Another LAmbaDA!

This Weekend’s news actually began when Peter Wooley landed at FAWC in his new Lambada which he flew down from Johannesburg with Adriaan Hepburn. From what I gather, they had quite a grueling trip ( being chased by storms) which began on Wednesday afternoon when they took off from Johannesburg, stayed over at Tempe that night, left at first light on Thursday morning and they landed at Worcester on Thursday afternoon and were welcomed home by Ed! I am sure Peter will be writing something about his trip in the KK. Congratulations on your new acquisition, Peter.

Saturday’s crew arrived bright and early. Paul Roos and Roger Tipping helped out by Jesse Roos kept the show on the road at the aerotow side while the “A” Team got started bright and early on the winch side.

Adri and Adriaan flew their Lambada for the first time in weeks while GZF was flown by Andre as well as Boet Coetsee.

Martin Young had driven down from Knyzna for the weekend and first flew in GOK with Grove and then later in GUC for 3.5hrs. Jacobus Hartman brought his brother Alwyn for an introductory flight while he flew in GUC for and hour. Adriaan must have “mended” as he flew his Lak for 6.5 hrs! GIG was shared by Alan Procter (1.5hrs) and Grove (1.05hrs). Tom Heaslip, TJ, Herbie as well as Errol all had long flights as well. One of the pilots I spoke to described the conditions as “difficult and hard work”. Rico braved the heat in MIV – I do not know how he always seems to remain so cheerful!!

It was certainly hot at the launch point, too. Winching went Extremely Well with John Spargo driving and being relieved for a flight himself by Rob K. Paul Bailey flew the first two paxes and had to be called down as they were at risk of flying for more than the 30min allowed!!! Rudi as well as Rico, Ian Forbes with his son Adrian and Tom all had flights until late. On the last launch the cable broke but for the rest of the time the flights were between 10 and 37 minutes. Well done to all who worked so hard in the blistering sun.

Sunday looked windless and inverted early and advantage was taken of the conditions by the Grob - VAE and a visiting Grob - LRL. The first self launcher to take to the skies was GWS with Hans and Martin and they flew an 800km distance! At this point Paul “Hawkeye” Troskie spotted another crack in the exhaust manifold on the RHS of MIV. So – no tugging!! Not to be daunted, Martin, Helmut, Dirk all took advantage of Cross country training in GZF and kept Nicholas busy until late! Rico and Horst Pfleugner flew for over two hours in GWU and Errol flew the Antares.

The wind had picked up from the NW and was gusty up to about 30kph. And HOT! Not a very pleasant day for those on the ground– thank heavens for the swimming pool and the aircon in the clubhouse!

Thanks to Louis Esterhuisen who sat alone (most of the time) at the launch point and then locked up at the end of the day’s flying.

Remember the Gauntlet this coming weekend!

Also welcome back to Jerry Betbeder who was away visiting New Zealand. He says he will be out at the field next weekend! At the same time – Bon Voyage to Garth Milne who left for Oz for a few weeks.


See you all then.

Alison

Weekend Report: Hot but quiet: the Weather AND the Antares

Sven’s forecast for the weekend seemed encouraging but many stayed away because of the anticipated extreme temperatures as well as the other activity – aerobatics – scheduled for Worcester Airfield for the weekend.

Adequate preparation was done prior to the visiting pilots arriving and our duty teams on both days arrived for the safety briefing on time which was vital for the days’ operations. Everything went off smoothly and great co-operation was forthcoming from both sides. Some of our members just enjoyed watching the aerobatic pilots while others enjoyed the coolness of the airconditioned clubhouse.

Saturday, Gareth was out bright and early and did a long flight, 3.8hrs. However, the earlier part of the flight was not easy in that the lift seemed elusive but ‘hanging in there’ paid off. Reinhold had a flight with Ian in GOK and ,when it landed, Jacobus did his GPL flight test with Nicky in GOK. Errol Drew wowed the crowds when he took off in his super-silent Antares and flew for over an hour.

Andre Stander, one of the duty pilots, stood in for Jesse Roos, the other duty pilot while he went flying in the Pipistrel with Martin and then later with Boet who had completed him conversion onto same. It was a very long, hot day for the tug pilot, Frans du Toit as, although there were not many flights in total (4 launches) they were long flights and in the same glider (GOK) which meant that he had to wait at the launch point in the heat. Thanks to all the team: Frans, Martin, Boet Andre and Jesse for all the hard work and co-operating safely with the other traffic.

Sunday the heat was even worse!!!

The flying, what there was, was good and the pilots stayed up for considerably long flights. Cornelius had three paxes while William had a visitor which he took for a flight. Errol – once again – flew his Antares while Sven (who was on duty) let a visiting pilot from Germany, Volker Fiebig, fly his ASW27 after a check flight with Fred in GOK. Volker stayed airborne for 3 hours while his wife took advantage of the pool. Rico and Horst Pfleugner had a nice l.5 hr flight in GWU and Sven and Fred went flying in GOK. Sunday’s team : Sven, Fred, Ari (Tuggie), Maurice and Rob Tiffin…..thank you for doing duty in the worst possible conditions! 39deg and an easterly wind!

Once again, the team did their duties without incident with the visiting pilots. A spin-off from this was when 2 of the aerobatic pilots have asked for details of our ab-initio course and would like to begin gliding!!

Just two issues I must mention:

Duty pilots…. Please keep your time sheets neat. If they are a shambles – and it happens on a busy day – it might be an idea to re-write them so that Barbera can accurately post the times to the accounts.

The other “gripe” is the pool. Members must please try not to damage, stand on, sit on or dive onto the pool sweeper. I know it gets in the way but it suffered a little damage this weekend and is expensive to replace. If you remove it from the pool, do so only if you know how. Or call Ed to help.

GHB’s frame is being welded at the moment and then, later this week, will be coming to my factory for recovery and respray of the damaged section. She should be operational by two weekend’s time.

Next weekend we are back to normal operations so….. see you all then.

Alison

Jacobus BUSTS 50!

(Ed: Jacobus Hartman flew his 50 by doing a declared 163 km Audensberg, Swellendam, Robertson).

Hi ya all, I would just like to made a note on something that happened before I flew to Swellendam the past weekend.

My glider and trailer was all setup to roll, but I still needed to get the logger sorted out. Thanks for that one Nicky! After about 2 hours getting ready I got to the starting line and found a crowd waiting to be launched. Now this is is the part where I would like to thank 2 people in particular:

Sarel and Peter

Thanks again for giving me the opportunity to launch prior to the 2 of you. I know it was a gut wrenching decision and I really appreciate it! (hear in head a Afrikaans tune: " ...ons se baie baie dankie..") Thanks again to Peter who flew on the same ridge and gave feedback on weather conditions ahead. Both Your beers (plural per person) are on order...

Also to: Adriaan

He let me fly the ridge with him in the Lambada last year and gave a lot of comments on where to stay high and what to look out for. Also, he was the one who "kicked my ass" onto the ridge that day, saying that it would be a great day. Although u could not fly the whole of the ridge, thanks for starting it out up there with me. Really, If u were not there I probably would have just taken a local flight and be chilled out with it. Thanks for the info and being a notable driving force in this GPL endeavor of mine. (since bitching about not going solo to this 163km predeclared flight) When I grow up and have my own performance glider I might be able to keep up...

Also: The retrieve crew

Amongst of the best looking retrieve crew members on the airfield(s). It was a real pleasure to be picked up by 2 very good looking lady's. And they were totally able as well... (highly recommenced)

As a post script:

Ed: as always - proving that a lot of learning can be done even when not flying (ie: behind the bar counter) IF you listen hard enough. Peter Wooley and Mike Pascoe: Thanks for all the info on flying that particular ridge along with some of your OLC traces. Rico - for showing me a particular spot on Audensberg that has always worked for me. Garteh - for being such a subtle "competitor " - you really kept me on my toes since the Ab Intro Course. And have helped me to firuge out some stuff about flying which I would have overlooked. And then the hands that helped put the glider back together: William, Mrs. Cole, Kim, Adri, Kylie, Alison.. (do I detect a pattern of women here..?)

(lets not forget: "Windhoek" (windy corner) for refreshing - or finishing - a tired pilot after a day's worth of flying)

Most importantly at last - to: " THE MAN " up above, helping me live this live..

Regards

Jacobus Hartman

Weekend Report: Cart Wars

Saturday was relatively quiet despite the good gliding weather – proven by some great distances flown eg: Craig Fussel 521 km.

It was good to see Adriaan airborne again after being earthbound for the past weeks due to injuries sustained paragliding at Christmas.

Otto experienced some instrument problems after launching and had to land to sort them out and then relaunched and flew for 2.5hrs. Sarel Oosthuisen had a 2.5 hr flight in his Cirrus and William Whittaker flew first GIG and then took to the skies in GOK with Kim. Peter Farrel in ID flew for 3.5 hrs as well! Even I flew GVA.

Bill Griffiths spent a good deal of the day tugging in the uncomfortable heat, while Mark instructed Marion, Jesse and Paul in the Pipistrel. Later Nicky took over and flew with Jesse in GKM. Herbie and Peter Wooley were seen working on their hangers and huts, and later Peter flew with me in VAE.

I must mention the MOST incredible Duty Pilot of all times. Peter Middelton had resigned towards the end of last year. His last duty had been swopped with Kim Carter-Brown, but he did not renege on the outstanding duty. True to his word (remember – he is not a member) he turned up and did his duty on Saturday. If there was ever an award due to a duty pilot – he would be the one to get it! Thank you very much Peter. I – for one – am going to miss you very much!

However – the” Cherry On The Top” award for Saturday’s Flying goes to Jacobus Hartman. Before he took off on Saturday, he inspected GUC’s trailer, arranged a crew and left his car with the crew in case of a retrieve. He took off, flew to Swellendam and, on the return, landed at Robertson and had to be retrieved. Congratulations on doing your 50k’s Jacobus, and the preparation beforehand. What’s more, on returning, he rigged GUC and stowed her in the hanger! Your example will be hard to beat!

Saturday evening had many staying over – Bill and Sue, the Fussels, the O’Regans, Peter Farrel, Otto, Mike Pascoe, Rudi and Liesl, Peter Eich, Andre, the Hepburns, Jacobus, the Coles (and Penelope), Bruce Clemmence and ourselves. Like “old’ times!

The next day promised to be an even better day and Alan did a weather briefing in the Clubhouse at 9.00am. Otto was first off the mark with Martin and flew 1029km!! Well done Otto!.

The motor gliders were, once again, out in force with Angus Money in UMZ, Johnny in VAE, Brian Cole and Adriaan in GKM, Andre in GZF and Bill in OEM all having fun.

Alan O’Regan was the first to aerotow and came back with a cracking 885km under his belt! Great Alan. Cornelius did a not-to-shabby 785km!! Next was Sven who flew a great 694km and Mike Pascoe 273km. Tom Heaslip flew close on 2 hours in his Jantar and TJ in GPB flew over 2 hours. Helmut took the newly-rigged and cleaned GUC up for close on 2 hours after which Jacobus took her for another two hours while Rudi flew his Astir for over an hour. Hans Sterling and Reinhold Lawrenz flew the Stemme for 4 and a half hours.

GOK was kept busy with visiting pilots and paxes.

Rico was a very enthusiastic and entertaining tug pilot (thanks for your happy banter over the radio, Rico) while the instructors, Phil and Boet, assisted by William flew in GOK and GUZ all day. The two duty pilots, Richard Harris and Henry Barnes were fantastic! They only left the field after 8.00pm after being on the runway all day and running operations so efficiently. Thanks to both of you.

During the WWII, when a pilot shot down another aeroplane, little stickers were put on the side of the pilots plane to acknowledge that he had shot down these planes. At our Club we are having stickers made of Golf Carts being “shot down” (or run over) and Hubert Spaun has both of these to date. The first time he was involved in a golf cart accident was when the Club Golf Cart was unceremoniously rammed into the wing of the DG after it had landed with Hubert at the controls. Yesterday Hubert reversed over Hans Sterling’s Golf Cart. He had stopped his Prado to speak to a club member when Hans parked behind him in his golf cart and vacated it. Hubert did not see this and, after starting his car, reversed because there was a tyre in front of his car. He could not understand why his Prado was “sluggish” and would not go. He got out and saw the Golf Cart on it side behind his car. So – if you own a Golf Cart – beware of Hubert Spaun. He will “shoot you down” sooner or later!! (Something like our hanger being rammed into!!)

Remember the Power Aerobatic Competition to be held at FAWC at the weekend. There will be a safety briefing at 9.30am on both days for anyone flying on those days. I suggest that all Duty Pilots, Tug Pilots and Instructors as well as anyone wanting to fly on those days, attend this briefing.

ALISON

Weekend Report: A new year!

Happy new year everyone! This is the first Weekend News of 2007.

SATURDAY

What a fantastic day! The fact that it was raining in Cape Town did not mean that the weather would be bad in Worcester – quite the contrary!!! Sorry to those who stayed behind for the cricket – you should have come gliding instead!

First off the grid just after 1100hrs was Mark Siegelberg. He was followed closely by Cornelius, Herbie, Hubert and Martin in GUJ, John Spargo, Mike Pascoe, Boet Coetzee in Rudi’s Astir, Ian Forbes, Rico and Jesse in GWU, Nico Le Roux, Rudi Schurkes, and Otto and TJ in TR. I have left out Errol Drew because it is worth mentioning that he had his Maiden Flight in his beautiful Antares right here at Worcester! A magnificent glider – beautifully quiet and graceful! Congratulations Errol!

Annual checks by myself and Mike Pascoe kept the instructors Nicky and Paul Troskie busy as well as many pax flights. Brian Cole took to the skies in his beautiful Pipistrel and had lots of fun.

Congratulations to Sarel Oosthuisen who obtained his Pax rating and then took his brother – visiting from Australia – for a flight for an hour and a half.

Hubert and Martin flew to Klaver and back in just over 3 hours. Unfortunately the circuit was very busy on return and they landed on the winch runway and incurred some damage to the tail of the glider in the resulting groundloop.

Rico and Brian, not having flown enough, flew for an hour at the end of the day in GWU.

I think the cherry on the top goes to Mark Siegelberg. As he was the only pilot not home at about 1900hrs, I phoned him on his cell to find out where he was and he confirmed that he was still airborne just short of Porterville. I advised him of the change in the wind to SE at Worcester. 10 Minutes later he telephoned me and told me that he had landed out on the Northern side of Porterville close to the mountain. Nico Le Roux and Nicky Oberhofer set out to retrieve him (thanks guys). In the meantime Mark had walked down the mountain to intercept them at the main road. They all set out to retrieve the glider – but could not find it!! They tramped around for hours in the dark and eventually gave up.! Mark had to fetch it on Sunday morning!!

Everyone had a great evening in the Clubhouse after such a great day. Thanks to Tom for doing duty solo. Thanks to Nina who tugged all day in very rough conditions.Also thanks to Marion Cole who helped out at the launch point.


SUNDAY

The full team arrived for what promised to be a good day’s flying again. The weather promised to be great almost as good as Saturday.

We had taken GUC and GOK to the threshold of 15 when Paul Troskie, the rostered tuggie, advised us of an unserviceable tug. The exhaust manifold on MIV had a crack and the tug could not be flown. Much disappointment all round. Johnny took the exhaust off the tug to get it repaired during the week and will get it back by Friday.

Our only option – the Rotax Falke – saved the day with instruction flights and pax rides being flown by Wally and Quentin.

(NIG is also at FASH having some maintenance done.)

Thanks to Hans Pruter (great to see you again) and Ruben Rens who turned up to do their duty as well.

Bill Griffiths had a long flight in his Grob and Kevin Mitchell. Rico Suter, Rob Kakebeeke and Errol Drew took to the skies in their self launchers.

See you all next weekend. Remember – the great weather is here NOW!!

Alison