JUNE - Department of Defence

focus on youth
From dusty streets to blue skies
By CO Frans Pale, Ad Astra
L
t Nkateko Mnisi (26) grew up like
any other child who gazed up at
the sky in the direction of a passing
aeroplane. As he stood with friends
and looked up at the blue sky from the
streets of Namakgale in Phalaborwa,
he wondered whether he would ever
achieve his dream of becoming a pilot.
According to his understanding
then, the art of flying an aircraft in
South Africa was a luxury preserved
only for some people. Now, as Lt
Mnisi made final preparations for his
first flight at Air Force Base
Langebaanweg on 12 March 2006, he
was nervous and fearful of the
unknown.
His mind went back to his childhood
days in Namakgale. After years
of rigorous training to become a pilot
in the SA Air Force, the day for him to
fly the big machine had finally come.
As he approached the Astra aircraft,
his heart skipped a beat. He stood by
the side of the Astra, folded his arms,
closed his eyes and said a little prayer.
"Almighty God, please come with
me as I fly this machine up into the sky
and come back with me as I land successfully
on the ground." Deriving
some strength and confidence from his
prayer, he got into the cockpit, and in
no time he was cruising at 7 000 feet
above sea level. He made a happy and
successful landing after one and half
hours.
"That was the happiest day of my
life. My initial fear suddenly turned to
great relief as I took the Astra safely
down to the ground. From then
onwards, I knew I was a pilot forever."
Lt Mnisi's story of success in
becoming one of the current young
black pilots in the SA Air Force makes
the vision statement of Siyandiza:
Striving for Aviation Awareness among
the Youth of South Africa - an achievable
reality.
Although his initial wish was to
become a pilot after passing Matric in
1997, he worked as a dispatch clerk for
one year in a chain store in Pretoria.
This was because he was unaware of
career opportunities offered to young
South Africans by the SA Air Force.
It was only in 1998 when he read
about computer systems in engineering
in a newspaper about the recruitment
of pilots in the SA Air Force that
this changed. After applying to the
DOD, he was invited to write a selec-
20
HR Development reaches out to youth
By Col André Coetzer
A
team of three South African learners,
all from the Aviation Academy
in Pretoria, did our country proud
when they represented South Africa
in the International Aerospace Summer
School in the United Kingdom in
August 2006. This was the fourth time
that a South African team was invited
to do this very prestigious course,
where no less than ten teams from different
countries participated.
The course, presented at the
renowned Cranfield University in the
UK, is designed to encourage aeronautically
minded young people to
consider joining the aerospace industry
after they obtain a suitable degree.
The course catered for a range of experiences
designed to help them appreciate
the wide range of interesting
careers that the aeronautical industry
had to offer. These experiences,
among others, included talks on aviation,
aerodynamics, jet engines, flying
fixed and rotary wing aircraft (under
instruction) and also flying in a flying
laboratory Jetstream aircraft that is
Fltr: Madder Steyn, Tebogo Molobye, Christof
van der Merwe and Col André Coetzer.
used to teach aeronautical engineers
flight test techniques.
But before the fun started, there
was a lot of hard work! The selection
of the team was based on a research
paper covering various aeronautical
topics. A selection board then did the
final selection where the candidates
were evaluated on their knowledge of
their research papers and aviation in
general. Other selection criteria
included their ability to work in a
team, ability to demonstrate leadership
and to be good ambassadors for
the country. But this was not the end
of the work because, after
being selected, the team
had to prepare and submit
a report on an aeronautically
related topic to
the Cranfield University.
This was done to introduce
an element of competition
between the
international teams participating.
The result? -
The South African team
stood their ground and
ended in the top bracket
again, for the fourth time!
Col André Coetzer from HR
Development, the organiser and coordinator
of the South African team, is
of the opinion that we have some of
the finest aeronautically minded
young people in the world, judged on
our performance over the last four
years.
And the future? A South African
team has been invited, yet again, and
40 young students are working very
hard right now to be included in the
three-person team leaving for the 2007
Summer School in August this year.
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