Weekend Report: A looong weekend
Saturday
I don’t think that we can call it the “weekend feedback” this time because the weekend started for some on Thursday. Looks like the same will happen this week too.
Bill Griffiths took the tug from FASH to FAWC on Thursday morning and managed to do a few launches, which was much appreciated by the glider pilots. Great distances flown by Sven, Adriaan (640km) and Ari. Unfortunately Adriaan's accommodation was well and truly burgled on Thursday night by some thugs who really new a bit about the technicalities of alarms - he discovered this on Friday morning when he returned to fly.
Friday again saw a group of enthusiastic pilots take to the air, but by all accounts it was not a great flying day.
Friday night was our annual dinner at Stellenbosch Flying Club, organised by Wally and Juliana Tamsen. Juliana decorated the tables and Wally organised the spit braai with Phillip, the club manager. Thanks to you both for organising everything. The place was booked out and after everyone was seated, we began the evening's festivities by wishing Andre Leeb a happy 70th birthday, complete with cake and 70 lit candles, which he had to blow out. Thank heaven his beard was just trimmed, otherwise it might have caught fire as well! After that we handed out solo certificates to Rene Heise and Gareth Floweday, followed by the James Gilliland awards to Sven, Martin, Alan O and Peter F - unfortunately Reinhold could not make it. The last guests went home at midnight and everyone had a good time. The venue is very beautiful, especially at sunset.
Saturday was fairly quiet (I suppose some members went to the Ysterplaat Airshow). We had three students and a few singles – Cornelius, Jerry and Johan Gericke all flew but it didn’t seem to be a great day, just hot. John Spargo converted to the Rotax Falke – well done.
Sunday
Word on Saturday evening was to prepare for a “ballistic” day on Sunday. More like the blue-death haze of ironbound inversion! Not daunted, the singles and one DG500 filed into the air from about 11h00, spending the next two hours fighting with gravity and obnoxious little thermals at 2000’. The brave eventually flew off eastward and turned at some alarming distances, such as two hundred and something odd (Sven, Alan), and GEORGE (Martin). The less brave turned at Tradouw (Graham) and the even less brave at 85km.
That upstart Hepburn utilised his “secret weapon”, a hot line to Mr Manzoni in Porterville, and had a rip-roaring trip northward. Kings of the Day were Alan and Martin who did east AND north (Martin about 920km). But first prize goes to Sven who was on final approach numerous times at Swellendam, only to make it back in the end to Worcester, just as light was fading. I think the thought of a relight behind an 80hp microlight at Swellendam, and no fuel available at Worcester for MIV, gave him the grit to fight his way back up and finally home. Well done Sven!
Others spied in the air were Kevin Mitchell, Rob Kakebeeke (first in his Carat, later in his DG400), William J Whittaker, Garth Milne (at Robertson), Randy Cullen, Fred Vernimmen, Peter Clemence, Rico Suter and apologies for the names that have eluded me (soaring was bloody hard work!)
So if the hot-shots can get 800-900km out of a bad day, what are they going to achieve on a good day, which might commence at 10am? The mind boggles.
Come and be part of the flying!
Alison (Saturday) & Peter (Sunday)
I don’t think that we can call it the “weekend feedback” this time because the weekend started for some on Thursday. Looks like the same will happen this week too.
Bill Griffiths took the tug from FASH to FAWC on Thursday morning and managed to do a few launches, which was much appreciated by the glider pilots. Great distances flown by Sven, Adriaan (640km) and Ari. Unfortunately Adriaan's accommodation was well and truly burgled on Thursday night by some thugs who really new a bit about the technicalities of alarms - he discovered this on Friday morning when he returned to fly.
Friday again saw a group of enthusiastic pilots take to the air, but by all accounts it was not a great flying day.
Friday night was our annual dinner at Stellenbosch Flying Club, organised by Wally and Juliana Tamsen. Juliana decorated the tables and Wally organised the spit braai with Phillip, the club manager. Thanks to you both for organising everything. The place was booked out and after everyone was seated, we began the evening's festivities by wishing Andre Leeb a happy 70th birthday, complete with cake and 70 lit candles, which he had to blow out. Thank heaven his beard was just trimmed, otherwise it might have caught fire as well! After that we handed out solo certificates to Rene Heise and Gareth Floweday, followed by the James Gilliland awards to Sven, Martin, Alan O and Peter F - unfortunately Reinhold could not make it. The last guests went home at midnight and everyone had a good time. The venue is very beautiful, especially at sunset.
Saturday was fairly quiet (I suppose some members went to the Ysterplaat Airshow). We had three students and a few singles – Cornelius, Jerry and Johan Gericke all flew but it didn’t seem to be a great day, just hot. John Spargo converted to the Rotax Falke – well done.
Sunday
Word on Saturday evening was to prepare for a “ballistic” day on Sunday. More like the blue-death haze of ironbound inversion! Not daunted, the singles and one DG500 filed into the air from about 11h00, spending the next two hours fighting with gravity and obnoxious little thermals at 2000’. The brave eventually flew off eastward and turned at some alarming distances, such as two hundred and something odd (Sven, Alan), and GEORGE (Martin). The less brave turned at Tradouw (Graham) and the even less brave at 85km.
That upstart Hepburn utilised his “secret weapon”, a hot line to Mr Manzoni in Porterville, and had a rip-roaring trip northward. Kings of the Day were Alan and Martin who did east AND north (Martin about 920km). But first prize goes to Sven who was on final approach numerous times at Swellendam, only to make it back in the end to Worcester, just as light was fading. I think the thought of a relight behind an 80hp microlight at Swellendam, and no fuel available at Worcester for MIV, gave him the grit to fight his way back up and finally home. Well done Sven!
Others spied in the air were Kevin Mitchell, Rob Kakebeeke (first in his Carat, later in his DG400), William J Whittaker, Garth Milne (at Robertson), Randy Cullen, Fred Vernimmen, Peter Clemence, Rico Suter and apologies for the names that have eluded me (soaring was bloody hard work!)
So if the hot-shots can get 800-900km out of a bad day, what are they going to achieve on a good day, which might commence at 10am? The mind boggles.
Come and be part of the flying!
Alison (Saturday) & Peter (Sunday)
posted by CGC Reporter at 5.12.05
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