Alex MacPhail Podcast

Doug Ryder is the Principal of NTT Pro Cycling, a UCI top flight professional cycling team that competes in all the top cycling events, including: Tour de France, Giro d'italia, Veulta a Espana. Doug was an Olympic cyclist, competing with Lance Armstrong at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. He later won the Cape Argus Cycle Tour, training between a full time job working in IT. He founded and build u...

My Guest  is Major General Des Barker, retired from the SA Air Force after 40+ years of service. His last posting was Chief of Air Staff Operations. Prior to Air Command, General Barker served as the Chief Test Pilot and later Officer Commanding for the Test Flight & Development Centre for 10 years. General Barker has been involved in Test flying for nearly 4 decades. He was a Silver Falcons d...

My guest today is Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira, a formidable player on the rugby field and a key part in the 2019 World Cup winning Springbok team. He is the most capped prop in South African history and the third most capped Springbok of all time. Originally from Zimbabwe, Tendai moved to South Africa with the goal of playing for the Springboks. It is never a linear path to success, there are always...

David Southwood started flying military jets 40 years ago. He has been a test pilot for many decades. He has taught test pilots for many decades. He is one of those legends of aviation… the story goes:  "if Dave Southwood can’t fly it, it can’t be flown!” I don’t think there is anything more to say. Get in touch with Alex  to improve the performance of your team:  Email:  alex@alexmacphail.co...

My guest, Dr Adriana Marais is a Theoretical Physicist and Founder of Proudly Human, a project that is exploring resilient life, off earth. She is a Director at Foundation for Space Development and an astronaut candidate at Mars One. Adriana and her team are exploring the questions needed to be asked, should we live on a different planet. She has created survival conditions in some harsh environme...

My guest is a hard working, educated and community driven professional. Fatima Jakoet has been a professional airline pilot for 18 years. She is soon going to be celebrating 10 years since she started Sakhikmava Foundation, a non-profit organisation involved in aviation and skills development for the aerospace industry. This STEM based NGO identifies and fosters talent, to assist in building a str...

Gary Kirsten is one of the greatest batsmen South Africa has ever produced. He was the first cricketer to play 100 tests and scored 21 test centuries, with a high score of 275. He played 185 ODI, achieved 13 centuries and held the record for highest ODI score of 188 not out. As a batsman he had the ability to concentrate for long periods. He was one of the most organised batsman to play for South...

My guest today has a distinguished aviation career. He was an operational RAF Harrier pilot in Afghanistan. He joined the Red Arrows in 2006 and later became the Red 1,  the Leader and one of the most prestigious flying positions in the world. After his RAF career, Ben joined The Blades aerobatic team, and later became the leader of the 4 ship team of Extra 300 and Extra 330's. He has been a...

My guest today has been providing your virtual game drive experience during Lockdown, all around the globe. Graham Wallington first started providing online LIVE safaris more than two decades ago. The technology today has made the job a little easier for the team at WildEarth, but the lessons learned over 20+ years of production, has made all the difference. During Lockdown, people all around the...

My guest has a great story to tell. He set himself a goal of flying in the Red Bull Air Race series. Then he threw himself headfirst and worked until he got there. Dario Costa know how to set a goal and work like crazy until you reach it. He also knows that in flying, as in life, things don’t just come easy. He is a part of the Flying Bulls and is a Red Bull Athlete, based at the head office in Sa...

In this episode, I have the privilege of chatting with the most famous and accomplished pilot in South Africa, Captain Scully Levin. Scully has been the Leader of his aerobatic team for more than 3 decades, he has had an airline career of more than 4 decades and has been flying for more than 5 decades! He was recently awarded Master Air Pilot, only the second South African to have achieved this pr...

Charl Schwartzel is the 2011 US Masters Champion. He is also a fixed wing and helicopter pilot, licensed both in South Africa and in the United States. Our conversation will be about the discipline and preparation required to maintain focus, not only on the golf course, but in the cockpit. Are there commonalities with handling a Bell 407 or Cessna 206, and handling big crowds on day 4 of the Major...

John Vlismas is one of South Africa’s most prolific international comics. He recently retired as a professional comedian after a successful 25 year career. He now uses his creativity at Henley Business School in marketing designing course work and lecturing to innovative leaders. John won SA Stand Up comedian of the year in 2007 and was a finalist in the Canadian Laugh Off award in 2008. John has...

Annabel Vundla was President Nelson Mandela’s pilot. She was also the first black female pilot and flying instructor in the Air Force. But more than that, she is a good friend of mine. We learned to fly together, she earned her wings before she could drive a car. After a distinguished career flying for the 21 Squadron, the VIP Transport squadron of the SA Air Force, Annabel is now flying Airbus A3...

On this episode I am joined by Springbok number 636, the formidable Centre - André Snyman. André played 38 tests for the Springboks and scored 10 tries. He has a very high win percentage throughout his Bok career, averaging 68%. He was a Springbok during that record equally run of 17 unbeaten tests in a row. During his first three years with the Boks, if André scored, the Springboks won! He has pl...

Captain Brad Bennetts is a specialist instructor at South African Airways. With his aerobatics and airshow experience, Brad was selected to head up the Upset Prevention and Recovery Training program nearly a decade ago. He attended Advanced training in Arizona, with Aviation Performance Solutions, together with 2 other South African Airways pilots. The Upset Prevention and Recovery Training initia...

I’m joined by Kevin Ellis, a current freelance helicopter pilot flying Medevac operations in Kenya. In August 2014 while on a Medevac contract in Somalia, he went swimming at the beach in Mogadishu. After body surfing he made his way in and was bashed around by the incoming wave. He felt his leg bump a rock with a sharp pain on his right calf.  Kevin put his hand down to feel. He felt something ro...

My guest grew up on an Air Force Base, his father was the Officer Commanding of a Supersonic Jet Squadron. He started his flying training in the Royal Air Force, transitioned to the University Air Squadron then left to pursue other interests. He settled down again in his late twenties and qualified as a flying instructor. His love for aerobatics coincided with his love for learning. He became an a...

My guest has achieved great success in aviation. He is a hard working, well respected individual that has managed to reach the top position in a few different organisations. Captain Colin Jordaan (FRAeS), a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, currently sits on the Board of Comair Pty (Ltd). Previously he was the Director of the SA Civil Aviation Authority. Prior to that post, he was the Gene...

Have you ever wondered how Air Traffic Control works in a busy European airspace? My conversation with Tobias Arndt, an approach controller with Deutsche Flugsicherung, based in Munich, covered flying, sky diving, airspace control and mandatory stress leave. Upper airspace control feeds into the approach sector where he is positioned, to line the aircraft up with the runway. Germany has more than...

In this episode I'm joined by André Coetzee, Chief Executive of Henley Air. He is not only a grade 1 Helicopter Instructor, with nearly 15000 hours on helicopters, André is also a Professional Mechanical Engineer and holds a PhD in Aviation Management. He is a reservist Lieutenant Colonel in SA Police Services Flying Squadron. André is also a member of the Flight Test Society of SA and is rat...

I’m joined by Terry Pappas , Managing Director at Bat Hawk aircraft. He is a very interesting and well travelled gentleman. Bat Hawk have developed their own Light Sport Aircraft which has proved highly successful. They are sold all over the world and are particularly able as visual reconnaissance and game viewing aircraft. Bat Hawk and South African National Parks have a relationship in the Anti...

In this episode I’m joined by the Leader of the Silver Falcons, Major Sivu Tangana . Sivu was trained as a helicopter pilot, flying Agusta A109 and Denel Oryx helicopters before becoming a flying instructor. Sivu, originally from Grahamstown, has been stationed at many places, usually involving the ocean nearby. He has operated as the spare pilot, number 3 and number 5, the soloist. He was appoint...

You have seen his work. He brought you this great image. Now meet him in person. Today my guest is Justin De Reuck, one of the top air photographers in South Africa. He has been involved in photography since he was 12. For the past decade, Justin has been the go-to guy for all aerial photo shoots. We are going to discuss what it takes to create that special photo, his involvements in High Performa...

On this podcast I’m very excited to be interviewing someone I respect a great deal. My sister, Nicola, has accomplished some amazing feats. She is hard working, diligent, intelligent and easy to get along with. After earning her Honours in Business Science she embarked on a journey to Scotland working as an investment banker. She moved to London and shortly thereafter, qualified as a Chartered Acc...