22 SA FlyerCOLUMNS - FYKO VAN DER MOLEN
to intimidate him out of the competition,
leaving me the winner.
The tanks were, as usual, full which
makes the 206 a bit ponderous and less
eager to climb. Andre’s job was to start the
watch when the wheels lifted and to stop it
when they touched again. I was unhurried
on the roll because the 206 needs to be
leaned to 18 gph to achieve full power and
the best place to twiddle knobs that need
monitoring was on the ground.
Once airborne, with the clock running,
I allowed the speed to build and, with the
climb arrested at 50 ft started a steep turn
to the right under full power until attaining
a reciprocal heading. Not wanting to kill off
too much remaining engine life I brought
the power back for the downwind leg and
prepared for the turn to finals.
This is the bit that separates the men
from the boys. The turn onto the runway
heading must be steep enough to bring the
runway into line at its end; it must also be a
descending turn, otherwise time is wasted
losing the excess height floating in ground
effect over the runway. It must be fast
enough to keep safely above a stall, but not
so fast as to bring you in carrying a load ofexcess energy.
When it’s done right you roll to wings
level over the middle of the runway at about
ten feet AGL with the wingtip never having
been less than that distance from the
ground. The speed should be high enough
for safety in the turn, but should be allowed
to bleed off as it becomes no longer
required by the wings becoming level.
Wheels down; time 45 seconds – damn, ten
seconds too long.
I was sure I could do a bit better
because I’d practiced the manoeuvre
alone many times and now, with a real pilot
beside me, I could risk shaving some of the
safety margin off on the final turn, relying
on Andre to save the situation if I screwed it
up properly and came too close to killing us
both. So I did it again, and again, but I could
never break the 40 second barrier.
Then Andre took the aircraft and
showed me how it’s done. From the
right-hand seat, having never flown this
aeroplane before, he turned in 38 seconds
the first time around. I didn’t wail or rend my
garment; I stoically accepted the presence
of a superior pilot and knew I was just
outclassed – nothing to be done.In my imagination there exists an
almost endless ladder with a rung for every
pilot, real or aspiring. All except the lowest
can look down at where they have been,
and all but the highest can see those above
them. With each new experience and each
item of instruction the order on the ladder is
re-arranged, with the diligent moving ever
upwards, and the static being bypassed.
I had little expectation of ever passing, or
even approaching, Andre’s position on the
ladder, but that didn’t stop me milking him
for whatever he had to offer. I just enjoy
being in the company of the excellent.
I recently came across an SACAA
accident report from March 2011 wherein
my beloved 206 had had her nose-gear
torn out by some utterly incompetent fool.
The cause of the accident was given as ‘an
unexpected gust of wind’ that occurred at
the time of landing. I was forced into selling
my 206 by a pack of scavenging divorce
lawyers and their pitilessly vindictive client.
That this magnificent machine ended in the
hands of some hopeless klutz that wrecked
her over a gust of wind, brings tears of
shame and rage to my eyes. j