Ultimate Aviation Group (UAG), headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, is experiencing increased demand for its Caravan fleet, and its rotary division is performing well. Along with the fixed and rotary wing divisions, Ultimate Air and Ultimate Heli, the company is developing a drone division by launching as an OEM called Ultimate Unmanned.

“We have been active in Africa for about nine years, and only in the last five years have we received our AOC and purchased aircraft,” says aviation manager Craig Munro. “Our fixed wing side is what I run, and we have Caravans in South Sudan that we have been flying for years. We serve the Red Cross and about 60 other NGOs, and we have an aircraft in Uganda that we fly there for a US government agency; we have similar operations in Yemen and Mali. We also operate aircraft for CADG, another part of our company involved in construction.”

He says that the Caravan is perfect for his mission profile: “We want to concentrate on last mile delivery. We pick up and deliver to remote locations that no vehicles can get to. We are often dealing with extremely short runways when it is is raining, and often these are very muddy and comparable to a football field.

“We are a fairly new company so we are still growing. Eventually we would like a Beechcraft 1900. For the short field performance we also looked at the PZL M28 made by Sikorsky, which bought the Antonov 28 and rebuilt it. Some of these machines are very expensive though, so we haven't quite got there yet.”

The PC-12 was considered by UAG but it too proved an expensive option and the fixed undercarriage of the Caravan made it preferable. “We haul drums of fuel and aid and it works well for us,” Munro explains. “A lot of our clients know the Caravan, the Let 410 and the Twin Otter, and they don't know the PC-12. To try and change how they think and what they are going to use is very difficult, because what they are familiar with is what they tender out for.”

At the moment all of the company's activities are in Africa, but it has recently been awarded a contract in India as well, for geosurvey work. A Hawker 800XP is also part of the fleet and was recently moved from South Africa to perform corporate charter in Nairobi, Kenya. “We have it based in Nairobi and that's where I am now, trying to drum up some business and increase awareness over here,” says Munro. “There are a lot of corporate passengers flying from Nairobi and there are very few medium sized business jets, which is why we've brought up ours. We have it on a local operating permit and we are going to give it a go.

“We also like going to places like Mogadishu and Yemen and Libya. While many have an issue flying to places like these, we do not.”

On the rotary side, UAG flies five Squirrels and recently won contracts for two Bell 412 EPs, which will be stationed in Antarctica for the next five years for the South African government. As for the unmanned project, Munro says that it will be the largest of its kind available for civilian use. “There are larger ones, but those are all military. These drones could be used for border line and park line patrol. The project is still about a year out; we have done some test flying with them and it is very exciting,” he concludes.