#YouthMonth: SA teens assemble plane to fly from Cape to Cairo
This June, a historic aviation challenge will take place as 20 South African teenagers embark on a Cape to Cairo - and back - excursion in a self-assembled Sling-4 aircraft that uses ordinary motor fuel and was built in only three weeks.
The excursion, earmarked to start on 12 June 2019, will see different teams of the teenagers pilot and charter a course that will cut across several African cities and towns spreading the key messages of an African narrative that started as a dream.
Teen pilot, author and motivational speaker, Megan Werner from Krugersdorp, Johannesburg, sparked by her passion to inspire, founded U Dream Global Foundation to uplift, empower, equip and transform the lives of thousands of youth throughout Africa and the world by dreaming and achieving the impossible as well as succeeding beyond expectations.
Megan Werner
“The Challenge has enabled us to take a lot of teenagers from different backgrounds to teach and equip them with life skills that they can take with them into the future,” says 17-year-old Werner.
“Throughout Africa, we are hoping to do similar impacting thousands of lives of the youth that are the future of the continent.” she says.
Following final inspections and flight certifications, Werner and various teen co-pilots are now set to fly the light aircraft from Cape Town to Cairo, charting a course across Africa to visit towns and cities in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea to Egypt and a return trip that will include Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia.
The project is a result of team effort and innovative partnerships
Voluntary support for logistical aspects of the flight is being provided by CFS, ExecuJet, Worldfuel and Mike Blyth, founder of The Airplane Factory – the enterprise that designed and built the original Sling plane series. The prototype of the Sling 4 was chosen because this type has already been flown twice around the world.
Using specially modified, self-made drones, the challenge will be documented on video as some of the teenagers fly alongside adult supervisors who will use a second Sling-4 aircraft for support to monitor proceedings.
To raise funds to cover the costs of fuel, accommodation, crew support, commercial flights, branding and documentation of the trip, the team hopes to raise a total of R350,000 through a campaign launched on donation-based crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy.
To support this cause, go to www.backabuddy.co.za/cape-to-cairo
