Prominent members of the Aeronautical Society of South Africa have called for the capabilities and capacities of the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) to be strengthened so that it can undertake internationally accepted certification of transport aircraft designed and manufactured in South Africa. In an opinion piece published in the September edition of the Newsletter of the Aeronautical Society of South Africa, Danie Loots, Des Barker, Alcino Cardoso and Marié Botha also expressed alarm at the impending shutdown by State-owned defence and aerospace group Denel of its aerostructures business.

Regarding the SACAA’s current lack of certification capability and capacity, the authors noted that, while South African private-sector sport and light aircraft manufacturers, Jonker sailplanes and the Airplane Factory, appeared to be performing well, both had found themselves obliged to partner with overseas companies to be able to obtain international certification and thus access international markets. “This resulted in a partial loss of intellectual property and a dilution of the benefits their successes could have on the wider South African aviation industry,” they observed.

In particular, they opined that the SACAA should develop the ability to certify aircraft to the level of US Federal Aviation Regulations Part 25, which covers transport aircraft, including airliners. Ensuring that South African certification would be internationally acceptable would also require the negotiation of bilateral agreements with the authorities in Europe and the US.

“The SACAA should aim to be developing the capabilities and capacity to provide the South African aviation industry full access to international markets through internationally accepted certification standards and agreements,” affirmed the authors. “Success would mean companies like the Airplane Factory would have no need to partner with foreign companies in order to certify and sell South African-developed aircraft.”

Their concern regarding Denel exiting aerostructures is rooted in the increasing use, worldwide, of composites in place of metals in the manufacture of aircraft. Over the next 15 years, they highlight, the use of composites in aircraft will reach as much as 35% to 40% of their weight. Already, the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 XWB, both using lots of composites in their designs, are in airline service. (This development will also have a major impact on the aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul sector.)

“Composites technologies identified as critical for the future of aerospace are being adopted by the northern hemisphere,” they warn. “This, however, [is] at risk of being severely compromised in [S]outhern Africa and, in particular, South Africa, should the planned shutdown of the aerostructures portion of Denel Aeronautics become reality, with an ensuing lack of support for the local aerospace industry on composite material structures.”

Overall, the state of the local aerospace industry does not look good. “A sobering assessment of the South African aviation industry at present concludes that the South African aviation industry is declining at a time when other nations are building capacity and moving ahead into new technologies, like electric and hybrid aircraft,” point out the authors. One of the countries now building capacity, including in aerospace manufacturing, was Ethiopia. In South Africa, State-owned Denel was in financial crisis while private-sector Aerosud was under financial pressure because of Boeing’s problems with its 737 MAX airliner programme and because Airbus’s A400M airlifter programme was lossmaking.

“The most likely medium-term landscape for the South African aviation industry therefore would be a small-scale (and shrinking) development and manufacturing industry; a few small, private operators needing to maintain their ageing aircraft; and State-owned enterprises that are unable to get out of debt, like South African Airways and SA Express,” they forecast. To avoid this, they call for “leadership at the highest level of the country” to support and fund a national flagship programme for the industry, such as the Southern African Regional Aircraft (SARA), proposed by Denel several years ago. “A programme like SARA would, like [the Denel] Rooivalk, [or Kestrel attack helicopter], in the past, serve as a vehicle, for the development of the whole industry and related organisations. In the absence of such a vehicle, the industry will only continue its current downward trajectory.”