Category Archives: Get into Aviation
How do I become aircraft maintenance engineer?
What is an aircraft maintenance engineer and How do I become one?
Firstly, we need to tell you what an aircraft maintenance engineer is and some of the duties required to be performed.
The job of an aircraft mechanic is to keep aircraft operating safely and efficiently. People’s lives are at stake which makes this job extremely important. Aircraft mechanics service aircraft, overhaul engines and parts and test the every-day smooth running of aeroplanes or helicopters.
What does an aircraft mechanic do?
• Conduct safety inspections
• Service aircraft
• Troubleshoot and solve problems
• Overhaul engines and parts
• Repairs parts/ install new ones
• Tests various aircraft systems and engines
• Order parts
• Keeps strict records
• Commits to lifelong learning
Secondly, it is important to understand the different types of trades available:
- Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Avionician):
An aircraft maintenance engineer (avionician) overhauls, repairs, modifies and tests a range of electrical, electronic, instrument and radio communications and navigation system components in a workshop environment, after they have been removed from the aircraft. Examples of these types of systems would be: generator and power distribution systems, protection systems, autopilot and integrated flight systems, environmental control systems, and radar and communication systems.
- Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (Mechanical)
An aircraft maintenance engineer (mechanical) maintains, services, inspects, tests and undertakes fault diagnosis of airframe, engine (including propellers and rotors) and electrical systems, components and accessories on aircraft. Examples of such components are: landing gears; wheels and brakes; skids; pneumatic and hydraulic systems; fuel systems; flight control systems; environmental control and pressurisation systems; fire detection and prevention systems; oxygen systems; containerised cargo handling systems; doors and windows; lighting systems; and ice and rain protection systems.
Thirdly, what is the minimum admission requirements?
18 years and older.
Grade 12/N3 or Equivalent
Mathematics 50% of higher
English 50% or higher
Maths Literacy 50% + will be considered subject to the below Applicants that do not meet the course acceptance criteria but do possess a Grade 12/N3 or equivalent certificate will be subject to an aptitude test prior to acceptance and admission to MATA.
What is the Duration of the course?
One (1) Year Basic Training (42 weeks) at the MATA Training Academy (Theory and Practical Training)
What Happens after the first year of training?
Once you have completed your first year:
1. You will have fulfilled the TETA requirement.
2. You will be issued with a certificate
3. You will have practical and theoretical knowledge of the field of study you have chosen.
Thereafter MATA liaison officers will assist with placing you as an apprentice with an Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO)
Unemployed learners placed at an AMO are NOT guaranteed that such AMO will employ you! No tertiary education institution can guarantee job placement!
4. You will then be required to obtain a total of 2 880 hours and a minimum of 18 months of practical experience as an apprentice at an AMO.
These hours must be logged in your logbook (downloadable from the TETA Website) as proof of aircraft maintenance experience, in order to qualify to apply for your Trade Test.
5. After you have applied to TETA and the DHET for your trade test (MATA will guide you through the process and help you to apply)
MATA will conduct a Trade Test Preparation Phase with you prior to your Trade Test Examination Days to ensure that you are adequately prepared for the most important exam in your aviation career. MATA is a certified Trade Test Centre.
Mata Apprentice technical training has been recognized to be the best. Not only by providing top quality instructors and training, but by providing the industry with top quality engineers. Not only has MATA had a 98.8 % pass rate but with our newly approved trade test center, MATA students can be proud to be furthering their careers with a trusted brand. MATA is also a European aviation approved training facility.
Contact MATA:
eMail : info@matasa.co.za
Phone: 011-395-4144
Click on photo to enlarge
Home of Pilatus- Silver Falcons visit Switzerland
“The idea was hatched late last year about getting the team to do an international trip . Switzerland being the home of the Pilatus was a no brainer. For us to be able get to view how and where all the current airframes were designed and built. On May the 3rd, Emirates hauled us through Dubai to Zurich, arriving in the cold that afternoon. Then a train ride from Zurich to Lucerne where we stayed for 3 days. For two days lots of walking around or busing around the sites and sounds of Lucerne.”
“It must be said the bus n train network in Switzerland was brutally efficient and effective. On Sunday May the 6th was a special treat with the visit up Mount Pilatus to be greeted by typical winter weather in Europe with tons and tons of snow. Something one would never see in Langebaanweg. The rest of the day was spent visiting the old town of Lucerne.”
“The 6th was the team received special treatment form Pilatus aircraft corporation. The company arranged everything from transport from our mini budget hotel to Stans were the factory is located. Jerome Pörtner played host and guide for and arranged what needed to be needed during our visit. Once at the factory were given two cards, which one was a security clearance and the other a Wi Fi (Switzerland neh ) card.”
“The day began with a presentation about the company and their ethos of how they operate in a niche market, Swiss chocolates were on offer . From there on a factory tour covering everything from how parts are made from scratch to the company latest flagship the pC24 floor. Everything from the paint shop to the tiniest of details.”
“What blew the teams mind away was the special design of the hangers/factory which is made of special wood not the usual mortar n brick or canvas as we are used to back home in RSA. To say one can eat of the floor would not be off the mark. What was not lost to us was how space in general when it comes to aviation is a tricky thing to solve! In all the hangers, airframe after airframe, we squizzed into every corner available (guess the work must continue non the less ) regardless wether it’s the pc24 or pc12 hanger.”
“Then another treat was the special ‘ground instruction ‘ of the PC21 given to the team by Neil ( ot&e pilot ex RAF) & senior sales man and Pascal and Jerome Pörtner. (One can only dream hey). Then it was lunch at the newly refurbished factory canteen which can be best described as a 3-4 start hotel dining hall. It boast views of all the surroundings mountains around the factory.”
“The a very interesting part of the factory is where Central Flying School (CFS) sends their Prat & Whitney engines for overhauling. Where they pull them apart and put them together again. Everyone swelled with pride from the feedback from the engines from the SAAF are always in good condition compared to other users which showcases how the SAAF looks after its equipment.”
“Sadly the day flew by and on Wednesday May the 7th, the team repositioned to Zurich to get ready to fly back home. The evening of the 7th was spent visiting the beautiful city of Zurich with a special dinner held In town in one of the most beautiful part of the city and an age old restaurant which used to be an armory during the times (Zeughauskeller) “
“Special thanks goes out to the Coves aviation community led by JP Fourie of NAC and Luigi Rossi of Internek engineering and Obviously the SAAF for giving team 82 this opportunity.”
Major Sivu Tangana,Major Musa Dlamini,Major Bheki Shabungu,Major Tiaan Stander,Major Omphile Matloane,Captain Xander Albasani and Major Corne van Deventer.
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Little Annie Needs Your Help
“My name is Little Annie. I am an orphan who was donated from Russia and flown all the way to South Africa. I attend most of the air shows throughout Southern Africa . On the day before the air show I take the orphaned and underprivileged children from the area who have never had the opportunity to experience the joy of flight, to give them hope, encouragement and to share my true life story with them. My hope is to inspire them to achieve the seemingly impossible in attaining their dream commensurate with their natural talent. I have flown more than 3000 children since I was adopted by Mark Hill and his family who founded the Just Love Mission Charity.
I was invited to the Newcastle Air Show on the 1st June for the very first time. This was our first airshow in Kwa-Zulu Natal.My bags were packed, and I was on my way. While flying, I started coughing up oil and my engine made a big bang sound! Fortunately my father and brother were able to land me safely at the Newcastle airport. I was unable to fly in the air show and am too sick to fly back home. The Flying Doctors who work on me and who can get me flying again will need to spend a bit of time and will need to replace a part in my engine. I am invited to the Mozambique air show in Maputo on the 14th and 15th June, where I will be taking the children from the area flying. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend if my Doctors cannot come and fix me. I’d like to ask if there is anyone who will be able to donate towards the medical bills in order to get me up and “running”/flying again.
I will be over the moon if a few ‘Little Annie’ fans can possibly assist me in raising the funds. The good News is that because I am a regustered NPC and PBO that is B-BBEE rated as well as article 18A registered, it can benefit those with corporate social investment responsibilities and you can also claim a sizable percentage of your contribution back from tax. If you would rather not claim from tax, I will be very excited to give you recognition and exposure for your charitable donations! Please contact my family should you be able to assist: 0817770444 or email on info@littleannie.co.za You can also have a look at my website for more info www.littleannie.co.zaI am excited to possibly hearing from you and hoping that this challenge of me being sick, will be able to be sorted out in order for me to carry on with my passion of sharing flight with the children!
Thank you Kindly!
Contact Details for Donations
081 777 0444 or email on info@littleannie.co.za
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Rand Airport Challenge 2019
A typical summer morning at Rand Airport where most pilots like to take to the skies over Johannesburg and enjoy the beautfual scenary
around the Gauteng Province.
This past weekend we attended the first fun Rally for the year and no better place to have it at a busy airport,with the Harvard Cafe
along side the terminal building, pilots and navigators stocked up on a filling breakfast and coffee, they made their way to the airports terminal building for a sharp briefing at 8.30am.A quick photo of every participant in front of what could be a oasis of palm trees shading Rand Airport Tower!
Once the briefing was over the team memebers made their way to their aircraft making sure all routes and refrences marked out so that the best man or women wins.
The SAPFA Committee, particularly Rob Jonkers and Mary de Klerk, who organised a very thorough workshop recently on Rally Flying, saw their efforts bear fruit at the annual Rand Airport Challenge, when a record 8 teams took part in the Intermediate form of the sport. In previous years most participants preferred to stick to the simplest and easiest form which is Fun Rally, but this year pilots and navigators were encouraged to enter the more difficult category. The reason for this, is to elevate their skills levels, so that they can participate at national level, thereby building up a new breed of South African champion rally pilots and navigators.
The navigators and pilots in the Intermediate category had one hour to plot the entire route, and had to do so in the cockpit, which was a first for most of them. They also had far more photo targets to identify, and these were mixed up instead of being sequential and only one per leg. The pilots had only a 5 second window to get through each turn-point, instead of 15 seconds for Fun.
Organisers Frank and Cally Eckard gave them the task of flying an arc, which is a curved track between two turn-points, and a follow-the-feature, where they have to fly along a road, river or railway line. Every pilot flew the arc perfectly, and really enjoyed the challenge.
The route took them south from Rand Airport, around Suikerbosrand to Heidelberg, then down to two turnpoints on the banks of the Vaal Dam, and back again near Vereeniging to the Finish Point at Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve.
Rand Airport, who sponsor the Rand Airport Challenge Trophy, also waived landing fees on the days for the participants. The trophy was won by the defending team of Shane Brits and Karen Stroud, who have been putting a lot of effort into their sport.
The full results are:
The Fun Rally section:
| Pilot | Navigator | Points | |
| 1 | RC Shillaw | CJ Shillaw | 319 |
| 2 | Thys van der Merwe | Gerda | 870 |
| 3 | Kim Pratley | Andrew Pratley | 1231 |
| 4 | Piet Meyer | Pieter Kriel | 1410 |
The Intermediate Section:
| Pilot | Navigator | Points | |
| 1 | Shane Britz | Karen Stroud | 750 |
| 2 | Jonty Esser | Jonathan Esser | 967 |
| 3 | Adrian Pilling | Adam Pilling | 982 |
| 4 | Don Lucas | Andre Kluyts | 1488 |
| 5 | Leon Bouttell | Karyn Purchase | 1955 |
| 6 | Mark Clulow | Renee Clulow | 2170 |
Unfortunately the two teams consisting of Phil Wakely and Mary de Klerk, and Jakes Jacobs and Franz Smit did not complete the course due to mechanical problems.
The Unlimited Section:
| Pilot | Navigator | Points | |
| 1 | Rob Jonkers | Martin Meyer | 409 |
| 2 | Hans Schwebel | Ron Stirk | 766 |
| 3 | Antony Russell | Pamela Russell | 1344 |
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of this sport, and are all very motivated to take part in the next events:
- 1-2 Feb – Cape Speed Rally, Morning Star
- 16 Feb – Training Day in Brits, with the focus on the role of the pilot, and cockpit-management
- 23 March – Virginia Rally, Durban (with a training course on 22 March)
- 4 – 6 April – Rally Nationals, Stellenbosch
Please enter online at http://Sapfa.org.za
SAPFA Rally Training Camp
SAPFA Rally Training Camp – Aerosud Premises 19 January 2019 – by Rob Jonkers
SAPFA held a very successful training event on Rally Navigation on Saturday 19th January as the first SAPFA event of the year. Initially planned for a maximum of 30 participants, and at Grand Central, the eventual total participation was 50, and fitting everybody into the Aerosud training hall proved a challenge.
Alan Evan Hanes – GM of the Aero Club with a short Aero Club Intro
It is great to see the sport being supported so enthusiastically, and the willingness to learn these basic skills of map reading and planning. The GM of the Aero Club Alan Evan Hanes opened the day with a brief overview of the Aero Club and its functions, that the Aero Club has as its mission to protect all forms of Recreational Aviation, and supports Sections of the Aero Club such as SAPFA to be able hold successful events within the procedures governing recreational aviation in SA.
The Participants – 50 in total
With that Mary de Klerk took charge and laid out the objectives of the day, by initially going through the theory of plotting, and then to practice on an actual plot. With this year of 2019 having a full calendar of events, and the Nationals coming up in April in Stellenbosch, and with SAPFA having won the bid to host the World Rally Flying Championships in 2020 (which is also the Centenary year of the Aero Club), this training event would serve as an excellent platform to entice new members to the sport and to start training for the Internationals and obtain Protea Colours.
Mary first started off with having everybody introduce themselves, and what they each had as objectives for training, some were there as newbies interested in taking part in the sport, some having takien part previously indicated they needed some formal and expert training, and some others indicated they just wanted to delve more in depth than what a ppl course would give on the art of paper based navigation.
The Rally Plotting Class of 2019
From there Mary outlined the theory on plotting procedures and described the tools of the trade. Then it was off to plotting an example course which had to be done from basic plotting principles of co-ordinates, bearings (which could be in either true or magnetic) and distances (either in nm of km). Each turning point then had to be found and identified and linked into legs, some of which could be arcs or follow map features.
The goal in getting to National level standard is to be able to plot in the aircraft with a papers time of around 30-40 minutes prior take-off, which means speed is of the essence in doing the plot, so that the navigator can assist with finding and identifying the ground photos.
The morning’s training ended off at around 11 am, and after a short break, everybody got their first route in an envelope, got the laminated transparent tool, which they had to cut out, and proceeded to plot each of the turn points making up the route. It was decided to proceed right through lunch, and most had finished their plot by after 2pm. The course was ended off with an in cockpit video of one of Rob & Martin’s 2012 rally flights to show how the leg photo features match up with the real world outside to give the perspective of what one sees outside the cockpit from the flying height and distance.
Everybody left with some knowledge gained on plotting and techniques of planning & flying a rally, and it is hoped that many will come to the Rand Challenge on the 26th January and Nationals in April.
Daniel Ralefeta and his team of Rise Above Aviators getting ready to plot
Feverously map reading and plotting
The Track shown of Route 2 – an anti-clockwise route
.
Martin Meyer assisting Dave Thomas
Mark and Rene Clulow figuring the plot
Newbies to the sport, Time Scharf, Conrad van Coller and Daniel Ralefeta
Mary de Klerk assisting Melika Mohapi with Franz Smit & Ashley Loynes at left
Kim Pratley and his son Andrew Pratley working their plot
Protea pilot Adrian Pilling and newly minted ppl pilot son Adam learning from the expert
Arthur Piercy working his plot
Michael Stofberg & Bryony Martin from 104 squadron
Virtual Aviators Johan van Wyk and Freek Stegman
Shaun Barron with Cally Eckard helping in the background
Rob Jonkers explaining some flying techniques
Eagle Air’s State-of-the-art Flight Simulator
Eagle Air’s new State-of-the-art Flight Simulator
SACAA approved Simulator was launched by Eagle Air Academy based at Wonderboom National Airport South Africa.
The Simulator was acquired at a Cost of few million and has four Aircraft modules build in:
- Piper Warrior
- Piper Arrow
- Piper Seneca
- Cessna 425 Turbines
Video courtesy of Fly Media team and Eagle air
5 benefits of flight simulator:
- Flight simulator allows students to exercise and master specific flight conditions without leaving the ground at all
- Training that takes place in a simulator is predictable without the interruption of unforeseen delays such a poor weather or mechanical difficulties.
- When comparing costs, plane simulator training can be more affordable than live flight time, saving costs for fuel, wear and tear and aircraft rental.
- Student safety is secured during flight simulations allowing flight instructor learners to train under emergency conditions as well as bad weather and technical and mechanical failure.
- Flight simulators allow students in training the opportunity to practice until perfect, mastering technique and decision making and various stress factors during flight.
The Simulator arrived at the Eagle air facilities at Wonderboom National Airport on 4th October 2018 followed by assembly, Testing and SACAA testing and certification. The official opening of the new flight simulator was on 25th October 2018 and Percy Rudman that the Rates will soon be announced. South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) certificated the FNTP 2 Flight Device with RNAV and MCC.
Bennie du Plessis, a well-known figure in the South African general aviation industry and a keen aviator checking out Eagle Air’s new Simulator.
Eagle Air also recently add a new Aircraft, a Piper Cherokee registration ZS-KIM to its fleet, This surprising many with the addition of the Simulator shortly after. Read more on How to become a Pilot in South Africa