Our publications are based on years of experience in flight training as well as background in engineering, psychology and didactics. Our publications are vetted by professional language practitioners and, where applicable, designed by graphics designers. Our books are professional publications, available for sale to the public in mainstream bookshops and through online traders.

Books

In the book What to do in an Aircraft Cockpit, our Chief Flight Instructor Chris R. Burger has combined more than twenty years of flight instruction experience with a solid grounding in aviation psychology and control systems to produce a book that is used to great effect in South African flight training circles.

This book is also available in Afrikaans as In 'n Vliegtuigstuurkajuit. For the first time, Afrikaans students have a procedures manual available in their own language.

More recently, this book was published internationally by ASA, the world's foremost publisher of aviation training material. The resulting publication, Cockpit Procedures: Effective Routines for Pilots and Virtual Aviators, is now available world wide. It is practically identical to the original book, but is less focussed on the South African situation and has a few new sections.

We wrote these books because we could not find anything similar on the market. There are many good theory books to explain how aircraft are built and why they stay in the air, but there did not seem to be one that provides a step-by-step guide to what the pilot should be doing in the cockpit. These books are just that: A blow-by-blow description of everything you should be doing from the moment you arrive at the airport until you leave the aircraft at the other end. It also provides background on how good decisions are made and how to manage high workload safely. Novice and seasoned pilots alike have benefitted from these books.

These books cover aeroplanes and helicopters. Our own publications retail at R 200 including VAT. Cockpit Procedures is available from a wide range of sources at varying prices.

Checklists

We have a handy format generic checklist. This checklist is an update of the ubiquitous SAAFI checklist, on which many South African flying schools base their own checklists. We've updated the booklet to include the provisions of the new Civil Aviation Regulations, cleaned up the language and added a few new procedures that probably should have been there in the first place. You'll also enjoy the Morse decoder, something you may not have seen before. The checklist is in a handy format and easy to use. It retails at R 45 including VAT.

Finally, we have a number of checklists for specific aircraft models, including the Beech King Air B90, C90 and 200, the Cessna Grand Caravan C208B and the Citation 500 series (original, Longwing and Eagle). These type-specific checklists are laminated to give a lifetime of good service. They retail at around R 250, depending on the specific model.

Pilot Logbook

Our pilot logbook is the only one that fully complies with the requirements of South African Civil Aviation Regulations, Part 61. It is bound in durable imitation leather with silver embossing, befitting a document that we know you will cherish for a lifetime. Around 1500 of them have found their way into pilots' hands since their introduction in 2008. We can custom-make your company logbooks with your own cover design, logo and colour scheme, just like we do for several large flying schools.

What others say about our publications

It has been penned in an easily understandable and relaxed style... The language used is straight-forward and to the point, and technical descriptions are provided where necessary... For me, something that was notable from this book was the rationale behind many common procedures that are standard practice in the training environment... African Pilot, August 2006.

Enthusiasm and a genuine love of aviation have driven Chris to come up with what may well become one of the lasting training foundation stones of many future aviators... It is encouraging to see that, while writing the book, Chris has also looked over the wall at where most pilots eventually end up as their careers unfold, flying bigger and more complex aircraft. His book, while targeting the pilot just beginning his or her career, is not "dumbed down" to light aircraft operation. Many of the philosophies taught here are so fundamental and powerful that they will carry a pilot right through to retirement. Foreword by Mike Malherbe, BSc (Hons), MBL, Senior training captain, Virgin Blue (then with South African Airways).

He tackles a subject that, on face value, has been covered many times, yet the book is guaranteed to provide some startling first insights to a number of not-so-fresh pilots... I suspect the book will "switch on the lights" for more experienced pilots and even instructors (particularly), than would confess to the fact... It will most certainly address the need of many flying schools drawing from a mainly Afrikaans-speaking client base, to assist their students with the correct Afrikaans terminology associated with aeroplanes and flying... I wish I had this book when I started my own training, but even more so when I started venturing into the daunting enterprise of teaching others "what to do in an aircraft cockpit". Fortunately it is never too late to learn new things. Pieter Roux, a freelance flight instructor and then president of AOPA-SA, in World Airnews, December 2006.

I think this book is essential reading for an aspirant pilot in the process of developing a structured approach to flying. Although the contents are essentially the basics of flying, it provides a good introduction of what is required from the pilot--put simply. Most manuals and publications overcomplicate this part of the elementary training. So, well done. [The aviation authority] would be well advised to suggest this book to flying schools and aspirant pilots as compulsory reading. My problem is that instructors need to be taught how to carry the theoretical work through to the cockpit--that is where we are missing the boat. MajGen Des Barker, author of "Zero Error Margin: Display Flying Analysed" and expert on human decision-making as a factor in aviation safety, February 2009.

The main theme throughout the book is airmanship, something that is just not being transferred effectively these days since the demise of the "hangar talk" of old. Each phase of flight is described in the same entertaining, yet interesting fashion... Burger's 2500-plus hours of instruction shine through in this publication, as he is able to take the act of flying and break it down into easily understandable concepts, in an easy read, for new pilots, as well as old hands... It is an uplifting thought that South Africa has access to high calibre instructors, and publications of this type... It is that dedication to the cause that shines through clearly... Kevin Barker (editor) in "Hangar Talk" in World Airnews, April 2009.

Where to buy our publications

Here are some stockists, in alphabetical order by location:

Durban (Virginia Airport): The Pilot Shop 031 564 9157.

George (Garden Route Mall): Wordsworth 044 887 0224.

Johannesburg (Grand Central Airport): ATS 011 315 4391, Wings 'n Things 011 315 0197.

Johannesburg (Lanseria Airport): Wings 'n Things 011 701 3209.

Johannesburg (Randburg): Aviation Shop 011 792 2598.

Johannesburg (Sandton Square): Wings 'n Things 011 784 8944.

Port Elizabeth: Airline Pilot Training Centre 041 581 0327.

Pretoria (East): Exclusive Books Menlyn 012 361 6188, Exclusive Books Woodlands 012 997 3323.

Pretoria (Kitty Hawk Airport): Superb Flight Training 012 811 2233.

Pretoria (Wonderboom Airport): African Sky (Pretoria Flying School) 012 543 1765, Blue Chip 012 543 3050, Loutzavia 012 567 6775.

Web: Wings 'n Things or Exclusive Books.

You can also ask us directly how we can send you the book or any of the checklists.