Blackhawk Modifications opened a new office near Lanseria International Airport, South Africa, where many King Airs and Caravans are based and maintained. “Africa represents a quickly growing region for the aircraft we specialize in: the King Air and Caravan. We’re selling three aircraft in Africa to every one we sell in South America. It’s a good market, particularly now that the rand is strong against the dollar,” Jim Allmon, Blackhawk’s president and CEO, told AIN. Allmon said there are currently about 200 King Airs and more than 200 Caravans in the sub-Sahara region. Blackhawk already has distributors located in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Australia and Canada, as well as six in Europe and two in the UK. The company has appointed Marc Strange as its African regional sales director. He joins the company after six years working for National Airways as sales manager for value-added products. Headquartered in Waco, Texas, Blackhawk has equipped nearly 300 turboprops with the Pratt & Whitney Canada XP engine upgrade since 1999.