No: 97-01
Chairman's Chatter
At the Special General Meeting in February the overwhelming decision of those club members present (thirty-five members) was that no club glider would be sold at the present time, with the hope that the utilisation would pick up during the year. It was calculated by the Treasurer, that about 130 additional flying hours would have to be generated in order to justify this purchase of an additional glider. The members present have all undertaken to utilise the fleet more, in order to increase revenue.
We may have to cross-subsidise. Hopefully this will not require subscriptions to be used to fund flying, but that remains to been seen. There will probably have to be an increase in certain charges to members or, at least, a slow down in the program to build a shelter as well as the acquisition of other assets. Again this can be avoided if the members will go out and utilise the equipment. As Sandy Hultberg said; by starting early we could achieve more flying and less queues. A long-standing member mentioned to me that the committee must do something about these late starts. No, I disagree. It's for the members themselves to try to start earlier. If everybody can aim to be there between 9.30 and 10 am and immediately attend to getting the planes out and checked, we could be ready to launch by 11 am. This could probably add about 10% to the utilisation of our equipment. Rapid turnaround of gliders on the runway also helps efficiency and pushes up hours, as our planes only earn when they are flying.
I would like to congratulate the swimming pool sub-committee for sorting out the pool. To Allison, Boet and Bruce thanks for the extra effort. To all the members who contributed donations thank you! We still need approximately R8 000 more. The cost of the pool is about R37 000 (including wall). We have pledges for about R19 000, a club donation of about R10 000. So please, if you haven't dug into your pockets, please do. Please phone Allison or send cheques to our PO Box indicating that it is for the pool fund.
GJJ is flying. A big thanks to AndrJ who has been driving from Glencairn to Camps Bay on several occasions to observe work as well as towing the glider to Worcester and back.
We are reaching AGM time again and it's time to elect a new committee. The Chairman is standing down after his brush with the "emotional members"!!!. Only joking. My two-year term has come to an end at last. There will be at least four committee posts available. If you haven't liked the way things have been run in the past or have some good ideas, don't be shy, step forward and we will welcome you with open arms. Please contact me so that you can get nominated, or make sure your nomination form, signed by two members is handed to the secretary by the beginning of the meeting.
Lastly, I would to thank the Committee members for their hard work and support. It's not an easy job and is rather thankless. To those members vacating their positions, Barry Gazzard and Peter Farrell, thanks for your contribution.
Remember, there is nothing like being emotional at cloud base in a club ship.
Regards, Rob Tiffin
MAINTENANCE MATTERS Paul Bailey
Things have been fairly quite maintenance-wise over the past 2 months. I have not received any pressing issues. Either there are none, or it is not getting back to me. I'm hoping it is the former.
Thanks to those folk who have volunteered to be on the maintenance teams. You should be getting a letter shortly explaining all the details. Interestingly enough, all the volunteers have been pupils. What about some of the more experienced members?
Here are the stats on the gliders.....
GOK She should be a dream to fly now. Clean cockpit, upholstery, controls smoother, etc. Can I have some feedback on the effectiveness of the wheel brake?
UUA Brand new ICOM radio installed. This radio has dual freq. Works like a transponder. A boom mike will be installed shortly. A new 2nd hand prop has been put on with noticeable performance change.
GJJ The LS1 should be finished and she will be back in operation. Let's try and keep her in GOOD condition.
GUC Our new Jeans Astir. Coming from Germany, she is in pristine condition.
GTO The airbrake lever sheared off and has been repaired.
GHB She will be undergoing a MAJOR overhaul in winter. Please plan now for the fact that she will be unavailable for at least 2-3 months. Does anyone know where the disk brakes for GHB are?
Finally, please let me know if there are any maintenance issues on any of the gliders. Also, if you see something that looks fishy, or about to break, please don't use it until it breaks. Fix it first.
Regards
Paul
From the Editor
I was shocked to learn of the death of Tim Biggs as a result of a mid-air collision on Saturday. Those of us who were fortunate to know Tim feel a great sense of loss. He was a man who meant so much to gliding. Tim was involved in gliding (and aviation generally) for more than 60 years. He had over 8000 hours experience and set many records. He made a point of welcoming newcomers, as well as encouraging all in furthering their enjoyment of the sport. He will be sorely missed.
Our thoughts are with Connie Marais who was knocked down by a car 3 weeks ago. At the time of writing she was still unconscious. We hope for a successful recovery for her.
We will be having a Apool wetting@ party on Saturday, 1st March. Rico has very kindly donated a sheep which we will braai on a spit. I am told that the party will have a theme. However, I don't know what it is. Whatever, it promises to be a good evening; and all it will cost is R40 per head (towards pool funds).
The time has come, once again, for GHB to have a major overhaul, which we will have to schedule this year. The glider will have to be completely stripped and all normally invisible areas must be inspected and refurbished. The last time we did this job it was organised as a Club project with some people putting in an enormous amount of work and others very little. The problem with that approach is that the glider can be out of action for a long time. Fortunately we now have GTO to stand in. Another alternative is to have it done professionally at a higher cost but potentially much quicker. If anyone has any ideas or opinions about how we should handle this task, please contact a Committee member
The new duty roster is included with this issue. Please note that winch crews are rostered on Sundays only. On Sundays one duty pilot must handle the aerotow operation and one the winch operation. A new contact list is also included. I am sure that it is already out of date, but it's better than the previous one. Please be sure to let Graham or AndrJ know if any of your details are incorrect.
Our AGM will be held on Wednesday 9th April at the Pinelands Bowling Club. A notice will be sent out in due course. Please give some thought to nominations for the new committee. We often have the case where the old committee has to nominate the new committee. This leads to accusations that the committee is rigged. It's nothing of the sort, but what else can you do if there are no nominations? Come on people, let's have a real election this year.
The next Ab Initio course will be held from 31/3 to 4/4. Pupils, please note that, because of this, there will be no normal instruction on 31/3.
Graham is tearing his hair out at the way some people are filling in the time sheets. This is an ongoing problem. Please make an effort at doing the job properly, because if you don't, you put more work on Graham. Remember, you may only see one time sheet every 3 months. Graham has to handle 2 a week! If you are not sure how to complete the form, ask Graham. I'm sure that he will be only too pleased to help.
For some years now I have been editing the South African Soaring. The other jobs that are involved in its preparation - collection of articles, selling advertising, arranging for printing, posting, etc - are all done in Gauteng. The Exco has asked me to look into the possibility of Cape Town taking a bigger role and taking over some, if not all, of the jobs. This has merit in that it will remove some of the delays that we experience at present where all the contributions are collected in Johannesburg before being sent down to me. After I have put everything together, it gets sent back to Johannesburg for the final merge of text, illustrations and adverts before being sent to the printer and then finally being posted to members. If anyone would like to get involved in this, please let me know as soon as possible.
A fun club competition is being planned for the weekend of 21st March. More details to follow.
The deadline for contributions for the next KK is 17th April. Please get your contributions to me by that date. You can post to me at PO Box 804, Durbanville 7551.
A glasses case was left in my Kombi last year. Would the owner please get in touch with me.
Swellendam Flying Club will be holding a fly-in on the weekend of 15th and 16th March.
Congratulations to Otto on his new glider. Also on the completion of his Ahut@. One of my spies informs me that he plans to put up a sign outside saying, ADon't come knocking when the hut is rocking!@
Congratulations, as well, to Steve Matchett on winning the South African kite flying championship.
See you at cloudbase
Ronnie
Mainly for Tuggies Sandy Hultberg
Tug pilots are please to wash the tug before commencing the day's tugging duty. This should form part of your pre-flight check as snags are often picked up which would otherwise have been overlooked during a normal DI.
Besides - It's just good airmanship!!
On the subject of good airmanship, please avoid doing Arun-ups@ in front of the open hangar.
Thanks, Sandy
From the Secretary's Desk Peter Wooley
It's encouraging to report that our membership is ever increasing. We welcome Henry Barnes, Cyril George, Michi Keiser, Lauren Mincher, Gary Pottage, Thomas Schuler, Claudia Schuster and Walter Uys. To those of you that are student- pilots, we wish you tenacity to stay with the program. It will all seem worthwhile later on!
Unfortunately Anthony West has had to resign due to domestic commitments, and Roelof Smit has gone to Europe to further his medical studies; but plans to be back with us afterwards.
The caravan brigade is also expanding: Bill and Sue Griffiths have brought the now fully-rebuilt ex club caravan back, and Jacques and Lyn Willig have also invested in a home on wheels.
In April it will once again be time for the Annual General Meeting and, as the Chairman and most of the Committee have served the maximum term according to the Club constitution, you must all give some serious thought as to who you would like to see running the business affairs of the Club in the next year. Please don't leave this to the last minute, as all nominations will be required in writing, together with the nominee's acceptance. You will receive a form for this purpose, when notice of the time and venue of the AGM is advised. I myself feel that after a year I have already had enough of acrimonious Club business (and this is written before the general meeting). So can someone please come forward to take over as Secretary as well. It's not difficult or too much work, but it helps to be of a phlegmatic disposition, which I am not.
Please would duty pilots and instructors note the following:
There seems to be a trend developing where prospective members are receiving instruction before having filled in application forms or paying entrance fees. In future it may be necessary to debit these flying costs to the instructor who flies with the person, should there not be an account to which to debit the costs. Non-members may only fly according to pax rates. Instructors please note this; and make sure your pupil is a member. Duty pilots, please ensure that you get a completed application form as well as up-front payment of the entrance amount from any new members before they commence flying.
On a lighter note, the airfield cat is nursing four kittens (two brindle, two black) in the dark recesses of the hangar. I'm sure that it would appreciate any edible scraps left over from Saturday night dinners.
Mainly for Pupils Mike Pascoe
It often happens that we see flying activity at the club starting later and later. A vicious circle gets set into motion. The pupils come to the club later because the Instructor or tuggy (or both) are late. Then they come later, so the pupils do the same. Taken to its logical end point we would never fly at all! What's to be done?
If as a pupil you are keen to fly, then please look at the roster and phone the day's instructor during the week, asking him to be there by, say, 9 am - then the tuggy. Get yourself there before them with a couple of helpers and we are all set for an early start.
The weather early in the morning is usually smoother - so ideal for instruction, and remember that we have FREE use of the gliders before 11 am. By the time the solo pilots arrive and get ready you have done a fair amount of training, and so can enjoy the rest of the day helping out.
The same principles apply to the winch operation. If you want to winch launch, a much cheaper way to get flying, and ideal for circuit practice, phone the team to get them moving.
Let's hear from you. Mike
From the Flying Panel AndrJ Leeb-du Toit
1) Please include tyre pressures when carrying out the DI. The Committee has agreed to the purchase of a tyre pump with a built- in pressure gauge so there is now no excuse!
2) The Motor Falke was taken to Stellenbosch on two occasions where it was used for conversion training and pleasure flying - the scenery and ridge lift is magnificent. Anyone interested should contact me so that we can arrange to take it over again. The new radio is a gem - thanks to Sandy and Paul.
3) It is time to have GPLs and Instructors Brevets renewed. Your instructors brevet should be validated to 1st Jan 1999 and GPL to 1st Jan 1998. Please let me have them so that I can update - otherwise you are flying illegally!
4) An Ab Initio course will be held from 31st March to 4th April. A few club members have expressed a wish to attend and also a family from Port Elizabeth. Thanks to Sue Griffiths who has agreed to do the catering. Is anybody out there willing to be Duty Pilot for the week? - your services will be greatly appreciated. We will also need tug pilots and, depending on final numbers, some more instructors.
Letters to the Editor
As Editor I am very pleased. I am finally getting some mail! Thanks very much to my two correspondents. Let's have some more in future issues. It's an ideal forum for members to express their views to others.
Thanks for the effort
I would like to comment on a lot of hard effort put in by many members for the smooth operation of the club, often with no recognition.
One that comes to mind is Mr Ed Verpraet, whose invaluable contribution and much appreciated presence relating to the security of our property should be recognised.
I speak for myself and Alison, who have noticed the various tedious and unpleasant chores that are quietly carried out with hardly anyone noticing the same.
AThank you, Ed!!@
Sandy Hultberg
Whither the Winch?
At a time when we seem to be entering another phase of grand expenditure, this letter is about saving money, both now and in the long term. The proposal outlined below is very simple, does not require any work and proves that sometimes you do get something for nothing! Such as R45000.00.
The winch was introduced to the club much against the advice of certain respected and experienced members with a view to providing cheaper training and thereby increasing interest and membership. To further promote it a special cheaper membership scheme was introduced.
In the beginning there was a flurry of interest from instructors who wished to convert to the winch. It certainly had novelty appeal! But what of it in more recent times?
Winching has proved itself to be an exacting, frustrating and labour intensive operation. Viewed against the presently quicker aerotow launch turn around time, it loses a lot of the attraction afforded by the reduced cost of launches. In fact, for students, the aerotow operation offers longer duration flights, and more in the same space of time. So while the student does pay more, he gets much more as well. He also gets to progress more quickly as a result.
But the lack of popularity of the winch is not just with the students. What serious solo or syndicate pilots could be bothered with winch launches in the Worcester valley? Yes, one pilot did make it to Victoria Peak off the winch once in unusual conditions, and yes, it is popular with a handful of members (mainly those who have a financial interest in it), but it is as unpopular with ground crews as it is with solo pilots. It is doubtful whether the proposed surfacing of the winch take off areas is going to precipitate a rush towards winching either.
What are the answers to the following questions?
< How many launches has the winch done compared to the Super Cub during any similar sample period?
< Precisely what is the ratio of wire failures to launches attempted?
As far as people availing themselves of the special membership concessions, I know of two, one of which has been to the airfield once in the last four months. So there is no tangible evidence of the winch being an attractor for new members.
It is my contention that the winch is fast becoming a white elephant, and the committee should immediately scrap all plans to buy it. I have seen no record of an agreement with the owners where the club has contracted to buy it either. All proposals to build expensive fixed accommodation to house the winch and retrieve vehicle should be scrapped immediately as well. Likewise the plan for surfacing the winch runway.
By all means, let the winch syndicate carry on with the operation, as they are now. If they can find a way to make it pay, that will be good for all concerned. But at present they can't, and it would be ridiculous for this club to take over a set-up that is unpopular with the majority of pilots, and that is running at a loss. Would you?
If the club is now committed, in the wake of expenditure on the pool and the new glider, to try and curtail expenditure, this is the number one priority area in which to start. Remember, R45000.00. In the end it will be the members, who have to make up the financial shortfalls, and in the direction in which we are heading at present, we may see our monthly subs escalating drastically in the not too distant future.
Peter Wooley
CGC visits Jan Kempdorp Mike Pascoe
The great day to leave for the north finally arrived and a number of intrepid pilots set forth for a fantastic gliding holiday. The journey north was enlivened for most of the participants by a complex navigation exercise conducted with GPS, maps and sundry radio aids. For a number of pilots unwanted excitement was added to the trip by the donkey cart dodgems. As I hear the story, several pilots entered this crazy event when they had the misfortune to pass a donkey cart which shed one wheel. Various pilots dodged around the cart, driver wheel and donkey and no damage was done. To hear the tales, this provided the adrenaline rush of the year for some of these drivers. Our German visitors, flying a hired 20 courtesy of Rico called this the great Cape Town trailer race.
The first day was spent in rigging and some familiarisation flights. On his return one pilot found his air brakes would not open, and hence no wheel brake either - an interesting landing to watch but a 2.4 km runway took a lot of the problems out of this.
The second day we started a little late; but by the start time the concerns in regard to fuel and oxygen were allayed at last. Two pilots declared 500 km diamonds, and a 3rd a 300. None completed their declared tasks, but all made it back to the field. The others flew a variety of less formal tasks covering between 200 & 300 km.
The next day started earlier than most would have chosen. Paul (the tug) and AndrJ set off to Mmabatho to fetch an alternate tug. The Colonel's son went along for the ride, he was safely returned before the Colonel could become concerned. For the rest of us a low pass over the "koshuis" constituted our early wake up call. The sky became progressively more stormy and later a small amount of hail fell, along with quite heavy rain.
The 4th day presented a somewhat gloomy prospect, but good cumulus was apparent some 20 - 30 km away to the east. Sven in his SLG motored off to this and managed to complete 500 km in 7.5 hours. The Kestrel landed after 30 minutes; as Peter called downwind we noted a large number of storks also on downwind into an adjoining field.
Day 5 sees a blue day at the field with a fairly late start to thermal activity. Randy Cullen flying GFY manages a very creditable 300 km (Bloemhof & Vryburg). Sven attempts that elusive 500 again. He turns short of his 2nd TP and has to take a little shot of motor to get home.
The seventh day sees Peter and Brian (from Drakensberg, but now considered "One of us") attempting 500s, and Barry, newly arrived decides to do a "quick 300". These attempts all end in land-outs; but with the aid of GPS technology and a radio relay, retrieves are easily organised and accomplished.
The next few days fail to produce really good cross-country weather although some cross countries of around 300 km are flown. Many pilots spend these days in an activity described by Hans as "Chinese tree squatting". Somehow the English translation fails to convey the emotion which this produces in the original German. ("Local" cross country!)
Day 12 presents us with really good weather. Bases start at 8000 ft; and, while one has to set off from JKD at this level, bases soon rise to 12 000 and thermal strength increases to 3 - 4 m/s on sundry averagers. The wind is quite strong which makes for some slow into wind legs, but exhilarating fast downwind legs. One 500 km was declared but the pilot failed to cover the distance and turned home covering some 300 + km. Others flew distances of 300 - 450 km.
The final day, good in parts but very heavy over-development. Those who got away in the better bits had enjoyable flying while others had less good flights.
The camp ended here, and the CGC contingent drifted off home. The weather was fair, and we all had a really great time. NOW is the time to start planning the year's end activities.
A Personal View of the Camp Randy Cullen
It's Friday the 13th, one of only 2 in 1996 and the 5th day of the Jan Kempdorp camp. Waiting for 500K weather has consumed most of the group. Only two of the seven pilots present are looking for 300 km Diamond Goal flights, myself and AndrJ L. T.
Monday was a not bad day; but it started late due to rigging ships and climbs were only in the 1 m/s range with a cloud base at around 11,000 ft. So speeds were low. Most pilots satisfied themselves with shake down cruises. The most exciting flight of the day was made by Peter F. in his Kestrel, landing without benefit of airspeed indicator, flaps or spoilers and managing to keep the aeroplane inside the airport boundaries. I was derailed by a broken trailer and spent the day arranging repairs and readying the Libelle 301. A quick familiarization flight in the evening after a consultation with it's former owner, Mike P, was what I needed to prepare me for Tuesday.
Mike reminded me that this particular Libelle 301 had won the SA Nationals more than once and completed three 300 km Diamond flights and, in the previous season, a 500 km flight. This meant that failure to achieve my 300 km flight could not be blamed on the equipment, I'd have to come up with some new excuses (got lost, conditions too weak/strong, afraid of over-development, heard a strange noise in the fuselage, ran out of drinking water, forgot to shave, etc., on second thought, there are lots of available excuses, some even plausible like, Aall the thermals were on my right and I really hate turning right!@)
Tuesday and Wednesday held promise. I started late (last) on Tuesday due to dallying with the Colonel, trying to get a message for Mike off the Internet, and only got half-way round the 300K course before it got too late and became advisable to head for home. Wednesday was a strong day with a lowish, 10,500 ft. ceiling and over-development early. Light rain was encountered near Hartswater, only 20 km to the north and a major lightning and hail storm rucked up at 4:15 from the south west. Forewarned, everyone was on the ground before matters got out of hand.
Thursday was a bad and a good day in one. JKD stayed blue for 30 km in every direction; but clouds in the vicinity of Christiana beckoned to Sven who took off in his Nimbus M and motored to an engine shut down point at 8000 ft. over Christiana. He was then out of radio range for the entire day. Peter F started rallying the troops for a long retrieve around 6 pm although we had no idea in which direction to search. A decision was taken to sit tight at the school and wait for a phone call. The result being that Sven checked in, on final glide for JKD, at around 6:45 and arrived at the Braai pit at 7:30 in time to give a rehash of his 570 km flight for the admiring crowd, duly recorded on video by AndrJ.
Friday developed as Thursday had with a giant blue hole for 40 km around JKD. After a long wait, mostly spent analysing all the stones in the vicinity of the tie downs, listening to Brian Loader tell hilarious stories about every aspect of his flying career and sneaking peeks at the sky, small Cut's were seen on the horizon and the storks took off and thermalled on the eastern margin of the airfield, managing to climb! It being nearly noon already only the keenest made a move. Peter F dragged his Kestrel to the line followed by Sven and a reluctant Randy (after some encouragement from Mike).
Sven drew the short straw and, being the most optimistic after his long flight the previous day, took two aerotow launches. One to break in his new crew man on the how not to's of hook up and a second to actually get away. Paul I towed him into a 3 m blue thermal and the day was on. Peter F declined a tow and spent the day on the ground due to the lateness of the hour for a 500K attempt and the generally blue conditions. Leaving myself at the launch point in a bit of a quandary until Brian L came over, full of positive v's and stated emphatically that there was still time to do a 300, seconded with a 'go for it' from Mike. After waiting for a quick repair to the tow plane, launch was at 1:38. Sven reported struggling in weak lift at low altitude on the way to Christiana as I released from tow 2000 ft above ground and found a nice thermal over the spot where the storks had departed earlier that day. My first climb to 11,500 ft gave me height for a glide to Christiana, so I was off. Another climb 5 km short of Christiana meant I could reach the first clouds, hanging off another 20 km to the east.
The rest of the field launched and were met with weak lift and climbs topping out at 10,000 ft. Only one other pilot, Dave in the club Cirrus, also attempting a 300k, made it to Christiana after struggling and a low save. He abandoned the task at that point due to the lateness of the hour and the scratchy conditions. Sven and I were well on course by this time and enjoying the benefits of big white ones marking the thermals on course, flying in a height band from 8000 ft to between 12,500 ft and 13,500 ft. Having had the benefit of a brief thermal flying refresher with Rico S at Worcester on the previous Saturday (punctuated with some aerobatic training) I was having a wonderful time trying to centre in the lift, fly coordinated and maintain airspeed to maximize the climb rate. The trip was 100% enjoyment as there were always good airstrips within glide distance, the thermals were averaging 2 metres and there were aeroplanes flying in the vicinity of JKD reporting on the conditions at home base.
After photographing Bloemhof, 80 km on course, I turned NW towards Vryburg. The edge of cloud lay exactly along this route with only blue sky to the west along the home stretch. The north bound leg was uneventful with thermals appearing as if on cue when I reached the low point of the height band, but I was slow on speed and felt I needed to be at Vryburg by 4:30 pm to have a chance of making Jan Kempdorp before 'stumps'. I arrived at Vryburg at 4:28 pm. A great climb in +3m lift under a large cloud at Vryburg was my last one before the 107 km blue leg. From 11,500 ft. I had enough height for a 50K glide to Taung airstrip. So I was off again, after taking a very dodgy turnpoint photo (judged to be on the margin of the FAI allowable sector, good enough for a 300 km goal flight).
Choosing places to look for blue thermals along the way, I was rewarded twice over large settlements along track, managing to climb to 10,500 ft about 70K from JKD. By my calculations, assuming a 30:1 glide ratio and aiming to arrive 1000 ft above the field at JKD I had 5,500 ft (almost 2000 m) in hand which gave me, conservatively, 50K in a glide. Not included in the calculation was a 10 km tail wind for the leg, acting for 30 minutes this would add 5K to my distance flown. By flying McCready speeds and porpoising in any lift encountered, I conserved enough height to arrive over Taung (50K to go) at 9,500 feet and over Hartswater (20K to go) at 8000 ft.
That was it, made in the shade.
I slid through a thermal marked by smoke from a veld fire for good measure and arrived back at JKD at 7000 ft, 4.5 hours after takeoff for an average of 66 kph. No speed records fell this day. I was poised to press the microphone button to call Sven and tell him about the 2 m lift in the smoke near Hartswater when he reported that he'd started his engine just south of Vryburg. The blue thermals I'd encountered had snuffed themselves out over the 10 - 20 minutes between our passages. This was rotten news as I had hoped we could arrive over JKD together for a fly by for the rest, now ground bound.
For my feelings on the matter please refer to an article I wrote in August, 1995 about getting to Swellendam for the Silver C.
The next 4 days were very anticlimactic.
I had not made any plans to attempt a 500K flight so I was back on the ground floor looking at the map, amazed that anyone could fly that far in one day, least of all me. The other obstacles to success are speed and the need to climb in the fastest part of the thermal in order to spend as much time as possible in a fast glide, eating up the distance. Oh, and the weather. There just ain't a lot of 500 km days on the calendar, even in JKD! So now I sit with the rest of the farmers, listening for the wind, its speed and direction, looking at the sky whether blue or cloud filled, trying to assess its ability to hold yet another glider. Mostly watching the other guys, seeing who will jump first to give it a shot, wondering if they go should I go or what?
On day 5, Wednesday the 18th of Dec. (only 6 more shopping days until Christmas) another blue day dawned, with moderate south-westerly winds, and it was yet another 'not a 500 day'! After readying the aeroplane with a quick wing waxing and having a coke at the Pannetjie while Connie paddled around the pond on a raft, I decided to launch into the blue, what the hell. Rumour was the storks hadn't taken off yet so we decided to give them a wake up call. The launch runway was 90 degrees out of wind contributing to a very exciting double wing whack take off. Then, just off tow, Paul told me where he'd found the best air during the climb and I was away again in 2 m lift to 9000 ft. Three other brave souls launched and we had a fine time floating around in absolutely clear blue sky for a few hours. They said we were crazy on the ground before we left but all crowded round to hear how the flight had been when we returned. Strange people these gliders!
The keys to completion of this first long cross-country flight for me were:
-Support and encouragement from experienced people like Mike P, Rico S and Brian L. They lend you some of their confidence, at no charge, give hints and relate experience and are the first to congratulate you and give you all the credit at the end of the day. You repay them by doing the task successfully.
-The aggressiveness and positive attitude of those pilots around you with more experience, like Peter F and Sven in this case, attempting their 500K's. They were ready to move with the slightest positive sign and infected the rest of the crowd with their optimism and spirit.
-A scan through a gliding instruction book that Connie brought that had a great chapter on thermal flying. No matter how much you think you know, you can learn more about flying from anything you read on the subject, from the most basic to the most advanced literature.
-Confidence in; your preparations, maps and map reading, equipment like compasses, altimeters and varios ( which all seem to lie at some point in a long flight), your flying partners, your crew and of course, your aeroplane.
- Determination to get out there warts and all and complete the course or land out trying.
And remember to take good photos!
To Dasklip - At Last! Peter Wooley
The huge expanse of sea visible from my office window looked somewhat unseasonable on this Friday 14th, and yes, the ships at anchor were all facing towards the west, a good omen for the weekend. With the probability of a front passing through during the night, anything could be possible in its wake.
Expecting a post-frontal day at Worcester on Saturday morning, I arrived at 10am in time to prepare in peace. But alas, a raging north wester was still busy ripping up the dust and the post-frontal Cu's were just a dream. On top of that the glider's tail-dolly tube had a tear and no spare was available. Eventually, and to crown all, at the launch point at 14h30 the list which I had started at 10 had been replaced by another list on which my name was absent! True CGC stuff. But all was not lost.
North-westers offer few jump-off points better than Queen Victoria Peak, but for those who can afford it, a tow all the way to Waaihoek makes for a quicker start! One member logged a tow of 21 minutes which must surely be a record! I myself chose Vic Peak and spent the next hour and ten minutes conniving myself via Rawsonville, Slanghoek and Badsberg around to the Waaihoek bowl, which by then was wonderfully devoid of gliders, who were all by this time well past Tulbagh.
The Waaihoek ridge was working quite well and, after taking a circumspect wide berth of the lee of the Mostertshoek Twins, the entrance of Mitchell's Pass was crossed and the ridge on the east of the valley towards Tulbagh commenced. The thermals on this leg proved reliable, and Ceres slipped past beyond the Witsenberg to the east, and soon it was Tulbagh and beyond. What next? A call to Herbie prompted a change in course off the ridge and over the valley to the west, passing over the next parallel ridge just to the south of Saronberg. The glide across the valley lost about a thousand feet, but once over the ridge and headed northwards with Saronberg on the right, Gouda to the left, lift became evident once more, although it was now necessary to adjust to operating at lower levels than previously. The ridge lift only worked to within a few hundred feet of the crests, but the almost endless sight of wheat fields on the plains to the west was reassuring, as opposed to the vineyards of the Worcester valley.
Porterville was up next, but having decided to turn at Dasklip pass, I resolved not to turn till after I had viewed the hang-glider launch ramp. Dasklip was never so much further on beyond Porterville when travelling in the car! Unfortunately the launch point ' to 4000', and it was strange at times to be looking at the houses and garages of the plateau farms as we passed so close by and only marginally higher.
Having turned, the run south was a repeat performance, and I passed quite a number of eagles on the run down towards Saronberg. Instead of retracing my steps, I routed through the valley between the Groot Winterhoek and Saronberg and out over the Tulbagh valley towards the ridge on the eastern side. This developed into a tense time as I had left the Saronberg a bit on the low side, and was at about 2400' by the time I was approaching the ridge to the north-east of Tulbagh. Much eyeballing of the Tulbagh fields, but I didn't manage to spot the airfield there. But the gentle ridge lift there soon turned into good strong thermal lift, and by the time Wolseley and Mostertshoek were coming up, it was plain sailing southwards at 180 kph and no more turning. In fact a fast glide across the Worcester valley past Rawsonville brought me to Victoria Peak still at 3000', where I took a climb before doing a circuit of the valley past the quarry and around the town before landing.
The pundits all went much further, but as it was a first for me, I was more than happy with the flight, and realise with hindsight that a lot more was possible with comparative ease, as the others proved. It's just that, for me, a flight up past the Groot Winterhoek was always bedevilled by some sort of mental block, and now, having done it twice in two consecutive days in different conditions, it seems a real possibility for future flights.
So if you're looking for that 300 km flight, there's no need to trek off to Jan Kempdorp, do it here. Distance for this flight was about 210 km in straight lines, and if you consider that Citrusdal is about 35 km further than Dasklip, it should be fairly simple to design a yo-yo affair that amounts to over 300 km. But what about the 500?
Please!
Will the person who removed the grease gun and electrical extension lead from the tug box please return them. We don't like to think that there are thieves in the club.