By Garth Calitz South Africa’s long-running general aviation battle over the so-called 12-year engine rule appears to be approaching a significant turning point. After years of consultation, debate, technical arguments, regulatory reviews, and enough paperwork to probably qualify as an aircraft component in its own right, the 36th Amendment to the Civil Aviation Regulations has finally been signed off by Transport Minister Barbara Creecy. The Minister signed the amendment on

By Garth Calitz South African Airways can appoint an Acting Group Chief Executive Officer. There is nothing particularly unusual about that. Companies do it all the time when a permanent executive leaves, goes on leave or becomes unavailable. But SAA is not simply another company filling an empty executive chair. It is the holder of an Air Operator Certificate and operates large commercial passenger aircraft under South Africa's Part 121 regulations. That means there is an im

By Garth Calitz The court battle over South Africa’s Working on Fire programme may have appeared to have reached a finality when the Pretoria High Court cleared the way for Tefla Group to take over the R1.8-billion contract, but it may not be over. While Working on Fire/Kishugu has already failed in its urgent attempt to stop the transition, AfriForum is now pursuing a different route — one that could potentially expose the procurement record behind the controversial award. A

The DTA JP1 is a two-seat hybrid-electric eVTOL that takes a somewhat different approach to the emerging personal electric aircraft market. Rather than relying entirely on batteries, the French-designed aircraft combines electric propulsion with a hybrid power system, allowing DTA to target substantially longer endurance than many small battery-electric aircraft. DTA says the JP1 can remain airborne for up to two hours, with a claimed range of approximately 180 miles with two

Textron Aviation has announced the delivery of the 500th Cessna Citation CJ4, marking more than a decade of production for the light business jet and providing a milestone for the programme as development of the next-generation Citation CJ4 Gen3 continues. The milestone aircraft, a Citation CJ4 Gen2, was delivered to a customer in the Philippines. The delivery also reflects the international customer base for the CJ4, which has been used for corporate transportation, owner-op

The US Army is preparing to modernise its rotary-wing pilot training pipeline, and the aircraft selected to play a central role is perhaps not the helicopter many observers would have expected. Robinson Helicopter Company’s R66 has been selected as the training platform proposed by M1 Support Services (M1), following a four-phase evaluation under the US Army’s Flight School Next (FSN) initiative. The Army has announced its intent to award the Flight School Next contract to M1

India’s AMCA programme has entered a significantly more serious phase during 2026. What was once largely a long-term design exercise is now becoming an industrial programme, with the Indian Ministry of Defence inviting bids for the development and manufacture of five flying prototypes and a structural test specimen. The development programme carries an approved investment envelope of approximately ₹15,000 crore, making AMCA one of India’s most ambitious indigenous aerospace p

Honda Aircraft Company is celebrating two decades since its formal establishment, marking 20 years of innovation, aircraft manufacturing and business aviation development from its headquarters at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina. The anniversary represents a significant milestone for a company that has taken Honda's engineering philosophy from the automotive world into one of aviation's most demanding sectors. From the distinctive HondaJet to

By Garth Calitz The Republic XF-84H was an exceptional aviation experiment: a turboprop fighter featuring a supersonic propeller, producing an astounding level of noise and earning a reputation that has endured long after the aircraft vanished from the skies. There are aircraft that are remembered because they were successful. Others are remembered because they changed aviation. And then there are aircraft remembered simply because engineers were brave enough, or perhaps opti

By Garth Calitz Air Botswana, Botswana’s national flag carrier, is facing a growing operational challenge as two of its Embraer ERJ-145 regional jets remain grounded in Namibia, despite earlier expectations that they would return to service by July 2026. Their continued absence has contributed to schedule reductions and the cancellation of routes including Gaborone–Windhoek and Maun–Windhoek. The situation highlights a familiar problem in African regional aviation: owning or

A lightweight bush aircraft is not necessarily the first machine that comes to mind when considering a transatlantic ferry flight. Yet that is precisely what a new Carbon Cub UL has accomplished, completing an extraordinary 6,900-nautical-mile journey from Lewiston, Idaho, to Poland and demonstrating just how far modern light aircraft technology has progressed. The flight, completed in July 2026, marks the first transatlantic crossing by a Carbon Cub UL and represents a signi

Few aircraft have changed the way people move, work and respond to emergencies quite like the helicopter. From battlefields and remote agricultural fields to offshore oil platforms, city police departments and rescue operations, rotorcraft have become an indispensable part of modern aviation. Few manufacturers have been as closely associated with that evolution as Bell. Over the decades, Bell aircraft have been involved in some of the most significant developments in vertical

The idea of an artificial intelligence system controlling a fighter aircraft in combat once belonged firmly in the realm of science fiction. Today, it is becoming an increasingly practical engineering challenge, and one that the aerospace and defence industry is tackling at remarkable speed. In the latest demonstration, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works®, working with the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (TPS) and industry partners, has taken another significant step towards autono

The arrival of electric air taxis in the United Kingdom has moved another step closer to reality, with Joby Aviation and Virgin Atlantic signing a definitive multi-year agreement to develop and launch commercial electric air taxi services across the UK. Announced at the Farnborough International Airshow on 22 July 2026, the agreement turns a partnership first announced in 2025 into a binding commercial framework and establishes Virgin Atlantic as Joby’s exclusive airline part

Brazilian approval clears the way for deliveries of Cirrus Aircraft’s latest-generation Vision Jet, bringing greater cabin capacity, enhanced avionics and additional safety and convenience features to the South American market. Cirrus Aircraft has secured an important regulatory milestone for its latest-generation Vision Jet, with Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) granting type certification for the G3 Vision Jet. The approval, announced on 6 August 2026, clears

Alaska Airlines has taken delivery of its 100th Boeing 737 MAX, marking an important step in the airline’s ongoing fleet renewal and expansion programme. The milestone comes as the carrier prepares for further growth in both its domestic network and international operations, supported by an expanding fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and 787 Dreamliners. The latest delivery took place in Seattle, Washington, where Alaska Airlines employees joined Boeing personnel to mark the a

By Garth Calitz If South African aviation had a frequent flyer programme for regulatory amendments, many aircraft owners would already qualify for lifetime platinum status. After months of uncertainty, countless meetings, legal opinions, media statements and enough paperwork to keep several forests in business, there finally appears to be a glimmer of light at the end of the regulatory tunnel. Whether that light is the sun, an approaching train, or simply another committee me

By Rob Russell I remember writing an article, albeit in November 2018, talking of the consequences of there only being one runway available at Cape Town. Should it become blocked, there would be diversions all over the country. And passengers stranded at Cape Town that could not fly out. Read it here Well, it happened on a grey, misty and overcast day, Tuesday the 4th August 2026 to be precise An international operator due to land mid-morning on a scheduled flight had to dive

By Garth Calitz Photos by Paul Ludick and others Record crowds, groundbreaking aircraft launches and a glimpse into the next era of general aviation define the world's greatest aviation celebration. For one remarkable week every year, the aviation world descends on a small city in Wisconsin. Pilots, engineers, manufacturers, restorers, military aviators, enthusiasts and dreamers all gather at Wittman Regional Airport for what has become the largest aviation event on Earth. EA

By Abri Kriegler I've now been to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh four times, and somewhere around visit three, something shifted. It stopped being an event I was discovering and started being one I was navigating. That sounds like a small difference. It isn't. The first time you go to Oshkosh, everything is a surprise. You don't know that the crowd by the flightline starts building an hour before anything actually happens. You don't know that Boeing Plaza has a rhythm to it, a schedu

Kumba Iron Ore's privately operated Sishen Airport has received the prestigious Gold Aviation Safety Award, recognising its commitment to maintaining the highest standards of operational safety. The award followed the airport's annual compliance audit conducted by aviation safety specialists Liston and Associates, which assessed the facility against the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The achievement is particularly noteworthy as the audit r

The first factory-produced aircraft delivered under the United States Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) new Modernisation of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) regulations signifies a major advancement for recreational aviation. The handover of a Van's Aircraft RV-12 at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026 illustrates the transition of this long-anticipated regulatory change from policy to practical implementation. The aircraft was officially delivered during EAA AirVe

Zenith Aircraft has unveiled its latest all-metal kit aircraft at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026, introducing the CH 750 Super Cruzer, a versatile high-wing aircraft designed to bridge the gap between traditional STOL utility aircraft and comfortable cross-country cruisers. The new design takes advantage of the expanded opportunities created by the United States' Modernisation of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) regulations, offering recreational pilots an aircraft w

Airbus has taken another major step towards making the world's longest commercial flights a reality, completing an extraordinary development flight campaign with its new A350-1000 Ultra Long Range (ULR) aircraft. The milestone saw the aircraft fly non-stop between Toulouse, France, and Melbourne, Australia, before returning to Europe via an even longer route, providing engineers with invaluable data ahead of the aircraft's entry into service. The aircraft at the centre of the