73 SA Flyer MagazineSAFETY CAMPAIGN 2017
The
2017
Safety
First
Aviator
Campaign
backed
by
industry,
the
Aero
Club,
CAA,
ATNS,
SASAR,
EAA
of
SA
and
others
will
be
presenting
at
many
centres
around
the
country.
We
urge
all
aviators
to
attend.
The
show
is
interesting
and
presented
by
dedicated
experts
who
are
determined
to
help
reduce
the
aircraft
accident
rate
in
South
Africa.
There
are
worthwhile
prizes
at
each
venue
as
an
added
inducement
for
all
to
attend.
All
presentations
commence
18h00
– 18h3028
August:
Margate
Light
Plane
Club
29
August:
Pietermaritzburg
Aero
Club
30
August:
Virginia
– Durban
Wings
Club
31
August:
Richards
Bay
– Alton
Engineering
hangar
7
Sept:
Kitty
Hawk
–Clubhouse
21
Set:
Wonderboom
– Powered
Flight
28
Sept:
Benoni/Brakpan
-‐ Flying
Club
Clubhouse
Details
and
RSVP
attendance
to
Aero
Club
011082
1100
[email protected]
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BY....
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Adventure flying
they arrived at around 18h00. As they got
into range of the Williston cellphone tower,
they were verily surprised to receive a call
from a sheep farmer called Van Wyk from
the district of Calvinia who spoke very
little English. The crew spoke very little
comprehensible Afrikaans. However, when
they finally understood him to be informing
them that two microlighters, who claimed
to know them, had landed in his dust bowl
a good few kilometres from the bottom of
the Bloukrans Pass, Daniela tried to find the
Afrikaans equivalent for “you are shitting
me!” but what she came up with at short
notice is not really fit for publication.
The soothing experience of driving
through the desert at night appears to have
been lost on the ground crew. With the
help of Van Wyk, they located the pilots ataround 22h00. They had all been awake
since 03h00 but what with the wind and the
scorpions and the dust, sleep simply did not
happen.
At sunrise, they decided that the omens
were not good for a return trip by air. They
could not sit out the weather because all
of them had a real life to return to, and
nowadays, doctor’s notes no longer carry
the weight they once did.
Sadly, the trikes were de-rigged, folded
up and strapped to the trailer and they all
headed back up the Bloukrans Pass one
last time. Probably because the wind had
blown all the rocks and stones away, they
did not get a puncture this time. It is either
that, or one has to wonder exactly where,
or how, the ground crew were driving as
they caroused around the Karroo in pursuitof their pilots. A night of rest in Williston
restored their good humour and the end
of the following day found them back at
Panorama.
As it turned out, it was the right
decision, as the strong headwinds persisted
all the way back to Panorama. Helga, who
turned 70 this year, sits in the departure
lounge thinking about where to go when
she turns 80. John and Selina are still
married. Daniela’s company car still goes
and she has reconnected the odometer. j