KRAUTKOERANT - JUNE 1998
No: 98-03

FROM THE CHAIR

With the AGM now behind us, the committee has jumped right in to carry on the momentum of the club activities and the following portfolios have been assigned:

If you have any queries, ideas or concerns about any aspect of our club, please chat to the relevant portfolio holder. If you still are not happy, please approach me personally. In this way, you can get to the right person, and hopefully get the problem (if any) sorted out quickly.

The K13 refurbishment is proceeding well thanks to Dave and Graham L. If you feel you'd like to get a hand on aircraft rebuilding, now is your chance (for that homebuilt dream).

We have had a very fruitful meeting with the Chairman the WFC, George Morrison, and Gerhard Groenewald. I can report that relations between our clubs are extremely good. We plan to have regular inter-club meetings to discuss all issues of the airfield and surrounds. With the growth of the club, we need to work more closely together, as their club is expanding too. Please be aware of safety andairmanship in and around the airfield. Brush up those radio calls, keep an extra lookout. Be alert.

In the light of recent unfortunate events, Andre and the flying panel have done a complete rethink of the strategy of all aspects of safety and instruction in the club. We, as the committee, have given unanimous support to Andre, Charles, Peter and Gary, and also back any decisions that are made. We have, however, insisted on certain aspects of flying safety and instruction in the club be upgraded, and have recommended that one or two extra members be co-opted onto the panel. Four members to look after a club of over 120 members is too large a task.

The committee will continually endeavour to run the club to the best of its ability. We do not make hasty decisions, sometimes we take too long. We do, however, try and make the best decisions in the interest of the club, which includes giving you value for money. At the end of the day, if a member says "the club should do this," or "the club should do that....", just remember that YOU are the club. If you feel strongly about something, why not volunteer to do something about it. The committee is not the club, the members are. We are just elected to administer the logistics of the day to day tasks.

Finally, I would like to thank all the members who contribute in one way or another to the running of the club. I would also like to encourage the members of longer standing to help and encourage newer members to get involved in some or other aspect of the club. It is through your enthusiasm and mutual co-operation that we have become the large and successful club that we are.

NEWS FROM THE EDITORIAL BASKET

Firstly a warm welcome to new members Shane Saunders, Robert (Bob) Barratt and Donald Daniels. Bob and his wife Sara are from Texas, but Bob was a member for some years at Fisantekraal back in the 80's. Christian Strohmaier has resigned and is now in the USA.

Before the news, I would just like to say what a pleasure it is editing the newsletter of a club whose members, both here and overseas, are so enthusiastic and forthcoming with news, views and articles. A big thank you to you all. The names of the contributors appear on the last page. It was also very encouraging to see the excellent turn out of 60 members at the recent safety meeting where Terence Gibbs from ATNS enlightened us as to the finer point of radar, air traffic control and air space. We will endeavour to keep a more close contact with the people at ATNS in future and we hope to have as many of them up for demo flights as possible.

Hans Ludolphi mailed me from Portugal and sends regards together with some interesting stories about his earlier gliding at the club at Fisantekraal. Hans started to fly on a shoestring budget in January 1957, his first flight being with Heinie von Michaelis in the Goevier GCN. Among his other instructors were Mike Howse, Maurice (Bomber) Jackson and the late Tim Biggs. He soloed after 10 hours and progressed to his C licence and the S.18. He comments that the "Kraal" was not only a flying education, but "an education for life!"

He recalls towing the Wolf and Minimoa with their heavy trailers to Victoria West in December 1958 and attempting a Silver C, ending with an outlanding after three hours. Later Hans recalls flying the "more sophisticated" K6 at Kimberley in 1960 and making a wave attempt in the S.18 in November 1962 (in Betty's wave?).

During 1961 Hans travelled north through Africa in a Kombi with Leiff Johansen from Sweden, Wolfgang Steinke and Herbie Oberhofer. (Leiff visited in December 1997 and stayed with Herbie). They even managed a glider flight in a Kirby Kadett in Nakaru launching by car-tow, and some flying in Damascus in a winch-launched Pioneer. In 1963 Hans returned to "Krautland" where "one speaks the special lingo described by our now half-Japanese fried, Helmut Morsbach", and he has finally settled in Portugal. He enjoys getting his Krautkoerant promptly every two months off our web-page.

To those that met Leili and Peter Foster from York Gliding Club in Canada (pede.foster@ibm.net) at the airfield recently, they are now back home and say thanks to all those they met at the airfield for their warmth and hospitality. They felt very welcome here and extend an invitation to any members travelling in Canada to visit them at York Soaring in Toronto. You can access the York Soaring home page at http://www.agile-graphics.com/york/

Martin Korte (a1450601@academ01.cem.itesm.mx) who used to fly with us and is now a social member, mailed me from Mexico City where he is studying industrial engineering at the Tecnol¢gico of Monterey. He has been trying to get a PPL but has had problems due to short-sightedness, and even now that he has had a corrective operation, is still disallowed a PPL. Our commiserations.

Our correspondent in Japan, Helmut Morsbach, will be visiting us with his wife and two daughters, Kazue and Erika, between July 16th and September 6th. If anybody can offer them accommodation please let either Helmut (morsbach@biwako.shiga-u.ac.jp) or myself know. Helmut would like to try for his Diamond height at Worcester, or at least do a few cross-countries in the Twin.

Many of you will remember Peter Bockle, our regular ab-initio course attendant and technical expert. Peter has mailed me from Mauritius where he is an engineer on a large textile mill expansion project. He confirms what Andre van Rensburg told us that there are virtually no private planes in Mauritius, though he has seen one paraglider. We hope he will come to Worcester more regularly when he returns to Cape Town with his millions.

Derek Sherlock (derek_sherlock@hp.com) sends greetings from Colorado, where he lives with his wife Catherine. He has recently sold his Pitts Special so currently has nothing to fly. To those of you that have been a long time in gliding and have read The Soaring Pilot and The New Soaring Pilot, the name of Lorne Welch will be only too familiar. Lorne passed away on 17th May after a distinguished career in aviation, having been an instructor and bomber pilot in the RAF, and closely involved in glider development in England over the years. He was intimately involved in the BGA in the area of technical matters. Lorne is survived by his wife Ann.

It is also with the deepest regret that I must record the tragic death, on 20th May, of Hein Claase in a microlight accident at Worcester. To his wife, sons and family we offer our sincerest condolences.

Finally, while it is only June, those wishing to go to Gariep or any of the other camps should start giving some serious thought to this now. Personally I will opt for Gariep, but would feel much more positive if I had a crew member lined up just to do any necessary retrieve driving. If anybody would like to do this for me I would be happy to pay all their expenses for the duration of the camp. Please let me know right away.

GOOD NEWS ABOUT TRANSPONDERS

Those of you who have been frustrated by failing to be properly identified by ATC can now look forward to better times.

Following an appeal to ATC regarding our problems with maintaining the minimum moving target speeds while flying in wave, ATNS have made the following change: the Reserve Channels of both the SL Radar and the CT TAR have been altered to a set-up of 10 Kts (18 kph). Thus the ATC on Control may select either the Main or Reserve depending on the traffic criteria and operational requirements. By selecting the Reserve Channel, all transponder equipped aircraft flying at or faster than 10 Kts will be depicted on the radar display.

This should go a long way towards permitting gliders to operate in the Cape Town TMA (traffic permitting) and we are grateful to Howard Hawke (Manager, Air Traffic Services) and Greg Fisher (Chief, Research and Development) at ATNS for responding to our request so quickly. Maybe we can achieve a few Diamond height gains this winter?

AND MORE GOOD NEWS...

Due to the generosity of Hubert Spaun, the ablution block at Worcester has been completely renovated. The interior and exterior of the building look like new, so lets try and keep it that way. Thank you Hubert. I'm sure all those that use these facilities will think of you every time they, er, take a shower. Maybe this will entice other members to stay over at Worcester and join in the regular week-end fun.

FROM THE FLYING PANEL

Mike Pascoe is now the Training Officer of the Flying Panel. The enlarged panel therefore consists of myself as CFI, Peter Clemence as ACFI, Charles Torrance as Safety Officer, Mike Pascoe as Training Officer and Gary Pottage as Chief Tug Pilot.

The new Duty Roster shows when the Flying Panel will meet at Worcester. This is so that members can bring issues which may be of concern to them to its attention. Over and above this the Flying Panel is, and always has been, in contact with each other on a regular basis and as needs arise.

"Airspace Orientation" flights, lasting approximately 30 minutes, are now available in the Motorfalke. This is a worthwhile exercise and I would like to encourage members to make use of the opportunity to brush up on airspace, map reading and R/T work. It obviously also forms part of the cross-country training for pre-GPL pilots (see below).

Requirements for "first solo", "cleared solo", "cleared cross-country" and "cleared aerobatics" will be strictly enforced. They are as follows:

First solo: The pilot must have a valid medical, have passed the Rules and Regulations GPL Exam and passed the R/T course exam (the medical must have been posted or faxed to Mike Pascoe).

He must be sent solo by a Full Brevet Instructor after a second opinion flight. On this flight the second instructor should put the pupil through all the Annual Check exercises. A logbook entry must be made by this instructor and the cover of the Pupils' logbook must be signed off by the CFI or ACFI (the onus is on the pupil to ensure the latter).

Cleared solo: (and conversion to single seaters)

1. On wooden gliders: A minimum of 10 solo flights in varying weather conditions with at least five interspersed check flights and the completion of the Spins and Approach/Landings modules of the Post Solo Training Program. It is during the check flights that the PSTP modules should be attempted and signed out.
2. Jeans Astir: Minimum of 5 dual flights in the Twin Astir with emphasis on speed control and landings.
3. Astir CS: A minimum of 10 flights in the Jeans - then a re-check flight before being cleared for GJJ.
4. Twin Astir: At least two further dual check flights.

Logbooks: It is mandatory for all pilots to have an up-to-date logbook. From the first solo flight all flights must be entered. The pre-solo training flights should also be transferred (without the comments) from the Pupils' Logbook. The latter forms an appendix to the official Blue Pilots Logbook. Neither should be lost! No logbook - no flying.

Dusk Flying: Flying at dusk is dangerous. Remember - all flying should cease within 15 minutes after official sun-down. Plan your 5 hr flights accordingly!

The Instructor of the day is expected to stop flying activities if he feels conditions are becoming marginal - usually in consultation with the tug pilots. No member may query his decision.

Instructors are asked to adhere to and enforce all of the above. Disciplinary action should be seconded by the CFI or a member of the Flying Panel.

Disciplinary action for any breach of club regulations or airmanship will in future be enforced. This is likely to be in the form of grounding with airfield duties.

Sounds tough but there you have it!

MAINTENANCE MATTERS

In order to effect better control on maintenance we would like to have one person responsible for each aircraft. This would involve checking the daily logs for snags, speaking to the people who fly the particular aircraft, ensuring that the LS1 is current and generally keeping an eye open and reporting problems. Please may we have volunteers as soon as possible.

DEAR DUTY PILOTS...

This month there are a number of points which should be kept in mind by the Duty Pilots. Firstly, before your duty, phone the duty instructors and tuggies well in advance to remind them of their duty. Everyone has a fallible memory, and tuggies and instructors are no exception.

Please also remember to take the following equipment to the launch point:

Ropes (2+1 spare), fire extinguishers (2), base station, time-sheet, clock and flying list, PAX forms, annual-check forms. Upon arrival at the airfield, please remember to place a message on answering machine (expected weather and flying activity) and fill in the time sheet with your name, the date, and the tacho times of both tugs.

As mandated by the members at the AGM, a BALLOT FLYING LIST has been implemented with effect from 3 June. This includes the syndicate pilots. In order to ensure the smooth operation of this system, please take note of the following:

• There is now an initial flying list (same form as before) which must be filled in by everyone wishing to participate in the ballot.
• Members who have put their names on the initial list are expected to take part in pre-flight hangar activities - washing tugs & gliders, DI'ing aircraft, winch etc. Those who do not contribute in at least some way will not be included in the draw, but will be appended to the final list. At the hangar at 10 am sharp, the names of those on the initial list who have assisted as above are to be drawn by means of a ballot. There are numbered discs in the secretary's cupboard for this purpose. The order of the draw will then determine the order of the new flying list, which will then become THE LIST. Latecomers will be appended in order of arrival to the bottom of this list. Latecomers are expected to participate in packing away the aircraft & equipment at the end of the day's flying.
• Motivated members who wish to start early, and can DI an aircraft and organize a launch before the draw, will be rewarded by being able to fly before the draw without affecting any subsequent position in the draw - ie for the purposes of the flying list, a flight initiated before the draw will not count as a flight already made that day. Should they still be in the air at the time of the draw their name will automatically be included in the draw.

This ballot system is experimental, and input from the members is welcome. However, it would be appreciated if members will co-operate with the duty pilot of the day in order to make sure that the system runs smoothly, and everybody is treated as fairly as possible.

Because of safety concerns, tow ropes are no longer to be left on the runway, but must be moved to the side of runway after every flight unless a launch with the same rope is to follow immediately. Please emphasize to the person doing this task of their responsibility to keep a look out whilst on or near the runway. Ropes must be kept off the runway when any power aircraft is in the circuit. THIS RULE MUST BE COMPLIED WITH AT ALL TIMES. Please don't leave the rope attached to the tug during landing as this is especially hard on the rings which are expensive and time consuming to replace.

Please remember that not all of our members are super-fit youngsters. We do have a couple of older members who are physically unable to assist in aircraft handling at the launch point. However, they also wish to effectively contribute to the day's flying activities so please consider giving them tasks such as attaching the tow or signalling the tug. These members also wish to fly and have a right to do so when their turn comes on the list. Please don't exclude them just because they haven't been as visible as the more active youngsters!

Finally, please remember to pack everything away at the end of the day - make especially sure that the ropes are not left on the runway.

BRUNO GANTENBRINK: SAFETY COMES FIRST

My talk was advertised as a banquet speech. What does one expect of such a presentation? Something pleasing, something educational, in any case, something positive. Nothing which disturbs one's picture of gliding. In this sense, my talk is not a speech suitable to a celebration. What can one say that is celebratory of safety? This presentation may frighten you, provoke you, or make you think. All of these reactions are to be expected. It does not matter to me whether what I have to say will cause negative or positive headlines in the press. If somebody comes to me afterward and says, "Is it really necessary for you to air our dirty linen with press present and strangers listening?", it will not concern me in the least.

If one were to gather together everything about soaring that was worth knowing, in my opinion, it would be divided into four chapters.

The first chapter would concern itself with the freedom of soaring flight. We would describe the majesty and beauty of gliding here. We would also have to consider the factors which endanger our freedom of the skies. The increasing number of senseless rules caused by an ever-growing number of aircraft and pilots make things harder all the time and in themselves giving us much to consider. We should also define our relationship with the environment in this chapter.

For the next chapter, the title could read: "The Opportunity to Glide." We would have in here all of the organisational questions that have troubled us in recent times. Besides organisational problems, how do we create larger and smaller organisations? How should the training be organised? What should the licensing and examination regulations look like? In this chapter we should also look at the cost and financing of gliding because, after all, we have to be able to afford our sport.

A third chapter would handle the skills needed to fly gliders. One would then assemble all of the knowledge we need to pursue our sport, including aerodynamics, meteorology, soaring theory, flight techniques, and many other things.

The material in the first three chapters alone takes up 95% of our attention, not to mention our activity. At least that's what it looks like to me, when I think back on the talks given at this venue in recent years. That doesn't leave much time and attention for the 4th chapter which deals with the question of how we survive our sport and is labelled "Safety." My feeling is that these four chapters should be about equal in size. But equal treatment of these subjects is not a given. The degree to which we neglect the subject of safety leads me to the hypothesis that we have a problem with it.

Some of you are probably thinking, "He exaggerates. He's painting a black picture and that's understandable because he wants to make a strong point. Therefore he is blowing it out of proportion to make it look important. We all know that there is nothing in this world that doesn't have some degree of danger. Even gliding is not without it. But we all know that "the most dangerous part of gliding is the drive to the glider field."

Everybody has said this or heard it said. I remember the first time I heard it. I was a 14 year old kid who had just been taken to the glider field by my father. Naturally, he asked whether there was any danger for his son in learning to fly and he received that same answer from an instructor in my presence.

If that answer were true, or even nearly true, then there would be no flight safety problems and there would be no use in pursuing this theme any further. We could stop the presentation here and go on to other things. It's worth the trouble, however, to take a closer look at this statement to see if it is really true.

That sentence, "The most dangerous part of gliding is the trip to the glider field", is the dumbest, most ignorant saying that has found a home in our sport.

I want to take up the question of the truth of this statement in a subtle, perhaps even macabre way. I will forego the usual comparative statistics stated in terms of accidents per 1000 take-offs or deaths per 1000 flight hours given out by the German equivalent of the FAA. These statistics don't tell us much. They don't express what is too much and what is too little. How many deaths per 100,000 take-offs are too many? What number would be acceptable? Such comparative numbers don't really get under your skin. I can't impress you with those numbers. I would like to weigh the sentence, "The most dangerous part of gliding is driving to the airport" against my personal statistics.

To do this, I have made up three lists. The first list is the names of comrades that I have lost in flying. The second list is the names of friends that I have lost through accidents on the way to the airport either in a car or on a bicycle. And finally, to make the picture complete, the third list contains the names of glider pilot friends that I have lost in any kind of traffic accident anywhere.

The first list, of friends lost flying, contains about 30 names. I will mention only the most prominent. Just during the last year in Germany there were: Helmut Reichmann, Ernst Peter, Hans Glockl, Georg Eckle, Horst Kall and then tragically just a year later, his wife Marlis Kall. From Austria: Rudi Gobel and Alf Schubert. From Belgium: Prof. Sander. From France: Sidot and Daniel Quemere, chief flight instructors at St Auban. From The Netherlands: Kees Musters. From South Africa: Heini Heiriss. As I said, these are just some of the more prominent names.

Now the second list: there is no one. I haven't lost any friends on the way to the airport. And I was somewhat surprised to find that for me, the third list of pilot friends whom I have lost in traffic accidents is also empty.

In the last 20 years we have lost 3 world champions including Harro Wodl, who is included even though I didn't know him personally, from the total of approximately 30 world champions. In the last ten years, we have lost three former German national champions out of the less than 30 we have ever had. It would appear that you have about a 10% chance of joining them. That should raise the hair on the back of your neck.

My personal statistics lead me to believe that glider flying is at least 30 times more dangerous than driving a car. And since every glider pilot has a driver's license, gliding is 1000 times more dangerous than the drive to the gliderport. I admit that there are different statistics in different types of flying. To my mind, training is the least dangerous and cross country is more so. The most dangerous is probably competition flying. But even at that, the safest activity among these is only relative, since training for everybody is only a temporary period on the way to cross country and competition.

With all that I know and understand about gliding, I believe that the sentence, "The most dangerous thing about gliding is driving to the airport," is the dumbest, most ignorant thing that has been said about our sport.

In the stronger language used by my kids, "Gliding is bloody dangerous!"

Some who use this saying are simply ill-informed. Those who know better, but use it to pacify the public or to put things in a positive light for the press, are reckless. Actually the opposite is true. It is more dangerous than anything else that I do or know about in my life. Why don't I quit? A good question. One reason I don't quit is because it affords me more fun and pure joy than anything else I could imagine.

There is a second reason which is more decisive and that's why I'm giving this talk. I believe that gliding is not intrinsically dangerous. It is the way it is practised that makes it so. It could be much less dangerous if we were more aware of its dangers and behaved accordingly. Sadly, we don't do this. I am very aware of how dangerous gliding is and take care to act on this awareness. Because of this, I hope to beat the odds. If I didn't have this hope, if gliding were as dangerous as the odds make it appear, then I would quit immediately.

Almost all the soaring friends I have lost have been killed due to "pilot error". Some of these errors have been silly little things, the simplest kinds of carelessness with fatal consequences. They died because at the critical moment, something else was more important than flight safety.

If soaring is to become less dangerous than it is today, simply taking different precautions won't do any good. The basic attitude must change. And the attitude can only change when we realistically evaluate the danger every time we fly. That is why I have fought against the thoughtless use of the saying that "the most dangerous part of gliding is driving to the airport."

Anyone who begins gliding with this philosophy does not appreciate the danger into which he enters. When the pilot believes this saying, he doesn't have to think any more. Neglect kills safety consciousness.

The prevalent attitude is one of lulling comfort with the danger suppressed. Unconsciously, you know something is there, but you don't want to talk about how dangerous it is. Why is the realistic consciousness of the risks so important? Because our strategy depends on how we evaluate the danger.

There is no activity without risk. Even if we don't get out of bed in the morning, we could think of a scenario in which something bad could happen. But we don't worry about such things. There are two very different kinds of danger. First are the ordinary everyday risks and second are the really dangerous things. People behave quite differently depending on which of these types of dangers they perceive are present.

There are the ordinary dangers at home, in sports, and games. For example, everyone knows that every year a certain number of people are hit by falling trees. In spite of this, people walk through the woods every day without fear of being hit by a falling tree.

It is unnecessary to work hard at avoiding the everyday dangers. You trust to luck because these dangers are so rare. It is extremely rare to be hit by a falling tree. On the other hand. there are the really dangerous and more probable things. There are ways to avoid these. The strategy for avoiding these real dangers cannot be to assume that "they won't happen to me, but they may happen to someone else." The strategy must be to avoid those dangers right from the beginning or, because that is not 100% possible, to minimise them to an acceptable level.

It is necessary to realise that these dangers are not rare but are actually rather likely. The dangers in gliding are relatively high as I haveillustrated by my macabre statistics. Special care must be taken to survive our sport.

I often have the impression that gliding is put in the same category as everyday travelling. The idiotic saying that "gliding is not as dangerous as the trip to the airport" makes this clear. Our consciousness of danger is under-developed. We don't think that something might actually happen to us; others maybe, but not us. We have flight safety inspectors to insure safety and relieve of us of thinking about the subject. We can think about other aspects of gliding.

What the safety inspectors tell us is, at best, secondary knowledge or advice. We have to change this. We must concern ourselves much more with the safety issue. It is not simply a rumour that our safety consciousness is under-developed. Let me illustrate this by some examples.

I remember the German Nationals at Buckeburg in 1990. We had a variety of starting methods. The open class used a start photo and unlimited start gate height. The others used a start gate with a 1000 meter upper limit.

One hot day, we went to over 2000 meters on the nearby Wiehen Mountains. This was the beginning point for the open class who wanted to start as high as possible. That was already dangerous enough. There were 35 open class ships circling in one thermal. Anyone who knows what happens in the top part of the lift when the thermal hits its limit will understand me. When there is just barely lift on one side of the circle, you can hit a little sink on the other side and the air is very turbulent in this situation. This last part is particularly uncomfortable because the aircraft change altitude with respect to each other quite often.

The reason for 35 open class ships waiting there to start is obvious. But what were the 80 other standard and 15 meter ships doing up there? That remains a mystery to me. The only thing they were doing up there was waiting for the start gate to open 1000 meters lower. And when it did open, they all dove down with airbrakes open at 110 knots.

The fact that the standard and 15 meter pilots squeezed the last 50 meters of height out of the thermal can only mean that something was wrong with their thinking. I say this because there was no advantage in their being so high and putting themselves in such danger. Circling in such a crowded gaggle is something to avoid as much as possible. Before the beginning of the task, the general rule is not to put yourself at a disadvantage. One is supposed to "keep your powder dry" until it is time to begin in earnest. The standard and 15 meter classes that gained every possible bit of altitude had not only no use for it, but gave themselves a severe disadvantage since it took a relatively long and extreme dive to get down to start gate altitude. It would have been smarter to stay close to the start gate where the competitors could be watched and a quick start could be made. 1300 meters agl would have been a much better position. The standard and 15 meter pilots had done something which was not to their advantage and unsafe at the same time.

I call that inadequate safety consciousness; they simply didn't think. It would have been more sensible to circle at 1400 to 1500 meters in the lift and spread themselves out a bit. In any case, going to the top was neither smart nor safe.

A second example is something which happens over and over at contests. The tasks are chosen such that there is opposing traffic or all classes are sent on practically the same course. During the first two or three days they seem to avoid this but after a while it creeps back in. Something isn't right here and it should be easy to fix. Since the conditions for all classes are the same, even taking into account the weather forecast, there is nothing to prevent separating the classes so that they wouldn't even see each other during the day. The task setters seem completely unaware of the dangers involved in having large groups of gliders flying together.

The third thing I want to mention is a positive example. Last summer, at the US Nationals, I saw something that impressed me very deeply. Every morning at the beginning of the pilots' meeting there was a Safety Talk. Each day someone was picked to give a 10 minute safety session the next morning. Sometimes they were rather unpolished - not everyone is a born public speaker. But they were all plain-speaking people who were pilots entered in the contest. They had all been around and they all had something worthwhile to say. I was very impressed by the good thoughts that were presented. The audience listened attentively and seemed interested in the topic of safety.

Why doesn't this happen at our contests? During the briefings at our contests, we talk about the points in the hand-outs that people are too lazy to read beforehand. I can't remember ever having spent any time talking about safety at one of our contest briefings.

I am definitely not a person who preaches safety all the time. Nor did I invent the topic of safety. I know my own limitations, but I also know what I'm talking about. I have just barely lived through the past 20 years with much luck. Normally, about 80% of the people who have the kind of accident I did die. More than half of the rest are so badly injured that life is not much fun any more.

You only have so much luck during a lifetime. Since the accident, I try to be careful. I believe that I am considerably better, certainly not perfect, but better. If I didn't believe that, then I would quit gliding immediately out of consideration for my family, my business, and myself.

Those who have flown with me in competition know that there are certain things that I will not do. I remember a situation during the 1985 world comps in Italy when I was flying with Klaus Holighaus. He was a little higher than I and we were having a problem. He flew out of the light rain in the valley over a pass with a turbulent crosswind. We really didn't know which way the wind was blowing and we could have been flying into a lee wind off the pass. Our height over the pass was at best 60 to 70 meters and we had about one to two kilometers to fly to get to the pass. Even though the passage appeared to be possible and Holighaus was practically through, I turned back into the bad weather. At that moment, I said goodbye to the ranks of pilots who seriously considered themselves in contention for the world championship title. I was never sorry for the decision I made.

There was a 99% chance that I could have made it through the pass. Klaus was a little higher and made it. I would have made it if nothing unforeseen had happened. However, only the smallest thing needed to have gone wrong such as flying a little to the right or to the left of Klaus' path. That can make a big difference in a pass. Then I would have been stuck up there over the unlandable pass.

I'm quite prepared to take risks in normal gliding and even higher risks in competition flying. At first glance, this statement is confusing. But if you don't allow yourself some risk in competition, then you might as well quit gliding altogether because gliding is more dangerous than not gliding. If I'm willing to take the risks of gliding in the first place, why not the additional risks of competition?

What is important is something quite different. Namely, whether what I choose to do is worth the risks involved. What is the degree of risk? What can I do to minimise these risks? The short and simple conclusion is that one can question exposing oneself to the danger of all soaring, including the drive to the airport. All of it is more or less dangerous. In fact everything is more or less dangerous including all other sports. So what's to be done?

Everybody has to develop a safety strategy for himself. The simplest is to eliminate the risks that are completely unnecessary. For example, circling in gaggles unless absolutely necessary. In addition, we should be aware of the risks we do take and try to reduce them as much as possible. We should set risk limits for ourselves and not go beyond these limits. We should be permanently watchful. He who pays attention and watches out for the simplest things can avoid catastrophe.

In any case, if you have a risk-conscious safety strategy, that is a much more successful method of surviving this sport than to simply hope that you have more luck than your friend who takes a hit.>/p>

NEWS FROM THE TREASURER

The level of activity at the club is most gratifying for all concerned, however, it has increased my workload steadily over a period of time. It would help me a lot if the following could be improved:

• When a new member is signed up, please ensure that the membership form accompanies the timesheet. The correct cash advance must be collected and entered as well. I will ensure that the Secretary receives a copy. This procedure must coincide with his first instruction as member - normally his second flight after paying a cash pax fee for the introductory flight.
• It is vital that the names and times are written legibly on the time sheets. Give this job to someone competent (and neat) if you are running around organising.
• The Motorfalke sheets are the responsibility of the pilots. The sheets are small for convenience of use in the cockpit so please try to write clearly.
• The tacho times for MIV, CKP and the Motorfalke need to be entered at the start and end of each flying day. These are vital for control purposes.
• At the end of the day, please add up the tug and club glider time columns.
• Please do not expect me to work out shared flights on your behalf. Nominate the pilot to be charged and settle between you. Also, please don't expect the duty pilot to accept and register amounts of cash from you that are then to be credited to the account of a third party.
• Pax flights are often charged at novel rates. Please charge correctly - the information is in the Duty Pilot Pack. The same applies to visiting pilots. Generally these people are delighted to fly at our reasonable club rates, so do not forget or feel ashamed to charge the daily membership fee.
• We presently hire the Supercub CKP from the Patterson's at a dry rate. It is vital that the registration of the tug is entered for each flight (MIV or CKP). Tug pilots should also enter the registration of the relevant tug when refuelling or topping up oil.

Although duty pilots cannot be expected to know who owes the club what - as a suggestion, how about asking members flying whether their accounts are in credit? You could assist me tremendously by encouraging payments in this manner. Incidentally, the Secretary does post members' account lists on the club notice board, however, this is often out of date as it reflects the situation at a fixed monthly date.

It is very important that everybody is aware that the club has recently registered for the payment of VAT. This has serious cost implications for the operation. However, this can be minimised by members procuring original, valid tax invoices made out to CGC for record purposes. These could be paid directly by me or credited to your account as is the case with a lot of sundry expenses at the moment. Without the invoice on file I cannot claim the VAT!

Thanks guys for helping me in an otherwise pretty thankless job as treasurer.

GHB OVERHAUL

Work on overhauling the K13 is progressing well. The fuselage has been stripped and is presently at Dave Starke's factory being overhauled. One wing has been completely sanded down and is ready for repair. Work has begun on the other wing, the rudder and the elevators. However, the work is time consuming and more members are needed to assist in this task. The valuable contribution which has already been made by a few members is much appreciated, but we need to broaden the "worker base" in order to lessen the workload of "the few". The more members that can assist in this project, then the sooner we can be finished and GHB can be flying again. A voluntary duty roster for work on GHB has been initiated, examine it for your name and please make an effort to attend.

Work takes place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6.30 pm. Come along to Dave Starke's hangar at Stellenbosch airfield and experience the fun of being involved in a ground-up restoration project. Dinner at the Stellenbosch FC can be booked (R20) for Tuesdays via Dave Starke.

If you cannot make the date on the roster, then please feel free to attend any other time, just inform me (Graham Levitt) of the change and to get an update of the current work situation. If you need directions to the hangar call Dave Starke or myself.

SOARING THE FRIENDLY SKIES WITH "THE SUITCASE"

Once upon a time there were three friends in the old "Cape Peninsula Flying and Gliding Club" called Mansell, John and Helmut. Although they all left Fisantekraal reluctantly during the sixties, here is how they managed to stay in touch.

Some thirty-six years ago I left the Kraal temporarily for Germany as a one year exchange student. Shortly before returning to Cape Town I bought an extra suitcase at an auction of the Hamburg Post Office. It was already quite old, but sturdy and above all CHEAP! A year or two later Mansell left Cape Town for New York by ship, so I gave my suitcase to him. Mansell and I had been friends at the Club since 1952 when I had joined the "Fisantekrauts" at the age of fifteen while Mansell was already an experienced member.

Some time later Mansell, with "our" suitcase, travelled from California, his new home, to visit John Sharples in London. John, a keen Cape Gliding Club Member during the early sixties, had by then returned to his native England. John kept the old suitcase (not yet with capital S) in his flat for a while before deciding to throw it away. It had become too shabby. On dumping it into one of the rubbish bins outside his London apartment he chanced to see an almost identical suitcase in an adjacent rubbish bin. Did John regard the latter as a kind of reincarnation? In any case he rescued it. Since then, the suitcase (Mark II) started to travel among the three of us.

Whenever the temporary guardian of the suitcase plans to meet either one (or both) of the others, he takes the suitcase along to its new destination. In this way the suitcase has circled the globe several times, because I settled in Japan after twenty years in Scotland and John moved from London to New Zealand. Mansell moved from Los Angels to Healdsburg, north of San Francisco. A map inside the lid of the suitcase allows us to keep track of its peregrinations.

Once Mansell arrived in Britain from the US with the suitcase securely packed inside a large and better looking suitcase. Imagine the custom official's surprise on asking about the reason for this!

Some fifteen odd years ago we planned a grand meeting at San Francisco airport, the one closest the Mansell's home. I was to fly in from Britain with the suitcase, while almost simultaneously John would land from Auckland. Everything went according to plan except that, to our consternation, the suitcase did not appear on the airport's conveyor belt. After leaving a detailed description with the airline's lost property office, we reluctantly drove the Mansell's house empty handed. Imagine our delight when some days later a special airline truck came all the way to Mansell's town (over 100 km distant) to deliver its valuable cargo.

Now that all three of us have settled on the Pacific Rim, the suitcase tends to travel mostly along an almost equidistant triangular route Japan - California - New Zealand or vice versa. However, at the beginning of last year when it was John's turn in Auckland to dust it off and take it to California where both Mansell and I were waiting, John's wife Heather complained about its decrepid state and refused to take it along. So we reluctantly replaced it by the suitcase Mark III, which I got from my aunt in Germany during the middle of last year. It flew with me to California and then on to Japan, where it is now standing next to me. At least our wives tolerate its presence now!

Recently I heard that Mansell is once again planning to visit the Cape coming August for one of his Namaqualand flower tours. I shall therefore take the suitcase with me for its first of "reincarnation's" return to South Africa in 38 years. When Mansell arrives we could have a suitcase party for everyone present at Worcester airfield so that the suitcase can once again change hands and be on its way, this time to California. A pity that John will not be there as well! However, Mansell and I will soon have to make plans for a quick trip Down Under where John will be waiting. Long may it continue!

MAINLY FOR PUPILS (but not excluding pundits)

"Apart from the flying itself, one of the most satisfactory things about good gliding clubs is that rather difficult thing to define, called "club spirit". In most clubs it doesn't matter who you are or what you do off the field (except where it's club-useful of course). It's almost a classless society. Apart from the knowledge gained through experience, the newest member should be equal to the longest serving. There are not many sports which are so individual on the one hand and yet can't be done without the co-operation of others before and after." J Ellis.

The spirit of the club really needs all of us to participate actively in all the clubs activities. Many people contribute in ways that are more or less obvious. Examples are instructors who should be seen helping on the runway, instructing and guiding members at all levels. Others contribute by administrative work for the club, the treasurer and secretary are examples in this category. Other members can always be found hard at work helping with the real chores, pushing gliders, refuelling the tug, retrieving the winch cable and so on. Unfortunately there is a group of members who are quite conspicuous by their total lack of commitment and effort on behalf of themselves and their fellow members. These are the members who respond to a call of "hands please" to help launch a glider by turning their backs on the activity. The sort of person who says "The club must do this or that" conveniently forgetting that each and everyone of us is the club. The member who says "the rules are made to be broken" or "the rules don't apply to me" is a danger to themselves and to the whole club.

If you read the quote from John Ellis above can you honestly say that you are contributing to our club being a "Good Gliding Club"? Let us all try to contribute to a club spirit of helpfulness and tolerance with a real commitment to the overall safe enjoyment by all of our members of their flying.

Fly Safely, Have Fun.

ANOTHER FIVE HOURS

Graham Levitt did his five hours at the end of April. Here is his brief account of the flight...

I must admit that I was hoping to do it in a more interesting manner than stooging around Vic Peak. After two hours I managed to climb to 5400' which allowed one frightful foray to about 2 km the other side of Rawsonville, followed by fleeing back to the ridge when the absence of wave was confirmed. For the last hour and a quarter I was stuck at 4000' just below the apex of the peak, which was the only part working by that stage - somewhere between zero sink and +0.5 m/s and surrounded by lots of -1 m/s. It was also the first time that I had flown GJJ, so all the clunking sounds were a little unnerving at first, until I figured that if the tail was going to fall off it would have done it already! I wonder how often the duty pilot has the longest flight of the day?

Ed: Perhaps this little report will encourage other pilots out there to tell us of their experiences in the air, no matter how trivial they may rate them. It is always interesting to read these first-hand accounts and is often a great encouragement to others to try for that next elusive badge leg.

NEXT KRAUTKOERANT

Some of the excellent articles received this time must unfortunately be held over to the August edition - please don't be offended! Thank you Dave Starke, Graham Anderson, Graham Levitt, Andre Leeb du Toit, Mike Pascoe as well as our correspondents in Portugal and Japan, Hans Ludolphi and Helmut Morsbach, for contributions to this June edition of the Krautkoerant. Dave was also instrumental in gleaning the Bruno Gantenbrink article. The next Krautkoerant will appear in August. Remember that the opinions expressed in the newsletter are not necessarily those officially endorsed by the club.

Deadline for the next issue is Wednesday 12th August and, as always, I will accept disk (WP5.1 format please), faxed, e-mailed or snail mailed hand-written copy.

Peter Wooley, 12 Grove Rd, Rondebosch 7700. fax: 419 9667, e-mail: pwooley@ctcc.gov.za

FOR SALE AND WANTED

Ka6CR, ex-Switzerland and in good condition. Dittel radio, ELT 10 Narco (?) and oxygen. Open trailer and waterproof covers. 1716 launches/3092 hours. New Swiss LS1. R43 000 landed in Cape Town. Contact Otto Tonges at toenges-activities@t-online.de or phone 083-305-7333

ASW 20 FP (French produced, penne (winglets)), Bohli, Peschces, Becker radio, oxygen, slim 'chute, covers, tow-out gear and excellent trailer. R120 000. Contact Hubert Spaun 23-7921 (a/h)

Fournier RF4, R80 000 (neg), contact Tony Rund 686-3237 (a/h)

Kestrel 19m, third share, contact Colin Hancox 75-5279 (a/h)

Wanted: Retrieve driver for Gariep camp in December. Contact Peter Wooley 686-3883(h) or 400-3198(w) or pwooley@ctcc.gov.za