By the way, a new 180 hp engine would have cost us R120 000 and to rebuild the 150 would have cost R50 000. With this engine we should get two year's life before any major work has to be carried out again. Thanks to Graham & Chris for all their work. Unfortunately, we had difficulty in borrowing a plane for tugging and this has affected our flying. I would like to thank Swellendam who kindly lent us their tug for the course and a weekend.
We have located an old bowling club clubhouse in Maitland which we plan to use as a clubhouse and a maintenance repair base, This will cost us almost nothing. Thanks to Trevor Hawtrey (Craig's Dad) for finding it. We have applied to the City Council for permission to use it.
The clubhouse (at the airfield) is basically complete and a big thanks must go to Peter Clemence for the planning, and to Alison and Sandy Hultberg for the fantastic bar. (Only one criticism......Could we have not got a better picture of Mike Pascoe?) Peter Farrell will be the committee member responsible for the bar. Ed has agreed to run it on behalf of the Club for half the profits. If Ed is not there, we would ask that only committee members and instructors run the bar. The grand opening is planned for the 25th November. We plan to have a fly-in and maybe an aerobatics display by some of our pilots (volunteers please). So diarise to come and spend the weekend in Worcester.
The Ab Initio course was a great success. Thanks to André, Fred, Nicky, Craig, Paul, Rico, Mattias, Klaus (guest tug pilot from Jhb) Rob, Frans, Carol & Graham for all their work. A special thanks to Swellengrebel for lending us their tug. André will need at least a year to recover from the drama of the tug. It will take my answering machine about the same time to recover as well!! We are also hoping to run another Ab Initio course from Monday 18th December to Friday 22nd December and are looking for volunteers to run it.
With regard to the accounts, we will be sending final letters of demand to the 10 hard-core members (most are ex members) that owe us around R15 000. After this the gloves come off with them. I can assure members that we will endeavour to recover this money. Mike, who has just come back from touring Natal clubs, says that a list of the members and their account status is posted on all their notice boards. I will suggest to the Committee that we do the same.
The club maintenance weekend in September was a great success. We had 40 hard-working members who, I think, had an enjoyable day at the club. I appreciated the 9 members who excused themselves and, to the 14 that didn't bother to pitch or excuse themselves, we have noted who you are!!!
While thanks to all involved, a special thanks must go to Herbie, Reinhold, Trevor, Wally, Peter Versfeld (who came back to plant the trees), Lindsay, for bringing some welcome help, and Rico, for bringing his tractor. We are going to try to get the grass to grow around the hangers to keep the dust down. So please, anyone, feel free to run the sprinklers at the weekend. Thanks to Ed for agreeing to run them during the week.
The Cirrus would be syndicated for a period of 6 months (excluding the camp) at a price of R65 per flying day (weekends). We are looking at selling 8 shares in the plane. A member could purchase more than 1 share if there is a lack of demand. The syndicate member would then be entitled to use the plane for the whole day on his chosen day. If he does not exercise his option by 13h00 the plane would be free for use by any club member. Once the syndicate member has finished with the plane in the afternoon and doesn't want to fly again, it is free to be used by any club member.
Theoretically this will allow eight club members the guaranteed option for the price of R65 (the equivalent of a 76 minute flight) to fly for the whole day if they wish. The club is also guaranteed an income on this plane, which will allow more resources to be spent on other things. We would like the opinion of all members on this proposal. Please submit your thoughts in writing as soon as possible so that the Committee can discuss them. This will be a fully consultative process. So feel free to add your bit. Post to me at PO Box 38, Green Point, 8051.
See you at cloud base.
Rob Tiffin
A few weeks ago I was waiting for a flight at Nairobi airport when I bumped into Dave Cross, who was flying in the right-hand seat of the Airbus which was to fly us to Johannesburg. He asked that I pass on his regards to all his friends at the Club. Ed.
Firstly, please confirm with me that the people who have indicated that they wish to fly club gliders are still ready, willing and able to go. The people currently allocated club gliders are as follows: GIG: Nick Oberhofer and Wally Tamsen, GJJ: John Armstrong and Randy Cullen, GOK could potentially go to JK Dorp, but at present is not committed to go. Secondly it is vital for pilots going to JKD to be thoroughly current in the glider that they propose to fly. It is very wasteful going as far as JKD and then re-learning how to fly "your" glider.
Thirdly, I would advise you to sit down with your maps and plan your tasks. You know what it is that you would like to do. Work out your courses and plan your flight thoroughly before you get there. Clearly if you are planning a 300, you need to consider a number of options so that you are ready for any weather. Also work out all your other plans including all aspects of your activities and make a check list (or 3). I do have check lists that I have found useful and am willing to give a copy to those who want them.
Fourthly, there will be both winch and aerotow launches available. The aerotow from about the 11th and the winch probably from the same time. Pilots indicating that they wish to fly aerotow will be required to pay a premium to fly winch and vice versa. CGC pilots are advised to stick to aerotow this year since considerable time may be wasted doing a winch conversion. This is better and more conveniently done at Worcester once our winch becomes available.
Finally you need to book your accommodation with Claire Bradley.
Safety Comment A number of glider accidents and incidents have been caused by taking off with the controls disconnected. (There is a further instance reported in a recent Soaring). If you are to trust yourself to a machine, it is clearly prudent to ensure that the controls are connected and functional. Thus, after rigging the glider, positive checks are always carried out; but these should also form part of the routine DI, since there have been reports of disconnects even in gliders which were tied down overnight after being flown the previous day.
The control surface should be firmly held by the assistant and moved up or down, (or left & right) against resistance. If you feel that the controls are not functioning as they should, it is safer to release before you leave the ground rather than waiting till later in the flight.
Further comment When the wind is changeable, it may become necessary to change operations from one end of the runway to the other. This decision is the responsibility of the Duty Instructor and will normally be made in consultation with the Tug Pilot and others at the launch point. If the Duty Instructor is not at the launch point, the decision to change ends can be made by the Tug Pilot, The Assistant Instructor or the Duty Pilot. The important thing is that the decision must not be made haphazardly and the change must be properly coordinated. Also make sure that the change is communicated clearly to all airborne piIots. It is dangerous to have inadequately manned operations occurring at both ends of the runway with pilots in the air being unsure as to what is going on.
Safe & Happy flying. Mike Pascoe.
There are several others who have contributed to the development of the new clubhouse, either in terms of labour and know-how, or through donations. Gerhard Waller has quietly got on with all the plumbing and tiling, which has spared us considerable expense. The carpeting and vinyl asbestos tiles were organised by Boet Coetsee, and were generously supplied and laid at no cost by Tech Flooring. So, if you are in need of new carpets, floor coverings, etc, give them a call.
The hob was donated by Herbie Oberhofer, which finishes off the "kitchen" section of the club very well. Thanks to Bill Griffiths, in anticipation, for the hot water heater for the sink that we will be "testing" for Plessey. Thanks also to André Leeb-du Toit for organising the building contractor (who I feel did a good job at a very reasonable cost), negotiating the tender, and for fitting the bar shelving in the bar store. Also to Rob Tiffin who organised the security gates and safe box for the bar store.
Now that the building work is complete, there are still many items which are needed inside the clubhouse, namely, oval conference table, kettle, toaster, plates, cutlery, glasses, mugs, bread boards, pots and pans, microwave, vacuum cleaner, etc. The TV set and satellite dish can come later. If you have any of these items sitting gathering dust in your garage, they would be greatly appreciated. Please phone me now, before you forget, and I will arrange to collect them from you if you can't get them out there yourself.
Although this has been a considerable outlay for us, I'm sure that the club as a whole will benefit from having its own "centre". Thanks again to all who helped along the way.
Peter Clemence
11:30 HRS - Parachute Display
12:00 HRS - Gliding Aerobatics Display
12:30 HRS - SAAF Pilatus Display
13:00 HRS - PAX Flight and General Gliding Commences
16:00 HRS - Official Opening of Clubhouse and new Bar
16:30 HRS - Auction of Bar Stools
18:00 HRS - Braai and Festivities. To continue late into the night.
To receive your Points, please ensure that your Referrals complete a Passenger Registration (PAX) Form or Membership Registration (MR) Form and ensure that your name appears as the Referring Member on these forms. All PAX Forms and MR Forms must then be returned with the Time sheets to Graham Anderson, who will pass on details to myself. Then, in due course, you'll be credited with your "Referral Points"! At the end of February 1995, the Member with the most Points will be selected as the Winner of this wonderful prize.
Here then are the ground rules for this competition:
(I) All members are permitted to participate and no entry form need be completed.
(ii) The promotion shall run from 1st November 1995 to 28th February 1996, and the winner will be announced at the AGM.
(iii) The Committee shall act as judges and their decision is final. Any PAX Forms or MR Forms mislaid may not be captured and the onus is on members to ensure that their details appear on these forms as the Referring Member where applicable.
(iv) Members should only claim Points for PAXes and new Members that they have personally introduced to the Club - and should not claim for any visitors or new members who have responded to other promotions, articles, posters, pamphlets, etc.
(v) The 5 Day/4 Night Midweek Break is for accommodation only and is limited to off-peak periods. The winner will be supplied with a voucher that is valid for 5 years and the reservation procedures listed on this voucher will apply. This prize has been sponsored by The Leisure Corporation and is valued at over R1000.
Good luck and get your friends flying!!!
"So much to do and so little time ...... mumble, mumble".
Thank you Wally, Nicky, and Pete Farrell for helping with the Cirrus display, and to Mike Pascoe for getting the Cirrus back. Apologies to the poor pilots who re-rig the plane - unfortunately she got pretty dusty and her wings were exposed to Boerewors smoke - nothing that a good wash couldn't cure.
Thanks for all the support and best wishes, Barry J. Gazzard - "Gazz The Great"
Imagine (if you can) my surprise, on arrival, at having my path to the Boerewors braai area blocked by a lithe and lovely little thing, all done up in gelcoat with the most understated and engaging little logo on the side. Beside which stood, of all things, Sue Burton, with a huge permagrin on, greeting all and sundry in the most familiar way. Hello Cape Gliding Club.!
Thus encumbered I arrived at the airport, triumphant. With merely a glance at the hangar and clubhouse, I made a beeline for the flight line, got out of the car, looked around through 360 degrees, noting the familiar Grob 2-seater (must have just got it) got back in the car and fell asleep for 2 hours. Man, was I excited!
My first flight in South African airspace followed shortly after I regained consciousness. Boet somebody offered to let me sit in the front seat of the twin Grob and handle the controls until he got scared. We were towed to Vic Peak by Allan Procter and flew in ridge lift (like I'd never left my home club) then experienced some weak wave (you must be kidding!) over the Brandvlei dam on the return flight.
Thence followed a long flight in double Julie that included ridge lift, wave, thermal, a height gain sufficient for the Silver badge, reasonable temperatures in the cockpit, time to eat my apple and only sufficient sips of cool drink to ensure that an early return to earth would not be requested by those same kidneys mentioned previously, I arrived back on the earthly plane 6 hours after takeoff, feeling great and wondering if the rest of the badge could be this easy. That only leaves that pesky 50 kilometre cross country, which, from the stories laid on in the bar, could be done twice a day, any day, flying inverted in an antique bathtub by anyone capable of dressing themselves. In short, a piece of cake.
There is no hope of cure for person number 2. The need becomes chronic, the sufferer neurotic. The time passes slowly as the afflicted looks balefully skyward and waits for THE DAY. Hours of studying the maps and weather charts, nights spent freezing at the airport in a sleeping bag , every success story of every Silver C holder listened to, analysed and stored, every jibe and innuendo endured, every excuse reiterated, every takeoff scrutinized (this is starting to sound like the assault on Everest!!) Anyhow, you get the picture. You want to get to Swellendam the way the 5 hour pilot wants to pee.... BAD!
The 1st attempt is guided by everyone and his dog. You find yourself swaddled in your airplane with every little thing taken care of. Not only is the barograph wound, initialled and set, the lunch stowed, the watches synchronized, the baby burped, the money for the pay phone tucked securely into your, by now, slightly tawdry Africa Safari hat. (In fact, enough money is stuffed into your hat to cover expenses for your recovery crew for a week at the best hotel in Swellendam, just in case.) Every other living thing within earshot is made aware of your situation and the tow home arranged in great detail; but reservations for a celebratory dinner have been made, invitations sent (RSVP), and the press notified. This ensures that when you arrive back on the runway 20 minutes after takeoff you will experience the greatest possible embarrassment that any living breathing person could experience without actually exploding. This also marks the beginning of the daily reminders that you tried and failed - loosely termed "character building"
Subsequent attempts are accompanied by an exponential decrease in guidance until you feel you are a standing joke. No one listens when you repeat that THE DAY, with wind from just there at such and such a strength (for a ridge run - 2 people did that one in one day recently!) light winds and cumulus clouds all the way down the valley (this is a rare way to make the trip) or booming wave (the famous downwind dash - the least manly of the ways to get there) hasn't arrived since you started wanting to get to Swellendam so bad. You can't even borrow masking tape to seal your barograph and have to get by with scotch tape. Even the wuffos who come out on the weekend for rides remember you from their last trip months ago and ask, mockingly, if you have managed to do that 50 kilometre flight yet. Somehow it just doesn't seem fair.
But.. you are mentally ready. Having overcome your fear of being eaten by a lion on the outskirts of Robertson after a landout, or getting lost between Ashton and Swellendam because the mountain chain there has eroded away since your map was drawn, or needing different table manners and a different language because a lot of things can change in 50 kilometres, you are poised and ready. Like an athlete in the starting blocks, at your peak, all you need is THE DAY. The problem is, you don't know it's THE DAY until THE DAY arrives. Forecasts look much the same and the number of no wind and no lift days stacks up end on end. No one has gone further than 15 kilometres from the airport for weeks. One day after a month of non days, I see a good club pilot drive onto the airport, look around and then drive away again without even opening his car window! These in-between days are no fun and almost depressing.
After about 3 months of really pining, I wasn't quite as on top of things as I wanted to be when THE DAY arrived. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) THE DAY arrived on the heels of, THE NIGHT BEFORE! My boss chose the night before to take me under his wing and show me how upper management interprets "lets have a drink". We were still deeply embroiled in discussion when the lights came on and it became apparent there were only 3 of us left in the place and one was the bartender. It was during this discussion that I learned that both our days in Cape Town were now numbered (42 was the number). We were each given a medal (which was nice) and sent on our soggy way. (The medal turned out to be a key fob, but the thought was there!)
I ceded the driving chores for the trip to Worcester later that morning to Peter Wooley as I felt like his surname, in spades. Our early morning PAXES had opted out due to the strong winds in Cape Town, so we felt there was plenty of time to stop for tea along the way and enjoy the sunshine. Thus, instead of arriving at the airport at 9 we arrived at 11 to find the hangar open and people standing around wondering if the miracle of flight could be realized yet again on this Saturday.
Feeling practically human by now I was suddenly aware that there were no takers for good old double Julie and that there was something special in the air whose name I dare not mention. Plans to snooze the day away in the shade were soon forgotten. The preparations for a cross-country trip were by now purely mechanical and I was DI'ed and ready only 2 "have you done your 50K yet" remarks later. A few people were noticing and offered maps and apples and good luck, but no formal declarations were made by myself or anyone else. I said I was just being prepared in case something nice happened. Although it was already noon, only Rob Tiffen was ahead of me, 1st on the flight list.
I followed Rob out, the second tow of the day by Franz du Toit, after Rico had witnessed the sealing of my barograph. While I was on tow to Vic Peak, Rob was reporting +3 metre lift. Things were shaping already!. I released at 3 000 ft. in strong lift, thanked Franz and began climbing up to Rob who was happily reporting the lift and soon climbing through 6 000 ft. He headed off to look for wave at Rawsonville and by the time I had reached 6000 he was reporting contact with wave lift right over the town. (He didn't report that there was -5 metre sink between the ridge and the town; but what the hey, leeches shouldn't complain!). Arriving over Rawsonville a very sober -2 000 feet later I contacted wave as well and climbed straight to 15 000 ft after checking in with ATC at 8 000. (And starting yet another chapter in glider pilot/ATC relations: My altitude-encoding transponder showed me at -72 feet on the Cape Town radar and my radio jargon elicited an excited phone call to Mike P the very next Monday.)
The world is a different place when viewed from 15 000 feet (14 440 above the takeoff point) through the eyes of someone who now has his Gold height gain behind him. The view is astounding, and the bottled air is sweet. I felt, quite literally, on top of the world. As the lift diminished from 2 metres to less than 1, the ants in my pants became voracious. I figured: (1) that was it for lift (no one got higher than 15 000 that day) (2) there must be more wave bands downwind (if all those stories so carefully told and retold were even half true), (3) I could survive the heavy sink between the lifting waves and maybe make it all the way to Swellies, TODAY. So thinking, I turned southeast and put the nose down until I was reading 150 kph on the clock and held it there. Nice feeling to be all dressed up with some place to go.
I found only minor sink to zero lift as I started out and encountered another wave band over the river bed east of the airport (Ed was right!). Since I had only lost 2000 feet so far I simply slowed down to 80 through the lift and gained 1000 feet. This put me back at 14 000 about half way to Robertson and about as far as I'd ever been away from the Worcester airport. I hit another band of lift at Robertson, 40 Km from Worcester. Now at 12 000 feet, I encountered slight turbulence and gained 1000 feet by slowing down there and doing one circle. After eyeballing the Robertson airstrip below me, I pressed on, "not going to be landing there today", this was becoming exciting!. The sink continued to be weak, the air silky smooth, allowing me to arrive over Ashton at 11 000 feet, travelling at 150 kph all the way. The glide ratio was working out at something like 40:1 at twice the best LD speed of the glider, due to the strong tail wind. I was halfway to Swellies and in great shape. Although I wasn't finding discernible lift, I was experiencing at least stable air if not a slightly buoyant airmass.
It's amazing how much confidence you have when you've got altitude on your side. I could see 70 kilometres from that height, landing out was not going to be a problem because all my landing options were airports. There had been no lift since Robertson, but the air was not sinking strongly either. From my position over the Ashton airport I could see Charles Torrance's place in the Montague gap, the town of Swellendam, all the twists and turns of the Bree and Riviersonderend rivers, a beautiful stretch of the Langeberg, Montague, Robertson, Worcester, Vic Peak, and lots of other things I will never know the names of because it suddenly seemed entirely possible that I could get from there to the Swellendam airstrip with or without more lift.(a monumental understatement).
I turned towards Swellies, aimed at the town and then, yikes!, there, on top of a hill west of town was a long narrow brown stripe that could only be the goal for the flight. By my sighting over the nose, it appeared that I was going to overfly Swellendam airstrip and end up somewhere past it and completely off my map! This turned out to be true. Riding along silently over all those ground bound earthlings, I arrived over Swellendam airstrip at 7000 feet only 24 minutes after leaving Rawsonville, for a groundspeed of 275 kph. The entire trip had taken 1 hour and 30 minutes since takeoff (110k/1.5= 73.3 kph), not very spectacular stats for a flight that had been so long in the making, but I wasn't complaining! Having gone 110 kms and lost 10 000 feet ( gained 2000 in en-route lift) my glide ratio was 36:1 for the ride, at an indicated airspeed averaging over 130 kph, almost unnaturally close to what the Astir is supposed to provide at best LD.
I had 6500 feet of sky to sink through while I reflected and tried to think grand thoughts, suitable for the occasion. I continued flying the glider until I had landed and stopped. There was no wind at all on the ground, the wind sock hung limp and forlorn. The Astir settled slowly to the smooth gravel surface and we rolled almost silently to a stop in the grassy verge. The literal end of the ride. Time to relax and reflect.
My first thought was to say a prayer of thanks. I thanked God for the opportunity to do the trip and for giving me such a wonderful blue sky day as THE DAY and for sending me to South Africa etc. I'm sure he was quit disgusted with me by the time I got to "and every little blade of grass and every little tree". Then I asked him to please send me a recovery crew since I had been too superstitious to make arrangements on the ground in Worcester.
Numerous radio calls to Worcester ground had gone unanswered. The only hope I had was that a radio call answered by Nick in GOK had been legible enough that someone in Worcester knew I had gone to Swellendam. I was too far away to hear any reply. Not that there was going to be a problem. I had the stash of cash in the hat, a member of the Swellies power club arrived by air and opened the clubhouse bar for ice cold cokes, the phone was working and I had completed my Silver C. Thanks to the inimitable Oberhofer family and Ron Duval, I was picked up about 4 hours later and managed to buy the necessary steak dinner later that evening for at least one of the recovery crew. We rigged GJJ the next morning in time for Christian to get his 5 hour endurance and Silver and Gold altitude gains. I spent the day towing.
Thanks for the memories, happy landings and if you're ever in Canada, look me up!
Randy
The first club I visited was the Estcourt club. There had been a recent burglary of their club house. So this aspect of the club was at a low point. I was fortunate, however, to have an opportunity to fly the Janus with Martin. The launch gave us about 1200' AGL into a most dead-looking sky. However we soon found a thermal and climbed eventually to 11 000'. We cruised around Estcourt and went as far as Weenen before returning to hand the glider over to another pair of pilots.
The next day was spent at Howick where the soaring was poor. However I was able to fly a number of launches with John, and enjoy the scenery and a little patch of weak ridge lift as well as a couple of gentle thermals. I was also able to renew my acquaintance with the Ka7. In spite of the rather poor soaring, I spent a most enjoyable day at the Howick club, and managed to learn quite a lot.
The final gliding club visit was to the Drakensberg Soaring Club at Underberg. Here again the sky looked most unpromising with a haze being very widespread, and the appearance of a severe inversion situation. However, in my eagerness to improving my slowly reviving winch launching technique, I took a launch in the Twin Astir with Brian. We were able to contact a thermal shortly after launching and climbed at a fairly steady 2 metres to somewhere in the vicinity of 13 000'. (Altitudes a bit vague because of the metric altimeter.) From this height we proceeded into the Drakensberg, proper, flying towards the Sani pass. Close to the top of Sani are Hodgson's Peaks and here we found a rough but strong thermal which enabled us to regain the height lost getting to Sani and then overfly the pass and the Sani Top Chalet. Jenny and I had visited this area (the highest pub in Africa) by road the previous day. From the air it was possible to see the incredible steepness of the pass as well as the original track which had been far steeper than the current road. After viewing Sani we returned to the club via the Bamboo mountain, the small Bamboo mountain and the New Castle mountain. Although this was a flight of only an hour and 20 minutes, it was a most memorable and exciting one. A visit to Underberg and the Drakensberg Soaring Club is a must for any glider pilot going to Natal. I spent the afternoon being reintroduced to the pleasures of winch driving. Since I had last done this some 15 years ago, I was (as you may imagine) somewhat rusty!
Apart from some most enjoyable flying, it was really great to visit other gliding clubs and to experience their hospitality, and to discuss with them the problems all gliding clubs have. Our gliding movement in SA is a small one and so it is doubly important that we keep in touch with each other and share our problems and successes.
Finally a very big thank-you to all the people who were so hospitable and kind to Jenny and me.
Mike Pascoe
Now you ask, "What does this mean?"
Well, this puts our club in contact with over 20 million people on the Internet and more than 60 gliding clubs around the world who are already on the WWW. We are now listed on the official WWW gliding club lists worldwide. This now makes it possible for anyone in the world who would like to obtain information about the CGC to simply call up our home page and read up on our club, including pictures of our beautiful valley. We are averaging about 10 "visits" per day to the home page at the moment.
How do I get onto the WWW to see these pages?
Well, you need a computer and an Internet connection. The Internet connection is supplied by a few vendors in the Peninsula area. Simply ask any reputable computer shop to refer you. The connection costs on average R60 a month, and R2 per hour for the online time. When you get connected, you will be supplied with all the software to browse the WWW.
What is our club's WWW address?
Our club has the following WWW address...
http://www.sun.ac.za/~paulb/cgc.html
When you go to our site, you will be able to navigate from there to more than 60 clubs worldwide.
How can I get information on other clubs if I don't have a connection?
Just contact me (Paul Bailey) and I will see if I can find the information you are looking for.
Until next time...
"Soaring Paul"
And to prove that it all works; a short time after we had set up our home page, I received the following Email from Canada........
Date: Wed, 27 Sep 1995 02:11:33 -0400 (EDT)
From: RD CULLEN <71700.2161@compuserve.com>
Subject: What a Pleasure!
To: Ronnie Moore
Ronnie,
I was cruising the Internet highway using glider as a search pattern and ended up on The Cape Gliding Club home page, complete with point and click
options. Apparently we have Paul B. to thank for this, thanks Paul. It's like having a window on SA.
As I write I am in Kelowna BC, east of Vancouver about 400 Kms in the interior of the front range of Rocky Mountains. I have spent 3 weekends at my
Canadian flying club at Hope BC, the Vancouver Soaring Association. No sign of John McCready. I was a little surprised to find that the Libelle 201 of
which I am a part owner was crashed in mid June (no injuries) and written off. The good news, to me at least, was that my share of the insurance comes
to exactly what I was asking for my share of the glider (I thought I would be another 2 years or more in SA).
I quickly reinstated myself with this club by forking over social membership fees for 2 years and flying member fees for half a year and tow tickets (good
for 1 1000 ft tow each and stickers, good for an additional 1000 ft each and flying units, good for about 10 seconds of gliding time each. This pretty
much cost what I received in the insurance settlement for the crashed Libelle! I love this sport!
This club rents gliders (9 of them - see later) on a credit basis. Your unit card is held by the time keeper and units deducted as you fly. No units, no
flying until you buy another card. Neat eh? No bad debts here. They have just bought another L19 Bird Dog aircraft to round out the tow plane fleet at
3 L19's. ( I start towing again next week). On a nice weather weekend they do a booming passenger business and 40 flights a day is not uncommon, 47 is
this year's record. Passenger rides are CAN$60.00 (R150.00 - but everyone knows you can't compare costs for Pete's sake!) They also fly mid-week if
enough people are interested and they can find a tow pilot, usually not a problem.
The fleet consists of 4 Blaniks (2 L13's and 2 L23's - the Super, T tail ship), 1 Twin Grob Acro (which does local air shows), 1 each Grob 102 (3
wheeler), Grob 102 Standard, Speed Astir and Jantar. Flying starts at 9:30 am with students and the single seaters join in as the weather improves.
Popular private ships are ASW 20's, Piks, Mosquitos and LS3's. There are 2 Ka7's and a Phoebus that stays boxed up a lot and a DG400 that is probably
for sale.
I have flown each day in the past 3 weekends and been shot down only once when a friend arrived for a flight too early. The main lift sources have been
ridge, wave and thermal (sound familiar?) with thermals being generated over the exposed rock faces and the house thermals at the sand pit and over the
Dairy Queen ice cream parlour (even the hawks and eagles use that one!) working most of the time. Add to that a little ridge lift and an excellent wave
day 2 weeks ago (12500 ATC ceiling, no exceptions) and you can do a silver C distance here, although no one has for the last 4 years! It means flying 15
K's up the valley and photographing a bridge then turning into wind and final gliding out into the valley, landing at a place called Chilliwack. Gold
height is possible with a low tow and that's about it. Gold and Diamond distance can be flown in the interior where the valleys are wider and there are a
few more land out sites available. Diamond height can be done on Thanksgiving weekend at Cowley in Alberta where the wave goes over 30,000 ft.
Flying here is a little more intense than you're used to. There are so many rules and procedures that hardly an hour passes without someone getting yelled
at for something. On my second day back the club president ordered 2 students to get out of his thermal and land immediately. The gaggle had grown to
6 in one thermal, while Christine and myself climbed away in strong ridge lift about 2 km's away. (She chastised me for reporting the lift when we
landed). The sky seems somehow smaller here than the wide blue expanse you enjoy in Worcester.
Now that I've found you again I'll watch this space for news from the dark continent. Bye for now and happy landings!
Cheers Randy
And another one, this time from Mexico....
Date: Fri, 06 Oct 1995 00:12:30 -0500 (CDT)
From: "KORTE B. MARTIN E."
Subject: Hello Ronnie
To: Ronnie Moore
Hi Ronnie!!
I came across your e-mail address looking at the CGC Home Page on Internet. I did not even know that that existed. So how have you been?
Have you been out at Worcester lately? How has the Gliding been? I have not been able to find a club here in Mexico, but this weekend I am going to a
nearby city where there might be a club. I hope there is because it has been long since I have been at cloud base.
Please send my kind regards to everybody at the club and I hope to see you all soon. I will probably visit Cape Town and of course the CGC in June next
year.
Bye bye from MARTIN KORTE from faraway MEXICO CITY.
After various options fell, through Rob Tiffin and Chris Dixon finally secured the Swellengrebel Citabria (airbatic backwards) to tug for us. However, no
power instructors were available on the weekend to convert some of our pilots and other options were then considered, which included the Wilga and, as
a last resort, the Sky Ads Cessna again. Phone lines ran red-hot from Saturday evening to mid-morning Sunday when Rico made a breakthrough.
Mattias's instructor, who was in Johannesburg, came to the rescue. I was given Klaus's telephone number and he agreed to hop on the next aircraft to
Cape Town and be with us in Worcester that night. The course was now on again - and this was Sunday morning!
Not only did Klaus-Dieter tug all Monday and most of Tuesday but, being an instructor himself, was able to convert Frans, Mattias
and Rico. Rob Austin, who has a conversion, relieved Klaus on Thursday and Frans relieved him on Wednesday and Mattias on
Friday.
There were eleven pupils (Johan van Eeden at the last moment was unable to make it and Johan van der Spuy had to attend lectures
the last two days). Alan Ball and Ryan Matchett attended as CGC members. The Ab Initio pupils were Allan McKenzie, Alan
Fleming, Gustav Kühn, Mike Williams, Johan Fourie, Richard Smith (from Magaliesberg), Johan van der Spuy, Richard O'Malony
and John J Rabie (from Nuy). Klaus-Dieter was an honorary course member and, being an ex 747 Lufthansa captain, helicopter
instructor and fixed-wing instructor with just about everything with wings on his licence (15 000 hrs), had his first flight in a glider
on Wednesday and Peter sent him solo after his sixth flight later in the week! (His emergency rope-break actions were instinctive
and straight out of the book!) Richard O'Malony (also ex helicopter pilot) was very close to solo by the end of the course, as was
Johan Fourie and John J Rabie. Gustav (hang glider pilot) progressed well. Most encouraging however was the enthusiasm shown
by the real ab initio pupils; namely Alan Ball, Ryan, Johan vd Spuy, Allan McKenzie, Mike Williams and Alan Fleming all of
whom are "hooked".
In all, we flew 78 glider flights and 29 M/falke flights for a total of 50.75 instruction hours. This was remarkable considering we
shut down operations because of unacceptable gusting wind, (some sort of wind-speed anemometer/gust metre mounted at the
launch point would make these decisions easier ) for 2 hours on Monday afternoon and again on Tuesday (but on this occasion were unable to
resume flying) and on Wednesday only started flying at 15h00 (rain and wind). In an effort to catch up the hanger doors were opened at 06h30 on
Thursday with Nicky and Paul in the M/falke at 07h15. Breakfast was taken in relays. We flew till dark and repeated this again on Friday. In spite of
our efforts to catch up most pupils managed only 10 flights instead of the budgeted 15 flights. We will make up to the pupils on a mini-course over a
weekend in the near future with "credit flying". (A mini-course has been scheduled for the weekend of 18/19 November.)
Elsabé du Toit proved to be an absolute star and fed over 20 hungry people every day with a marvellous variety of interesting dishes. We hope she will
agree to cater again on the next course and hopefully we will be better organised kitchen-wise by then! (Peter, Gerhard and Nicky put the hob in while
the pupils were registering on Sunday evening!)
Summing up, I think, under the circumstances, the course was a great success and I look forward to the next one when we can offer a cheaper course by
using the winch and by making even more use of the M/falke.
My thanks to the instructors (Peter, Fred, Charles, Nicky and Paul), to Craig who did a great job as Duty Pilot, to the tug pilots (Frans, Rob, Mattias, Rico
and Klaus-Dieter), to Rico who helped in so many ways, to Vanessa and Steven, to Ed our barman, and to Elsabé who fitted in so well. Also to John J.
for supplying large quantities of Nuy wine!
PS. A Thank You note from a pupil.
Dear André,
My sincere thanks to you and your colleagues for a most enjoyable week and a fantastic experience! What impressed me most was the quality of
instruction and the strong sense of fellowship.
Johan Fourie.
NAME: __________________________________
1) The wing drops on take off and touches the ground. In these circumstances, your best option is to release. T.. F.
2) On take off, you should carefully monitor the ASI and lift the glider off the ground when the speed reaches 1.25 times stalling speed. T..
F.
3) You are flying on the aerotow and the tug wags its rudder from side to side. The correct action is to check that your airbrakes are closed. T..
F.
4) You find that you are unable to release from aerotow - Your first option is to call the tug on radio and ask to be released over the airfield by the
tug.
T.. F.
5) You are flying on the aerotow and the tug rocks its wings (alternating aileron movements). The correct action is to release at once. T..
F.
6) The runway in use at Worcester is 33. You should always plan to start your downwind leg over the reservoir at 1600'. T.. F.
7) In the circuit you should always monitor the altimeter carefully to ensure that you are at the correct height.
T.. F.
8) Once committed to land you should ignore the altimeter and judge height and distance in the circuit. T.. F.
9) The correct speed for the final approach may be selected and flown from no later than the start of the base leg of the circuit. T.. F.
10) In turbulent windy conditions the approach should be flown at a lower speed than in calm conditions to reduce the risk of structural damage.
T.. F.
11) You encounter heavy sink on the downwind leg of the circuit, such that you estimate that you are at a height of 400' AGL about half way down the
runway. You must continue a standard circuit to avoid disruption of other traffic. T.. F.
12) You find yourself joining the circuit with another glider. As the pilot of the higher glider you allow the lower glider the right of way to land first.
T.. F.
13) As you turn onto your final approach at about 400' AGL a power aircraft pulls onto the runway in front of you. You carry out a 3600 turn
to allow him time to take off. T.. F.
14) You are flying the final approach in a crosswind from the left. You anticipate that during the ground run the glider will weathercock to the right.
T.. F.
15) You are the lower of 2 gliders on final approach - you should land short and stop as rapidly as possible using the wheel brake to allow the other glider
to land overhead. T.. F.
16) The turns performed in the circuit should be well banked ( approx 30 ) positive turns. These turns have a much lower risk than shallow turns of an
inadvertent spin. T.. F.
17) When flying the circuit you should always have landmarks (trees, roads, fences) picked out to mark the points at which you will commence the
circuit, and carry out turns to base and final approach. T.. F.
18) You have become airborne on aerotow & at about 50 - 100' ½ way down the runway the tug "Waves you off". You land ahead and steer right to give
the tug room to land and steer left. T.. F.
19) As you round out (flare) at the correct height you balloon slightly. The correct action is to move the stick firmly forwards. T.. F.
20) Because of a low release you find yourself running towards a fence and, even with fully applied wheel brake, you see that a collision with the fence
is imminent. Your best option is to initiate a ground loop. T.. F.
21) BONUS QUESTION. On the take off roll before leaving the ground the compensated vario shows a climb. T.. F.
NOTES: The judge's decision is final, and the Flying Panel are not eligible to enter the contest. Any safety related correspondence will be
willingly entered into and published in the KK.
!!!!!!!!! Give it a go everybody. You stand to save yourself R 75.00 on an aerotow. !!!!!!!!
2) If ATC do not give you the clearance you have requested, ask how long the restriction will last.
3) Below FL 140, contact ATC on the Approach frequency. Above this, use the Area frequency.
4) The radar at Cape Town has a speed filter of 40 knots. This has been set because they were seeing a lot of "clutter" from
the mountains. This is a problem if your ground speed is less than 40 knots as the radar will ignore you. If you are missed
on 3 sweeps by the radar, you will be removed from the radar screen.
5) The radar at Sutherland has a speed filter of 10 knots. So, you should be OK above FL80 if you are monitored from
Sutherland.
GlideLog is an easy to use computerised logbook for glider
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THE 1995 AB INITIO COURSE
by: André Leeb-du Toit
Another Ab Initio Course (the seventh to date) has come and gone. In spite of all the problems we had in the final weeks arranging a tug and tug drivers
and also the problems with the "big fan in the sky" during the course, I believe it was a success. Hopefully we will have at least five new members
(excluding Alan Ball and Ryan Matchett).
SAFETY QUIZ 2. SAFETY QUIZ 2. SAFETY QUIZ
2.
The response to Safety Quiz 1 has been very poor. Remember that the prize is a 15 minute aerotow (presently worth R75!!) and
that this will be awarded to the overall winner. The winner will be that person who gets the most questions correct for the whole series. Please send your
entry to me at 18 New Way, Pinelands, or place in the CFI's box in the Hangar. The correct answers will not be published until the competition is
closed.
FOR SALE
Cirrus 75 Competition No. 93. Former SA Standard
Class Championship winner. Half share at Orient or outright sale.
Aircraft has no damage history. It is currently hangared and comes
complete with a very strong closed trailer, oxygen system, turn & slip,
electronic & mechanical varios, speed-to-fly, water ballast, covers,
current LS 1. Ready to fly. Extras: Military parachute, artificial horizon,
hand-held GPS. Price includes one year full flying insurance cover for
R100 000 - worth R5 800. Price R63 000 or half-share R31 500.
Contact Robert Francis-Pope at (011) 706-2541 (h) or Cell No.
0824469025
Points on Transponder Usage
With a full season of transponder usage almost behind us, there are some points that we all need to be aware of:
1) ATC will sometimes requests that you "Recycle". The transponders that we use do not have this feature. So, switch your
unit off and then on again and acknowledge to ATC that you have recycled.
Graham Anderson
Duty Pilots
Duty pilots are reminded that Social Members are not entitled to fly as pilots. If they wish to do so, they must become Full or Country
Members, depending on where they live.
Finally, remember that pilots whose Annual Checks are overdue may not fly solo until the check is satisfactorily completed.
Membership Matters
Welcome to new members Dieter Schwarz (son of Gunter), Ryan Matchett (son of Steve) and Alan Ball. A reminder to Ryan.
Graham is still waiting for a completed membership form. Welcome back to Rob Rossouw who has rejoined the Club. Clinton
Alderman and Dietmar Wieseman have changed their membership to Social. And finally, goodbye to Kotie Breedt who has
resigned.
STOP PRESS
GlideLog
A PC logbook for glider pilots