Born in the Lowveld of South Africa, Julian apparently started his love of aircraft before he could walk. If he was not talking about aircraft, he was either building them or drawing them. During his compulsory military training, while training on gliders, he helped start the Defense Force Gliding Club at Tempe, Bloemfontain. He moved to Durban and worked in numerous fields of Finance, Real Estate and Construction.
Shortly after the birth of his son, he attained his Private Pilots License.
After moving to in Port Elizabeth, he attained his twin rating.
Julian has written numerous articles for SAflyer and FlightCom magazine since 2012, also while doing reporting on flying events and aircraft.
Presently he is a director in a Metal Recycling and Demolition company, and writes articles and posts for SAFlyer and FlightCom magazines on FaceBook and their Web pages.
A380’s could soon be back in South African skies by end of October British Airways has begun tentatively scheduling in at least some of its A380s for service over the winter season. Routing information suggests at least six A380s could be in operation from October 25th, with four on transatlanticRead More →
When boarding an airliner, have you looked at the jet engine and wondered why they have a spiral painted on the spinner? Is it just for looks or not? There are actually a few reasons, and they all have to with safety. The primary function of the spiral is to warn theRead More →
The Denel Rooivalk AH-2 is an attack helicopter manufactured by Denel Aviation of South Africa. Rooivalk is Afrikaans for “Red Falcon”. Development of the type began in 1984 by the Atlas Aircraft Corporation (a predecessor of Denel Aviation). The first Rooivalk was officially handed over in April 2011, and are flown by 16 Squadron, AFB Bloemspruit (Bloemfontein). Development The South African Defence Force recognisedRead More →
“Several Starship prototypes were destroyed during testing” In April, SpaceX successfully pulled off the first ‘hop’ test for its Starship prototype, the SN5. Last week, the company has once again repeated that feat with the SN6, a rocket which Elon Musk has previously referred to as a flying water tower, dueRead More →
The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is reviewing issues regarding the Boeing 787 that may mandate further inspection. The move comes as the FAA examines issues that led Boeing to the grounding of eight of the type over structural issues. In August 2020, Boeing instructed several customers to groundRead More →
South Africa’s Paramount defence group is ready to put country’s first home-grown aircraft since the 1980’s into service. South Africa’s first aircraft since the Apartheid era, the AHRLAC is back in production and poised for deliveries, and is marketed as an adaptable reconnaissance and security platform for budget-conscious customers. ProductionRead More →
The SpaceX Starship system is a fully-reusable two-stage-to-orbit, super heavy-lift launch vehicle under development by SpaceX since 2012, and is a self-funded private spaceflight project. Integrated system testing of a proof of concept for Starship began in March 2019, with the addition of a single Raptor rocket engine to a reduced-height prototype, nicknamed Starhopper. SpaceX is planning to launch commercialRead More →
The JSE-listed group went into business rescue in May this year If its business rescue plan is accepted, Comair, the parent company of two South African brands, Kulula.Com as well as British Airways (under a licence agreement), says it hopes to begin flying again in December. The publication of theRead More →
The world’s most famous Mirage III, number 159 attained its 13th kill on the first day of the 1973 Israel/Egyptian Yom Kippur War. The following day while taking off, it blew a tire and veered off the runway, trapping its pilot Israel Baharav in the cockpit. Baharav managed to escapeRead More →
