4 Vol. 9 / No. 12/ December/January 2017/18 Global Aviator
Flying in Africa
By Richard BrowneTesting and
Flying
I’m often approached by
aircraft builders or restorers
and renovators to test fly their
aircraft. As a holder of a class
two type test rating, I find it a
privilege to not only help out
new owners but also to get a
flyable and airworthy machine
into the air, onto the register
and contributing to aviation.
You see I firmly believe that
aircraft in the air are akin to
cows on a farm, it makes the
environment alive and is a
sign of a healthy industry.There are circumstances when
helping out become a chore
and I feel I need to qualify this
somewhat. You see there are
builders who meticulously
follow plans, keep up to date
with SB’s and AD’s and generally
try to make the final product as
presentable and close to original
as the manufacturer intended.
Then you get an altogether
different type of builder/renovator
who just does not. They will cut
corners to save on either time or
budget and in doing so create a lot of
work and headache for themselves
at the end of the build chain.
They will use inferior materials
because it’s “all they could get at
the time” or close up inspection
panels and seal them. I had one
such owner who closed the wings
of his KR2 and expected me to fly
it as is. The inspection hatches and
panels were not capable of being
opened as they were now part of
the composite skin. I walked away.
There is also the builder/
owner who puts together or imports
and new aircraft of its kind into
South Africa commonly known as
a first to type or first of the type
to the CAA. I know about these
intrepid folks because I was one.
Many years ago, I purchased
a Thorp T18 from a gentleman in
the USA and shipped it over to
South Africa not knowing what
was in store for me with regard the
regulator. I thought I'd done mydue diligence but what I hadn't
banked on was the authorities
clumsy approach to certification
in the Experimental category.
When the time came to apply for
my PFA they requested I break the
wing to achieve a G load destruction
figure. I politely declined that I
would be doing that and after some
negotiation, they said they'd be
sending a testing officer to test fly the
aircraft for me - I declined that one
too. it was only after some further
digging that I found another two
Thorp T18's on the register. After
bringing this to their attention they
acceded and I made progress.
I suppose in a bizarre way I
agree with their trepidation, a lot of
which is over the top, but most times
prudent and cautious. So, while
they cannot be everywhere all the
time it's left to us to maintain the
standards and eschew the cowboy
mentality of making a plan because
no one is looking. The trouble with
the latter is ego plays a role into
how much enforcing you can do
as Joe Public before a concerned
comment is seen as infringement.
So, in conclusion, I believe
and would like to see more of us
taking a positive reinforcement role
in each other whilst maintaining
the regard for personal space
and preference but wholly
concentrating on the upliftment
of standards, the adherence to
guidelines and hence the overall
safety standard of our industry. •