There's little as beguiling as a rough-hewn, dusty airstrip miles from anywhere with little protection from a searing sun. Few of us have not longed for the life of a bush pilot. Unfortunately Africa is large and Cessna 180's are slow and not altogether cheap. Forget speed for a moment; in the corner of a Secunda engineering shop and one of the local airfields' hangars, a duo of Gautengers is building the ultimate Camel Man accessory. It's modestly called a Bushbaby.....
The way a Bushbaby leaps into the air never fails to amaze me. This one flies like a dream, no adjustments needed. Beet Loubser, Loeriesfontein - I was looking for an affordable kit plane, built with local materials, that would fit on my trailer, so 1 opted for a Bushbaby. I did not have to think or pay in dollars. The kit arrived, already resembling an aircraft. The frame and all the metal parts come pre-welded, with every nut and bolt supplied.....
How many times do we say? I'd like to fly away to an unknown country," but down the road we decide not to pursue the trip, because the weather man says it's going to be cloudy or some other obstacle comes along ... well not this time. I was introduced to another Bush Baby owner (Sandy Kirkpatrick) and he came up with the idea of doing a cross-country flight with our homebuilt aircraft I jumped.....
The fuselage was damaged during a very rough field landing, and it was decided to replace the fuselage with an updated version, making it capable of tricycle configuration if so desired. ZU-ANI, serial 002, was built in Kimberley by Pieter Viljoen with a STOL wing. It is a Taildragger powered by a Rotax 532 of 64 Hp. The aircraft flew extremely well with this engine.....