The thrill of Flying

It all started on the 25 of Dec last Year (2009) when I opened the most unusual Xmas box you can think of. A small purple package the size of a Cd audio disk, and two somewhat lager packages in the same wrapping, but don’t be mistaken my family had the plot all worked out to the N’th degree.

My daughter Lauren had her camera ready to take whatever was to happen next. I had to open them in the correct order. The first gift contained a small plastic toy plane with the fuselage filled with sweets and the first picture was taken of a puzzled me.

Next I had to open the gift that contained what I thought was a Cd disk, still puzzled I had to read carefully before I eventually realized what they were giggling about, and then the second picture was taken.

I was totally supersized that they got me a flip in a DH82 Tiger Moth and I had to do this with in the next 6 months.

The last gift was a pair of flying goggles for the flight, along with the third picture been taken.

At first I was a bit concerned about flying in a just about 80 years old Tiger Moth and was putting it on hold until Lauren came to me 3 weeks ago and announced that “ Guess what Daddy?, you are going to fly in the Tiger Moth on Father’s Day".

Well there was no turning back for me now and all I could do was to count the sleeps (20 of them) as Father’s Day came closer and on the last two day’s I even started to look up the history of this once famous trainer.

So when the sun came up yesterday (Father’s day) I at least new that the Gipsy Major inverted 4 cylinder power plant of Tiger moth could deliver 100 KW or 130 Hp (well that is the same power as my car develop) and that over 4000 of them was built before and during the second world war with the main aim to be used to train pilots.

With most of the butterflies in stomach now under control (only just) we set of at 9.30 AM to Rand Airport where there are two Tigers Moths operating from. I was treated to a Breakfast in the Harvard Café (overlooking the apron).

We were just about finish with our breakfast when Lauren got a call on her cell phone that it was my turn to get ready.

First I had to get into a proper flying overall and then my wind breaker over that. The outside temperature was around 12 deg C. So I was expecting it to be colder once in the air and in an open cockpit.

Then all of us set of to where the bright yellow Tiger were standing and with the aid of a small step ladder I mounted the front seat of the Tiger Moth.

As you can see on the photos there is no fancy instrumentation and the original huge compass is still in place (Yes Sir No GPS!!). In the mean time Lauren and Celeste were taking pictures as much as they could while I was getting strapped in and making me comfortable.

Then the pilot Ken Cloete gave me a short flight briefing for the 30 minute flight( with some planed low flying included) before he step to front of the Moth and after the second swing the Gipsy major motor jumped to life(Yes , no self starter). What surprised me was that even with the open cockpit how smooth and relatively quiet the Gipsy Major was running.

We took off in a southerly direction and the headed towards the south. The Tiger Moth effortless gained height while the Gipsy Major motor hummed along. As we got close to Klipriver drive, we cut across the hill and Ken came so low down a narrow valley that I was able take a picture of our shadow on the ground.

When we got to the bottom of the valley Ken carried on flying just about ground level and flowing the Klipriver back towards Rand airport. Every now and then he would pull hard up if the reeds and trees would get to close for comfort. Eventually as we got back to the main highway( I think from Durban) and when we turn and flew parallel with it could not help to smile as we over took some expensive motor cars on the highway just below us.

Then all to soon the Runway at Rand Airport appeared before us and Ken Made a Perfect 3 point landing (I could hardly feel the moment we touched down) in the short grass next to the tar runway (due to the lack of brakes on the Moth) and a end to a flight that I will still remember for a long time to come.

To my family and all the staff at Classique Aviation ( http://www.classav.co.za/index.html ) many thanks for a Thrilling experience and to Ken Cloete the pilot for the excellent way he flew the Tiger Moth especially when we were doing the low flying. I highly recommend that if you can to have flight with them to do so as worldwide there are only 250 airworthy Tiger Moths left and they might not be flying for many years from now.

3rd 2M Challenge for 2010 at BERG, 13 June 2010

    While waiting for Rudi I took this early Morning Sunrise photo at the BERG field!

    Report by Rudi King.

Although it’s winter in “sunny” South Africa, the morning was not as cold as I expected... I met Piet just after 07h00 at the field and soon the other pilots started to arrive. Nigel was the only one to arrive after 09h00, but I guess it’s not too bad for someone with baby twins... The pilots’ briefing was short and sweet and the games begun!

Below: Nigel's Tsotsi wing repair test !!!

Above: Mark De Klerk's winch jammed and needed some frantic work by Jason to get it going again !

A coldish North Eastern wind set testing conditions for round 1, but round 1 turned out to be the easiest for the day, for me anyway... The wind direction maintained consistent throughout the day, but the wind speed increased at a steady pace. While staring up at your glider with the wintry wind in your face, one could easily have imagined yourself to be standing on a slope. Thermals blew through so swiftly that I didn’t even know they were ever there. More than one pilot showed bravery in following a bubble of warm air, downwind and more than one pilot paid the price of “the walk of shame”... It’s always a little funny, until you have to walk 200m or more to pick up your own model... The tricky conditions challenged everyone and the Greenhorns and Juniors were very impressive with the way they performed in the wind.


Martie served delicious boerewors-buns after round 5 and all pilots then decided to call it a day because of the wind.


Thank you very much for everyone that came out to the field today and added to the spirit of the 2M Challenge! Below are the scores after 5 rounds, with no throw-away round.

Names                       Class                               Total                                   Position

1 Rudi King               X-League                        4519                                    3
1 Johan Bruwer         X-League                        4230                                    5
1 Tsepo                     Junior                              1555                                    11
2 Piet Rheeders         X-League                        4383                                    4
2 Mark de Klerk      Greenhorn                        3930                                    7
2 Michael de Klerk   Junior                               3009                                   10
3 Derek                    X-League                        4710                                    2
3 Nigel                     X-League                         4226                                    6
3
4 Alan Smith             X-League                        4715                                    1
4 Juanita Smith          Greenhorn                       3644                                    8
4 Reino Jacobs         Greenhorn                       3233                                    9

Congratulations to Alan, Mark and Michael who took first places in the 3 classes!!

2M Challenge # 2 GEMS

Results and Report to follow later this week on MGA Blog.

2M Challenge #1 SGC

Last Sunday morning we headed up north deep into the Tropics for the first leg of the 2M Challenge. A bit of a long drive for us people from the south - about 90km through some of the worst of the highway roadworks in Gauteng - to our destination the Silverton Gliding Club.

Despite our past few weeks of almost daily rain we opted for the 4x4 adventure challenge entrance to the field. The only other crazy to attempt this was Alan Smith who jovially also used the same route out. We chickened out and took the sedan route out – one adrenaline rush in that wild bush a day was enough for us.

The weather was perfect – clear blue skies to start off the day with light winds and early afternoon thunderstorm development.

All the requirements for a challenging flying day.

And the famous Silverton “disappearing thermals” even had some of the top dogs scuttling for the spot in a few less than six minutes!


The field itself was in superb condition – miles and miles of green, lush kikuyu grass. And Silverton is our absolute favourite birding flying field. We were greeted with some colourful Cape Longclaws busily chasing off other birds from their territory on arrival. On the way out we saw Egrets, Blacksmith and Crowned Lapwing and Black-headed Heron as well as all the regular little Bishops and Weavers in the reeds. Also saw some duck and Cormorants and a Woodland Kingfisher while retrieving Gordon’s Fling from the dam. But by far the best of all has to be the eagles: Thermalling with the Black Eagles and hearing the calls of the Fish Eagles in the Pienaars River that runs right past the flying field ... aah yes ... now, where was I ...



This contest really took me back in time – and I mean way way back to the good old days when a max was six minutes and spoilers were a new high tech device which you would be contemplating dabbling with the complex mechanics on your next model. But the one thing that hasn’t changed over all these years is the great bunch of guys flying model gliders. A thoroughly enjoyable day and I think everyone had big F-U-N. And good to see John Monk flying with us again.

There were a few minor crashes but I think all repairable and even Gordon’s Fling should live to see another flying day. Also great to see a few youngsters partaking and looks like we should see Nigel’s son Bradley competing soon.

Well done Rudi for putting the concept on the map and thanks to Martie and Barbara for keeping us fed and watered through a very hot day.


Results should be up on the MGA Blog by now. So, time to get that 2 meter model finished now guys – the next contest is on the 2nd of May at BERG. See you there.

Mid-summer Volksrust Slope Trip.

Main Article as published in the RCSD 22/1/2010

The Rockwell Aero Commander flying on the Vloksrust slope.

With the South African Summer in full swing, and lots of holidays around Christmas we once again seek the tranquility of Volksrust and the 1500 foot high inland mountain of “Tamatieberg” about 290km and three hours easy drive from my home in Randburg- Johannesburg.

This was the third year that we have done so, and so far the best in terms of perfect slope weather. Sadly, only five pilots attended the first group of slope pilots — 28 Dec 2009 to 1 Jan 2010 — but nonetheless we certainly had more than enough models to cater for most weather conditions that could arise during our four day stay.

We took around 1000 pictures between four of us and selecting some to forward with this article proved not too easy; there were so many nice pictures and you just do not know which to select and which to omit.

Preparation for the trip started about a week beforehand when I took all my slope gliders from their hibernation place in my garage attic roof to remove the dust and cycle the batteries for the up¬coming trip.

It is at this stage that you have to select which models to take with and which to leave behind, but over the last two trips I now find the selection process easier. I still ended up with eight gliders to take with, and a small trailer with lid and a custom made “wing rack” is a must to get the gliders safely transported.

We set off on Monday morning at around 6.30 AM the 28th of December, and the weather did not look too promising at all with 5/8 overcast and low clouds. This, however, started to lift and when we got to Volksrust at 9.45 AM “Tamatieberg” was just about clear with a steady and strong NNW blowing up the slope.

The plan was to meet up with Edmund and Sam at the guest farm (they had arrived on Sunday already), unpack our luggage and then ascend to the NW slope. This we did and when got to the main slope could fly straight away. My anemometer registered +/- 40 km/hour.

The wind coming up the slope was, how¬ever, very gusty and cold. Jochen Smit arrived at 12.00 midday and was also wise to leave his planes in the safety of his car and instead he set about taking pictures.

I must admit that I was very tempted to fly my Aero Commander first but played it safe and flew my Hill Billy and Glass/ bagged Zagi first. Launching in this wind proved to be difficult and on one of my launches with the Hill Billy it got totally out of shape, and it shot straight up for five meters, did a half roll to the left and nearly inverted before I could get my hands on the controls.

I managed to get it upright but at this stage the Hill Billy was heading 90 de¬grees to the original launch path and straight for the hip high bushes on my left. Just as I thought that I had it under control it flipped to the right and now with no height left only just managed to get wings and nose level as the Hill Billy flopped to the ground with luckily no flying speed left and minor damage to the fuselage. Jochen managed to take a photo sequence of all this and it still amazed me that I did not end up with a total write-off.

Landings presented similar problems but we soon adapted to the conditions. Once you were safely over the edge you had a ball of a time.

At around 4.00 we stopped flying after having our first fix of slope flying and by now the clouds were just about blown clear, setting the scene for Tuesday. I still had go Volksrust town and Jochen fol¬lowed Edmund to our guest house as this was his first slope trip.

Tuesday the 29th of December and day Two started out clear with very high clouds and blue skies.

Jochen was up before me at 6:30. At this stage of the day there was no wind and after my first cup of coffee I proceeded to rig my E-Tsotsi for the first flight of the day as breakfast was only scheduled for 7.30 AM.

Once again, Jochen set out to take pictures. With the white cloud as back¬ground I could climb out higher than normal and once up high cut the ESC and glide with no wind or thermals down. This is also the ideal time to confirm the still air trim and minimum sink setting on my glider. Three or four long motor runs will get you 35 to 40 min flight and in this farm type setting is very relaxing and a pleasant experience.

Shortly after breakfast we departed to the mountain, and from where we were to the top amounts to a 13km semicircle drive to the NW slope directly above the guest farm.

As we drove up the mountain we were treated with the most amazing and beau¬tiful cloud scenery, the air was clear with no haze or fog to spoil your visibility and I just got that gut feeling that it was going to be one of those near perfect days that you can dream of on the slope.

Once on top and the flag pole set up we could fly straight away again. The wind was coming straight up the mountain at 25 to 35 Km/h with no gusting. Better conditions I don’t think you can get here. To confirm this we were treated by a flock of 30 or so storks that were circling high above the slope and rapidly gaining height. I managed to get a few pictures of them with my camera set at full zoom before they disappeared out of sight.

Jochen started off with his two meter Tsotsi and found the lift too strong for it and switched to his F3B Shongololo and soon had it on the step whistling from the left side to the right side of the slope. I think you can safely bet your bottom dollar that you will see him back on the slope for sure. Unfortunately, Jochen had to leave back for home at around 3 PM.

During the day the wind stayed this way and at no stage did we have the lack of slope lift, and apart from our thermal and electric ships we flew just about every¬thing that brought along. This included the 1/7th PSS Rockwell Aero Command¬er and, like last year, I was just totally amazed with this plane’s handling char¬acteristics and flight performance.

On the second flight I had the privilege to put the Aero Commander thru its passes as a small group of paraglide enthusiasts formed an audience, giving me the feel¬ing that Bob Hoover must have had when he performed his aerobatic routine in front of the crowds with the real Rockwell Aero Commander.

The conditions seemed just too strong for the paragliders and after they left it were just Sam, Edmund, my wife Jenny and myself with whole slope to us. Sam managed to do her first solo take off and landing and later on launched Edmund’s Zagi.

At this time of the day around 4.00 PM the wind kept on blowing and I was flying my CMP Discus with the now experienced toy pilot “Teddy Brown” at the controls and after a perfect flight switched to the Hill Billy. We only stopped flying at 6.00 PM.

Wednesday the 30th of December the day dawned with no wind whatsoever and we made use of this time to go the local town of Volksrust to shop for the necessary odds and ends.

However by 12.00 PM midday we were back on top of the mountain and this time we had to move to the northeast slope before we could fly our Zagis in reasonably smooth lift. The wind direc¬tion kept on shifting to the northwest until we ended up on the main, northwest slope at around 3:00 pm and very light lift.

Thursday 31 December (Old Year’s eve) happened to be the day we had the lightest of wind for the whole week (5 to 10km/h). Allen joined us with his 2.2 me¬ter Fox locally build glider produced by Craig Baker, but unfortunately could not fly because of the lack of wind. Shortly after 3:00 pm we gathered all our mod¬els for a group picture and then disas¬sembled and packed them away for the journey back home on New Year’s day.

Early on New Year’s day I had my first flight for the year and also the last flight of the trip with my E-Tsotsi before break¬fast and the trip back home. Every one of us had lots of flying and one thing is for sure — we will be back at the end of this year, wind or no wind.