Wednesday, October 18, 2006

CTFC enews 19 October 2006
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Events to diarise
Solo And Wings : Thursday 19 October (18:00 onwards)
Engines and Airframes Course:Tuesday 31 October 18:0
End of year function: 11 November
Met Course: Tuesday: 14 Novermber 18:00
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FROM THE CFI'S DESK.

Courses.

We will be running half a ground school before the holidays. This means that there will be an Engine & Airframes and a Met course.

The Engine & Airframes course will by starting on Tuesday, October 31st at 18.00 hours B and the Met course on Tuesday, November 14th at the same time.

The other evenings will be decided on collectively on the starting date of the course.

Please contact Frank to have your names put on the list
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From the Manager’s Desk
There is nothing more to report on the security/membership card as we are still working on this.

Thank you for those of you who sent in suggestions for a slogan. It is not too late if anyone suddenly comes up with a fantastic idea. When you come to the Club tomorrow evening for the Social to help us celebrate our new soloists and other achievers, please tick (only once) your choice for the slogan.

Now that the amalgamation of Cape Aero Club and Good Hope Flying Club has taken place and we have settled down to become one unified Club, there has obviously been some restructuring. The committee has decided that they will manage the Club and my position as Ops/Club Manager no longer exists. I could have opted to stay on in a different capacity, however with a heavy heart I have decided to move on. Do not worry; you will still see me around as I will always be connected with aviation in some way.

All goodbye kisses will be gratefully accepted, and guess what I have just helped to solved the space problem!!
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End of year function - 11 November --> V Vosloo
We would like to get more sponsors for the evening, and we decided that we will ask R25.00per head and we will sell tickets (sometime soon), drinks will be at the bar.

We will have raffle tickets available from Thursday night so we need sponsors as quickly as possible.
Thanks to our sponsors so far:

Tony Beamish sponsored R3700-00
Jim Deane +/ - R3300-00
Tony Russell:- A skydive jump. Worth R900-00
Dale Humby:-A flip in a Yak. Worth R2000-00
Executive Helicopters a flip in the Huey. Worth R2000-00
A conversion onto any of the club's aircraft. Worth: Priceless
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Christian's tips to fly by --> C Marais

Hiya all Please make a correction on last week’s tip. The example should read: If you don’t have 70% of Vr by 1600 – 1650 ft of a 3300 ft strip, abort the takeoff. (And not 50%) (thanks to Phil Kilroe for spotting the error!)

Sorry about that. Just shows what can happen if you’re in a hurry. Really hope none of you went out and tried it yet.

Alrighty then, now for this week’s tip.

Time
Take your groundspeed and divide by 10. That’s how far you’ll go in 6 minutes.
Example: groundspeed = 110 kts --- 10 nm in 6 minutes.
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Night Circuits at FAWC 14th October 06 --> D Barnes

As you will have read in previous newsletters, Linda organized a weekend at FAWC to get in some night circuits. (Thanks Linda)

KKC, PMY and DJH (RV7) went up from Cape Town and a Cherokee joined in from FAWC.The fog in Cape Town had cleared by lunchtime, so we had a clear run at 4pm. The trip up was pleasant and in the Rv7 we were cruising at 140kts airspeed. With a climb rate of over 2000 fpm, getting over the hills is a breeze.Erwin from Worcester Flying Club arranged the braai and it was great sitting under the verandah watching the planes doing circuits.

It is well worth remembering that at FAWC all circuits must be on the dam’s side as the other side is reserved for glider activity, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t have a glider and tug climbing out over your head on RH downwind for 15, so keep a good lookout.

The Aan de Doorns Guesthouse was very comfortable and I can recommend it to anybody wanting to overnight in Worcester. Contact Wendy at 023 342 1402.As well as the evening braai, Erwin also cooked up a delicious bacon and eggs breakfast the next morning.After loafing around as much as we could we trotted off back to Cape Town.

I tried to take some photos of the Tommy as we passed it, but every time I slowed down enough I started falling out of the sky so I eventually gave up. Holding the Rv7 steady and taking a pic at slow speed will need a bit more practicing on my part.

10 minutes of waiting outside the zone and 10 minutes of orbiting inside the zone plus a 25kn southeaster greeted us back at Cape Town. At least the wind was straight down the runway.11 am on a Sunday is always a busy time for landing at FACT. The greatest part of the trip for us was that we went away for the weekend and my wife didn’t have to drive there. Oh, and the food was also great, thanks Erwin.
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CTFC fleet --> The committee

As reported in last weeks enews, the committee is busy investigating the future of CTFC's fleet. A number of options were thrown into the mix at the meeting on Sunday morning, and it was decided that a special team was needed to devote the required time.

The committee will keep the members informed, and comments and suggestions are, as always, welcomed.
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Here’s another update from up North. --> Sean O'Connor

I’m still based in Jhb until the beginning of Dec and then back to CT for 3 weeks or so; just in time for the busy season at CTFC if there’s space for me!

I’m still flying the Van on the DHL ghost flight route to Maputo and back. We take off from FAJS at 0200 local time (after taxiing about 4.5 km to the holding position!) and land in Maputo (FQMA) at about 0330. It’s great night IF experience. After take-off from 5558’, it’s a short climb to FL110, checks and procedures for the 2 crew and then we settle into the cruise which takes us over Witbank, Swaziland to the Mozambique border where we start the descent to Maputo’s 145’ elevation. We normally carry about 1100kg of cargo to Maputo and return with only a couple of hundred kg’s, which is cool, because it makes the “long” climb much faster.

At Maputo, the Airport is always locked and deserted. We have to climb through the hole in the wall onto the conveyor belt to get into the terminal!

Then we walk past the sleeping customs and immigration woman (she’s sometimes not even there!), straight out the front door where a 1970 Toyota taxi collects us. The driver doesn’t speaka any Eengleesh, still has the 1970 original shocks in the car that hunt out every pothole in Maputo! He’s ultra reliable though and his car is always spotless.

At the beachfront Holiday Inn, we just crash until 9ish, have a buffet breakfast by the pool overlooking the bay and Island, bum around the pool or beach until lunch – I always choose the incredible seafood and then just chill until 5pm, when we get ready for a 530pm lift back to the airport. Life could be a lot worse!

If you walk out of the hotel premises, everyone wants to sell you something. They say, “I know you got many dolla!” They don’t know how little a P2 in a Van earns! No one begs though, so that’s pretty cool. I went for a run on the beach with a little group of hawkers showing me their goods and giving me the sales pitch while pacing me – hilarious! You can spend Rand, Dollars or the local Meticals here. Better be sharp with your mental currency conversions!

The trip back to the airport in the daylight is always interesting. There are lots of policemen around in black SWAT uniforms with shiny helmets and AK47’s, but they’re difficult to take seriously because they ride around two up on tiny little motor cycles!

Last Friday evening, the traffic was gridlocked and we were stationary next to two women who were escalating verbal abuse to eye gouging and clothes stripping. By the time we moved on, they were topless and a crowd had gathered to take sides and cheer them on.

The drive to the airport in the daylight is interesting. The mixture of dilapidated Portugal and African poverty is colourful and sad, but the locals are mostly friendly and upbeat about their future.

Back at the airport, we do our pre-flight and fuelling. There’s an apron employee that hangs around with a bottle to collect the litre and a half or so of paraffin that we drain during the pre-flight.

The Maputo ATC’s are difficult to understand and don’t say much; mostly monosyllables. The tower clears us to take off and then at about 2000’ he tells us to contact Maputo approach. We always change frequency to find the same dude there! It’s so funny; he says good evening and everything as if he hasn’t just spoken to us!

We take off at 1900 local. Last night we flew through really heavy rain, moderate to severe turbulence and lightning that only appeared on the radar when we were already in it! It’s unbelievable how quickly the Cb cells build and dissipate during this changing season. I believe I’ve got much worse to look forward to. “A baptism of fire!” as Paul Greenberg put it.

Matsapa approach in Swaziland are cool and very helpful, but they shout at the top of their voices and then there’s lots of mike feedback – I anticipate it now with my hand on the volume. When the weather is clear and we’re cruising at FL110, you know when you’re flying over the Swaziland Highlands, because the few lights seem right beneath you. Better to fly in IMC so that you can’t see how close the mountains are and have faith in Pratt and Whitney.

Getting into FAJS at 2030 local time is something else entirely. It’s difficult to get a radio transmission in, never mind get in the queue to land!

The new roster says I’ll be deployed to Libreville in Gabon at the end of December. I’m looking forward to that, but in preparation, my left upper arm has been a dartboard for a gleefully sadistic nursing sister for the past month. I think I've been immunised for everything from acne to varicose veins.

That’s all for now!The pic is the view from my hotel room on the beach in Maputo (cellphone pic – my expensive Nikon had an internal sensor fried by the x-ray machines) (Ed: tough life indeed....:) )
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Hour building to FAJS --> A Berkow

Having done plenty of cross country flying within the Cape, I decided it was time for something more challenging and chose to head inland to Jo'burg. Besides, I have friends I wanted to visit and needed a holiday! Wanting to be there during the week and home by Sunday, I put in for two days leave and departed in ZS-PMY on Thursday morning 5th October. I was joined by CTFC's co-chairperson Rafi Weiner (also co-owner of the Cessna Cutlass RG) and my sister-in-law Nicola who hitched a free lift at the last minute.

I had my routes loaded into my GPS, 1:1,000,000 maps covering the area and a 1:500,000 map of Johannesburg with my route clearly plotted, I'd read through the AIP for the VFR routing procedures, I'd called the relevant ATC's for routing advice and Engen and BP for fuel availability, my flight plan was filed via the file2fly website, I'd read through the long list of NOTAM's, the weather was looking great and we were ready to go. My wife had also packed us a light lunch to ensure we did not run out of fuel!

Nicola seemed to be under the impression this was a cargo flight - she arrived with a carload of lampshades she wanted to sell in Jo'burg - I did not believe she could fit all those bags in the tiny space available. I had made it clear I'd restrict her baggage to 20kg but neglected to mention any limit on volume! Well Rafi and I stood back in disbelief while we watched this light but bulky cargo being loaded and were amazed that it actually fitted just fine!

We took off expecting a light headwind and had an extremely pleasant flight to Kimberley at FL095. However the headwind increased and became 23 knots which dragged our first leg out to 4.8 on the Hobbs rather than the 4.0 originally planned. With an endurance of 6.2 hours however we were fine for fuel and were eventually talking to Bloemfontein Approach to get clearance to enter the Kimberley TMA via Plooysburg (yes their TMA is controlled by Bloemfontein). My radio frequency checklist listed 15 frequencies in total including VOR's on route!

As is common with light aircraft we were requested by approach to dive towards the ground and remain below the TMA - not made easy by the turbulent conditions induced by the hot air around Kimberley! By this stage Nicola really needed the toilet and was sheapishly realising that we weren't joking when we had earlier handed her a wee-john! At this point our AH turned into a washing machine on the spin cycle - a bit distracting at first but fortunately not required for VMC. All other instruments were working just fine.

With such a strong headwind on heading 020 I naturally expected to land on runway 02 but was cleared for runway 20. After almost 5 hours I was a little tired and somehow the expected landing direction of 020 seemed to nicely match the clearance of 20 and I reported left downwind for 20 instead of right downwind which confused the controllers somewhat. However I soon realised my mistake and did a 180' turn onto the correct downwind!

My approach was steady with a reported wind of 200/05, but at the last moment I felt myself drifting sharply left and automatically responded by dropping the right wing with left rudder. We fortunately landed gently on the right wheel, and after what seemed like quite some distance the left wheel touched down - this was the strongest crosswind landing I've experienced to date. I thought I must have done something wrong until we passed the windsock at the intersection of runway 28 - rather than limply pointing our way it was very firmly pointing to our left indicating a surface wind of about 290/18. Either the controller had got it wrong or the wind had suddenly veered through 90'!

After refueling I determined our consumption was less than 8.5 gal/hr and we enjoyed our packed lunch before departing for Grand Central. I leaned the engine against brakes at the threshold and took off with a very shallow climbout compared to what I'm used to at the coast! But at 180 ft/min we eventually got back to FL095 and routed for Boshoff passing over the "Big Hole" and thereafter to Grasmere (GAV). When I tried contacting Johannesburg South we got no response and after hearing several other pilots attempting the same futile call, I decided to transmit TIBA until we got closer. The other pilots followed suite and at least one was on the exact same route behind us.

The last stretch from GAV to Sandton City via Orlando Power Station (initially through the Johannesburg GFA) was very pleasant and we arrived with ease at Grand Central, soon turning onto final, at which point the glare of the afternoon sun caused the airport to vanish for a moment until we spotted the tail fins of some jets and the tower at our 1 'o clock position. Turning onto final we had our second instrument oddity - on a gentle 500 ft/min descent I heard the manic whirring of gears and the altimeter showed a false climb in excess of 5,000 ft/min! A minute later it unwound itself and thereafter was completely back to normal! The airflow must of struck the pitot and static vents at an odd angle and sucked all the air out. We touched down and parked on the apron in front of the terminal bulding with a flight time of 2.5 hours (again we had a headwind). This time our consumption appeared closer to 7.9 gal/hr. The total hobbs was 7.3 hours (we had planned on 6.0 without wind).

Rafi went to Avis to collect the car he had booked and they had already gone home! After some frantic calls we managed to contact the manager on her cellphone and she very kindly turned around and came back to rescue us an hour later!

We had a great time that weekend. I got to see a few friends and attended a big dinner party - the host is about to start his PPL and I met an elderly gentleman who used to be an agent for Mooney Aircraft who had a few stories to tell. Of course we had planned on returning by Sunday but the weather was against us

The MET office seemed to think we could possibly make it back Saturday morning before Cape Town closed in but Johannesburg was fogged in that morning. So we were told to expect departure by Tuesday! Rafi had to be back by Monday so returned via SAA - the turbulence coming into Cape Town was so severe even for a 737 that the PAX cheered after landing. We would never have made it back. So I called the MET office several times a day (until they knew my voice well) and told my boss to expect me back by Tuesday. Not that I'm complaining having to extend my short holiday an extra day!

By Monday morning I was told Cape Town would be clear by the afternoon. The TAF's for Johannesburg and Bloemfontein indicated scattered cloud at 3,500 ft without any rain, but the Johannesburg MET office expected the possibility of a few isolated showers north of Bloemfontein which they thought I could route around. With thunderstorms developing in Johannesburg by afternoon, as the Cape cleared Gauteng was closing in, and I decided this was my best chance to get home or we'd probably spend the entire week there! We booked a taxi for Grand Central, who forgot where he was going and took us there via Lanseria causing an hour delay! After a light breakfast we took off (just Nicola and I and without the lampshades) and routed for Sandton City at 7,000 ft. By the time we reached Orlando Power Station it had started drizzling lightly.

I did not expect any cloud at that level and the conditions were very calm, but the rain reduced visibility such that I had to descend to about 1,000 ft AGL to maintain reasonable visibility of the ground. I expected better conditions in front of me than behind me and decided it was best to continue. Then, already without an AH, my GPS completely and very unexpectedly, lost all satellite reception due to the rain! This was somewhat disconcerting and I started to consider the many small airfields in the vicinity (though I would not easily have found them). However the area is very flat with lots of nice open fields to land in and I decided to press on. Fortunately I still had my "old fashioned" flight plan on my kneeboard, together with my route neatly plotted on my map, working compass, DI and VOR beacons. I was able to easily maintain my course despite the poor visibility and about 40 minutes later the rain had stopped. Just goes to show that good planning makes any situation easy to cope with.

We continued at FL065 rather than FL085 to keep clear of cloud at FL080, routing for Brandfort, Masselspoort and Bloemfontein. After 2.1 hours we landed uneventfully, had lunch and refueled. At Bloemfontein they take their security more seriously than at other airports and we were escorted to the terminal buiding, and on departure I had to fill out a form at the gate with my PAX manifest. Being in uniform at these places does help!

Landing fees at the various airports were just over R50 a time, with a parking fee of R18 per day at Grand Central and a R20 PAX tax on departure. The final 4.8 hours to Cape Town was in fine weather at FL085 and very pretty over Worcester and Ceres.

Our overall flight time was 6.9 for the return trip making for a grand total of 14.2 hours. Our average consumption was 8.3 gal/hr. We landed just in time for the Monday night committee meeting (which I excused myself from as I had to get Nicola home).

Anthony
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Out and about
Vossie Vosloo and PMY at Leeuenboschfontein
( http://www.explore-sa.com/adventure/leeuenbosch.htm )































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Humour
Wife : Do you want dinner?
Husband : Sure, what are my choices?
Wife : Yes and no.

Girl : Do you love me?
Boy : Yes Dear.
Girl : Would you die for me?
Boy : No, mine is undying love.
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Thursday, October 12, 2006

CTFC enews 12 October 2006
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From the manager's desk
End of year social (11 November)
Solo and wings party on 19th
Night circuits at FAWC - 14 October (round 2)
Christian's tips to fly by
Ask the committee
General

Transformation of CTI
Fighter meet
Checks
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Pictures --> GP

Some people may be struggling to see any pictures(when there are any) that occur in the newsletters. If you are one of the unfortunate souls, help is at hand.

On the CTFC website, there is a section for newsletters. Sometime soon after I send the newsletter, I will upload it onto the site.

This should bypass any picture problems you may experience with the email.

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From the Manager’s Desk --> Kay Joslyn

Hope to see you all at the party on Thursday 19th October. We will be celebrating all our members who have been solo, obtained their PPL, CPL etc.

These are important milestones in a pilot’s life so please make every effort to come and have a drink with our achievers. Vossie will be selling juicy Wors Rolls for a small fee.

Welcome to our new members for September:

Kim Schulte-Zurhausen PPL, JAR

Andre van der Walt Ab initio

Blythe Linger Ab initio

Oliver Mathews Ab initio

F.M.R. da Rosa Lopez Ab initio

Neill Stewart PPL, returned after 3 years

Dale Williams PPL

Kevin Portellas Ab initio

Michael Krumbock Ab initio

Robert Upshon PPL, 50.2 hrs

Rene Raimond PPL, 110 hrs

Dale Stoffels Ab initio

Peter Searll Ab initio

Frans Petersen Ab initio

The new swipe system at the entrance to the General Aviation Area (Foxtrot 5) is on very short finals for completion. We are still working on a “pilot’s card” for those of you who do not want to go to the effort or expense of obtaining the official ACSA card and yet do not want the hassle of signing in at the gate every time you visit the Club. We anticipate these cards being similar in appearance to the ACSA cards with a photo (provided by the member), ID number, expiry date and of course the name of the Club. If anyone has any bright ideas or suggestions for a cost effect way of producing these cards please do not be shy in coming forward.
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Social

A reminder about our end of year bash on Saturday 11 November. This will be a spit braai and party.
Vossie is still looking for prize sponsors for the raffle, so if you can help him, please contact Vossie through the club.
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Solo and wings party

There will be a solo and wings party to congratulate all our recent soloists and achievers on Thursday the 19th October. As an added incentive, Rob van Driest has asked me to say that he will be giving drinks away for his CPL and birthday!

Just a friendly reminder to our soloists - wear a tie, unless ALL you other clothes are clean......
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Night circuits at FAWC on Saturday 14 October --> L Hodgkinson

It's a go, go go! If you still need to book accommodation, please do so as soon as possible. Best deal is available from Aan De Doorns Guesthouse (in Worcester - not De Doorns) Tel 023 342 1402. You need to make your own booking directly with them, and please mention that you are with the CTFC group. There are full ablution facilities available at the airfield including hot water showers at an additional R50 pppn (owned by the gliding club hence the fee) if you prefer to camp .

Meal arrangements: braai to be served at the airfield on Saturday evening, breakfast to be served at the airfield on Sunday morning .Please let Linda know ASAP how many heads need to be catered for or you may have to go hungry!

Landing fees: waived by FAWC - many thanks!
Fuel: confirmed available

FAWC info: elevation 653', runways 15/33. Remember that there are gliding activities until about 18h00 or 18h30 and on arrival at the airfield we need to fly a RH circuit for 15 and LH for 33 i.e. stay on the dam's side of the airfield all the time. Note that there is a row of koppies on your downwind leg so be very sure to stay accurately at 1650' on downwind and definitely only descend on base. We can discuss procedures for the night circuits once we are there.

Drive up if you don't get a plane and make arrangements to "borrow" one for your circuits with the person who will be flying it up. Bring your family and friends and let's make this another memorable CTFC event.

Please consider offering an instructor a seat if you have one spare as it is always comforting to have an instructor with us for events like this. There are at least 2 spare seats available if you want to pax.

Plan B: there isn't one this time! Contact Linda through the club for more info.
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Christian’s Tips to Fly By --> C Marais

Take off – or not

If you don’t have 70% of your takeoff speed by 50% of the runway, don’t try it.

There’s a fudge factor here, but it’s a pretty good rule of thumb for gravel and grass.

Ex: If you don’t have 50% of Vr by 1600 – 1650 of a 3300 ft strip, abort the takeoff.
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Ask the committee

Last weeks question
Is there a fixed plan to add to / upgrade our fleet of a/c or to start replacing them any time soon?

It is becoming more apparent just how old our fleet and the equipment in them is when one flies elsewhere at other training institutions. Not only does our a/c feel very old and a tad tatty externally and in the cockpit, but our instrumentation is very old and basic too. Sure, they still do the job for now, but is it enough?

Things like EFIS are becoming more commonplace and in order to prepare pilots properly for their future careers it is imperative that we keep pace with those developments and look in to offering added value as a training organization by making sure that we try and keep up with technology in some ways as much the budget allows, but this won’t happen unless there is a plan in place, so what is CTFC’s plan?


Unfortunatly, due to a lengthy committee meeting on Monday, the committee was unable to devote the time that this question deserves.
The outcome so far is that the committee is holding back on the previous plans, until a special meeting devoted to the fleet takes place. This meeting will occur this weekend, and a full report back will be given during next week.
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CAC account

The CAC bank account will be closing in a short while, and members who utelize this account are urged to use the CTFC account instead.

Cape Town Flying Club’s banking details

Nedbank, Parow Branch

Account No. 1025 306422

Branch: 1025 1000 (not all banks require the last two zero’s)
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Duty pilots

The club needs people to help man the front desk on the weekends and public holidays. It is a great way to meet fellow aviators, as well as an excuse to be at the airport all day.

If you tihnk you can help, please contact the club.
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Slogans

The club is still in need of a slogan. Please pick which one(s) you like and email the club (see top for email).

1. Take Flight
2. Take to the Sky
3. Enjoy the freedom of flight
4. Freedom of flight
5. Head in the clouds
6. Where you can spread your wings
7. Get High with us
8. Achieve a higher plane
9. Discover where pilots are born
10. Where dreams take flight
11. We give you wings
12. Where Careers are Born and Dreams take Flight
13. Where Careers and Dreams take Flight
14. Its a lifestyle
15. Its the Right thing to do
16. Flying, its the only way to go
17. We make great pilots
18. Some members still like "Where pilots are born"
19. Live to fly, Fly to live
20. We love to Fly
21. Nothing is better than Flying
22. The gift of flight
23. We teach, you fly
24. Let your spirit soar
25. Exceeding expectations
26. Live the dream
27. Don’t dream it – live it
28. Inspired by your dreams
29. Don’t dream it – be it
30. Where aviators meet
31. Take Off
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The Transformation of CTI airport begins --> ACSA (submitted by Kay Joslyn)

Over the next few months, visitors to Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) will notice an increase in construction activity as the airport kick-starts its massive construction programme on the new developments for the airport.


Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) is spending approximately R5,2 billion rand across its network of airports over the next few years. In Cape Town, ACSA will invest close to R1,3 billion rand on a Central Terminal Building which will include a new Domestic wing, upgrade the current approach road system, construct an elevated road which will separate the arrivals and departures levels (similar to Johannesburg airport), and build a second multi-storey car park. On the airside, air bridges and additional aircraft parking bays will be built.

To be implemented in a phased approach, the construction will take approximately three years to complete. The project, which is the biggest construction contract ever awarded in the Western Cape will be carried out by Grinaker LTA in a join venture with Stocks and Stocks. “The developments at CTIA are huge and will transform the airport as we know it”, says George Uriesi, General Manager, Cape Town International Airport. “CTIA is currently a 7million passenger airport and by 2010 we forecast it to be a 10 million passenger airport. To be able to accommodate this increase in demand, we must develop our infrastructure to provide capacity and enhanced customer service”, says Uriesi

Before construction on the new Central Terminal can commence, a ‘land enablement’ phase must first be completed. This process involves relocating certain tenants who currently occupy the old control tower and administrative building including the SAPS, the VIP/Protocol lounge and some airline and ACSA offices, so that it can be demolished. Also, a new drop off and go facility will be built further away from the terminal to allow for separation of airport vehicular traffic from construction supply traffic as well as allow for the construction of the upper level roadway in front of the terminals.

While the construction is no doubt going to cause significant inconvenience to airport users, ACSA is working hard and closely with all its service partners and the construction Company to limit the impact on airport service levels.

“We have done extensive planning and co-ordination with all the relevant role players and will be doing our best to limit the inconvenience to airport users”, Uriesi added.

Though we are only in the land enablement phase of the construction in the next 3 months, activities will increase noticeably from week to week. ACSA encourages airport users to arrive early for their flights in order to limit the potential impact of the construction.
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Fighter meet --> GP

We have been meeting succesfully for a while now, so if you want to come and see what all the fuss is about, come down to the club on Sunday, no doubt we shall be there!

The virtual fighters are a challenge, but at least your instructor's commands about maintaining a good lookout are put to good use!

The killboard at the moment is as follows
Frank: 27
Gareth: 26
Lodi: 22
Johan: 8



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Flying Events --> submitted by A Michaelides

A great website to think about all the aviation events you could be watching right now!

www.skycontrol.net
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Checks --> Gary Wiblin

One of the most oft misunderstood areas of aviation appears to be checks and the use of checklists. Many Flight Schools appear to encourage the reliance on a written checklist for everything from starting the engine to shutting down. I know many instructors who feel this is foolish in the extreme, especially with something as mundane as starting the engine. We feel that if you cannot start the engine of a C150 without resorting to reading from a written checklist, you shouldn’t be flying in the first place. Checklists have their place in the airlines where they fly two-crew operations and, in any case, they fly much more sophisticated aircraft than we do in general aviation. A checklist should be used only in the beginning stages of learning to fly where the emphasis is more on learning what to do with each check rather than how to remember it. Let’s run through an imaginary flight in a C152 (one of the most common trainers) from the very beginning. We will presume that the pre-flight inspection has already been completed.

Before boarding the aircraft mentally double-check that you have removed the pitot cover, the chocks, and the towbar. Also confirm that the aircraft is not parked with its tail facing an open hangar door. Once you are seated in the aircraft confirm that the seatbelt is inside the aircraft before closing the door. Now check for full, free movement of the controls, adjust your seat, and check for brake pressure. Your seatbelt can now be fastened and you should be ready to begin the pre-start checks.

Start with the flight instruments in front of you. Check that the airspeed indicator is reading zero, the artificial horizon should be canted to one side, the altimeter can be set to field elevation, the turn co-ordinator should be “wings level” with the ball in the centre if the aircraft is parked on level ground, the DI can be approximately set, and the VSI should read zero. Also check the VOR and the ADF if your aircraft has them. Remember too that a crack in the glass of the VSI could mean that the altimeter and airspeed indicator could read inaccurately and that the VSI itself could actually read in reverse.

Now move across to the radio stack. Avionics vary considerably from aircraft to aircraft and you want to be sure that you know how to operate the avionics in the aircraft that you are about to fly. Start with the audio panel. When I get into a new/unfamiliar aircraft I prefer to switch all the switches on the audio panel to neutral and then re-set them for my requirements. Check that all the necessary radio’s are in place and that they are switched off.

On the right hand side of the panel you will usually find the tachometer and hobbs meter. Check that the numbers correspond with those in the flight folio. Also check the maintenance sticker to make sure that the aircraft still has time before its next MPI.

Now move to the bottom left-hand side of the control panel. Moving from left to right you can now prepare for start. Prime the engine and then check that the primer is locked. Next switch on the master switch (first confirm that the undercarriage is in the down position). Even though the C152 has a fixed undercarriage, it is better to get into this habit from the beginning, before you progress to more complex aircraft with retractable undercarriages. We recently had an incident with one of our Club aircraft where the master switch of our Cutlass was switched on with the undercarriage lever in the up position. The nose-wheel retracted and, because the aircraft was still in the hangar, considerable damage was caused to the vertical stabiliser when it struck the roof of the hangar. The key can now be inserted and the magnetos switched to both. Now switch on the rotating beacon, to warn bystanders that the aircraft will be starting up shortly.

Next, check that the carb. heat is set to cold, the throttle is closed and the mixture is set to full rich. Set the cabin air/heat controls as required. Moving downwards from this point, check the trim control for proper operation and set to neutral. Confirm that the aircraft has a hand-held microphone and that it is plugged in correctly. Check that the fuel selector is selected to "on". Before starting the engine, first confirm that the propellor area in particular is clear and shout "clear prop" out of the window if there is any doubt. You can now "pump" the throttle twice (Ed: see the note at the bottom of this newsletter), set the throttle about 1cm in, apply the brakes and start the engine. As soon as the engine starts, set the power to 1000rpm

Thursday, October 05, 2006

CTFC Enews 04 October 2006

From the CFI's desk
FAWC night circuits
End of year function
Christian's tips to fly by
Ask the committee

Ask the instructors
Humour
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From the CFI's desk --> P Wesselman

Minimum legal fuel requirements.
A while ago someone mentioned to me, more or less in passing, that he calculated his fuel requirements while he went along. This is a very disturbing statement indeed.

By law, no aircraft is allowed to depart unless such aircraft has the following minimum fuel requirements on board.
1. Fuel to fly from A to B taking into account the forecast upper winds.
2. Fuel to divert to C.
3. A contingency fuel, which the law has set at 5% of 1 and 2. However, for various reasons the club requires pilots to work with a contingency of 10% of 1 and 2.
4. A reserve of 45 minutes at normal cruise power, which the club defines as 65% power.

Unless this minimum amount of fuel is on board an aircraft is not allowed to take off and/or commence its intended flight. These fuel requirements have to be calculated before the flight is commenced.

Of course, during the fight the pilot has to ascertain that the flight is progressing according to plan. In other words during the flight the pilot has to make sure that the groundspeed on which his calculations were based is equal to the actual ground speed experienced. Is there a great discrepancy then the pilot will have to decide whether a diversion, in order to top up the tanks, is called for.

Pilots and students alike need to keep in mind, that the usable fuel on board at the time of the pre-flight has to be determined by way of dipping the tanks and not by way of checking the fuel gauges.

I have no doubt that all of you will agree, that it is rather absurd to work out during the flight that you are not having the legal minimum fuel requirement on board and that your flight is consequently violating the law, which might in the event of an accident has very serious financial consequences for the club.

As part of the preflight the pilot/student has to determine, by way of dipping the tanks, that he has the required minimum fuel on board taking into account the unusable fuel for that respective aircraft.

Running out of fuel is still a criminal offence.
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Night Circuits at FAWC on Saturday 7 October --> L Hodgkinson

Last chance! If you still need to book accommodation, please do so as soon as possible to ensure that you get a warm bed for the night: guesthouse or a shared room at the airfield or bring your tent and camp at the airfield. Best deal is available from De Doorns Guesthouse (in Worcester - not De Doorns) Tel 023 342 1402 at R150.00 per person excluding breakfast.
You need to make your own booking directly with them, and please mention that you are with the CTFC group as this is a special rate for us. For the shared 4-bed room (bunkhouse) at the airfield at R77 per person per night, please contact Gerrie Kachelhoffer on 082 808 1176. There is also a hut with a double and single bed for R77 for the hut. Call Ed on 023 343 2904 to book this hut only. There are full ablution facilities available at the airfield including hot water showers at an additional R50 pppn (owned by the gliding club hence the fee).

Meal arrangements: dinner to be served at the airfield on Saturday evening, a potjie at R45 per head. Breakfast to be served at the airfield on Sunday morning .Please let Linda know ASAP how many heads need to be catered for or you may have to go hungry!

Landing fees: waived by FAWC - many thanks!
Fuel: confirmed available
Other info: sunset on 7 Oct 18h53. Full moon
FAWC will be offering conversions onto their PA28 and C172 on the Saturday and/or Sunday. If you want to take them up on this special offer, please contact the CFI, Dick Henry, on 021 554 2967 or 082 510 6514. Remember that you will still need a check ride with a CTFC instructor before you can fly our club's aircraft afterwards.

FAWC info: elevation 653', runways 15/33. Remember that there are gliding activities until about 18h00 or 18h30 and on arrival at the airfield we need to fly a RH circuit for 15 and LH for 33 i.e. stay on the dam's side of the airfield all the time. Note that there is a row of koppies on your downwind leg so be very sure to stay accurately at 1650' on downwind and definitely only descend on base. We can discuss procedures for the night circuits once we are there.

Drive up if you don't get a plane and make arrangements to "borrow" one for your circuits with the person who will be flying it up. Bring your family and friends and let's make this another memorable CTFC event.

Please consider offering an instructor a seat if you have one spare as it is always comforting to have an instructor with us for events like this. Also let me know if you have or are looking for a spare seat and I'll try and put you in touch.

Plan B: if the weather fairy prevents us from flying on the 7th, all arrangements automatically move on to the 14th.
Contact Linda through the club for more info.
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End of year function --> V Vosloo

A very big thank you must be made to Tony Beamish who has sponsored the end of year function to the tune of R3700. A very big thanks indeed!!!

The year end function will be a spit braai and the bar will be fully stocked.
The plan is to have a raffle, similar to last years one, and for this pirze sponsors are needed. If you can help with any prize, please contact Vossie through the club.

Thanks Vossie
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Christian's Tips to Fly By

Descent - 3 Degree Glide Slope

To maintain a 3 degree glide slope (e.g.: ILS ) multiply the groundspeed you are achieving by 5. The resulting number is the rate of descent to fly.

Ex: Groundspeed = 110 Kts x 5 = 550 fpm rate of descent to maintain a 3 degree glide slope.
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Ask the committee

A reminder that this section is open to any query from any member, and will be sent to the committee, which shall respond in the following week. You can be anonymous if you prefer.

Is there a fixed plan to add to / upgrade our fleet of a/c or to start replacing them any time soon?

It is becoming more apparent just how old our fleet and the equipment in them is when one flies elsewhere at other training institutions. Not only does our a/c feel very old and a tad tatty externally and in the cockpit, but our instrumentation is very old and basic too. Sure, they still do the job for now, but is it enough?

Things like EFIS are becoming more commonplace and in order to prepare pilots properly for their future careers it is imperative that we keep pace with those developments and look in to offering added value as a training organization by making sure that we try and keep up with technology in some ways as much the budget allows, but this won’t happen unless there is a plan in place, so what is CTFC’s plan?
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Ask the instructors

This section works exactly the same way as the one above, with the exception that the question is sent to the instructors.
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Out and about

Flying to Plett in KSS --> V Vosloo
































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Humour

Marriage Proposals Gone Awry --> G Pinnock

(1) Adam Sutton's elaborate plan to propose to Erika Brussee in July on a small chartered plane near Rome, Ga., didn't work out, as the engine stalled and the plane crashed (causing minor injuries) near their friends on the ground who were holding up signs with the actual proposal question for Brussee. [Reuters, 7-24-06]

(2) Mark Papkey's elaborate plan to propose to Holly Barnes in June on a hot air balloon near Boston didn't work out, as the balloon drifted into wilderness, fuel ran out, and they and the pilot were forced to spend the night in the woods before being rescued. [Boston Herald, 6-6-06]

(Both Brussee and Barnes said yes.)