Mark Ross, owner of Nairobi safari operator The Ross Company, says he is delighted with the Blackhawk conversion that has been installed in his Cessna Caravan. “Kenya is, generally, at high altitude, and it has mostly dirt airstrips of short length,” he explains. “Add to that the equatorial temperatures and you could have a recipe for disaster. The STOL Cessna 206 is a popular aircraft for this part of Africa. I owned and flew one for 20 years, and loved it.

“But the STOL Caravan with a Blackhawk conversion is faster and carries even more. Now I have 850 horsepower, an APE II kit, a four-bladed prop, lifetime axles, and I can take it in and out of anywhere I took my STOL 206, if I have the wing room. It really is an astounding upgrade.”

He is now able to cruise at up to 185 kts with a full complement of passengers, offering range to Rwanda, Ethiopia and Mozambique. “I also routinely fly over to the eastern DRC to see the gorillas, chimps and volcanoes,” he concludes.