CTFC enews 19 October 2006
===============
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
===============
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
===============
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!!
===============
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
======================
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.
======================
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.
======================
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.
======================
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....:) )
======================
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
======================
Out and about
Vossie Vosloo and PMY at Leeuenboschfontein
( http://www.explore-sa.com/adventure/leeuenbosch.htm )
======================
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.
======================
===============
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
===============
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
===============
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!!
===============
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
======================
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.
======================
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.
======================
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.
======================
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....:) )
======================
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
======================
Out and about
Vossie Vosloo and PMY at Leeuenboschfontein
( http://www.explore-sa.com/adventure/leeuenbosch.htm )
======================
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.
======================
posted by Cape Town Flying Club at 10:35 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home