Yokota Aero Club chief instructor Jake Kadish, left, and manager Ray Brannam, center, welcome Johan Esterhuizen, a South African pilot who delivered the club’s new twin-engine Diamond DA42 Twin Star to the base in western Tokyo on March 14, 2025. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A new $1.3 million twin-engine aircraft has joined the Yokota Aero Club’s fleet, marking a significant expansion of training opportunities at this airlift hub in western Tokyo.
Pilot Johan Esterhuizen landed the Diamond DA42 Twin Star at Yokota on Friday after a nearly week-long journey from Austria. The South African aviator ferried the aircraft on behalf of delivery company Alpha2Bravo, departing March 7 on a route that took him across the Mediterranean, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
“There’s a real satisfaction about flying a small plane across continents,” he said Friday at the club. “You can really see the topography flying at 10,000 feet instead of 30,000 feet.”
The aircraft, purchased with non-appropriated funds, will allow the aero club to provide airline-style training, club manager Ray Brannam said shortly after the Twin Star taxied to a ramp near his office on the east side of Yokota’s runway.
Esterhuizen’s flight, which jumbo jets can complete in under 12 hours, required multiple stops for rest and refueling. The Twin Star’s journey included stops in Crete, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Okinawa before arriving in Tokyo.
Security was a concern at some points along the route. Armed guards surrounded the aircraft during a refueling stop in Karachi, Pakistan, Esterhuizen said.
The pilot also carried identification numbers to provide authorities while flying between Pakistan and India. Failure to recite the numbers over the radio could have resulted in an intercept, he said.
The four-seat, propeller-driven Twin Star has a top speed of 227 mph and can fly as high as 18,000 feet, according to its manufacturer. The cabin is not pressurized but includes an optional pulse-controlled oxygen system that can provide up to 105 hours of oxygen for one person, with less available for additional fliers.
Student pilots at the Yokota Aero Club may now train on the Twin Star to earn private and commercial multi-engine ratings, Brannam said.
“We are one of the only [Air Force] aero clubs that has a multi-engine plane right now,” he said.
Multi-engine training is more complex than flying the club’s single-engine aircraft, he added.
“It’s more of everything,” said Brannam, a former United Express pilot.
The club purchased three single-engine Diamond DA40 aircraft in 2023. It also has four aging Cessna 172s, though only one remains in service, Brannam said.
The Air Force operates 17 aero clubs, which are open to service members and their dependents, Defense Department civilians, Civil Air Patrol members and retirees with base access. The clubs provide an opportunity for students to earn their pilot’s license, which can serve as a steppingstone to becoming an Air Force or commercial airline pilot.
The Federal Aviation Administration requires a minimum of 40 hours of flight instruction for a private pilot certificate, though students typically need 50 to 60 hours before taking the flight test, Brannam said.
The cost of a private pilot certificate ranges from $10,000 to $14,000, with an additional $8,000 required for a multi-engine rating, he said.
The Yokota Aero Club is working to become a model for the Air Force, said chief instructor Jake Kadish, who was also on the ramp Friday to welcome the new aircraft.
“A multi-engine aircraft is part of our ongoing commitment to provide advanced training to the Air Force community,” he said.
The club’s instructors are training about 50 students, mostly from the Air Force but also personnel from other branches and civilians, Kadish said.
“Most people in the Air Force aren’t flying planes,” he said, noting that Yokota offers excellent training resources. “We can call on air traffic controllers, runways and hangars.”
There is a critical shortage of pilots in both the Air Force and commercial aviation, Kadish said.
