Hi all.
The year is fast coming to a close and in our country the end of the year means excellent weather. So good in fact, that the past couple of weeks have seen quite a few badge flights. In the middle of October, I had an exceptional instructional day with 8500' cloudbase. A pupil's dream and a pleasure for the instructor, as one can do a lot on such a flight.
Talking of badge attempts, well done to quite a few folk who have attained their 5hrs, 1000m and 50km, as well as a gold height. Special mention is deserved of Marianne Thomson's flight. She did her 5hrs, and then promptly added another 2hrs onto that for a 50km (well 107km precisely) outlanding in Swellendam. Great stuff.
It is really heartening to see the increased flying activity. So much so, if it carries on at this rate, we'll need to get another club glider (no just kidding?). We have had a good influx of new pupils, and we should also have about 10-14 matric pupils in our club soon, who have all been sponsored by Daimler-Benz SA to go solo. All the preliminary flights are now being done and from there they will be taught to solo.
As you know, our pool was put in at the end of last summer, and we are only now really reaping the benefits of it. Sundowners and the usual talk around the pool at the end of a good soaring day really go down well. If you are sitting around the pool, and need something to do, please feel free to clean the filter basket, backwash the filter or clean the pool. Many hands make light work and in doing so we can all enjoy the befits of a clean pool.
Our club used to have an away camp at least once or twice a year in the past, and we have not done so for quite a while, so it was with great enthusiasm that the club spent a weekend at Swellendam on October 11/12th. What a pleasure. I'm sure that all who took the time off to fly at Swellendam would agree that it was most worthwhile. Believe it or not the weather was excellent on both days and good soaring was had by all. An outlanding and a forced landing were also included for good measure, just to end the weekend off. The hospitality of the Swellendam club members was exceptional. They went out of their way to make things really comfortable for us, from the braai to fixing fan belts. Thanks Swellengrebel - see you next year. Many folk feel we should do this more often. Special thanks to Peter Clemence and Co. on organising the weekend. A lot of time and effort went into the preparation.
Since my last chairman's report, there have been a few heated, yet healthy issues in the club. The most contentious being the end of the year camp at Gariep. I must say that I feel this to be a healthy issue to have in the club, as it is indicative to the demands on club equipment and is only due to more folk in the club wanting to fly. Great news for any gliding club committee.
In the past the period between Christmas and New Year has been exceptionally quiet with little or no flying. This year should be different. It has been traditional to let club gliders go away to the national camps in the past, so folk could attempt badge flights. This has been extremely successful and beneficial in the past. Our thanks go to Alan O'Regan and the GPS group who have taken the initiative to rally round and encourage folk to attend the Gariep Dam camp this year. Alan did such a good job of promoting the camp initially, that it seemed like all the club equipment would be going. You can imagine the calls I had from folk saying they needed to fly in December. Wow, what a healthy situation to have. Thanks to all who took the trouble to phone and motivate. At the end of the day, all's well that ends well. Those going to Gariep have been accommodated, as well as the proposed Winelands Week, to be held at Worcester (see further along in this issue). By the way, GJJ is up for grabs in the second week of the Gariep camp for anyone who is interested is a little cross-country. Details can be obtained from Alan.
There have been rumours floating around that there is no more space available for members wanting to put up huts and that the committee has been preventing folk from putting up huts. This is untrue. The procedure is, and has always been, for one to submit a written application to the committee for sites. We then pass it on to our landlords, the WFC, in whose hands the final approval lies. We have as yet never turned down an application. Hopefully this should clear the air.
We have decided to postpone our yearly Saturday work party to early next year. This time of the year gets really hectic and it was felt we would be able to include more members this way. But that does not mean things should now be left. Please, if something needs fixing, feel free to lend a hand and fix it, especially club equipment. We all benefit from club equipment so it's in our best interest to look after it.
On the social side, Jacques and his team organised another really good supper at the club. The potjie was excellent and he and Helgaard catered for over 70. Thanks to all who came and made it a success. There has been talk of an end of the year Christmas party, but being realistic, there is really too much going on at this time of the year for it to be a success. The social team has decided that an informal New Year's Eve party would be more worthwhile and are of the opinion that more folk will be able to attend. So if you are around on the 31st December, you are warmly invited to join in at Worcester.
In closing, I would like to reiterate that I am always available to hear members ideas, advice and constructive criticism (as are the other committee members). Club issues only become problems if they are not addressed, so if you feel strongly about any issues, lets hear and talk about it. This way we can solve issues quickly and spend the time in the air, rather than on the ground.
The committee wishes everyone a happy Christmas, and here's to a good New Year. Keep up the good flying, and those going up to Gariep, good luck and safe flying. A good pilot is a safe pilot.
Remember, flying at Worcester before 11am is free.
See ya in the thermal
Paul Bailey
Gliding in Belgium? Like Belgian cuisine, does it actually exist? In August and September I had the opportunity finding out as I was working in Gent, thanks to the benevolence of the EC taxpayers. This of course gave rise to the problem: what to do at weekends? No prizes for guessing - a short search of the internet resulted in a shortlist of gliding clubs affiliated to the Liga van Vlaamse Zweefvliegclubs. A short cartographic perusal of west and east Flanders gave me two easily reachable options: Kortrijk Zweefvliegclub and Zweefvliegklub Beerneem. The latter consistently refused to answer the telephonic summons of Belgecom, whereas my contact number for the former resulted in direct communication with the chairman, Antoon Bostyn, who from the first moment laid out the red carpet.
Kortrijk Zweefvliegklub is located at Wevelgem airfield on the outskirts of the city of Kortrijk, Gent, about 50km south west of Gent. The airfield is of WW2 Luftwaffe origin, and has a 2km tarmac runway with an adjacent grass strip of about 1.2km for gliders. Usage is almost entirely GA, with jet noises provided by occasional military and civil charter traffic. GA traffic includes a privately owned Harvard and Jet Provost! The airfield is also home to Zoute Aero Club, whose gliders are also towed by KZC's two tugs.
The KZC club fleet has a familiar ring to it, comprising a single Blanik L13 for basic training, a K8b for immediate post-solo flying, a Twin Astir I and SZD Puchacz for conversion to plastic, two single Astirs (Jeans & CS), and a Jantar and PIK20 for the hotshots. Finally, golden oldie pilots can relive their youth in an absolutely immaculate Ka2b.
As I am well into my geriatric thirties, I was obviously a prime candidate for the Ka2b, which I flew twice. My first day at the club was the hottest of the summer to date (33oC), and I thought there had to be something cooking besides lunch: it was and by 2pm had developed really nicely into some cumulus stretching from about 4500 to 7000ft. However, the thermals were pretty weak - only about +0.5ms right under cloudbase, so both flights were comparatively short (37m & 29m). I also discovered that thermals going all the way up don't even count - the Lille (France) TMA operates over Wevelgem at 4500ft and is class B airspace. It certainly felt strange being limited by the TMA of an airfield in a neighbouring country!
The following day was cooler (30oC), and I thought at first that we were in for a blue day. However, cumulus started to form at about 2.30 and I went up in the Puchacz, which flies a bit like a K13. The thermic was again mostly +0.5, but if you scratched +1 was possible in the core of the really small thermals. Flying in the weak stuff was really useful in learning the art of fine control and I managed a really good time of 83m, so I certainly can't complain.
Of note was how much better we are at safety: there is no such thing as a DI in Belgium - you just get in and fly! The older (wiser?) pilots do a walk around beforehand, but in the five days I spent at the club I never saw even one positive control check, even on newly-rigged gliders! All the gliders are parked sideways along the runway and take-off's occur right alongside them, with no run-off areas for take-off emergencies. Also, take-offs and landings occur simultaneously - its a bit like a shopping centre parking lot on a Saturday morning, with the power traffic on the adjacent tarmac also thrown in for fun! Take off signalling is also non-existent - the wingman holds the wings level and the tuggie roars away into the distance, obviously assuming that since the wing is up everybody is ready and everything is OK, but there is no facility for emergency signalling and its all done without radio! It does, however, make for rapid launches, and this I found quite impressive - when conditions improved, gliders suddenly appeared in the launching queue as if by magic and were tugged away really quickly, 12 aerotows per hour being normal.
Just as I thought all my flying would be in weak conditions, the prima day finally arrived on my last day at the club. At 3.30 in the afternoon I again had a flight in the Puchacz. Conditions were a bit weak at first, between +.5 and +1.5, it was fairly easily to stay up and good practice in small diameter thermals. After about 25 minutes a good +3ms thermal lifted us to the bottom of the TMA (1500m). After losing height the fun way via three loops, three two-turn spins and a few high speed (150kph) 360 degree turns, another +3 thermal took us back up to the TMA for a repeat performance. The Puchacz is very easy to spin - dropping a wing and holding the stick back until it stalls will do it and has been the cause of a number of accidents in this type. Most modern trainers will recover just by stopping the autorotation, but with the Puchacz full opposite rudder and a positive forward movement of the stick is necessary to initiate recovery. The Puchacz flies well at high speeds, but requires concentration to maintain the speed during turns. Flying in the circuit is easy as long as you maintain a reasonably high speed, the Puchacz has really good airbrakes so controlling the angle of descent is easy, but care must be taken to touch down on the mainwheel after rounding out. It must kept balanced on the mainwheel by forward pressure on the stick during landing and take-off otherwise it castors on the tailwheel.
Flying costs in Belgium don't compare too unfavourably with ours: an aerotow to 500m agl costs 550BEF (R70) and the glider 8BEF (R1) per minute. All in all, it was a very useful experience to see how others do it, but I am happy to be back in the wide open spaces - a 100km triangle cannot be flown in Belgium without entering the airspace of at least two neighbouring countries! One aspect, however remains the same - the beer, braaivleis and soaring stories after hangar doors are closed!
Graham Levitt
Once again those stalwart members, Marianne Thomson and Gerhard Groenewald, have done the club proud. Marianne has arranged plant and operator for the cutting of the scrub which covers the airfield, and Gerhard has arranged the importation, levelling and compaction of dozens of loads of fill for the winch runway. We thank you both.
A warm welcome is extended to the following new members:
Stiaan Viljoen, David de Beer, Kim Carter-Brown, Hans Jordan, Willie Pieterse, Theron van Wyk, Peter Middleton, Yogi de Beer, Garth Milne, Pierre Louw, Charl Olivier (brother of Rika), Jaco Noteboom and Louis Esterhuizen.
Stiaan will be tugging, Hans is an experienced senior instructor, and Kim tells me that she is an experienced winch driver. To those of you that are still pupils, rest assured that you have joined an establishment which is foremost in gliding circles for its commitment to fostering your advancement to GPL level, and beyond.
Unfortunately we say good-bye to Andr‚ Pieterse, but hope to see him back in the future!
The Gauteng Regional Competition has now come and gone, and from all accounts was a great success. However, fewer entries than usual are expected for the Nationals. All gliders will have to be equipped with GPS and SSSA-approved FR's, and all gliders will be weighed.
There is concern about the relatively high proportion of motor-gliders in the accident statistics. The insurance companies are examining all claims in minute detail, and one problem that has come to light is that of motor installation and maintenance. They are demanding that all work done on motors is executed by suitably qualified and delegated persons and that all work is documented in the aircraft logbook. Not adhering to these procedures may invalidate future claims.
In addition, no flying of motor-gliders will be permitted without the proper GPL endorsement. This even applies to a motor-glider flying while the engine is retracted.
And finally, something to think about for those who consider that flying is becoming too expensive: there is rumour of a Zimbabwean levy of $20 for every half-hour flown there! Monkey see, monkey do? I certainly hope not.
Peter Wooley
Three years ago Peter Versveld took me on a pax flight to the quarry and Fonteintjiesberg, only to tell me afterwards that I was his first ever passenger! But I had always yearned to fly and now that the children had completed varsity, at last I could afford to realise my dream.
My first flight as a pupil with Boet Coetzee and what with a sideslip on final, had me thinking about my unsigned will and poor orphaned kids. This flight was also nearly my last! But for the next 20 flights I really did not quite figure out what made what move and where, but I did figure out the purpose of the shiny little handle on the parachute around this time. All in all a very silent pupil, mouth too dry to get a squeak out, quadriceps in spasm from fear of pushing the rudder when I shouldn't.
First impressions of the bleak, barren, weed-covered airfield had done little to entice me to stick with this thing, so what did then? The clouds and the mountains and the sky. Little did I realise then how much there was to learn. Wave and woollies (me? ed.) and cirrus (did you know that horses get that when a castration goes wrong) and yes, thermals. Now those grabbed my fancy.
Training was a grind. The endless months of impossible aerotow and keeping the correct attitude (my mom aways said that mine would be my downfall) and learning to learn from different instructors. And the endless waiting: waiting and pushing, waiting and running, waiting and signalling. To keep going I told myself that the older you are the more aware you are of your own mortality. That's probably why all the younger pupils overtook me and soloed. Some disappeared, some crashed, but I had found that I was liking this sport more and more, and was damned if I was going to give up.
Then Rico offered me his share in the Libelle, not letting on it had flaps, ineffectual airbrakes, and a tailparachute! - but then he is so nice, how could I hold that against him. Though to date I havn't had the chance to try this lot out.
Slowly the fear abated and the enjoyment increased. How can I forget Andr‚ pulling the plug on me over the red hill water reservoir at 2000' and to his utter amazement, I didn't panic but stubbornly stuck in a weak thermal and scratched my way up to 3000ft. But a long period followed with all around me getting fed up with my slow progress, even with the CFI putting in special time. My excuse then was that I didn't want to solo until my grandchild was born, but even after her arrival, granny was still too timid.
At last an ab-initio course! Some ab-initio you may say. And then on day two of the course, a lying dishonest instructor answered during my pre-flight checks that his straps were tight, but calmly proceeded to climb out right there on the runway. So what else could I do? The magical first solo had finally arrived.
Later, on about solo number 20 and flying the Jeans Astir, I daringly went to that mystical place, the quarry, where all the big-guns ask to be towed to, in order to pick up 'high ground' thermals. Release was at 3500' with 3-4m/s up till over the mountains at 6000'. Then back down to 4000', back to the quarry again, up, down, up, down. How do you guys find these 'high ground' thermals? Then there was too much traffic at the quarry, so I took a climb to 6000' at the Worcester railway station, jumped the gap at De Wet onto the Keeromberg and ran down to Nuy. There I turned back at 5000' and as panic seized me, fell out of the sky in strong sink, only to be saved by a thermal off the foothills which took me back to 5000'. From here I bravely made for some clouds over the valley and got rocketed up to a staggering 8000' cloudbase. All in all a 2« hour flight and a silver height gain!
On a Saturday later on, Alison and I decided to hog the two Astirs for our five hour attempts, and proceeded to kit up with barographs signed and sealed. However, due to very high winds, we were left dithering and just to damn scared to take off. Eventually Alison took the plunge, I simply told myself not to be such a ninny, packed a bottle of Ceres spring water (no free advertising please, ed.) and what turned out to be a floury apple (the only available one to be found on the whole of hubby's apple farm!), and launched into the gale.
Strangely enough, on release the lift on Queen Victoria Peak is scratchy at best, and from an eventual 5000' I venture off to Rawsonville in search of wave, promptly falling down to 3000' again. A panic-stricken dash takes me back to Queen Vic ridge, now quite turbulent with rotor at the north and west and sink to the east. The only way to climb is in tight little circles near the peak - venture further at your peril - rattle your teeth or drop. Slowly with the water as you can't un-tank yourself like the men! Small bites of the floury apple, one every 15 minutes, till even the core is devoured to the last pip. Still two hours to go.
By now another five or six other gliders are milling about on the ridge - keep really alert and look-out big time - watch out for Baron von Prada coming straight at you in the Twin Astir - scary stuff. More scary though is hearing that the tug has called it a day due to the high winds. I keep amused for a while flying next to Cornelius in the Libelle, so that he can check his instruments. Then even he get bored and deserts his maybe-future-mother-in-law, leaving her all alone above the wind-torn mountain wilderness. Then Romeo Romeo joins Juliet Juliet who tries to follow him through the turbulence to the du Toits Kloof mountains, only to fall down once more. Back to the nice, safe (don't kid yourself, ed.), boring little ridge. Four hours of this now - get it. This must be the criterion for boredom.
Suddenly Romeo Romeo calls for me join him between the peak and Brandvlei dam wall, where there is....WAVE. This is big time, up, up, up, and so smooth. Now it is the granny and Cape Town Approach talking on 119,7 and a transponder that wont squawk the correct code, which I eventually sort out. Sitting dead still at 80kph indicated at 12000' and quiet. Oxygen needed at 12000' I think the book says, but my anaesthetist-possible-future-etc-etc tells me I'll be OK to 13000'. But how do you assess if you have impaired judgement? Do you feel intoxicated? Oh yes, but that's elation surely. What about tunnel vision? Look down at the cloud banks below and the land; Cape Town, the Koo valley, the sea. No, we can see it all from up here, so the vision must be OK.
Suddenly a brainwave - why not go to Swellendam? My request to Worcester ground is met with a stoney silence. Then an OK! But I must call in regularly to report progress. A call to Chris for some advice and we are off. Am I really ready for this step?
Leaving Worcester at 10000' I reach Rooiberg at 9200' and take a climb up to 9800'. I call Worcester abeam Ashton at 8000' as requested, avoiding a huge cloud with rotary tendrils up ahead. I climb along its west side with 2m/s all the way, passing McGregor at 8000' and 120kmh indicated. Proceed to prattle off a Roos-style call to any traffic in the Robertson-McGregor area, only to get a reply from Cornelius, now in his car passing Nuy en route to Swellies to fetch me. A power pilot preparing to land at Robertson relays my position to Worcester ground.
Swellendam finally looms ahead in the murky grey under dark unfriendly looking clouds. I arrive overhead in 2m/s bumpy lift at 6000' and call them. No reply. Have they packed up and gone home due to the foul weather? Here I am alone at 6000', flying has packed up at Worcester, no flying at Swellendam, and feeling rather lonely and abandoned. Just keep your cool old girl. Calm the nerves and mosey over to take a look at the lovely Buffeljachts dam, still in lift, giving Cornelius time on his journey to retrieve me. Then I get a call from the friendly power pilot who relayed my earlier message, to tell me that the Swellies surface wind is a mere 10-15kmh. Phew! Cornelius asks if the gear is down; what, it's been down for six minutes already. I extend full airbrake and I spiral down over the Bontebok park from 6000'.
Downwind, base, final and after only one bounce, there we are at Swellendam! They have even left the ladies unlocked for me! How considerate. I proceed to carry a full 25 litre can of water 300m down the runway to Juliet Juliet and then wait for Cornelius - how tough do grannies come?
Marianne Thomson
The weekend started for some of us at lunch time on Friday with the de-rigging of the five club gliders, which were to be trailed to Swellendam. This proved to be quite a task, and my thanks go to Andre Jacques, Bill and Ed.
We received a hearty welcome at Swellendam on Friday night from members who had waited for our arrival while looking after Andre who had flown the Motorfalke down in the late afternoon. The fires were ready, not to mention the hot soup and fresh bread specially made for the occasion. Swellendam members had even made a Plettenberg-house available to us, so we were well catered for accommodation-wise. Others chose to tent on the lawn under the trees.
Saturday morning started fairly early with the rigging of the gliders and flying got under way at about 9h30. I must congratulate the Swellengrebel club on ordering some perfect soaring weather. The conditions were great with good thermal lift in the valley and strong south wester ridge. Unfortunately their tug had a serious magneto drop which couldn't be sorted out, so we operated with MIV, until CKP arrived half way through the afternoon.
Swellengrebel members provided fires, braaipacks, salads etc on Saturday night which was great, even though some of us didn't get back for the first sitting due to landing out (even the retrieve vehicle had to be retrieved because of a broken fan-belt). Andr‚ also paid a flying visit to the Bontebok National Park in the Motorfalke, where he examined a few dissected anthills at very close quarters!
The favourable conditions on Sunday continued with good lift both in the valley and on the mountains.
The weekend was aimed mainly at the pupils and early solo pilots, with emphasis on giving them the experience of flying under different conditions and at a different airfield. The turnout for the weekend was good and I believe that everyone benefited from the experience.
There were a few hiccups along the way and things that we will do differently next time, for example not to de-rig five gliders between five people on a Friday afternoon. It would all be a lot easier if these weekends were organised more often, so come on you club members, why don't some of you initiate the next one. There are always people willing to help if they are approached individually, and are not expected to do all the work themselves.
Our thanks go to all who put an effort into making the weekend a success, and to the Swellengrebel Flying Club for their hospitality. We look forward to visiting again in the not to distant future.
Peter Clemence
The summer soaring season is upon us, and many people will be setting off on their first or early cross countries. It is worth spending a little while reviewing the essential elements that go to making a good, safe outlanding.
Outlanding is an inevitable part of cross country soaring. What we mean by cross country soaring depends on who you ask. A useful working definition is "Out of gliding range of the airfield." This means that you may be "cross country" at 2 kms from the field, or at 50 Kms from the field, depending upon your height.
Before anyone goes cross country it is vital to make some preparations in regard to outlanding. You are responsible for seeing that you have your glider trailer ready and roadworthy, your car likewise with petrol and keys. You are responsible for organising a crewperson - someone who has agreed to fetch you if you land out, and who knows where all the bits and pieces are. This person is also an essential part of the action. These preparations are a vital part of the cross country experience.
When flying cross country keep within range of a suitable landing area. As you get lower you will need to be nearer an area of fields and at about 2000 ft AGL pick your field. Look carefully at the field while you can still attempt to climb away. At about 1000 ft AGL you should abandon all attempts at soaring and concentrate on making a good landing. Remember that a good landing starts with a good circuit, so fly a decent circuit with a downwind, base and final legs. Remember the pre-landing checks (especially important is committed to land - no more soaring attempts now).
When looking at a field and trying to choose where to land a few points are important. Select a field in good time. Make a decision and stick to it, unless something happens to very drastically alter the situation (you notice the airfield 0.5 Kms from you, or power lines which you will need to avoid). The convenience of the retrieve is a minor consideration compared to making a safe landing. You can carry a glider a long long way in a day or so but a major repair takes months.
The items to look at in a field are as follows.
Size: The field must be long enough in the landing direction - this is determined by the wind. Obstructions on the end of a field effectively shorten the field by 10x the height of the obstruction (a 10 m obstruction reduces the useable length by 100 m).
Surface. An airfield is a good option, however a crop sprayer strip is often a bad option, since they are often very narrow and short. Always land along the furrows. Grass is generally not good since it may be rough.
Slope. Any slope visible from the air is too much. Always land uphill even if this is downwind. Remember to fly a higher than usual approach speed if the field slopes.
Stock. Look carefully for stock. A single "cow" is a bull! Horses are dangerous - they get hysterical, gallop about and break gliders as well as their legs. The owners are even worse.
Sun. If landing late in the day and all else being equal try to land out of sun - a low sun can spoil your vision of the field and make a good landing difficult or impossible.
Circuit and landing. Fly a normal circuit at normal circuit speed. Do not try to fly at a very low speed in the circuit, you can spin out of your turns as easily here as anywhere else. Do make a fully stalled landing and as soon as you are on the ground apply full airbrakes and wheel brake to stop as quickly as possible.
Remember:
A bad decision is better than no decision at all.
A good landing comes from a good circuit.
Good flying and happy landings.
Mike Pascoe
On a recent September Saturday, I accompanied Graham to the Durbanville hills to fly his two-metre span model glider.
In between some aerobatic manoeuvres, a bird joined in the same thermal, positioning itself behind the glider. For some reason, I was ominously reminded of the way Dobermanns approach from behind for an attack, and continued watching with increasing interest.
The bird then swooped upwards, positioning itself above the glider. As we watched transfixed with disbelief it suddenly plunged down onto the plane in a full scale attack. There followed a violent aerial commotion, leaving the glider seriously damaged while the bird flew off again seemingly satisfied that it had delivered a fatal blow.
Graham just called for me to watch carefully and mark where the complete outer wing panel, viciously detached in the attack, was spiralling earthward. With great difficulty, Graham managed to bring the glider in without losing control and causing further damage. The wing was another story and floated on and on - coming to land in the middle of a field full of young bulls! Before it landed though, the bird returned and flew low over us, possibly for another attack on the wing, so we were able to examine it more closely.
According to Giso von Petersdorff, whom Graham quizzed afterwards, it appears to have been a Goshawk. But this is quite surprising as Goshawks, I believe, do not as a rule soar.
Anyhow, the plane is not yet fixed and Graham has several evenings of laborious repair work ahead of him before it will be able to soar over the Durbanville hills again. But next time, we will watch out for aggressive Goshawks!
Susan Liegner
First the bad news - you guys have lost ZS-GUC! Yes, I know you all enjoyed flying her but she is now lost to us, taken over by the girls! They have formed an exclusive Ownership Club and are looking after her with selfish TLC. Some of them have even been seen to powder her nose and put blush on the wings - soon lipstick will appear around the pitot and frilly garments on the undercarriage. Oh no! Is that a bra strapped to the fuselage! Well, that's progress for you. Jokes aside, my congratulations to those of the fairer sex who have converted to her, namely Alison, Kathryn, Marianne, Dulcie and Rika. Soon it will be Claudia, Jeanette, Marisa and Lauren, so the boys will have to look elsewhere for a ship to fly.
So on to the good news - the ab-initio course included some existing club members, all of whom have made significant progress towards solo. Those of you approaching s-day should arrange now for their RT licence, medical certificate and rules & regs exam. I will be giving the RT lectures and the rest of the GPL lectures will be given by Tony Rund (aerodynamics), Ronnie Moore (airmanship), Nicky Oberhofer (met), Peter Wooley (instruments) and Mike Pascoe (cross-country flight).
Incidents: The flying panel is, from now on, to report incidents not only to the SSSA, but also here in the KK. We can all learn from the incident reports so don't feel offended if you were involved.
1: A visiting aircraft (an airforce Dakota no less) had to abort a final approach when a glider was pushed onto the runway directly in its path (Check the circuit and don't rely on radio calls, use your eyes as well).
2: A near miss. A glider and motor-glider were both on respective downwind legs. The motor-glider did not hear the glider's radio call, and was unaware of the glider's presence in the circuit, necessitating evasive action on the part of the glider (Don't just look out, LOOK-OUT!).
3: The Motor Falke outlanded (this due to an accumulation of factors).
Winch: Our thanks are due to Gerhard Groenewald who has had the winch runway surfaced and graded. Thanks are also due to Trevor Johnson and John Armstrong who have overhauled the winch. Although owned by a syndicate, the winch is effectively yours, so any offers of assistance will be appreciated.
With regard to the requirements for Silver duration flights (five hours), will all official observers and pilots please note the requirements as set out in the latest FAI Sporting Code:
Duration Flight: A flight timed from Departure Point (the point of release from tow or the crossing of a start line or a remote declared D/Point) to a finish point (a landing place or the finish line or a remote Finish point). The Duration of the Performance is the elapsed time between the start time and the finish time. (The difference between the start altitude and the finish point must not exceed 1000m otherwise any claim will not be valid).My thanks to Peter Clemence, our ACFI, for the time and effort that he is putting into the Post-Solo Training Scheme, and also his organisation of the Swellendam away camp, where many of the skills for the "PSTS" were taught.
Joining us as an instructor is Hans Jordan from Magalies, who holds instructor brevet no 4 and was one of my own instructors at Baragwanath back in 1967. Welcome to the team, Hans.
An instructors' course was recently run by Mike Pascoe and as a result I am now able to roster Reinhold, Sven, Martin and Andrew on the instructors' list. Well done the four of you. More instructors will take the pressure off the existing contingent, allowing more manpower for the winch operation.
The following badge legs have been claimed, and congratulations are due to all the achievers:
| Marianne Thomson | C, Silver duration, height, distance |
| Charles Ryan | C, Silver duration & height |
| Bill Maliepaard | C, Silver duration |
| Jacques Willig | Silver duration |
| Hans Pruter | C, Silver duration & height |
| Rika Olivier | C, Silver duration & height |
| Helmut Schuster | C, Silver height |
| Alison Hultberg | C |
| Sven Olivier | Gold height |
| Alan O'Regan | Diamond height |
| Alan Ball | GPL completed |
| Andrew Roos | GPL motor-glider endorsement |
| Tony Rund | GPL motor-glider endorsement |
Our Gliding Granny has done it again! Marianne, after completing her five hours, radioed for permission to fly to Swellendam in an attempt to gain her Silver distance. From a start at 10000', she arrived at Swellendam with 6000' to spare and went exploring the mountains there clocking up nearly seven hours. Well done, Tiger!
For those contemplating their silver distance, remember the 1% rule (ie the difference between release and landing height must not exceed 1% of the distance flown). This means that if you fly from Worcester to Swellendam, 107km, the height difference allowed is 1070 metres, or 3510'. Swellendam field is 230' lower than Worcester, so don't release higher than 3280' AGL, or 3900' MSL. By the same token, if planning to fly the 62km to Ashton, release below 2800', or a height of 2190' AGL.
Thanks to the efforts of Dave Starke, our hard-working maintenance co-ordinator, GJJ is now fitted with a new "intelligent" electronic audio/vario with averager. If it proves its worth, we will purchase them for all the other club gliders.
Gariep Dam camp: Charles R, Axel K, Hans P, Bill M and Garth E will be attending the Gariep Dam performance camp. The flying panel requires that all these chaps are current on type with at least three flights in the three weeks preceding the camp, and having had a simulated outlanding with myself in GOK. The use of water ballast will not be permitted at the camp unless approved by the relevant CGC mentor for the individual on the day.
Lastly, the proposed publication "Cloudbase - Gliding at the Cape Gliding Club" is a mammoth task which hopefully will be completed and available early in 1998.
Andre Leeb du Toit
Thank you so much for a magnificent job done during September and October. The club has achieved exceptional glider utilisation, tug usage and flying hours in general. This could not have been achieved without the superb co-ordination and planning by the duty pilots.
In order to improve the system even more, please give thought to the following:
* If unsure of anything, consult the black duty pilot book.
* Phone to remind duty instructors and tug pilots on Mondays or Tuesdays so they can arrange
their duties accordingly.
* Take your coolbox and lunch with you to the launch point.
* Note that duty pilots should not fly on the day of their duty unless things are really slack. This
is envisaged to enhance the smooth
running on the operation and you yourself will actually benefit when you next come to fly.
* Duty pilots shouldn't leave the launch point without first consulting with the senior instructor.
* Please remember to take the fire extinguisher, base station radio and extra tow rope to the
launch point with you.
* Before moving anybody onto the runway, always check to see whether the circuit is clear (see
CFI's column). Don't rely on
receiving radio transmissions from aircraft intending to land.
* Finally, please will everyone insure that they drive slowly on THE TOWN SIDE OF THE
TAXI-WAYS ONLY. This is insisted upon
by the Worcester Flying Club who are the leaseholders of the airfield, and who arrange the
airfield maintenance. Lets try and co-operate!
Near the end of this newsletter is a notice about The Winelands Week. All pilots flying during this period will be acting together to run the operation on a flexible basis, including time-keeping and other duties.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries on the subject of duty piloting, or about the Winelands Week.
Alison Hultberg
The team of tug pilots is to be thanked for their efforts in the execution of their duties.
Unfortunate to relate though, is that after a recent oil change, six cans of oil were used to refill MIV's engine. This was even enough oil to actually touch the bottom of the dipstick. The tug was then used all day in this state. So far it does not appear that the engine has been damaged. Please make sure in future that all details of servicing and maintenance are carried out as they should be, and that the paperwork is meticulously carried out. Have you any idea what a replacement Lycoming costs? Or is it a case of well, the club can pay? Also...
* make sure that you thoroughly clean the aircraft before using it
* do safety circuits while towing gliders to ensure that they always have the necessary height
to glide back to the field in the event
of a rope-break or tug engine-out (yes, we have experienced this before)
* leave the flying circus antics to the pro's - they get paid for it
Last but not least. You are expected to put something back into the operation. The hours obtained while tugging are worth a fortune.
Sandy Hultberg
Activity at the club seems to be constantly increasing with aircraft utilisation reaching levels not seen for many years. Unfortunately as we fly more the maintenance requirement also increases. Please continue to report any aircraft serviceability problems. Call me any time, at work, at home or on my cell number.
More volunteers are still required for maintenance tasks, so please do your bit.
GTO: No reports have reached me of any specific problems, if you know of any please advise. Considering the age of this glider it has been decided to restrict flight to non-aerobatic manoeuvres. Spins are allowed. Please be extra diligent when carrying out daily inspections.
GHB: At long last the front rudder pedals have been fitted. The front boom mike has been removed for repair/replacement and should be back by the time you read this newsletter. The rear mike will be sorted out shortly. As with GTO, no aerobatics apart from spins are permitted in this ageing glider. The major overhaul planned for GHB has been delayed until after the March 1998 ab-initio training course. We need volunteers to commit to assisting with this task which will probably take about two to three months.
GOK: The rear mike is being repaired at present. The annual LSI inspection is due soon on this aircraft, any volunteers. The clip holding the canopy check strap broke recently causing the canopy to fall over on to the side of the fuselage. This caused damage to the hinges and hinge attachment points. Fortunately the canopy was not damaged. This type of problem should be picked up on daily inspections. Instructors please spend more time with pupils training and supervising daily inspections.
The audio variometer has been removed for repair but it appears that it not worthwhile to repair it. No further snags have been reported, but as I said above, we are looking for a volunteer Approved Person to do the LS1 inspection.
GUC: Sandy and Alison sorted out the wheel brake. This type of wheel brake using a bicycle type lever on the stick is not very effective at the best of times, do not expect to stop very quickly in gliders using this system. No progress has been made yet on a trailer. If this glider is going to fly at Gariep a concentrated effort will be required. No other problems reported.
GJJ: At sometime during the weekend away at Swellengrebel an attempt was made to tow the trailer without ensuring that the tow hitch was securely attached. Fortunately the detachment took place at low speed and caused relatively minor damage. At higher speed this could have been very serious, not only to the glider/trailer combination but also other vehicles, property or people. A safety chain was not fitted to this trailer.
Hans Pruter has repaired the damage to the trailer, fitted a safety chain, effected other minor repairs, overhauled the braking system and serviced the trailer in preparation for the Gariep camp.
A brand new Cair Aviation XK10 Club Variometer with audio and dedicated averager was imported from England and has been installed in GJJ by Hans Pruter. In addition, Graham Anderson found that he had a spare oxygen mask suitable for this system and we have purchased this from him. Apart from the mike boom requiring some repairs "Juliet" is now ready for the Gariep camp. Well done Hans. Some wear in the elevator assembly attachment mechanism will necessitate replacement parts but this should be OK until the New Year.
GIG: The Swellengrebel weekend also produced some minor damage to this trailer. This has been repaired and the trailer serviced in preparation for Gariep. The spare wheel rim has "square" wheel nut holes and we are trying to locate a new rim, hopefully before the camp. Pilots flying at Gariep please check with me.
A pilot recently reported aileron flutter on this aircraft at "Two Hundred and Plenty KPH". All pilots are expected to know the flight parameters of aircraft they are flying. Please refer to the handbook and the placards in the aircraft. Remember that if the aircraft placard shows lower speeds, these are to be complied with, placarded speeds may be de-rated due to the age of the aircraft or subsequent AD's that have been issued or after damage repairs.
UUA: A crash shortly after take-off at Swellendam has put UUA out of action for the time being. Fortunately no one was hurt and the damage is not too serious, being restricted to the undersides of the wings, the prop and the tailwheel. With luck we hope to be flying UUA again by mid December.
Dave Starke
The Cape Gliding Club is participating in the Wings for Youth' program which is being sponsored by Daimler Benz Aerospace and organized by the Soaring Society. Wings for Youth will give a number of matric pupils from around the country the opportunity to learn to fly gliders through to first solo. The first stage was to distribute posters and entry forms to schools in the Cape Town metropolitan area and the Breede valley. Since there weren't sufficient posters to give one to every school, we had to select schools at random, but we did ensure that all the Worcester schools received one. We received fourteen applications from interested pupils (we tied with Howick in having the best response of all the gliding clubs). The applicants have all been sent letters inviting them to come to Worcester for an introductory flight, which will be used to evaluate their suitability as potential student pilots. The invitation includes an indemnity form which must be signed by one of the applicant's parents; the indemnity form also has detailed instructions for the duty pilot. The applicants will be evaluated by the duty instructors, and three or four of the best will be chosen to enter the full program, which will be starting in January. So if you see any lost matric pupils roaming around, please give them a friendly smile and help them to find the duty pilot. This is our chance to introduce the youth of our country to the sport we love.
A few weeks ago I was contacted by Margaret Murphy, a production manager for the Discovery Channel, which is widely aired in the US and Europe but is only available on DSTV in South Africa. She had seen our web site (http://os2.iafrica.com/sport/gliding) and wanted to do a gliding shoot for a program called "Travellers". This is a travel documentary which concentrates on interactive adventures around the world. They were doing a program on Cape Town and wanted to include Gliding in their adventures. I invited them to do a shoot at the gliding club on Friday 14 November (so that the film shoot did not interfere with normal gliding activities) and arranged to have a tug pilot, senior instructor and ground crew available (thanks to Andre, Rico, Allison, Sandy, Ed and Sebastian for their assistance).
When the day arrived I combed my hair, put on my best gliding T-shirt, practised my Tom Cruise impersonation and phoned Ed to ask about the weather. Wind 40 km/h north west. Not great, but perhaps the gods would smile on us. I contacted the production team and warned them that if the wind picked up much further we would be unable to fly, but they were on a tight schedule leaving the next day and decided to take the chance. After meeting them at their hotel, we drove out to Worcester together. Unfortunately by the time we arrived the wind speed had increased to 55 gusting 65 km/h, and we had no choice but to cancel the flying.
However we still did a segment on "we went out to Worcester to go gliding but the wind was too strong". I had a chance to chat a bit about gliding, and we did some footage with Robyn (the "talent" their words, not mine, although I agree wholeheartedly) playing Topgun in the front cockpit of GOK, and some other stunts and general fooling around. I'm not sure how much of that will be shown when the program airs on 20 January, but they've promised me a copy so I'll arrange a screening around the pub one day so you (along with the rest of the world) have the chance to see me throw my name away in Technicolor.
Andrew Roos
Are you feeling depressed and downhearted thinking of those lucky members flying hundreds of kilometres cross-country at Gariep in 8m/s thermals, day after day after day? Never fear, the CGC Winelands Week will take place at Worcester from 26th December to 4th January. There will be flying every day as well as instruction. GOK, GUC, GHB and GTO will all be available throughout this time, with the possibility of UUA as well.
And of course, there is going to be one major party on the evening of the 31st Dec, so don't miss out on this one.
Jacques Willig
Some interesting news on the subject of "secure" data loggers has been reported recently by Wayne Richards, the W of the avionics company EW. For those of you not familiar with the present situation regarding loggers, or flight recorders (FR's) to use the correct terminology, these have to be submitted by their manufactures to the International Gliding Commission evaluation committee (GFAC) for approval, before being accepted and certified for use in proving flight claims. Richards says that following legal advice, EW has withdrawn its combined GPS/logger unit previously submitted to GFAC for "secure" approval, but asked that it be considered for "unsecure" status as per their existing unit. The reason is that should the encryption encoding of the "secure" logger be broken (as has been done already with RSA, which GFAC are advising manufactures to use), the logger will no longer be "secure" and unable to be operated for the purpose for which it was originally purchased. Purchasers will then be entitled either to ask for their money back, or else a free upgrade of the unit to re-effect its "secure" status. Richards fears that having to recall all units sold each time the coding is broken could seriously harm the financial viability of his company. He says that it seems that there are a number of other manufactures and retailers now questioning their involvement in this whole farce which has been forced on the gliding community by the IGC.
The New Zealand National Championships took place in November at Omarama, with a field of 44 gliders. On the 19th a 1000km task was set, and was completed by no less than five gliders. Quite an achievement!
On October 13th this year a Schweizer 1:26 was damaged after it entered an uncontrolled descent shortly after take-off from a gliding club in Pennsylvania, seriously injuring the pilot.
An eye-witness reported that after a short take-off roll, the glider immediately climbed very steeply. The rope was then released and the pitch attitude increased to 75 or 80 degrees. The nose then dropped and impacted the ground followed by the left wing.
This was the first flight undertaken since maintenance work had been carried out on the glider. The witness had asked the pilot, prior to the flight whether he had performed positive control checks, and the pilot had answered in the affirmative.
Examination of the wreckage afterwards by an FAA inspector revealed that the elevator controls were rigged backwards and that when the pilot had applied forward movement on the stick, the elevator actually moved upwards.