Our opening day

Our Chief Flying Instructor Brad (left) and Instructor Kyle (right) oversee the addition of our ATO Certificate and approval of training operations to the Virginia Airport kiosk wall.

Our new Instructor, Kyle (right), a commercial pilot who also has his microlight instructor's rating will be joining us at Durban Skyye to give NPL instruction and introductory flights for those keen on seeing Durban from a new perspective. Our CEO Dave is left in the photo.

uShaka Marine World Tourism Centre promoting the Flight School

We're at Beach Bums, Casuarina Beach, one of our favourite hot spots to eat, drink and be merry

ATO Approval

We were having a discussion and I said that most people would have no idea what ATO means and this is one of the problems I have with the aviation world - there are dozens of abbreviations out there which require translation all the time. I prefer to speak in plain English and say that we finally got our Aviation Training Organisation (ATO) approval and certificate today. This means that we can take our first paying customer in the air tomorrow - here's to all future pilots to be trained by Durban Skyye Flight School!! We wish you an incredible training experience with us and many happy landings.

Here's what the first pics look like:

Flight School Chief Executive Officer Dave holds our flight school certificate issued by the South African Civil Aviation Authority today.

We are an approved training organisation in terms of part 141 of the Civil Aviation Regulations and will be training pilots for their National Pilot Licence (NPL) and Instructor's Rating in Light Sport and Microlight aircraft.

Come on down to Virginia Airport this weekend and if flying is in your blood enjoy an introductory flight along the Durban beachfront.. you can book online at the top of this webpage, or come on down and I am sure we will be able to fit you in. Our Chief Flying Instructor Brad will be taking you flying in his microlight ZU-COF.

Hot off the printing press

In anticipation of our ATO approval expected later today, our flyers have been "flying" off the printing press and into the display stands we will be putting out at tourist venues across Durban.

Our flyers on the counter at the Virginia Airport kiosk in the main Concourse. This is where you come if you want to enjoy a flight or full training programme with us.

Our flyer was joined by thousands others advertising hamburgers at the print shop

The production line gets our flyer display stands ready for delivery to selected venues around Durban 

Durban Skyye flyers

We've been furiously at work since getting our ATO approval number from the CAA. The first was to get our flyers out to the printers. Thanks to Head Office Restaurant at Virginia and Budget Car Rentals for coming in with us to publicise the Airport as a destination for great food, flight training and car rental options. Here's what our flyers are looking like. They will be distributed to hotels, tourism offices and the public of Durban. Come see us at Virginia Airport.

Virginia Map

For those who haven't been to Virginia Airport, it's a neat little Airport a few minutes north of the city on the M4 towards Umhlanga, just on the other side of the Umgeni River. Here's a Google Map link to our exact location as well as to the other airfields around Durban where our training takes place.

Approved

We are Aviation Training Organisation ATO 0253 - Durban Skyye Flight School approved today by the South African Civil Aviation Authority. A long haul but worth it to get our own Flight School approval.

 It meant a lot of Regulations and Manuals and set-up of our aircraft for the Flight School, purchasing one microlight and leasing another as well as the Sportstar fixed wing plane. The next stage will involve marketing and getting our Flight School known and getting prospective students up into the air over Durban.

Kickstart your career in aviation

Your NPL licence with Durban Skyye Flight School can kickstart your career in aviation. It's the cheapest way to get your first licence, and you can then do hours-building and pass your exams as you work your way up to a commercial pilot's licence and airline transport pilot's licence.

Talk to us if you want a career in aviation and great all-round experience from smaller planes up, and from grass runways to international airports and controlled airspace.

Durban Skyye at Virginia Airport

My new Volvo V40 and the car registration I secured today, parked outside our Kiosk at Virginia Flight School

Our Durban Skyye Kiosk at Virginia Airport

We've passed the test

Thanks to the SA Civil Aviation Authority who conducted their compliance audit at the Flight School today as part of the process for our Flight School Training Organisation (ATO) approval.

We passed the test and the paperwork and recommendations are being done to get our approval number. So it's not too long and we will be taking to the skyyes with our first students.

CFI Brad Isaacson welcomes Mandla Singapi from the CAA to our offices in Durban

Chief Executive Officer of the Flight School, Dave (left) and Chief Flying Instructor, Brad (middle) are congratulated by the SA Civil Aviation Authority's Mandla, Compliance auditor.

Ready to open

It's been quite a slog getting the Flight School to opening stage.. the biggest sweat being the process for CAA approval. Our audit inspection date has been shifted and is now due in the morning, so we're holding thumbs. The Flight School Operations Manuals covering evety aspect of the Flight School, operations, aircraft, safety, instruction procedures and over 400 pages of documentation... is behind us and we look forward to welcoming tomorrow's inspection so that we can now get up in the air.

Flight School CEO Dave Mc Naught proudly shows our Kiosk in the main Concourse of Virginia Airport.

Flight School Chief Flying Instructor Brad Isaacson shows his personally autographed and congratulatory poster from the Gripen Pilots (more pics here)

We sell South Africa's reknowned Sling Aircraft here in Durban

We'll be the first NPL Microlight and fixed wing Flight School in Durban

Sling WES visits Durban for the Sky Aerobatics festival

Owner of Sling ZU-WES makes cool movies of his escapades and in this short video clip he visits Virginia and snaps some good footage of the Airshow we have enjoyed here this weekend.

From Durban to Botswana and Zimbabwe Skyye!

From Durban Skyye to Botswana and Zimbabwe sunsets, Victoria Falls and thunderstorms - we saw magnificent views on our trip this week in 6 Sling aircraft as part of our Sling Africa Tour 2014 led by James Pitman of The Airplane Factory and myself who organised the event.

Thundershowers en route to Maun, Botswana last week

Clearer skyyes over Nguma Island, Botswana in the Okavango Delta

Sunset on the Chobe River, Kasane, Botswana, before flying to Zimbabwe this Monday

The magnificence of Victoria Falls I photographed flying over it in my Sling ZDL this week

The "Smoke that Thunders" is the name of Victoria Falls famed for the spray that shoots over 1500 ft into the sky

The Victoria Falls Bridge at sunset with the spray from the Falls

Sling TAF which flew around the world flying alongside me

The Sling Africa 2014 Tour group - I took the photos (Dave)

Fuel lesson

I learnt something new about filling up with Avgas at Kasane International Airport, Botswana. Usually our Sling takes 95 unleaded car petrol which I get from our local petrol station and fill up the tanks by syphoning the fuel out of containers. Car petrol is not generally available at airports when we travel though so we have to get Avgas (Aviation Gasoline) from the tanker or bowser at the airport. This is a higher grade fuel and is not good for long-term use in our planes and also pumps much quicker with the electric pump.

Half-full

I usually pop the fuel cap on quickly after refueling to stop any dust or impurities getting in while the cap is off. The next morning after filling the tanks at Kasane I checked the fuel level and was shocked to see that the one tank had dropped by nearly a third. The lesson to be learned is that if the tank is filled very quickly, the fuel does not have enough time to drain through the buffer compartments in the tank so it looks like the tank is full, but if you wait a bit for it to drain through the level drops significantly. Fortunately I had enough fuel for the next leg and James drained an extra 40l out of his tank at Victoria Falls for me.. but I will remember to wait in future and recheck the level before assuming the tank showing full is actually full. No one wants to run out of fuel on a long 4 1/2 hour flight with not many alternative airfields around.

Refueling with Avgas at Kasane, Botswana, taught me a new lesson

Slow process for approval

The process to obtain the formal approval of the Civil Aviation Authority for flight training is a slow and laborious process... in fact we are approaching 6 months in dealing with them and still await the inspection of our facilities and procedures documents to obtain the approval before we can take our first student into the air.

 

At the outset we have 3 aircraft on register for flight training - a Windlass Aquilla Microlight ZU-CCL, a Safari Aerotrike Microlight ZU-COF, both for weight-shift controlled (WCM) National Pilot Licence training, and a Sportstar fixed wing aircraft ZU-FGC for light sport aircraft (LSA) National Pilot Licence training.

 

Over 300 pages of documentation and procedures in compliance with the Civil Aviation Regulations and Technical standards have been compiled and submitted. Initially the audit inspection was scheduled for the 5th March but has been postponed by the CAA due to budget and operational shortcomings. So we wait and pay the expenses being incurred without being able to earn an income yet.

Kiosk signs done

Quite a slog, but we have the kiosk signage now done and the kiosk at Virginia Aiport is almost ready for the Wednesday planned CAA inspection. Just need to fit the new carpet, and kit it out with stationery and student files and audit docs, flight authorisation sheets, booking sheets and aircraft information documents.