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AVIATRIX PROFILES8 AUGUST 2012

THE SOUTH AFRICAN AIR FORCE

LIEUTENANT OLWETHU SOGA

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LIEUTENANT OLWETHU SOGA

Lieutenant Olwethu Soga, left, Captain Tarryn Bind and Captain Laura Ilunga stand proudly in front of an Oryx at Durban s air force base. The trio made history by becoming the first all-female crew on an air force helicopter flight when they made a 30-minute circuit of Durban. Photograph: Gcina NdwalaneSOURCE: http://www.silverfalcons.co.za

LIEUTENANT OLWETHU SOGASOUTH AFRICAN AIR FORCE FLIGHT ENGINEER

Olwethu is, to-date, the only female flight engineer in the South African Air Force (SAAF). Shewas born in Butterworth, in the Eastern Cape, and qualified in 2008 as the first and only woman flight engineer in the SAAF. In 2010, she qualified to take leadership as 16 Squadron technical officer – the person in charge of all technical aspects of running the squadron. Her flying tasks have included night flying, mountain flying, formation flying, night specialist op-erations, sea rescues, mountain rescues, casualty evacuation, gunnery war simulation exercises, and firefighting and cargo-slinging.

MEET OUR VERY OWN ORYX TOP GUNS

UPLIFTING Women’s Day today are four women demonstrating the equal competence of their sex in defence and the ministry. Yesterday, three women of the South African Air Force made history when they became the first women-only crew of a helicopter flight. The flight by pilot Captain Tarryn Bind, co-pilot Captain Laura Ilunga and flight engineer Lieutenant Olwethu Soga, of 15 Squadron, was a first in the 91-year history of the second-oldest air force in the world. The trio were proud and particularly pleased the event had taken place in time for Women’s Day and in Women’s Month. The Oryx flight took off from Durban’s air force base, near the old Durban International airport, and made a 30-minute circuit of Durban. The air force’s theme for yesterday was: “Strong women building a strong SAAF in defence and service of the nation”. Bind, 27, originally from Joburg, is the first woman to qualify as an Oryx commander at 15 Squadron; she is only the second woman to achieve this in SAAF history. “We are all professionals and we were excited. It was really quite nice having ladies only in the helicopter,” she said of yesterday’s flight.

It’s a far cry from her childhood dream of

being a flight atten-dant and another step towards her dream of becom-ing an astronaut. Ilunga, 26, de-scribed being part of history as “over-due but great”.

She joined the SAAF in 2004 as a pupil pi-

lot and completed the gruelling basic training

and officer courses. She then studied at the military

academy and got her BMil: De-fence and Technology Management

through Stellenbosch University, majoring in aeronautical science. She got her wings at the

central flying school, Langebaanweg, in 2007. She said: “We need more women in the air force,” adding that she was part of an NGO, Southern Af-rica Women in Aviation and Aerospace Industry, which aimed to get bursaries for young women who wanted to be in the force.

Soga, 28, of Butterworth, in the Eastern Cape, qualified in 2008 as the first and only woman flight engineer in the SAAF. Last year she qualified to take leadership as 16 Squadron technical officer – the person in charge of all technical aspects of running the squadron. Her flying tasks have included night flying, mountain flying, formation flying, night specialist operations, sea rescues, mountain rescues, casualty evacuation, gunnery war simulation exercises, and firefighting and cargo-slinging.

Also reaching great heights in her career is Methodist minister Lauren Matthew. Now 33, she became a minister at the age of 28. Now she has been elected to the World Methodist Council steering committee for the youth. Speaking on her thoughts for this Women’s Day, Matthew said: “I think young women have to work really hard to create employment opportunities and a vibrant economy for themselves.” She grew up in Durban North, determined to “be a part of something good” in the world. Today she leads the KwaMashu parish. She says she has had to be a beacon of hope to women and to a community struggling with social problems and the residual effects of apartheid. “But the people are beautiful, strong and courageous. My Zulu is terrible, but they are teach-ing me and they laugh when I mispronounce things.” As a career, however, she initially had agricultural engineering in mind. “In the end the urge to tell God’s story was bigger than the urge to build bridges or irriga-tion systems,” she laughed.

By Lungelo Mkamba, Bronwyn FourieSOURCE: http://www.iol.co.za/mercury/meet-our-very-own-oryx-top-guns-1.1114318?showComments=true#.UCE2jWybXdk

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ABOVE: Lieutenant Olwethu Soga, right, Captain Tarryn Bind (left) and Captain Laura Ilunga (centre) stand proudly in front of an Oryx at Durban’s air force base. Source: Sunday TimesPhotograph: Gcina Ndwalane

Flying highSoga’s brush with the world of avia-

tion happened by chance while doing her first-year Mechanical Engineering course at East London Technikon in the Eastern Cape.

Soga, who is originally from Butter-worth in the Eastern Cape, had to quit the course after doing just one semes-ter.

“The Defence Force recruitment per-sonnel came to our institution to tell us about career opportunities in the De-fence Force through the Military Skills Development System. I applied and got admitted to a Mechanical Engineering course in the Air Force,” says Soga.

It was while doing this course that Soga switched courses and pursued a career in flight engineering.

Soga says being a female in the SAAF requires a person who is clear on his/her goals.

“You have to be emotionally, spiritually and mentally prepared. The environment can also be very harsh and if you are not mentally prepared, you won’t finish the course”.

“The challenges you face as a woman are far greater than any other challenges any man can face,” remarks Soga.

She says growth is important in everybody’s life and career growth in the Air Force depends on one’s inputs. Soga says a lot remains to be done in terms of attracting more women to the Air Force.

“We don’t have the numbers, the 15 Squadron only has four uniformed officers – I am the only female flight engineer in the whole of the SAAF. One thing that I want to accomplish during my lifetime in the Air Force is to become the first non-pilot Air Force Chief coming from the ranks of flight engineers. All the Air Force chiefs have been former pilots in general and fighter-jet pilots in particular.”

As a flight engineer, the 27-year-old Lieutenant Olwetu Soga is an important cog in the flight team that makes up the four crew members of

the Oryx helicopter. She is the eyes and the ears of the pi-lot and the co-pilot during search-and-rescue missions or when they have to land the massive Oryx medium- trans-port helicopter in unfamiliar territory.

“I do the monitoring of engines, systems and instruments, depending on the nature of the flight. When making a land-ing in built-up areas, I am the one who guides the pilots as to which direction they must steer the helicopter to avoid hitting overhead power lines or any other obstacles,” says Soga.

During search-and-rescue missions, she operates the hoist to lower the stretcher and secure the rescued person.

“In addition to this, I do pre- and post-flight inspections, pro-viding feedback on whatever we might have picked up during the flight.”

WOMEN IN AVIATION

She boasts the enviable title of being the only female flight engineer in the South African Air Force (SAAF), yet Olwetu Soga’s lifelong dream is to become the first non-pilot chief of the SAAF, writes Mbulelo Baloyi.

Lt. Olwetu Soga

Public Sector Manager • August 201150

4SOURCE: Public Sector magazine August 2011.pdf

WHAT IS A FLIGHT ENGINEER?

Flight engineers work in three types of aircraft: fixed-wing (airplanes), rotary wing (helicop-ters), and space flight (ISS).

As airplanes became even larger requiring more engines and complex systems to operate, the workload on the two pilots became excessive during certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs and landings. Piston engines on airplanes required a great deal of attention throughout the flight with their multitude of gauges and indicators. Inattention or a missed indication could result in engine or propeller failure, and quite possibly cause loss of the airplane if prompt corrective action was not taken. In order to dedicate a person to moni-toring the engines and other critical flight systems, the position of Flight Engineer was created. The Flight Engineer did not actually fly the airplane; instead, the Flight Engineer had his own specialized control panel allowing him to monitor and control the various aircraft systems. The Flight Engineer is therefore an integrated member of the flight deck crew who works in close coordination with the two pilots during all phases of flight. The Flight Engineer position was usually placed on the main flight deck just aft of the pilot and copilot. The flight engineer role was earlier referred to as the flight mechanic on the four engine commercial seaplanes like the Sikorsky S-42, Martin M-130 and the Boeing 314. The first commercial land airplane to include a flight engineering station was the Boeing 307 but only ten were built before the onset of World War II; during the war the Avro Lancaster bomber required a flight engineer. The first military operation involving Flight Engineers was in February 1941 on a Short Stir-ling, and was the first four-engined bomber raid of the war by the RAF.

DUTIES

The Flight Engineer (Air Engineer in the Royal Air Force) is primarily concerned with the op-eration and monitoring of all aircraft systems, and is required to diagnose and where pos-sible rectify or eliminate any faults that may arise. On most multi-engine airplanes, the Flight Engineer (FE) sets and adjusts engine power during take off, climb, cruise, go-arounds, or at any time the pilot flying (PF) requests a specific power setting to be set during the approach phase. The FE sets and monitors the following major systems: fuel, pressurization and air con-ditioning, hydraulic, electrics, ice and rain protection, oxygen, fire and overheat protection, and powered flying controls. FEs are also responsible for preflight and postflight aircraft in-spections, and ensuring that the weight and balance of the aircraft is correctly calculated to ensure the centre of gravity is within limits.

On airplanes where the FE’s station is located on the same flight deck just aft of the two pilots (all western three-man deck airplanes), they also monitor aircraft flight path, speed, and al-titude. A significant portion of their time is cross checking pilot selections. The flight engineer is essentially the systems expert of the airplane with an extensive mechanical and technical knowledge of aircraft systems and aircraft performance.

On some military airplanes(C-5, E-3, KC-10) the Flight Engineer sits behind the co-pilot in the cockpit, facing sideways to operate a panel of switch-

es, gauges and indicators, and on the Tupolev Tu-134 the flight engineer sits in the nose

of the airplanes. On other western military airplanes, such as on the

P-3 Orion and C-130H, FE’s sit between, slightly aft of, and slightly higher than the pilots. On civilian air-planes the FE is positioned so that he can monitor the forward instruments, pilot

selections and adjust the thrust levers located on the

centre pedestal; the FE’s chair

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can travel forward and aft and it can swivel laterally 90 degrees, which enables him to face forward and set the engine power, then move aft and rotate sideways to monitor and set the systems panel. The Flight Engineer is the aircraft systems expert onboard and responsible for troubleshooting and suggesting solutions to in-flight emergencies and abnormal technical conditions, as well as computing takeoff and landing data.

The basic philosophy of a three man flight deck on western airplanes should an abnormality or emergency arise is as follows: the Captain hands over the actual flying of the aircraft to the Copilot, then the Captain and Flight Engineer together review and carry out the necessary actions required to contain and rectify the problem. This spreads the workload and ensures a system of cross-checking which maximizes safety. The Captain is the manager and decision maker (Pilot Not Flying, PNF), the First Officer/Copilot is the actual flier of the aircraft (Pilot Flying, PF), and the Flight Engineer reads the check-lists and executes actions required under the auspices of the Captain (PNF). There can be occasions when the roles of the pilots during a emergency are reversed, i.e. the Copilot becomes the PNF and the Captain becomes the PF; one such example was on the A300 B-Series aircraft when there was a complete loss of generator-supplied electrical power, whereupon the standby instruments that were powered were on the Captain’s side only, requiring the Captain to be PF and the PNF and Flight Engi-neer to resolve the issue.

During World War II many bomber aircraft incorporated the flight engineer position. How-ever, this Engineer also doubled as a gunner, usually operating the upper turret as was the case of the B-17.

On all commercial airliners with a Flight Engineer the FE is the third in command, after the captain and first officer.

ELIMINATION

By the late 20th century, the development of increasingly more powerful and smaller Inte-grated circuits and advancements in digital technology have eliminated the necessity of Flight Engineers on modern airliners. The same general logic has led to the removal of the Flight Engineer position in many modern military aircraft. Flight Engineers are a rare sight today; however, older airplanes still flying today such as early model Boeing 747s, the Boeing 727, the Boeing E-3 Sentry, the Lockheed L-1011, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Tupolev Tu-154s still require Flight Engineers.

On new generation two-man deck airplanes, sensors and computers monitor and adjust sys-tems automatically. There is no onboard technical expert and third pair of eyes. If a malfunc-tion, abnormality or emergency occurs it will be displayed on an electronic display panel and the computer will automatically initiate corrective action to rectify the abnormal condition. One pilot (PF) does the flying, and the other pilot (PNF) will resolve the issue. The PNF has the additional workload of monitoring the PF, carrying out the requested PF commands, doing the radio work, and reading the checklists to ensure that the computer has done its job and that follow up procedures are accomplished as per checklists.SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_engineer