Thursday 14 July 2016

Back Again!

Wow.

Where do I begin? 18 months since my last post... not sure if that is a question or a statement!?

As this blog is mostly a timeline for myself to look back on one day, this will just be a quick update to fill in the blanks, i.e. the last 18 months! 

2 weeks after obtaining my CPL in November 2014, I was blessed enough to be offered my first full time employment. Unfortunately it was not a flying job, but rather working in flight operations for one of the top air ambulance companies in the world, and certainly the best on the continent! I knew with my low hours that this would most probably be the case and even though I am still searching for that first flying opportunity 18 months later, I would not give back any of the great operational experience I have obtained.

These are the life and industry lessons that they just can't teach you in flight school and they will stand me in good stead when I am flying one day. In this time I have saved and bought my first car, learned to work hard shifts through the night and most days of the month including weekends (we operate 24/7/365), learned a great amount about operating and flying jet aircraft in an incredibly demanding environment from some great pilots that have become my friends and mentors, and a ton of other things!

As of 1 July 2016, my company has undergone some significant changes and we are expanding at a huge rate! I look forward to keeping track again of the little milestones through the coming months. 

P.S. I am still flying at least once a month and am keeping my license very current should an opportunity come knocking, and still love every minute of being up in the air like it was day 1. It has been 3 and a half years since that first flight lesson that I so eagerly blogged about. I wouldn't change the time since that for anything, and look forward to seeing where I am in another 3 years!

- Kyle

  

Sunday 7 December 2014

New commercial pilot on the block!

I am officially a commercial pilot!

13 November is now a day to remember for me, as after 2 weeks of weather cancellations I finally managed to complete my CPL flight test. 

It has been a very busy last couple of months finishing my flight training, but it has been worth the work and wait to now hold a commercial pilot licence!

Now, anybody need a pilot...? ;)

Kyle Kruger - Multi Engine Instrument Rated Commercial Pilot





Friday 22 August 2014

The end is near!

With less than 12 hours of PIC time remaining and having already started the instrument rating, I am hoping to be only one month away from holding a Commercial Pilots License. 

Since finishing my last CPL exam in May, it has been a busy time of hour building and dual instruction flights for the instrument rating! I have even begun flying an immaculate Mooney M20J in preparation of flying a multi engined aircraft, to get used to the speed and 'complex' systems of Multi/IF flying. That, and its an excuse to fly an extremely fun aircraft... ;)

To get rid of a large chunk of hours in one go, I decided to fly down to Durban in my most trusted C172, ZS-PXI. I invited my friend Simon who was only too happy to go along (read 'get a free holiday'), and we flew down on Monday July 14, stayed over one night and flew back the next morning. Attached are some pictures from the experience-building 8 hour return trip! 

 On our way
 Stunning South African expanse
 My map reflecting
 Beautiful early morning, low-level cloud 
 The start of the majestic Drakensberg Mountain range
 KwaZulu-Natal farmlands
 Hills and valleys 
 Arrival via the Durban Harbor 
 The Bluff
 Durban Harbor
 Virginia Airport, right on the beach

 Departing early the next day


 The breath-taking sunrise
 Some low-level practice
The beach beneath us, before turning inland for Johannesburg

Wednesday 21 May 2014

2014 Zwartkop Air Show

So the week before my awesome Harvard flight was the fantastic annual AFB Zwartkop Air Show, and once again it was spectacular and did not fail to deliver!

Here are a few of my pictures from the show, hope you enjoy! :D





















Best Flight Ever

Hello again! 
So here is a picture of my best flight ever! It was my first experience of aerobatics and my first experience of Warbirds too!

The aircraft, Harvard 7166 (ZU-AOZ) of the South African Air Force (retired). Built in the late 1930's to early 1940's, that makes this aircraft 70+ years old! They were designed for the purpose of training WWII pilots before stepping up to aircraft like the P-51 Mustang! This was a dream come true, thanks to my parents for organising me a birthday present like no other! 

Stay tuned as I had a GoPro camera with me and will post a link to the footage once it has been edited!



This is what she looks like in entirety. (photo by Stuart Soden)


Did I mention... BEST FLIGHT EVER!

Monday 17 March 2014

My First Video

I have recently realised what a great companion an iPhone is in the cockpit, so here is a YouTube link to a fun video of a recent flight, complete with some ATC audio! :)

Saturday 1 March 2014

iPhone Camera!

So, it turns out the iPhone has an awesome camera on it, which allows me to have it in the cockpit while I'm flying at all times, and for you it means great perspective! Enjoy! :)







Wednesday 22 January 2014

Holiday!

Well I'm back up and running for the new year!

I recently got a new computer and am struggling to get my Cape Holiday pictures onto the new one, but here are some from Plett. 

I think you can see what I prefer to photograph, even on holiday... ;)