Southern Africa Mooney Sales and Services was started by Patrick Hanly in 1991 in the small coastal town of Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
Originally based out of the same buildings as the famous 43 Air School, SA Mooney outgrew its surroundings, necessitating a move to larger premises. Pat bought the original farmland on the eastern side of the airfield and has since developed the SA Mooney Hangar within what is now called the Albany Air Park.
Now home to many light aircraft and small operations by like-minded individuals, the Albany Air Park now houses a wide variety of aircraft from 1930’s Aeroncas, Ercoupes, Austers, Chipmunks and Tiger Moths to mid-twentieth century Alouettes, Jetrangers, Pipers, Cessnas and Mooneys right through to all new Cessnas, Cirrus, Airvans and Mooneys. There is also a large concentration of Non-Type Certified aircraft calling the park home.
About Port Alfred
The holiday town of Port Alfred with a population of 25000 people, which grows drastically during the festive seasons, is home to the Royal Alfred Marina and Small Boat Harbour and is one of the older commercial fishing ports in South Africa. The port of the Kowie River, or Port Kowie, as it was known in the 1840s was established in the early 1820s by British settlers who were moved into the area by Lord Charles Somerset as a buffer between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa people. The potential of the river mouth as a port was realised when The Locust, a small brig was able to transit the mouth to offload supplies. Plans were immediately set in motion to widen and deepen the channel to allow ships with deeper drafts to enter.
The commercial importance of the port declined post-1881 after the Buffalo River in East London was deepened and widened to accommodate the much larger steamships and schooners of the time. The marshland around the channel was given a new lease on life when, in 1989, the Royal Alfred Marina and Small Boat Harbour was developed.
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