From the Front Desk
Exam Bookings, Duty Pilots, Membership Card & Couriers
- No students are to make bookings for exams. All bookings must be arranged through reception.
- We are in need of duty pilots, if anyone is interested in being duty pilot over weekends please contact reception.
- All members must please make sure that their details are up to date, and please to collect their membership cards at reception.
- The CAA is closing on Friday 21st December 2007 and re-opens on 2nd January 2008. For this period we will be able to courier documents but the club will NOT be responsible for tracking receipt, progress or completion of any documentation.
Beverley Combrink
Cape Town Flying Club
State of the Fleet
KKU has a problem with its alternator, which is being rectified as I type this. PIA is in for its MPI, and KBK is having some teething problems after receiving its new engine. This is also being addressed at this moment. KFV and KKC are up and flying.
in the Cessna corner, JDN is having its crankcase seal replaced and should be back in action soon. KSS is having a hydraulic problem sorted out, and PMY is also in for its MPI. IDL is perfect.
Not the best day we've had with regard to maintenance issues, but everything is being done to restore the fleet to fully operational status!
When utilising PMY please note the following:
- After use please replace the control lock and pitot cover.
- The front wheel of the aircraft must be chocked whether the aircraft is in the hanger or not. PMY has its own chocks which will be found in the aircraft.
- If you are the last person to fly the aircraft then please return it to the Safair hanger.
- If the aircraft remains outside please make use of the sunscreens which are found in the aircraft.
- The aircraft must be locked after use. The pilot side airvent control was recently stolen from the aircraft. This is unacceptable, to say the least.
If you have any concerns regarding utilisation, please do not hesitate to speak to the CFI who will clarify these issues.
The maintenance costs of Club and leased aircraft is extremely high without rhe necessity of having to bear the additional burden of poor airmanship and negligence. The average age of the fleet is higher than the average age of students, so consequently the aircraft should be treated with a modicum of respect.
By the way, PMY has a port to plug in an MP3 player. This will be found in the cubbyhole on the lefthand side. The device will automatically mute when a radio transmission is made or received.
Diemerskraal Fly-In
 Members are invited to a fly-in hosted by Aircraft Construction Centre at Diemerskraal Airstrip on the 28th of January, 2008. The programme runs as follows:
- Aircraft arrive between 9:00 and 10:00
- Demonstration and Speech
- Move to venue for brunch
- Yak Aerobatic performance by Findlay Smith
No cost is involved, all you need to do is RSVP by the 10th of January 2008 with names and contact details of those attending, as well as aircraft registrations of fly-in visitors.
Contact Rudi Rademan on 083 263 0753.
Coordinates of airstrip:
S 33* 34' 46"
E 18* 54' 58"
Runway 05/23 (850m) Gravel
Safet Meeting Report Back - Corrections!
The following corrections to the previous newsletter are please to be noted! Corrections are marked in red.
Early Left/Right Turnouts from FACT
When turning out left or right after take off, ensure that you do not turn north of Thundercity when taking off runway 19 or south of the apron on runway 01.
Clogged frequencies
If routing inbound from FAYP, overhead the cooling towers and you cant get a word in edgeways on Tower, route for Kenilworth. If routing outbound towards FAYP, overhead the cooling towers and you don't get a chance to call (frequency clogged), then continue on with 125,6 but tell FAYP to tell CT Tower you’ve left the zone.
 The Student Pilot
Contributed by Steve Davies
Steve Davies is busy with his PPL at CTFC with Tony Russel. After every lesson, he writes his impressions and thoughts on the flight. Although initially just for his facebook profile, they make excellent and highly entertaining reading. Every week we will present one of Steve's "Facebook notes"
Entry 5: FAFK, here we come again
"Caution: Cape does not enable user to fly."
- Superman costume warning label
In the world of motorcycling, there’s a famous book about racing by Keith Code called “A Twist of the Wrist”. (Keith went on to start the California Superbike School). In that book he talks about your “$10 of attention” and how you are going to spend it.
His premise is that you’ve only got so much attention to give. If you are using $5 on one task - throttle control say - then you’ve only got $5 left to spend on all the rest of the tasks that need doing.
I’ve found this is definitely true when you are learning to fly. To begin with, everything was new, meaning that you become so mentally overloaded that even simple things suddenly became hard. So focused on preflight checks that I can’t talk straight on the radio. So busy concentrating on attitude that heading goes out of the window.
I’m sure that everyone has had this experience when learning complex new skill.
Now I’m aware that Tony, my instructor, tries to ease this situation by taking on some of the tasks so I can focus on what I’m trying to learn. For instance: to start with I was hardly aware that he was doing the radio work for me. Then later I’m thinking (and saying) “I can do that myself” - less attention on the new stuff, that’s not so new now, means that I’ve now got some of my $10 left over!
There’s lots to learn though - which takes me to circuits and especially landings. Last Saturday we were back at Fisantekraal. The weather was not great - a little drizzle. But still the circuit was busy.
But we still got 4 or 5 circuits in. Two ended in go-arounds when I flared too high. One turned out fairly well. The one I remember best is where I flared, too high again, ad saw Tony out of the corner of my eye bracing himself for the “firm” landing to come.
So I’ve definitely still got work to do. It’s a long weekend to come, so I should get the chance to get in some good and concentrated practice.
Routing back from Fisantekraal was south over the Bottlleray Hills, then turn for FACT. We departed on runway 01 but landed on 19 - so the wind had come up in the meantime, and crosswind at that. We were asked for a short approach which Tony handled - landing at the Echo intersection and leaving the runway at Charlie. I guess that proves that FACT has a little more runway length than a Tomahawk needs!
Aviation Safety: Pilots will lose the plot "at least once"
Submitted by Danny Buitendag
Pilots will become disorientated while flying at least once in their career, which could lead to a loss of control of the aircraft, an Australian Transport Safety Bureau report says.
Spatial disorientation - a condition where a pilot's perception of direction, altitude and air speed in relation to the Earth is impaired - is one of the most common factors in plane crashes.
Typically, it is a temporary condition resulting from flight in poor weather conditions with low or no visibility.
Report author and aviation medicine expert Dr David Newman said spatial disorientation was a very common problem.
"It is vitally important that pilots are aware that it can affect any pilot, any time, anywhere, in any aircraft, on any flight, depending on the prevailing circumstances.
"It has been estimated that the chance of a pilot experiencing spatial disorientation during their career is in the order of 90 to 100 per cent.
www.aviationnews.us
Aviation Incidents: Collision in Australia
Submitted by Gareth Pinnock
The pilot of an Avid ultralight was killed Saturday when a Cessna 172 flown by a 15-year-old student collided with it from above as both were on final for the same runway at Latrobe Valley Regional Airport in the Gippsland town of Traralgon in Australia. "It appears the Cessna had hit the ultralight while both were attempting to land and the Cessna came in on top of the aircraft during the final approach," Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson told the Sunday Herald Sun. The student pilot was able to land safely without injury but the ultralight "disintegrated on impact," caught fire and left a debris field 500 yards across, according to the newspaper.
Gibson said that the Australian Transportation Safety Board would be investigating. At the airport, members of the local flying fraternity were awaiting formal identification of the pilot. "I think people have been doing what people do in an emergency. They've all been pulling together working, making sure that everything was done that could be done. I don't think they've had time to be shaken up yet," said airport manager Noel Cooper. Gippsland Ultralight and Leisure Flyers member Vin Martin said the club had an "excellent" safety record. "The club's been going for 20-odd years. There's been a few fatalities in that time but there hasn't been too many to speak of."
By Russ Niles, Editor-in-Chief, avweb.com
This Month in Aviation History: December
Submitted by Danny Buitendag
1903, Orville Wright makes the first sustained, controlled, powered flight in the Flyer aeroplane at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. The historic first flight lasts 12 seconds and covers 120 feet.
1908, The world's first aerodrome, Port-Aviation, is opened 12 miles outside of Paris.
1908, The world's first aeronautical exhibition opens in Paris when the French president inaugurated the second half of the Annual Automobile Salon at the Grand Palais.
1934, The first airway traffic control center is opened in Newark, N.J., operated by staff of Eastern Air Lines, United Air Lines, American Airlines and TWA.
1945, A de Havilland Sea Vampire fighter becomes the first purely jet-powered aeroplane to operate from an aircraft carrier, when Lieutenant-Commander E. M. "Winkle" Brown lands his aircraft on the HMS Ocean in England.
1951, The first helicopter powered by a gas-turbine engine flies successfully. The Kaman K-225 uses a turbine that makes for a lighter, simpler, more powerful engine compared to a conventional piston engine.
1953, Mach 2.5 is achieved for the first time by Major Charles "Chuck" Yeager in the Bell X-1A. The rocket-propelled experimental aircraft reaches 1,650 mph at 70,000 feet.
1958, This year, for the first time, more passengers (1.2 million) have crossed the North Atlantic by air than by sea.
1965, A Learjet 23 shows off its impressive capabilities by climbing to 40,000 feet in 7 minutes 21 seconds with seven people aboard.
1969, The first legislation to limit aircraft noise levels at airports is introduced in U.S. Federal Air Regulation, Part 36.
1970, Airbus Industrie is formally established to develop the Airbus A300; it is comprised of Aérospatiale, Deutsche Airbus, Fokker and Hawker Siddeley.
1991, Pan Am World Airways goes out of business after 64 years of service. The sudden shutdown of this aviation pioneer strands many passengers and leaves about 9,000 employees out of work.
www.centinnialofflight.gov
Photographs
Etihad Airbus damaged heavily during engine tests prior to delivery
 
Submitted by Alexia Michaelides
Videos
 Twin Otter showing STOL at its best
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8wmZ6hhpg8
Submitted by John Nicholas
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