SAAF navigator wings course 72 takes on – and wins – medium level VFR challenge
Date: 3 September 2026
Swapping Air Force Base (AFB) Ysterplaat for the AFB Makhado – the Limpopo base regarded as “fighter town” in the SA Air Force (SAAF) – was no insurmountable challenge for five navigators in training.
The five – all candidate officers – are SN Nyanda, M Silima, GN Tshamano, S Ibrahim and TN Kamolane. They are enrolled at 80 Air Navigation School at the SAAF Cape Town base as Navigator Wings Course 72 with their “sortie” to the most northern province in South Africa starting them on the flying phase – medium level visual flight rules (VFR navigation) – of the course. Candidate officer Given Tshamano reports the excursion to the home of 2 Squadron and 85 Combat Flying School (CFS) was “a fundamental component of their training to become skilled and competent navigators”.
Each student undertook and completed five sorties, developing navigation accuracy, situational awareness and cockpit workload management under VFR conditions. The fifth sortie served as the formal assessment with all five students passing and demonstrating competence and readiness ahead of the next stage of training.
In addition to the formal assessment, each student successfully completed a solo sortie, marking a significant milestone. The achievement confirmed growing confidence, competence and mastery of the medium level VFR navigation skills required of navigators.
The flying phase, Tshamano reported, not only tested and developed navigation skills but also reinforced the importance of teamwork, discipline and perseverance — qualities essential to their future roles in the SAAF.
Contributing to the success of the VFR training can best be described as a SAAF team effort with AFB Makhado, AFB Ysterplaat photo section and AFB Waterkloof-based 41 Squadron in the form of two Cessna 208 Caravans with air and ground crews all making it a good start for the next crop of SAAF navigators.
SAAF training is also working on developing another batch of pilots. Late last year the ten-strong Pilots Wings Course 130 recorded their first solo flights on the PC-7 Mk II turboprop at AFB Langebaanweg. Langebaanweg is the primary training base for SA Air Force pilots who go on to specialise in either the helicopter, jet or transport lines after earning their wings.
The first flight and solo achievements, according to the SAAF, came in the face of “challenges” ranging from aircraft serviceability, resource constraints, bad weather and instructor shortages. “The course typically doesn’t take this long, but the students adapted to the unique circumstances,” the SAAF reported.
Republished with permission of DefenceWeb.
