Kobus Meiring

SALT Project Manager
Kobus was born in 1964 in Paarl, a town in the middle of the wine and wheat country about 60km from Cape Town. He went to school at Paarl Boys High, and studied mechanical engineering at Stellenbosch University.

He started as engineer-in-training at Atlas Aircraft Corporation near Johannesburg, and worked there for 11 years. In that time he worked on helicopter and rotor head and blade research, and landing gear and ECS systems for the ACE all composite turboprop trainer and the Rooivalk attack helicopter. He eventually managed the helicopter development department, and later became the Rooivalk Programme Manager at Denel Aviation. The first Rooivalk was delivered to the South African Air Force in 1999 and a squadron is currently in service.

Kobus finally kept his promise to his wife to return to Cape Town in 1999, when he was appointed the SALT Project Manager. He is kept busy after work by his four children, doing "just a few alterations" to their house and thinking about renewable energy.