28 July - South African landing Championship, Bloemfontein
20 October - Aerobatic Nationals, Oudtshoorn
9-11 November - TFDC Fly-In, AFB Overberg www.flyin.org.za
| Date | Name | Achievement | Aircraft | Instructor | |
| 24/05/07 | F. Cloete | 1st Solo | KKC | M. Mann | J. v Zyle |
| 13/06/07 | D. Wilson | PPL | KKC | M. Mann | J. v Zyle |
| 25/05/07 | A. Beeharilall | 1st Solo | KKU | M. Kleinhans | J. v Zyle |
| 25/06/07 | J. Seymour-Hall | Night Rating | KKU | P. Erasmus | J. v Zyle |
| 05/07/07 | J. Jordaan | Night Rating | KKC | J. v Zyle | A. Russel |
| 07/07/07 | A. Russel | Authorised his 1st Solo | - | - | - |
| 07/07/07 | K. Portellis | 1st Solo | KFV | E. Cornelissen | A. Russel |
Congratulations to all, soloists are reminded about wearing ties to the next social. You never know what might happen if you don't.... ;)
section obviating the need for passengers to use the ACSA facilities,come to mind here. (GP: And us at CTFC....)
On returning to Virginia Airport north of Durban from the General Flying Area on 19 February 2005, the pilot flew a normal circuit at 800 ft AGL, but on final approach, misjudged his height and landed one third after the threshold down the runway, on the nosewheel first.
On a nice long flying day last week – we did six flights – the last flight almost didn’t happen – in fact there were moments when I thought that it was the end for us. The day started of routinely - on our second leg we carried 6 ambassadors, from Spain, Germany, Finland, Holland, Spain and France. They had 3 heavily armed SWAT type bodyguards with them. It was interesting flying with an assortment of matt black weaponry in the cockpit. Best part for us was that we got priority clearances in the air & on the ground – the fuel truck which usually takes an hour to arrive was actually waiting for us!!
Our last stop of the day before returning to Goma was at a place called Bukavu. The other pilot, Cameron secretly took a pic of the plane and was unfortunately seen by the local militia. Faaark! In no more than 30 seconds, we had a dozen armed and wild looking locals around the plane. I managed to get my door shut & locked, but Cameron didn’t make it in time. A couple of them were hanging on the door, climbing on the ladder, trying to get his camera away from him and wrench him out of the plane! Realising that only one could get to him at a time up the ladder and that we had a height advantage, they resorted to shouting to get Cameron out – threatening to shoot him and cut him into little pieces which they would send to his mother. This was all in French, which I translated as best I could. We tried asking for ID, which just pissed them off even more – the airport security were standing a distance away, but must have been scared of this mob too – we never did find out who they were! I radioed the tower to ask for assistance, but after initial contact – the controller just ignored my calls.
OK, I thought, at best, we’re going to be kidnapped here – at worst, we’ll be killed. I ignored the angry mob and called our office in Jhb on the Satellite phone, just so that someone knew where to start looking for us. The ops controller in Jhb said, “Oh no, Bukavu has been declared Level 4 (at Level 5 all aid workers & foreigners get evacuated!), because there was an attack on UN troops yesterday and one was killed!” Thanks for that, I thought. I then called our controller in Goma who then called the Bukavu airport manager and offered to cross his palm with silver if he could help us. To our relief, the airport manager arrived with some UN troops a few minutes later. They took Cameron away to the office (leaving me in the plane alone – I locked myself in and sat low so I didn’t have to see the mob. I sat there wondering what kind of armour-plating Cessna Aircraft and Pratt and Whitney Turbines engines equip their C208’s with – I wondered how far I would get if I tried to start up and take off?
After relieving Cameron of a fistful of dollars and getting a promise of more from our Goma ops controller, Cameron was escorted back to the plane by the airport manager and we were allowed to leave. The mob was pissed, ‘cos they were left empty handed after all their efforts. We’ve been back to Bukavu a few times since then – we’re always very wary there now.
Two huge (5 metres high!) radial-engined AN2 – Antonov biplanes taking a breather on a peaceful day at Bukavu
A week after the broken nose, the shiners are fading nicely!
At first Cameron and I blamed each other for the eggy methane smell, but the sulphur fumes were actually responsible.
The volcano is just a few miles from the airport at Goma, (in fact a third of the runway was covered in lava during the 2002 eruption) so a rapid descent was required after our sight-seeing trip over the crater. The van is really in it’s element during this type of flying.
The vertical speed indicator is against its stopper pin in the descent, but the airspeed is still comfortably in the white arc. The Van’s a great plane to fly!
As part of its 787 Dreamliner Premiere, Boeing honoured its 7-Series family of airplanes with a special show featuring customers' Boeing-produced airplanes on Sunday (8 July 2007) in Seattle.
The airplanes on display at Boeing Field included an Omega Air 707; AirTran Airways 717; FedEx 727; Alaska Airlines 737-800; Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 Flying Test Bed 747-200; Continental Airlines 757; Delta Air Lines 767; and Air France 777-300ER (Extended Range).
In addition, the Boeing 747-400 Dreamlifter was on static display.
The aircraft took off from Paine Field, adjacent to Boeing's Everett facility, Washington state, and landed at Boeing Field in Seattle.
Each airplane - the 707 through the 777 - took off in sequence of airplane model numbers matching to time, beginning with the 707 landing at 7:07 p.m. Pacific time.
This special display was part of a Boeing-sponsored event held at The Museum of Flight as part of the weekend's activities for the 787 Premiere.
1838, Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin is born in Baden, Germany. The first large-scale builder and pioneer of rigid dirigible balloons, Zeppelin made his first balloon ascent while serving as a volunteer and observer for the Union Army in America’s Civil War.
1872, Louis Blériot, the pioneer aviator who made the world’s first aeroplane flight across the English Channel, is born in
Cambrai, France. After experimenting first with gliders, he designed and built his own monoplane with a 25-hp engine, which took him across the channel.1908, The USA’s first aviation legislation is passed: a municipal ordinance requiring an annual license and regulating aircraft within the city limits of Kissimmee, Florida. Maybe this is where the red tape started.
1909, That guy Louis Blériot again. He flies his Blériot No.XI monoplane from Les Baraques to Dover, England in 37 minutes, making the first aeroplane crossing of the English Channel. The event increases public and government awareness of the possible military aspects of the aeroplane.
1914, Dr. Robert H. Goddard is granted a patent for his liquid fuel rocket engine.
1919, Anthony Fokker founds the Dutch Aircraft Company Fokker at Schipol, near Amsterdam.
1919, The first crossing of the Atlantic by airship, as well as the first return flight, is made by the British rigid airship, R-34. This giant, which flies non-stop from Scotland to Long Island, New York, has a 30-man crew and is piloted by Major G.H. Scott.
1931, The Air Line Pilots Association of the USA is formed.
1933, One-eyed pilot Wiley Post lands after completing the first solo flight around the world. Post pioneers the early development of a pressure suit and proves the value of navigating instruments, especially the automatic pilot.
1946, Bernard Lynch becomes the first person to be “shot” out of an aeroplane. Lynch was involved in the first airborne test of a British “ejection seat.”
1950, The first scheduled passenger service flown by a gas-turbine powered airliner (turboprop) is British European Airways’ (BEA) Vickers V. 630 Viscount.
1953, New York Airways, America’s first scheduled passenger helicopter carrier, begins service.
1956, A Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft makes its first operational overflight. It is designed to fly at supersonic speeds and photograph the earth from 60,000 feet.
1958, President Eisenhower signs the National Aeronautics and Space Act, creating a new federal agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA’s stated goal is to enable the U.S. to lead the exploration of space for peaceful purposes to benefit humanity.
1959, The first 'jetway' in the US is installed at the International Airport in San Francisco, California. Designed to protect passengers from the weather when they board or leave the jet plane, it is a powered telescopic or collapsible corridor that extends to the aircraft and connects the plane to the terminal. They are commonplace in all airports today.
1981, The first solar-powered aircraft flight across the English Channel is made by the MacCready Solar Challenger. The 180 mile flight takes over 5 hours and is powered by about 16,128 solar cells on the upper surfaces of the wing and tailplane.
2007, K. Portellis goes solo with CTFC. Also, J. Jordaan gets his night rating
posted by Cape Town Flying Club at 4:07 AM
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