Today we had the privilege of flying the newly crowned Miss Universe, Miss Zozibini Tunzi, back to her home town of Umtata.
As a company we were so proud and humbled by the opportunity to reconnect her with her with one of the smaller communities in South Africa.
For nearly 26 years, the brand has been focussed on doing just that, connecting people from all over the world with communities that might otherwise not get to share in special occasions like today.
It was a truly humbling experience and an honour to be part of.
Thank you Zozibini and Thank you SA Express.
The Quality Of Your Life Is The Quality Of Your Relationships
The luckiest break I ever had In my career was when I got partnered for simulator training with a man that had the same values and commitment as myself.
A successful month long simulator course in Berlin, thousands of mock flights visualising countless emergencies and procedures, family holidays, best man speeches, motorbike adventures and many a cold beer….
Ten years later, we share the flight deck for the first time. Our commitment to excellence as crew members during our initial training morphed into an excellent uncompromising friendship outside the flight deck.
As Tony Robbins suggests “The quality of your life, is the quality of your relationships”.
Be a useful member in the flight deck
I love this advice from my dad. “Be a useful member in the flight deck even if you don’t have much experience on the aircraft. Learn your SOP’s, be as accurate as you can and build up your knowledge.”
Building up knowledge is a critical aspect in any aviators development. It is critical in any aspect of your life, read books, listen to informative podcasts, watch YouTube in the categories that interest you and most importantly listen to what your peers have to say, they might know something that you absolutely need to know!
I always think that we as aviators have an added advantage, we are often confined to a very small space with someone we may not ordinarily spend much time with had it not been for being rostered as combined crew. I have had the privilege of sharing that space with many great aviators and wonderful human beings and am excited at the prospect of learning from a new group of pilots since been granted the opportunity of moving into the left seat.
Love what you do.
The things we do not yet know are more important than the things we already know.
At the beginning of my aviation career it became quite evident to me that in order to find success in the flight deck it was going to be important to learn from my shortfalls and use those small mistakes to develop my skills.
I am sure that all of us have events in our minds that have stuck with us throughout and used those events to strengthen our subsequent performances and make ourselves better pilots. Aviation safety relies significantly on the ability to asses our own performances, own up to our shortfalls and work hard at eliminating them. The most satisfying and beneficial way for me to learn has always been through my peers and their desire to share information and knowledge.
I think we can all learn much more from each other particularly in the small confines of the flight deck. I got great pleasure in interviewing one of my mentors and colleagues on my podcast. This platform is proving to be invaluable in my learning process.
As written by Jordan Peterson in 12 rules for life "The things we do not yet know are far important than the things we already know."
Aviation, flying is in my blood.
I have had many happy experiences in the flight deck but none more so than on this day when I was handed my 4th stripe. To steal a famous quote from the great Ayrton Senna and replace his use of the words "racing and competing" with my words "aviation and flying".
"Aviation, flying it's in my blood, it's a part of me, it's part of my life; I have been doing it all of my life and it stands out above everything else." I feel incredibly lucky and grateful to be part of this wonderful aviation machine. This is not a job, this is my life
