MIDNIGHT IN THE COCKPIT - ONLY PLACE FOR A FIGHTER PILOT

By Ms Hanrie Greebe

They call him Midnight, or sometimes Mus. Lt Col Musa Mbokota. He is the Operations Officer at 2 Squadron, Air Force Base Makhado from where the Gripen Light Fighter aircraft are operated. Lt Col Mbokota is also the Operational Test and Evaluation Leader on the Gripen. This entails developing tactical and operational procedures and doctrine, ensuring that the Gripen aircraft meet the requirements for which the South African Air Force (SAAF) acquired it and that the aircraft is fit for purpose.

His first flight in the Gripen was in Sweden in 2002. Lt Col Mbokota started to fly front seat in 2005 and flew sorties in the Gripen in Sweden. In early summer 2008 he started the SAAF Gripen conversion and has been flying the aircraft up until today. He says: “It is exciting to be in the cockpit of the aircraft that is the leading edge of fighting technology in South Africa!

Lt Col Musa Mbokota

Gripen is probably one of the most advanced fighter platforms flying around the world today. From a performance point of view, especially at sea level, the performance of the aircraft is incredible. You ask for speed, the aircraft gives you what you want. From a systems point of view, the systems that we have on the Gripen are quite user friendly and it offers a lot of roles that the aircraft can perform.”

Lt Col Mbokota says that during the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, sensors on the Gripen enabled the aircraft to perform an Air Policing role to monitor what was going on. According to him the radar system is obviously very good as well. He smiles knowingly when he says: “So from a pilot point of view I think the Gripen is probably the ultimate. I just think I was born at the right place at the right time. And that you can’t beat!”

Recently Lt Col Mbokota has been thinking quite a lot about his career path ahead. He would like to keep flying as much as possible. He explains: “I like to fly fighters. I joined the SAAF to fly fighters. I am young and I am fighting fit. I like to see the SAAF operational on Gripen.” As an instructor on Gripen, he likes to train young people to make sure that the SAAF optimises the use of Gripen the aircraft’s capabilities.  It is not only about the aircraft. Lt Col Mbokota explains that competence is required to really get the best value out of the system. And that is really his passion – operations. With a piercing stare he states: “I would like to stay with operations. So when I think career path I think cockpit, cockpit, cockpit!”

Lt Col Mbokota was born in a little village called Mingha, in Limpopo and attended some of his schooling there. Then he relocated to Johannesburg where he completed his schooling and joined the SAAF at the age of 18. Now at almost 36, “Midnight” is a seasoned fighter pilot and that is where he would like to continue spending his energy.

Passions are inherent in a person and they are nurtured over a long time. The passion for flying originated in Lt Col Mbokota when as a young boy, he attended boarding school in Elim near Louis Trichardt (today known as Makhado). He explains: “We used to see a lot of jets fly around there. The F1s and the Mirages used to fly really low over the school, and I thought to myself, wow, that looks like an awesome thing to do. It looked fascinating, it is technical, it is teamwork, it is hands-on. It was basically everything that I thought I would like to do. My next question was, how do I get to do that?”

Lt Col Mbokota had support from many people to achieve his dreams. He wanted to be a fighter pilot since he was very young and did not know how he was going to do it. At the time some people told him that it was impossible, stating “you can’t do that, who do you know who has done that?”  Revealing the inner strength of his character Lt Col Mbokota recalls: “I just thought, if other people have done that before, surely I can. I wanted to fly fighters. So I just went for it. I got into the SAAF and the organisation gave me the opportunity to fly fighters and I have never looked back. It is probably one of the most exciting jobs around. On a Friday I look forward to go to work on the following Monday!”

Enthusiastically Lt Col Mbokota continues: “A fighter pilot has to be up there in the air. When we don’t fly the morale goes down…  and it is not only flying, it is the type of flying that keeps us going… it is the air combat type of flying that gets your blood to rush. Dropping live weapons - you have to be on top of your game. It is exciting. I thought that as I get older it would wear off, but it doesn’t seem to do that. It is a bit of an addiction…”