The objective of the paper is to provide an overview on how lessons learned from South Africa's (SA) civil aircraft industry could be applied to build appropriate technological capabilities needed to improve rural development. Factors found to have impacted on the technology capability building process of the SA civil aircraft industry are discussed. The paper outlines the diverse nature of rural communities, socio-economic challenges, the need for technology advancement and sustainable development geared towards improved rural development. It discusses how technology transfer could improve rural infrastructure development whilst also looking at R&D investment and its impact on growth performance in the global technology trade. It emphasizes the importance of technology adoption, adaptation and innovation networks as strategies for dealing with lack of technological capacity and technological competence in underdeveloped rural communities. It also emphasizes the role of government in building and shaping national technological capabilities and competencies through various support mechanisms that could facilitate infrastructure development, the use of indigenous knowledge, productivity at rural community-level geared towards rural development and sustainable growth. It proposes interventions for successful building of technological capabilities and national technological competencies that could lead to rural development characterized by vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities.