I was 4 years old when my parents made the mistake of taking me to a remote control airfield, South of Johannesburg in South Africa. I had dreams of running as fast as I could, totally committing to the jump, spreading my arms and taking to flight. The sensations of falling towards the ground, bracing myself for the hard crash but after a little while realizing that I am soaring inches above the
ground with the complete freedom of going where ever I want, is what it's all about for me. This dream became a reality when I was 11 years old as my remote control glider flight instructor Charles Stephens, offered to take me to a full size glider club in Magaliesburg, South Africa, mgc.org.za. My dreams of flying came true this day and the experience was even better than I dreamt. We soared up to 5500 ft alongside eagles to the cloud base. We stayed up for over an hour, what an amazing experience. After finishing school I joined the South African Air force and successfully completed my apprenticeship as an Aircraft Mechanic, qualifying on the Super Puma (Oryx) helicopters. I then moved to England and started building experience in general aviation and the civilian world. I worked at Conington Airfield close to Peterborough, also at Panshanger in Hertfort and Denham Aviation, east of London. While working at Panshangar, I was able to experience working on aerobatic aircrafts and also got the opportunity to go for an aerobatic ride in what is know as the ugliest Pitts S2A ever built G-HISS, the challenge for precision aerobatic's was on. In 2004, my path crossed with Jason Newburg who was currently living the U.S. I was able to obtain my FAA A&P license and my private pilot's license while working for Jason. Shortly after, I was able to climb the ladder at Southeast Aero Services in the Extra department. During the eight years with them, I successfully obtained my FAA inspection authorization and became the department manager. The experience and knowledge gained during these eight years have been priceless. I am very grateful for the opportunity. I have now opened Cilliers Aviation and am in the process of obtaining a maintenance hangar where I will be maintaining and servicing aircrafts. I am building the company from the ground up, utilizing and expanding on the 18 years of experience gained since I left school. On a side note, I am very honored and excited to join the Red Bull Air Race Goulian Team # 99. This is a lifetime opportunity for me!! I feel positive that my years of experience will be of some use to the team and that with a combined effort, we will get Michael on the top of the podium. Watch this page for super exciting events in aviation!!!
