About

About Achtung, Skyhawk!*

A project borne out of a life-long love of light aircraft, Achtung, Skyhawk! is intended to be a portal for all things GA, focusing primarily on Croatia – but also not ignoring developments in other countries of the region. Rather than operating as just another news source, I’ve intended this site to become something of a window into the practical world of light aircraft, hoping to provide my readers with a personal, occasionally humorous, but still factual and hopefully interesting insight into just what is going on out there.

As such, purely documentary reporting on day-to-day events would always take a back seat, to be replaced instead by photo stories (using my own material), rare aircraft reviews and a broad range of historical topics that I believe might be of interest to the enthusiast – thus adding my bit to the promotion of GA as a whole, and particularly the somewhat slow (but rarely dull) Croatian aviation scene.

Additionally, some of my regular readers may have noticed that my posting frequency can vary quite a bit, from two-three articles a week to two-three month pauses between posts (or more). Given the above, I’ve long ago decided to publish articles only when I have something of worth to publish – and when the material concerned meets my own standards of quality and suitability. Simply put, I avoid forcing myself to write purely for the sake of form and/or punctuality.

* somewhat unusual as they go in this field, the name also requires a bit of explanation. In line with my intention that it be factually correct, intellectually engaging – but also easy, pleasant and interesting to read – I’d decided from the outset that the portal had to contain some form of good-natured humor, intended most of all to demystify and liven up the matter covered. To that end, I’ve decided to customize the title of the 1997 computer game “Achtung, Spitfire!” (or General Heinz Guderian’s 1936 book “Achtung, Panzer!”, whichever works better), adding a personal touch to catch the eye of the visitor and have a bit of fun at my own expense along the way… 🙂

The Author

My name is Boran Pivčić, and I am from Zagreb, the capital of the aforementioned south-eastern-European country of Croatia. I’m 36 and have, for all but a few of those years, had a connection to aviation in one form or another, holding Bacc.Eng. of Aeronautics (Air Traffic Control) and M.Eng of Air Traffic (Ground Operations) degrees from the University of Zagreb. I am also a First Officer on the Dash 8 Q400 at Croatia Airlines, and was once – at 17 – one of the youngest motor pilots in Croatia. Somewhat unsurprisingly given the topics I deal with here, I would also be quite content to find myself behind the controls of my own Pilatus PC-6, SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 or Lancair Legacy sometime in the future… though I wouldn’t refuse even the lowly Cessna 150 (w/ taildragger STOL mods of course)!

Dabbling with aviation photography since 2002, my first attempts at something serious were made with a point-and-shoot Olympus film camera, and shorty afterwards a slightly more advanced digital Fuji S5000 – the cumulative results of which were not all that encouraging. After some experimentation and much frustration, in 2003 I’d upgraded to my first proper camera, a Canon EOS 20D mid-range DSLR, which would in 2010 give way to the high-end Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Mark IV I’m using now. Lenses used with the two include the Canon 17-40 f/4L wide-angle (since replaced by the brilliant Canon 16-35 f/4 L), the Canon 24-105 F/4L general purpose, and the Canon 70-200 F/4L and 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L telephoto units.

In addition to the literary works mentioned above, I also (sort of) maintain my own online aviation photography gallery on Flickr. Like Achtung, Skyhawk!, both are intended to showcase my work, but include only the (subjectively) best photos I’d taken over the last decade. Both of these also came together in my role of photojournalist for local aviation magazine Aeronautika, where I was – rather unsurprisingly – heavily biased towards General Aviation topics (sadly though, the magazine had since shut down).

I think that covers all the relevant bases; so enjoy your visit here and happy browsing!

Photo & Text Copyrights & Usage Information

All photos featured on this site were taken by me unless otherwise indicated (usually under each photo), and are as such copyrighted and protected by all relevant national and international laws – as are the texts themselves.

In addition, the photos and texts posted on this site are for the user’s personal viewing and enjoyment only; any wider distribution to third parties or any form of commercial usage requires my prior written permission (usually by email). Failing to acquire that invokes all – and immediate – legal action specified by the above laws.

Contact Information

Should you like to use any image presented here for commercial purposes – or would like to privately comment, commend, criticize, or inquire about any post or information presented therein – please feel free to contact me at achtungskyhawk(at)gmail.com.

You can also find me on Facebook , LinkedIn and of late even on Instagram 🙂 .

Impressum

• owner, editor & author: Boran Pivčić
• photography: Boran Pivčić (unless otherwise stated and credited)
• e-mail: achtungskyhawk(at)gmail.com
• based at: Zagreb, Croatia, SE Europe
• hosted at: Automattic Inc (WordPress.com), USA
• first article published: 23 April 2009
• posting frequency: every one to two weeks (depending on the amount of news)