One decision taken at the AGM was the election of the new committee. I thank you for the trust you have put in me as Chairman of CGC and do hope I can live up to the high standards set before me by the past chairmen of our club.

At the onset I would like to mention that I welcome any suggestions, advice and even constructive criticism as to the day-to-day issues of our club. I think it is healthy if there is an open environment for folk to air their views without the feeling that they are going to be ostracised in any way. Problems and issues CAN be solved, often fairly simply, by talking and dealing with them. That is what the Committee is there for. You have given us the responsibility of running the club, and (as I'm sure are most new committees) we are keen to do the job.

We have already had our first committee meeting, and the following portfolios were assigned....

Congratulations. The committee members in their respective portfolios have many old and new ideas, and have already started implementing them. A few of our projects for this year will be....

• Concentrate on pupils, their flying, involvement, exams, etc.
• Encourage members and especially families to come out to the club.
• Continue the efforts of the social committee.
• Have a larger say in SSSA matters.
• Encourage more flying (camps, mini competitions, tasks)
• Improve the condition of our club's fleet of ships.
• Streamline the operations at the runway.
• Make Paxes feel more at home, thus improving our public PRO.

The SSSA has just heard it has received a grant of R100000 to be used to promote gliding in schools, etc. We have indicated we would like to be involved in this venture, and if anyone has any ideas on promoting gliding among schools etc, let me know.

Finally, thanks to Rob and the old Committee members for the past year. It was a good one, solving a lot of pressing issues. Presently, the number of pupils is the best we've had in years. A special thanks to Ronnie for putting out one of the best club newsletters around.

See you in the thermal

Folk to please make sure the last 15-20 litres of the fuel drums are either used, or decanted out. Simply tip the drum at an angle, and the pipe will reach the last 15 litres. Two drums will give you 40 litres, which could be up to 8-10 launches.

Graham has asked that the time sheets be filled in as neatly as possible, as it makes his work much easier. Also, the tug start and end TACHO readings must be filled in. Remember that the duty instructors have first option when it comes to taking PAXes up. If you are not on duty, but would like to fly a PAX, please get the duty instructor's approval first.

To avoid the wind blowing canopies shut, it has been suggested that we park gliders at 33 with the tail to the runway. This is a fail-safe measure and does not relieve anyone of the responsibility of seeing that canopies are closed and locked when no one is at the glider.

GPL lectures will commence shortly - I will give the Rules and Regulations on 8th May and Aerodynamics on 15th, Peter Wooley will do Instruments on the 22nd, Ronnie Moore Airmanship and General on the 29th, Nicky Oberhofer will do Meteorology on the 5th of June and Steve Matchett Cross-Country on June the 12th. Lectures will commence at 7.30 pm, but from 6.30 pm students will write the exam on the previous week's subject. It is mandatory to have passed Rules and Regulations before solo. Let me know if you wish to attend - the classes will have to be limited to 12.

Ed Verpraet arranged for Koos Basson and Willem Bester to give a R/T Course which was held at the airfield on 26th, 27th and 28th April. The theory exam will be done on 3rd May and practical by arrangement with Koos. The course fee is R250 (3 ID photos required).

Congratulations to Garth, "Granny" and Kathryn who have recently gone solo on aerotow, and to Helmut who has soloed on the winch. At last count we had over 25 pupils - it's a busy time for instructors, so please chaps don't let us down when you are rostered. Otherwise already overloaded instructors have to fill in.

We put down a bowl of water and a fresh tin of dog food outside, which promptly got polished off. Whilst these uncatly spoils were being devoured we had a chance to study her - petite and dainty, with extraordinary tiger-like markings of browns, oranges and black. However we also noticed that she was in advanced - VERY advanced - stages of pregnancy.

After the repast she disappeared, only to re-appear for more food the following day. This time sans pregnant tummy. Over the following weeks Savannah became a loving and trusting mother cat. Her kittens were first moved from the fields to the club hangar, to under Rudi's caravan, before finally nesting under Hubert's porch. If she'd had her way she'd have preferred just to SHARE Hubert's hut with him! However, much as we loved her, we were all very aware that the Club had a potential Cat Problem.

Marianne has been the White Knight in Shining Armour. She took Savannah back to her rooms for spaying, at the same time, finding a broken jaw. This was wired up and Savannah was nursed for a week before being returned. Unfortunately during this time only the one kitten which took after its mother, survived.

Savannah doesn't visit us so often these days. Marianne says she doesn't need us to that extent any more. However, the kitten still requires neutering and Savannah must have the wire removed from her jaw. Marianne has asked that we keep on leaving food out for them on Hubert's porch.

Meanwhile it has been good to find so many glider pilots with sympathetic hearts. Thanks to Hubert, the Hultbergs, the Starkes, the Griffiths', and Otto (to name a few). And, of course, a special thanks to Marianne.

Our AGM was very well attended this year. It was just as well that we'd arranged a larger venue. It was really one of the nicest we've ever used. It must go on record as one of the shortest AGMs ever. However, I don't think that I've ever got home as late from one before!

The chairman asked Alison Hultberg to present the annual awards.

As members often ask about the criteria for our annual awards, I'll give a brief description of the minimum criteria that are considered. All awards are awarded for achievements in the calendar year prior to the AGM.

Terry Chiole Memorial Trophy - Best Tug Pilot

The recipient is chosen by the Committee. He/she must have been a tug pilot for the full calendar year, reliable in doing his/her duties, showed responsibility in airmanship, contributed towards tug maintenance and demonstrated above-average commitment to tugging.

James Webster Memorial Trophy - Instructor of the Year

The recipient is nominated by the Flying Panel and the nomination is ratified by the Committee at the last Committee meeting before the AGM. He/she must have been an instructor for the full calendar year, reliable in doing his/her duties, showed responsibility in airmanship and demonstrated above-average commitment to instruction.

Blake Memorial Trophy - Most Meritorious Flight

The recipient is chosen by the Committee. It is awarded for the best performance during the year in relation to the pilot's experience. It must be a documented flight.

Bill Bean Memorial Award

The recipient is chosen by the Committee. It is awarded for the best cross-country flight flown by a pilot not holding a Gold C at the time of the flight.

Erna Buhr Memorial Trophy - Best Club Member

The recipient is chosen by the Committee. It is awarded for exceptional contribution to the Club beyond the call of normal duties.

Gerald Matchett Memorial Trophy - Pupil of the Year

The recipient is nominated by the Flying Panel and the nomination is ratified by the Committee at the last Committee meeting before the AGM. He/she must have stood out from the other pupils in their progress, their participation in Club activities and the way in which they performed any duties assigned to them.

Andries van Dijk Trophy - Maintenance Award

The recipient is chosen by the Committee. It is awarded for the best contribution to maintenance.

Brian Liegner Trophy

The recipient is chosen by the Committee. The trophy is awarded for the greatest contribution to the advancement gliding in general.

Wim Leyte Memorial Trophy - Pilots' Award

This is voted for by all solo pilots present at the AGM. It is intended to recognise a pilot for achievements that may not have been recognised with any other award.

A special award of a book token was made to Ronnie Moore for his outstanding contribution to the production of the Krautkoerant.

Congratulations to all of you!

The number of nominations for the new committee equaled the number of vacancies. And so all were elected unopposed. The new committee is:

So let me start by welcoming all the new members: Lorna Roos, Craig and Jeanette Fussell, Mike Jones, Terence Ewers, Bill Maliepaard, Hans Prüter, Peter Henochsberg, Nicholas Bizinos and Herman (Lappies) Labuschagne. We also welcome back Bill Weideman. Lorna is not a newcomer to aviation as she also flies power at Stellenbosch and is keen on aerobatics - you may have seen the brightly painted red and white Fuji she flies parked atWorcester on occasions. Mike and Jeanette previously flew at Drakensberg Soaring Club. Hans and Peter were on the recent Ab-initio course, so are hopefully well on the way to solo. Nicholas is a Wynberg High scholar who is taking advantage of the limited winch-only category of membership. We hope that you all enjoy your flying and we wish you perseverance with your instruction. Exercise determination and fly as often as you can afford to, is the best advice that I can offer! With the spate of recent solos, hopefully we are about to see quite a few conversions onto the Astirs, with the Cirrus not far off.

Alex Pallis has become a country member but we hope to see him more often at a later date. Gerhard Groenewald of WFC has been made an honorary social member. It is reported that Cornelius von der Heyden has bought a share in the Libelle GFY, and Roger Tipping has bought a share in the ASW 20 GRN. We may also be getting an interesting self-launcher at Worcester in the near future.

On a more serious note, Connie Marais has now regained consciousness after her devastating motor accident, and is presently in Conradie hospital. Unfortunately her recovery is expected to take a long time and she is likely to be in hospital for at least the rest of the year.

Rumour has it that there are at least four pilots who have planned 500 km flights from Worcester, and who are eagerly awaiting the right day. Let's hope that does not mean having to wait until next spring.

The AGM was concluded in record time with nobody venturing any questions or comments when the meeting was opened for discussion. It's reassuring that those present are obviously quite content with matters as they stand. Those of you who attended must surely agree that the venue was most pleasant, so pleasant in fact that a group of members saw fit to stay and carouse until 1:30 am!

In March the club received a fax from the SSSA proclaiming the successful nomination of SA as host to the 2001 World Gliding Champs. This is certainly great news for SA gliding. The fax contains the following quote from Dick Bradley: "South African soaring conditions are legendary the world over. This is the result of an excellent team effort by the Exco of the Soaring Society". I always wondered who controlled the weather, and now that we know, we can take them to task for the consistently dreadful soaring weather at the annual camp and Nationals over the last two years!

GHB: Removed the COMPLETE brake assembly to be sorted out. Graham Levitt has reported that the slave piston was completely fused, and needed to be re-bored. This is being done post-haste, as the CFI has decided to ground GHB until this is fixed. The radio antenna is going to be re-wired. The problem happens that a pilot's foot sometimes pulls the antenna cable out of its socket. New booms for the microphones have been bought and are going to be installed. (No more hands-free flying now trying to call

downwind) - A new tyre is due and we will try to put it on at the same time as the brakes are done. Pupils take note: There is now a brand new canopy. Please, let's try and keep the scratches OFF. Use an original chamois cloth, NOT a synthetic one. Please wipe dust off the canopy BEFORE putting on the cover, as this also causes scratches.

GTO: A temporary wing tip protector has been put on. We are going to eventually replace it with a wooden one.

GOK: Nothing to report, except ONE thing....Please, if someone gets sick, don't leave it for someone else to clean up. It needs PLENTY of water on the straps, etc to get rid of it. If you are taking PAXES, it is your

responsibility to make sure there is a sick bag.

GUC: The wheel brake is not working. It should be operational by the time you read this.

GJJ: Nothing to report.

UUA: The tacho cable has broken, and is in for repair. The boom mike is now installed and operational.

A joystick PTT will be installed shortly. Let's keep up the good work on acting on or reporting faults or maintenance issues.

Finally, congratulations to Dave Stark on his nomination as maintenance officer. Please give him all the support he needs. Keep up with the volunteering, as it does make it easier than asking.

The Twin was usually aerotowed over. All other aircraft had to be taken by road. This was before the tunnel was opened, and it wasn't a pleasant trip over the pass with a trailer behind you. The ASK-13, the Ka6E and the Single (as well as syndicate ships) all had to be de-rigged at the end of flying on the previous weekend. When they arrived at Worcester on the Saturday morning they were rigged and were very often ready to fly by the time the tug arrived. On Sunday afternoons, flying was stopped early so that the gliders could be de-rigged for their return trip to Fisantekraal.

After we moved the hangar to Worcester, things became a lot easier; and it wasn't long before the tunnel was opened which reduced travelling time as well as making it a lot safer. Now we have the added bonus that most of the trip is dual carriageway. Unfortunately we don't seem to be getting more flying. It seems to be less. Can anyone suggest how we can get back the "spark" that we used to have?

In the last KK we omitted to inform the members at large that Graham had once again won the 15m Class at the SA Gliding Championships. He has also been selected for the SA team to take part in the WGC at St Auban later this year. Well done, Graham; and sorry for not saying anything last time.

A few weekends ago Bob Allison ("On the air In the air") and his wife visited us at the Club. I was able to take him on a flight to Vic Peak in GOK. It was his first experience of ridge soaring and, once he'd got over the feeling that we were about to touch the rocks with our wingtip, he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Unfortunately our fun was cut short by an approaching rain squall, which didn't seem to have any clear sky behind it. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, we decided to return to the field and just made it before the heavens opened. We got thoroughly soaked while putting the glider away.

Ed and Alan O' R decided to stay up and wait it out and had longer flights and didn't get wet. Anyway, Bob, thanks for the visit. Maybe the farmers will thank you for bringing the rain.

For those of us that missed the flying nymph that graced our new swimming pool, Boet has very kindly given us this sketch.

I'm afraid that I haven't had much of a response to my request for help with this project. Heinrich Rall has kindly offered to help with the printing side. However, we still need people to assist with organising advertising and contributions. Please, if you are at all interested in helping, contact me.

While discussing SA Soaring with Heinrich, I discovered that he and Annette had recently married. Heartiest congratulations to you both. What about a visit to the Club some time?

Thank you for all the complimentary comments about the KK. I have had 2 spells of editing our newsletter, the first from 1987 to 1989 and the second from 1991 till now. I have really enjoyed doing it and am pleased that so many of you have enjoyed reading the fruits of my labours. However I have recently felt that I was not coming up with new ideas. This, coupled with the pressures of editing SA Soaring, led me to want to stand down from the job. I am very pleased that Peter Wooley has offered to take over the reins. I feel that the KK is in good hands with him and wish him well. I would ask all of you to continue to support him, as you did me, with your contributions (submitted before the publishing deadline!). I'd also like to thank Wally very much for his help with duplicating, and often a lot more. I'll miss our chats while slaving over a reluctant photo-copier!

Lastly, a very big "Thank You" for the book voucher that was presented to me at the AGM. It is much appreciated and will be put to good use.

See you at cloud base

Peter Wooley's letter in the last edition caused quite a bit of a "to do". Comments received included the following, "Such contentious material should not be published", "The other side of the issue should be given the right of reply". Peter was also seen to be speaking for the Committee because he is a committee member.

In the light of this, I feel that a few things need to be said. First of all, any member has the right to express their opinions. These opinions are theirs and theirs alone and do not necessarily represent the opinions of any other member (or the Club). I am not a censor.

As to the point that the other side of the issue should be given the right of reply. This is not such an easy one to handle as a few issues need to be considered. Firstly, if a right of reply is given, is the originator of the thread given a chance to respond? If so, where does it end? Publishing deadlines would limit this sort of activity. Secondly, it may not always be easy to identify parties on the other side of the issue (although it was not true in this particular case).

Anyway we are able to publish a reply to Peter's letter from Mike Pascoe. Thanks, Peter and Mike, for your contributions.

I write to respond to the letter in the last issue of KK entitled "Whither the winch?" There are a large number of points in this letter with which one may take issue. I will address only 3 of these.

Firstly, your correspondent indicates a price for the winch of R45000. I am unsure how he arrives at this figure, as the real cost for the winch is roughly R15000. The figure quoted is a gross inflation of the cost and is totally misleading to your readers. Whether your correspondent has included the figure for the winch garage or some other items, I do not know. Whatever calculations he has used to arrive at this figure, it is totally incorrect.

Secondly, he chooses to comment on the role of the winch in instruction. The winch offers a cheap and reliable route for circuit training, and a very large number of pilots in Europe are winch-trained. Certainly the winch operations at European clubs are large and often employ professional winch drivers. Nevertheless, a small, non-professional operation can provide a very effective adjunct to self launch and aerotow training. Our club is now in a position to offer comprehensive training in all aspects of gliding, with the possible exception of glider aerobatics. We are limited in this aspect by the lack of a suitable aerobatic glider.

Thirdly, your correspondent indicates that no serious solo or syndicate pilot could be bothered with winch launches. At present this may be true; but, as the winch is used to a greater degree, more pilots will become familiar with winch launching and more will use the winch. It is likely to take some time to arrive at a state where solo pilots begin to make more use of the winch. I must point out in this regard that the history of the Super Cub is replete with prolonged breakdowns, (up to 8 - 10 weeks) without flying. While the 180 HP motor gives better climbs and may (hopefully) be longer lived than the 150 HP motors, when it does have a serious break down we may anticipate as long for repairs. During such periods the winch provides an alternate launch facility that keeps the Club flying, and maintains the momentum of training.

In answer to your correspondents question, "Whither the winch?", I believe that the reply must be, "Onward and upward!"

Yours,

And another letter from Mike!

Greetings Ronnie and all at CGC. We have settled in and so far things are going well. The work is proving interesting; and I am learning a whole lot of new stuff. So it is really excellent. I have not as yet had a flight in a glider. This will come in due course. I have visited 2 clubs so far. Booker which is very big and very expensive: aerotow to 2000' AGL is just over £20 and the gliders are all about £20 per hour. If you work that out in our money it is certainly frightening. They have a club Duo Discus which is only a little more expensive than the K13 to fly. I plan to visit again later on to try and get a flight in the Duo Discus. Guess what I will be suggesting that the club gets next!!

Then we visited the Enstone Eagles club which is a small club close to Oxford, very friendly and a lot cheaper. Winch only with a launch at £4, glider at 21 pence/minute and £5 daily membership. I was on the flying list here, but Jen and I decided to leave as we had not really planned to spend too long there and had nothing to eat or drink with us. I certainly plan to go back and try again.

Jen & I are now settled into our hospital style flat, a bit primitive and certainly not up to the African standard which we are used to!! However we do have a spare room. So, if anyone is coming to the UK between now and the end of June, they are welcome to come and stay. My E-mail address is:

My postal address is:

Regards,

And before publication date, I received another letter from Mike. He thanked the club for his award and went on to give us some more gliding news

I visited the London GC yesterday on a freezing cold day. I felt circuit training would be the extent of activities after looking at a dull grey sky. Not so, I was informed; but people were soaring and going cross country. How far they went I do not know but they were very keen enthusiastic and optimistic.

I decided to blow some money and took a day membership and a winch launch in the ASK 21. We failed to stay up so just had a circuit really. The ASK 21 is really great, handling lovely with good quick response to controls, which are light and coordinated. The airfield is in a beautiful setting, but is very unlike an airfield, being grass and rolling down land. The approach is over a farmer's field and one then lands uphill.

The winch line and aerotow line are parallel and very close together. The winch has 6 (Yes six!!) cables so that the turn-around is quite fast. On the direction in use, the start of the aerotow roll is uphill with a very limited view, so that they have a midfield signaller to signal the tow combo that it is clear ahead so that they can get going. The gliders waiting on the line included 2 ASW 22s, 2 ASH 25s, a Discus, a Ventus, an ASW 19, an ASK 23, a Libelle, an ASW 15 etc. I am unsure of what the club fleet consists of; but all their training is with ASK 21s - at least 5. Because of the difficulty of spinning these they keep an ASK 13 for spin training.

On the way home we visited Thames "Upward Bound Trust", a very small gliding operation dedicated to training young people to solo standard. Little solo flying, etc here.

That's about it for now. Regards and best wishes to all.

The weather was ideal and we managed 64 hours of training using the three two-seaters and the Motor Falke. Willie, Kathryn and Marianne were sent solo. (Marianne claims to be the first grandmother to solo in the club - well done Marianne). Both Hans and Peter made excellent progress and we welcome them as new members.

My thanks go to the instructors (Paul, Charles, Nicky and Bill), the tug pilots (Sandy, Charl, Gary, Rico, Frans and Alan) and young Dieter who excelled himself as a Duty Pilot. A special thanks to Sue Griffiths who catered so splendidly.

I well remember the first time I sent a student solo. Probably he had been ready for solo for a while; but when the great day came and I sent him off, I well recall my feelings of dread. Would everything go well? Would he be safe, and would he bring the glider back in one piece? I do feel that this experience was more tense than my own first solo. Of course, it all went perfectly as most frequently happens, for first solos are very safe. A first solo is always a great day for the instructor, the first part of the job is done. Since then many first solos have been and gone, and the anxiety has diminished. I don't believe that it will ever be entirely absent.

Another highlight was with a student who was absolutely and totally terrified of spins. Just the dreaded word "spin" made him blanch, while even a straight mushing stall reduced him to a state of abject terror. A great deal of patience and encouragement finally had him spinning like a top, and happy to boot! Came the first solo and after the usual briefing came the question, "Can I do a spin please?" Answer, "Not until you have some more flight time."

Patience and encouragement pays dividends with most, and even the most unpromising pupils usually get there in the end. A highly intelligent student was the only exception in my experience. He could do each exercise correctly, but never more than 1 or 2 on each flight. Extreme alertness and attention was required to survive this fellow. Perhaps take-off and aerotow OK, even good, upper air work good, and then when he had lulled you into a state of relaxation, suddenly the circuit might go a little wrong and the landing would attempt to put the glider, and you, 6 feet under the ground, literally and while still sitting in the glider!. It was a real character-building exercise flying with this one. Totally unpredictable and when we finally advised him to give up gliding after more than 120 launches, and first solo still a distant hope, I am sure he was nearly as relieved as the instructors.

Then the occasion when I asked a pilot on an annual check to spin the K13 to the left. The correct approach was made, but the timing of the control inputs was faulty and we spun out of a left side slip into a right-hand spin going inverted briefly during the entry. Very interesting.

Finally the nearest to an instructional crash. I was asked by another instructor to check out a pupil who was felt to be ready for solo. The flight went well at first, but as we got lower I noted that the banks became shallower, and there was rather excessive rudder input. I remained silent but alert but the trend continued, with the turns become flatter and more ruddered as we progressed. Ultimately, as we turned onto final approach we entered an incipient spin, in a demo of a spin out of a poorly executed turn that would have been the envy of many an instructor. However there was no time to waste at 400' AGL. A quick (very quick?) "I have control" and we were straight again and lined up with the runway. "You have control", and a fair landing followed. The pupil's question "What happened there?". He eventually went on to fly solo, instruct, and even own a glider, but has since retired from gliding.

The first 16 years of instruction (7 as CFI) have been happy years and I have never seriously thought of giving up. Through all this time I have greatly enjoyed and valued the company of my fellow instructors and have been grateful for all I have learnt from them, and one always learns not only from the experienced but often from the surprising insights of the less experienced. Thanks everybody, its been fun. When I return I will certainly be back, maybe for another 16 years on the roster?

Ventus A 15m/16.6m/winglets Comes complete with foot altimeter, ASI, Winter 0-5m vario, Airpath compass, SR820D computer plus 2 slaves, Dittel FSG 60m radio, A8a oxygen regulator with canula and mask, Replogle barograph, Terra mode C transponder, Skyblazer GPS with world database, dual electric system, parachute, wing dolly, tail dolly, draw var and a complete set of covers. Pluses are wing fairings and tail ballast tank. Glider is competition proved and is in excellent condition. Will consider selling for R195000. Contact Graham Anderson at (021)930-1181(w), (021)96-2078(h) or fax (021)930-6229.