I work as a Programme Manager at a defence company in South Africa, currently managing a helicopter weapons system development and production programme.
I started my career as a pilot in the South African Air Force. I learnt to fly on the Harvard (AT-6 Texan), moving on to helicopters and flying both the Alouette III and Oryx (South African version of the Super Puma). The Oryx is arguably one of the best helicopters in the world for Hot & High conditions. The most enjoyable and challenging flying was that of night specialist operations and fire fighting, often putting both yourself and the machine on the limit.
During my time in the SAAF I was fortunate to be able to complete both a BSc degree part-time through UNISA and an MBA at the University of the Witwatersrand. This lead to a change in career where I now actually work for a living (you can’t call flying working, it’s too much fun…)
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In my spare time I fly model aircraft as a substitute to flying the real thing. As with most of us in the hobby, collecting aircraft becomes a hazard. One of my greatest achievements has been mastering a radio control helicopter. I though it would be easy having flown the real thing, how very wrong can one be… They are increadible machines to fly.
I have fairly wide ranging interests, from model aircraft, enduro motorcycle riding, flying in general, amateur electronics, financial management and programme management. The idea of this site is to be able to share those interests with similarly minded people.