Jabiru Aircraft SA, situated at the George Airport, is managed by a husband and wife team, Len and Les Alford.
The factory is the biggest builder of small airplanes in South Africa where aircraft are built from scratch. They have sent out more than 300 since the inception of the company.
"Initially we imported complete aircraft kits from the Australian Jabiru manufacturer and only did the assembling here. Five years ago we obtained the rights to build the entire airplane locally and now we import only 15% of components from Australia," says the slim, blonde Len who takes us on a tour of the factory.
Upon entering, one sees people intently bent over their work at a number of aircraft at different stages of completion. Everything happens in one large open space. Between 20 and 25 people are employed here.
The charming, tiny two and four-seater Jabiru planes come in three sizes, with descriptive names such as ‘Fatboy’ - a model that is very wide inside and according to Les’ description, "two South African-built men can fit in".
Built to order
Planes are built to order and it takes three and a half to four months to complete.
The process starts with the body of the aircraft which is made of a composite (very lightweight) fibreglass. The different parts of the body - upper and lower half, and wings (with flaps and other parts) - are made in moulds, much like boat-building. Once these parts come out of the moulds, they are assembled and fastened. The body is now ready for the spray booth. Then follows the finishing - seats, upholstery and carpets, and installing of electric wiring, the instrument panel and the engine.
Some fine engines
Les explains that two different "beautifully CNC manufactured" engines are available, the biggest of which delivers 120 hp and a maximum speed of 120 knots (just over 220 km/h). It is aircooled. The wings hold 140 litres of fuel.
Ian Kotze, aircraft maintenance organi-sation manager, who talks zealously about what they do, says although the engines are imported from Australia, they are adapted and developed further here.
Depending on the elaborateness of the fittings and instruments, one of these little planes can cost you less than a BMW320i!
And, says Ben van Zyl, a businessman based in Botswana who flies all over Southern Africa for business, it takes him five hours to complete a trip that would take two full days by car. He was at the factory at the time of the George Herald’s visit and chatted with relish about flying and his plane.
It is cheaper for him to fly with his Jabiru from Gabarone to Pretoria than it is to drive down in his Corolla. "My plane uses about 20 litres of fuel per hour’s flying."
And you can land anywhere where a strip of open land is available.
It transpired that Jabiru owners have their own culture, much like the members of a motorcycle club. "We meet regularly. Recently we were a group of 20 who circumnavigated South Africa and last year we took a tour of Botswana," says Ben.
It is evident that the drone of these little aircraft from George will for a long time to come fill the airways all over Southern Africa and even further north to Zambia, Kenya and Nigeria.
Abigail van Staden, Natasha Appollis (front from left), Mabel Januarie and Feorika Jansen (back from left) do some refining on the bottom part of a new Jabiru body.
ARTICLE AND PHOTOS: ALIDA DE BEER, GEORGE HERALD REPORTER
