Born to fly

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MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The sky is the limit if you grow up in Mossel Bay.

Well, that is the case for two buddies who are now based in Cape Town and are pilots working for Mango airlines.

Both of them - Morné le Roux and Hein Rehr - went to Park Primary and Point High schools.

Photo gallery: The sky is the limit if you grow up in Mossel Bay

Morné, the son of Boetie le Roux, whose company is Boetie le Roux Eiendomme, matriculated from Point in 1993.

He studied architecture for three years. During this time he started flying lessons. Then he started flying fulltime and never looked back.

I started out with André Middel - a long-time instructor in Mossel Bay, with just a few lessons while I was doing my practical studies with architects in Mossel Bay."

Morné then went on to Progress Flight Academy in Port Elizabeth. "I obtained my commercial pilot's licence in PE.

"Then I flew in Africa in the Congo, Nigeria and almost the whole of Africa to gain experience, as well as Afghanistan."

Africa
"After that I got into the corporate market. I flew for a construction company and then joined Mango. This is usually the evolution of a pilot. You go through the ranks.

"Before I joined Mango I was with Air Link.

"Hein and I are both in Cape Town. It's a privilege to be an airline pilot. There are not many jobs in this field. It is also great to be in Cape Town and flying Boeings."

"I abandoned architecture studies. Flying is more my passion than architecture. My whole life I wanted to be a pilot."

Two of Morné's brothers still live in Mossel Bay. A younger brother lives in CT." There are four Le Roux sons in total. Morné turns 45 at the end of this month.

Hein joined Mango on 1 November. He matriculated from Point in 2006.

"I flew while I was in high school. My dad had a private pilot's licence. I flew with them from the age of 11. When I was 14 or 15 I worked as a fuel attendant and washed planes at the Mossel Bay airstrip."

Hein was also a talented sportsman at school and played at Craven Week for the U13s, U16s and U18s, among other sporting achievements. "It was quite a challenge doing sport and flying," he admits.

Port Alfred
"I did my private pilot's licence while at school. I then went to 43 Air School in Port Alfred, where I obtained my commercial pilot's licence.

"It's hard to get jobs in South Africa. I flew for the Skydiving Club in Mossel Bay for a few months and became an instructor in Mossel Bay with André Middel. I was part of the flying school for a few years in Mossel Bay."

Hein then did corporate flying in Pretoria for a year. "Then Starlite Aviation in Mossel Bay wanted me to be part of the team. I spent three years there. I obtained my helicopter's licence and was an instructor for fixed wings and helicopters from about 2014 to 2017.

"Then I flew Boeing freighters in Johannesburg. It was contract flying, flying freight at night."

Hein's next step was to where he is now, flying Boeings for Mango. "I started in 2004 and I don't want to do anything else but fly. I'm turning 32 this year. The only thing is the hours are tough. I leave home at 03:00, but I finish at 14:00, so it's not too bad."

Morné le Roux.