Lessons from a logbook
he was to do the Windhoek trip.
It was also revealed that he would
be taking Hendrik, the hangar-
boy, with him to help with prop-
swinging and refuelling en-route.
Hendrik was a smiling black
man of average stature. His most
remarkable feature was a pair of
gleaming size 14 boots that gave
him the appearance of one of
those toys that swing upright if
you push them over. We all liked
Hendrik for his gentle disposition.
Unfortunately he was a little slow
off the mark – a characteristic
which led to his downfall. Literally.The great day arrived. Hendrik
was wearing his blue work-
overalls from the bottom of which
protruded his glistening toe-caps.
Dronkie was attired in a charcoal
suit and paisley tie. They donned
their leather helmets, climbed
aboard the tatty yellow Tiger, and
were soon a wobbly speck heading
for the western horizon.
A few days later Dronkie
returned on the DC4 milk-run.
But there was no sign of Hendrik.
Here’s what happened.
Apparently all went well on
the first day of their trip. Butin the afternoon of the second,
they picked up a ferocious wind
which derailed their navigation,
and caused them to divert to
Mariental, for fuel.
When they got there they found
it was blowing 40 knots slap across
the sand runway. With no other
options, Dronkie elected to land
diagonally in the parking-area,
in front of an open-shed hangar.
This is not as stupid as it sounds
because the aircraft would have a
groundspeed of about five knots at
touch-down.
On his first approach Dronkie
managed to get the Tiger on
the ground, but quickly realised
that, with no one to hang on to
a wing, it would be impossible
to taxi to the hangar. He opened
the throttle and was instantly
airborne again.
During a turbulent circuit
Dronkie explained to Hendrik,
through the Gosport tube, that
he, Hendrik, was to undo his seat
belts, open the door and climb out
on to the wing, while maintaining
a firm grip on the centre-section
struts. When the wheels touched,
Hendrik was to leap off the back
of the wing and grab the inter-
plane strut, to prevent the aircraft
from being blown over.Hendrik didn’t hesitate in this
call to duty. As they turned final
he was there, size 14s on the cat-
walk and hands locked round the
centre-section strut.
As they touched down two
things went wrong simultaneously.
Hendrik ’s automatic time-lag
kicked in, causing an appreciable
delay between Dronkie yelling
“Jump” and Hendrik complying.
The second problem was that the
Tiger bounced. The result being
that, by the time Hendrik stepped
off the back of the wing, the Tiger
was at about 15 feet.
A quick glance told Dronkie
that his assistant would need a few
moments to uncrumple himself
before he could be relied upon for
genuine assistance. So Dronkie
did another circuit, landed close
to the hangar where the hobbling
Hendrik was able to grab the wing.
One would like to report that
all’s well that ends well, however
that was not exactly the case.
The next morning, it seems
that no amount of eloquence on
Dronkie’s part could persuade
Hendrik to get back into the
Tiger. Hendrik explained that his
enthusiasm for aeronautics had
diminished over night. He stated
that he has lost his ambition to
be in the aviation business. An
absence from anything to do with
aeroplanes, he announced, would
be an extremely pleasant state.
He also declared that Mariental
had a certain charm. It suited his
disposition. He intended to retire
there forthwith, and live out the rest
of his days peacefully on the side of
town most distant from the airstrip.
So now, when the occasional
pilot who strays into Mariental
for fuel asks about Hendrik, they
are greeted with a blank stare. But
should they mention his gleaming,
footwear, then a smile of recognition
will creep over the dusty features of
the old refuelling guy.52 australianflying.com.au
AUSTRALIAN FLYING November – December 2017LEFT: Dronkie Lombard and
Hendrik, did their 900-mile
Windhoek trip in a Tiger.ABOVE LEFT: Dronkie’s over-
compliance with the all-pilots-
must-drink rule, got him bunged
out of the SAAF.