pretoria. This workshop included the way of Aviation Photography with Justin de Reuck, South Africa’s top Aviation Photographer. The workshop was well attended and we as a team learnt so much and can improve our skills to Aviation Photography. Thanks to Canon and Abri Kriegler

Stay tuned to our Facebook page for updates on the final trade day tomorrow!