Elaine goes solo

Congratulations to our PPL Student pilot Elaine Benade who went solo in our flight school Sling aircraft FYA today. We wish Elaine many more happy hours in the skyye!!

Elaine is congratulated by our Flight School Director, Brad, after her solo flight

Cross-country exercise

Student pilot Llewellyn (right) and I enjoyed a practice run for his solo flights to Isithebe, Empangeni and Richards Bay today as we got the feel of the route and the runways on the 3 hours flights to the north along our stunning KZN coastline.

About to set off from Virginia Airport

The blue yonder off the starboard wingtip of our flight school Sling aircraft ZDL

The beautiful north coast of KwaZulu-Natal

Umhlanga lighthouse off our wingtip

Brandon getting his National Flight Instructor Rating

NPL Microlight pilot Brandon Alleson (back) is learning to become a back-seat-driver ha ha, training with our Chief Flying Instructor Brad (front) for his National Flight Instructor rating. When acting as a flight instructor, the Instructor sits at the back whilst his student is in front. Flying solo you would fly from the front seat. This change of perspective to become an instructor and learning the techniques of instruction form part of the training and we hope to see Brandon in the Durban Skyye as one of our instructors very shortly. 

Brad and Brandon enjoying a unique experience as they were cleared to ascend to 1500ft in the microlight.. "very high indeed and what stunning views of the city", chirped Brad.

Brandon (rear) training to become a National Flight Instructor (WCM - weight-shift-controlled Microlight) with our Chief Flying Instructor, Brad

Dylan takes to the Skyye!!

I love taking someone for a first-time experience and today it was Dylan's turn as we took to the Durban Skyye for a flight down and up the coast. Dylan has been kindly helping with some training and exercises at the Toti Gym and I was able to return some of the favour and show him the basics of flying my Sling 2-seater aircraft. He took to it like a natural and we were soon doing turns and manouvres in the sky!! If he was a bit nervous, it didn't show.

Dylan with my Sling 2-seater with 100 hp Rotax engine

Durban Skyye are Agents for the Sling Aircraft which are designed and manufactured in South Africa and exported around the world. An assembly plant has also been established in California as well as Australia and there are now Sling owners, as well as kit-builders in several continents as the Sling takes centre stage as a popular flight training aircraft. 

Dylan at ease holding the flight controls of ZDL

Taking selfies as we fly on auto-pilot

Umhlanga beachfront from 500ft

Suncoast Casino off the starboard wing of ZDL

Umhlanga Lighthouse

The cockpit of my plane

 I have twin EFIS (Onboard computer, engine flight infirmation systems) installed in front of each of the seats with dual flight controls. This makes it easy to fly the plane from both seats.. perfect for long distance flying and also instruction. The onboard computers are designed and made by MGL Avionics in Cape Town and incorporate a GPS linked to an auto-pilot, so one can load a route programmed from a laptop or home computer and transfer it to the EFIS by SD card. This makes longer trips, such as our recent trip to Victoria Falls, and our coming trip to Madagascar so much easier. The system also monitors engine functions and presents a full display of tempertures and pressures, as well as flight information such as distance to destination, wind speed and direction and all of the airports in South Africa and beyond. 

Around the World in a Sling 

To prove the capability and endurance of this South African designed aircraft, the daring owners of The Airplane Factory in Johannesburg have flown their aircraft around the world twice as well as trans-Africa to Poland and trans-Atlantic to Wisconsin, USA for the world's largest airshow there.

Madagascar

For more about our July 2015 Sling Madagascar Tour, click on this link here.

Baobab trees near Morondava we will be visiting in Madagascar this year

Visiting the home of our flight school Slings

Durban Skyye Flight School visited The Airplane Factory, home of our flight school Sling aircraft today and caught some snaps of the action..

NPL pilot and Durban Skyye PPL student Brandon spreads his wings on the wings of the Sling that flew around the world

Our flight school 2 Slings FYA and ZDL flew up to Johannesburg for maintenance and the annual check for the issue of a new authority to fly.

Dave and Brandon inspecting the factory.. here some new Sling wings are being prepared for the spray booth

We took a flight around the Johannesburg tower just nearby the factory