Teens to build plane and fly from Cape Town to Cairo
On the 1st December 2018 two teenagers, Ntando Makwela and Megan Werner, plan to depart from Johannesburg on a flight in an aircraft still to build that will ultimately end in Cairo, Egypt an ambitious undertaking to say the least. However, if it wasn't for dreams and ambitions we would still be languishing in the dark ages.
Ntando and Megan will not be alone in the undertaking. By the end of May one hundred teens would have been interviewed from which twenty will be selected for the final build of a Sling 4, an aircraft that has proven its abilities during numerous long distance flights.
The Sling falls under the LSA category and cruises at 120 KTS so it's a long way, almost 100 hours return without any extras or diversions. The reason that they have chosen the Sling is that it has proven that it can do the job and it also runs on both Mogas as well as Avgas so fuel is not a huge problem to organise.
The build is planned to take place during the June-July school holidays at the Airplane Factory's premises where a number of the company's staff will advise and supervise the twenty two teens who will be involved in the build.
Although Megan and Ntando, the two leaders, will fly to Cairo each of the twenty shortlisted students will get a flight in the Sling and will be part of a team that makes history and they will be featured on the TV show. Some will be involved in the flight following. There is a support plane that will follow with camera equipment and support.
Carte Blanche's Derek Watts is very excited about this project and they plan to do a two part series about the project. There are also loads of radio stations that are joining the trip. The entire trip will be filmed and made into a TV series once we are back.
A venture such as this is not possible without sponsorship and up to now they have been able to source the following:
• Most of the aircraft parts except seats, a paint job and some avionics.
• Familiarisation Training for the 100 students (DTM)
• Build Training for the 20 Students (DTM)
• A tracking device and Sat Phone with airtime. (Satcom International)
• Flight Suits for the crew
• ATC Tour (ACSA)
• Flight Support Services (CFS)
• Landing and overflight permissions (CFS)
• Additional Tracking (CFS)
• Tour of the operations Centre (CFS)
• Fundraising contribution (CFS)
Planning the venture is well advanced but since it is really dynamic things change rapidly. The current planned route is as follows:
01 Dec 2018 Take off Johannesburg flight to Cape Town. 5.5 Hours
02 Dec 2018 Leave Cape Town for Namibia (Lüderitz) Via Upington
04 Dec 2018 Leave Lüderitz for Walvis Bay and Windhoek
07 Dec 2018 Leave Windhoek for Vic Falls
08 Dec 2018 Leave Vic Falls For Kariba
10 Dec 2018 Leave Kariba for Blantyre
12 Dec 2018 Leave Blantyre for Zanzibar
17 Dec 2018 Leave Zanzibar for Nairobi
20 Dec 2018 Leave Zanzibar for Entebbe
22 Dec 2018 Leave Entebbe for Addis
23 Dec 2018 Leave Addis for Khartoum
24 Dec 2018 Leave Khartoum for Cairo (Xmas in Cairo)
28 Dec 2018 Leave Cairo for Asmara Port of Sudan
29 Dec 2018 Leave Asmara to Arusha (Kilimanjaro)
30 Dec 2018 Leave Arusha to Pemba (New Year in Pemba)
02 Jan 2019 Leave to Ponta Barra
03 Jan 2019 Leave to Durban via Maputo
04 Jan 2019 Leave to Cape Town
05 Jan 2019 Leave to JHB
Sponsorship for the following will be most welcome:
• Fuel for the trip
• Balance of the PPL hours for the 2 pilots
• A MPI service during the trip if we go over the 100 hours.
• Accommodation for the crew and support team about 8 people.
• Commercial flights for two support members on a commercial operator.
• CAA negotiations to make things easier in the various countries.
• Accommodation for the 20 teens for 3 weeks during the build.
• Food for the teens during the build
• A drone for the use of the trip
• 4 x Go Pro cameras
• Safety equipment for the build.
• Branded T Shirts and Caps for the build saying Molo Africa with the sponsor's branding as well.
• Lots of odds and ends.
• Anything else we may have forgotten.
• Loads of moral support and encouragement.
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