The Flying Fish

… and the cap, and the metal badge. Monday, 27 December I’d been looking forward to this day for about 2 months. Why? Well, for those that don’t know, I’m a fan of motorbikes as well as aircraft and photography, and today was the day of the 9 Passes in one day motorbike ride. Over 400km of beautiful roads and stunning scenery. Well, for the rest of the group it was, but not for me; I wouldn’t be able to do all nine passes because the bike was giving problems and ran the risk of overheating, so it was decided that I shouldn’t push it. Plus, I’m far from ‘riding-fit’! So I did a whole two passes, then peeled off from the group and sat at Worcester Airfield. For 4 hours. After sitting around, twiddling my thumbs and watching South Africa get thrashed by India in the cricket, it was time for me to meet up with the group to go over the last pass (Du Toit’s Kloof). Sitting at Worcester On my way to the rendezvous point, I noticed that the clutch cable was sticking out of its ...

Christmas is just around the corner (tomorrow for those of you that celebrate it on the evening of the 24th), and the Christmas cheer is everywhere. Colourful lights in various shapes ranging from trees to bells, to Santa and his reindeer are flashing merrily. Shops are decked out in tinsel and playing Christmas carols, and cheesy Christmas movies are showing on Mnet and the Movie Magic channels. The shops are packed and money is being spent left, right and center. But despite all of that, I’m not really feeling it. Christmas isn’t Christmas unless you have little kids running around who can’t wait to give Santa his milk and cookies. I’m not a little kid anymore, and I don’t have little kids running around, so it just doesn’t feel like Christmas. Heck, I only put the tree up yesterday and all I could bring myself to put on it were some lights and a few purple baubles. How festive… Yeah, I’m feeling a little cynical. I finally finished high school, and I forgot to do the thing I was mos...

So Christmas is just around the corner, and I must say it feels decidedly un-Christmas-y. I made Christmas biscuits, but I haven’t put a tree up yet (I was going to do that today, but I decided to go flying instead). I’ve finally hit the 100 hour mark. It took me a while, but I’m hoping that I’ll get my 200 hours in no time. I also had to do my PPL Renewal thingamajig, which went quite well (I actually remembered the CAT’s, CAR’s, AIP’s, AIC’s, and I even did calculations using the C152 handbook; I haven’t used that thing in ages!). So that’s the good news. The bad news is that I will need to write Met. Again. It will be the third time. I think I’m going to leave it for last now. The next exam sittings are at the beginning of February, so I should hit the books, but there’s always something better to do; fly in the VSAAF (Virtual South African Air Force), build model aircraft (I now have three that I’m busy with), lie in the sun, reading, and sit at the airfield. I have little discipli...

Yes folks, it’s that time of year again; summer in the Western Cape. Which means that it’s fire season here. And that means that our skies will be graced with Huey’s (doing what they do best; looking good and sounding great. Oh, and putting out fires), Spotter’s, as well as a few bombers (its been about two years since they were last down here). They’re big and they’re ugly, but I would love to fly Dromader’s/AgCat’s/Thrush’s/Pawnee’s/you get the picture, one day. Apparently Stellenbosch will play host to two bombers, a Spotter and two Huey’s. Guess where I’m going to be spending most of my time :D I attended the VWS (Volunteer Wildfire Services) open day at Newlands today, and I was treated to a shower courtesy of a Huey (when he took off the downwash shook all the water from the trees I was standing under), and then a couple of hours later I had the opportunity of standing a short distance (15m maybe, I don’t know; I can’t judge distance) away from another Huey during its take-off an...

Saturday, 20 November dawned cold and rainy, but that didn’t stop numerous aviation enthusiasts coming to the airfield to see what was going on. But, what was going on there? Well, Stellenbosch Airfield played host to no less than 43 Gyrocopters and broke the African record of the most Gyrocopters on an airfield at one time. The African record was 28, and unfortunately Italy still holds the world record of 52. But was still a good day with a fair amount of flying despite the clouds and odd showers. It proved to be a good day for some networking, and a huge Christmas Party was held that night (unfortunately I had to play barperson/waitress at he event, so I wasn't really part of it). I don't have much to say, so here are a couple of photos. As you can see, a Gyrocopter is essentially a combination of a fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter. Go figure. Oh, and a beautiful Harvard was there too. Unfortunately we didn't get to see her fly. In other news… I’ve finished High Schoo...

How many times have you started something, and then not completed it? Like that book, that blog, that song, that website, that portfolio, that DIY project, that degree, that homework (shudder), that shopping list? Guilty of any of that? I know I am. But why do we do that? Why do we start something, and hardly ever finish it? Laziness? Well yes, I am extremely lazy, but I still manage to get some things done. Like sit on the couch, drink coffee and watch TV... Ok, so laziness is definately part of it. But the other part - the more significant part - of the human-being's lack of 'task-completion' is due to a lack of passion (in my opinion). It's really quite simple. Those that go far in life are passionate about what they do (or they've had no other option but to do what they do). It's psychological; you can't be great at something if you don't have the Will, the Drive, and the Passion to be great at it. Take writing a book for example: I'm very good...

Sunday, 7 November I’m a firm believer that, if you do good for/towards others, good will eventually come to you. A lot of good things have come my way this year, and a number of people have given me some truly amazing opportunities. So I’m always looking for ways to give back. Being a volunteer pilot for Reach For A Dream was one ‘big’ good deed that I’ve done this year. On Sunday, I completed another good deed; I gave a young man the opportunity to fly in a light aircraft for the first time. A simple act, but one that has left him extremely happy and yearning for another taste of flight. It's little deeds like those that make a world of difference. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own lives and problems that it’s nice to reach out and help someone else out every now and then.

Yes, that's right! Today I found out that I've passed Radio Aids. It was by the skin of my teeth, but the actual mark doesn't really matter; a pass is a pass! So that's a huge relief. Now I only need to stress about 6 more subjects, the General Radio License, and the Flight Test. And maybe my final matric exams too. . . Bring it on!

Things have been quite quiet. Well, on the aviation side of things at least. I’ve done very little flying, but last week Wednesday I wrote Radio Aids, and yesterday I decided to take a flight up to Malmesbury. I had the whole of the GFA (General Flying Area) to myself, so that was enjoyable. I've also hit the 90-hour mark (finally!). My Matric final exams have started, but of course every time I sit down to try study, I get bored and end up thinking about flying, naturally. And that resulted in me pondering about the human mind... It’s weird how one’s thoughts, opinions and ideas change over time. A few years ago I was positive that I’d fly for the RAF. Then I decided no, I’m going to be the second female fighter pilot in the SAAF. Every time someone asked me what I was going to do after school, my answer was always “Fly for the SAAF!”, and they’d ooh and aah. But then last year I started to wonder if I should fly for the SAAF; 16 years is a long time, and what are my chances of ac...

Tuesday, 5 October Today I flew in an RV-6. I've been waiting for this flight for ages, and the wait was definately worth it! It felt a lot more sensitive than the RV-8, or maybe I was just imagining it, or it just felt different because you sit side-by-side (as opposed to the RV-8's tandem seats). But wow, it's an absolutely awesome machine to fly! We flew along the coast towards Hermanus, and we did a couple of rolls too. The amount of power, acceleration and agility is amazing, and the large canopy promises a wonderful view. I'm finding myself becoming more and more addicted to high-speed (anything is 'high-speed' compared to the Cubby) flight, and pulling G's! But, that RV flight isn't as amazing as another flight I did that day... I took my mom for her first Cubby flight. Not only was it her first Cubby flight, but it's also the first time she's flown in a single engine aircraft in years (and years and years)! We took it easy and flew along ...

Tuesday, 5 October I was walking through Pick 'n Pay, bored (what else is new?), and browsing Facebook on my phone when I came across some rather shocking news. One Nine, the cat that used to live at Stellenbosch Flying Club, had passed away on Monday. Liver cancer. No one even knew he was sick. The loss of One Nine has affected a number of the members at the Club; we all become so used to seeing his furry black form roaming around the airfield, and he recently took up (almost) permanent residence in the Training Centre. He is one of the very few cats I've ever liked (I'm more of a dog person), and I'm definately going to miss his visits to the Flightshop every Saturday morning. So, Farewell One Nine, have fun catching mice in the big hanger in the sky.

Two days of jets, choppers, transport aircraft, tanks, trucks, wind, and loads of sun. I was going to have a massive write-up of the event, but I'm still trying to recover from exhaustion and my sunburn. And I don't really have much to write about. I got quite trigger happy (the only disadvantage of having a good camera is that 'continuous shot' function; click click click click click click click), and clearly I still have a lot to learn about the new camera - most of my photos were either far too dark, or extremely blurry. But, practice makes perfect. I found some of the displays boring, and I was quite disappointed when a lot of the American stuff didn't fly. I was really looking forward to seeing the C-5 Galaxy, and the Sea Stallion. The C-27J display made everything worth it though. The pilots of that aircraft really know how to fly it, and their display was absolutely amazing! Who would've thought that a transport aircraft could do those things (rolls, knif...

Tuesday, 21 September My day kicked off with a flight in a Cessna Citation CJ4. It’s the first one in South Africa. Saying that it’s luxurious doesn’t quite tell the reader how fancy it is. I don’t have any photos of the inside of it, so a quick description will suffice. You can have 8 pax. Two sit sideways, facing the door, two sit facing backwards, and four sit facing forwards. There are three mini TV screens, so you can watch movies, listen to music, or open up a really cool map that shows you where you are. The seats are comfortable and the isle is lower than the seats, so one doesn’t have to hunch over when they’re out of their seat. And it has a toilet. A real one. This is important ;) The other funky thing about this aircraft is that it goes high and fast. How does mach 0.7 at 40 000ft sound? Mmm, yes. The acceleration is phenomenal, and on take-off, I was thrown forward in my seat (I was facing backwards). Even after take-off, you could feel the acceleration forcing you out of ...

... doesn't even begin to cover it! Four words: Africa Aerospace and Defence. YES! I've been looking forward to this event for the whole year, and now it's (finally) just a few days away. The first few photos have been coming in, and things are looking absolutely A.W.E.S.O.M.E! There's going to be loads of USAF aircraft participation, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the massive CH-53 Sea Stallion. What's better than being able to attend this show? Having a media pass. Oh yes. After weeks of procrastination, I decided to apply for media accreditation... the day before the cut-off date. And, my application was successful, surprisingly enough. Next week is going to be incredibly busy, but I'm looking forward to it. As this is the last year AAD is going to be held at Ysterplaat, I'm sure they're going to make sure it's one of the best. Monday must arrive now!!!

11 September Another boring Saturday, spent sitting at work attempting to study, right? Well, yes and no. I did sit at work (yawn), and I did attempt to study (double yawn), but once work finished, things got a whole lot more exciting! Today the de Havilland Centenary Celebration was held at Stellenbosch Flying Club. Raffle tickets were being sold, and everyone who bought tickets stood a chance of flying in a Tiger Moth or Chipmunk. After work, I was ordering lunch when I was asked if I'd like to go for a flight in a Super Cub. Is that a trick question?! 30 minutes later found me strapping myself into the front seat of the great white beast. We flew to Strand, then back to Stellenbosch via the Helderberg gap. Once at Stellenbosch we did 3 circuits. It was on downwind of the first circuit that both pilot and I realised he had forgotten to show me where the flap selector is. Hee hee, it's little things like that that make flying fun. The circuits went alright, but it was definate...

I was sitting at the airfield, bored out of my braincell, and feeling rather 'pap' when I overhead someone saying "The helicopter has arrived." Helicopter? What helicopter?! I didn't hear anything! I immediately jumped up, grabbed my camera, and went outside. I was expecting to see some smallish private helicopter. But that's not what I got! An Orxy was merrily taxi'ing towards the fuel bay. I'd gone from feeling blah and pap, to lively and bouncy in about a split second, and I immediately started snapping away. (I think my new name should be "Trigger Happy") After they shut down and their pax had gone on their merry way, I took a closer look at the beast. She's massive! It was a cool feeling standing next to this great machine. Click, click, click goes the shutter. I think I have at least one photo of her from almost every angle. The co-pilot was also kind enough to let me take a look inside. He was quite surprised when I said I've o...

Head hung low, brain hurting, I dragged my feet outside as I thought about the exam I had just written; Maths. Ugh! Morale had hit rock bottom, so I took my phone out in the hopes that something exciting was happening on Facebook. I slid my phone open and saw that there was a calender event. Confused (I don't normally set these things), I opened it. "Went solo". A smile instantly appeared on my face as I remembered one of the biggest, happiest days of my life. All thoughts of maths vanished, and there was a spring in my step as I walked to the car. "It's been a year since I first went solo. Woohoo. I'm giving myself the day off! I'm going to go for a flight!" Well, I did give myself the day off, but I didn't get to fly; Murphy was at it again and the wind was really pumping. So I decided to leave the Yellow Beast in her hanger and take photos instead. I wish that I had photos after I'd gone solo, or that I'd been chucked in muddy water, o...

So things have been pretty quiet lately. I've only flown twice since the third and the 19th. On the 3rd I had a bit of a scary experience; I almost ground-looped the plane. For some reason I couldn't get my landings right, and for the first time since I started flying I thought "Am I ever going to make this thing stay on the ground? What if I can't do it?!" Luckily I eventually hit the ground and stayed there (after a few jarring bounces). But now I've started with school mock exams, so everything else has been put on hold, much to my disgust; I now have a beautiful Canon 40D in my possession, and all I want to do is take photos. But due to time constraints (and a small memory card), I'm unable to do this. Although, I DID get to go to Cape Town International yesterday, so I took a couple of photos there. I can't wait until these exams finish: - AAD 2010 is coming up soon - I want to do a few cross-country flights - School is almost over... FOREVER! Woo...

I’d say that July was quite a good month flying - and photo - wise. I took over 600 photos, unfortunately very few of those are actually good, but anyway. I also flew the Cubby, a Piper Cub, and a Tiger Moth. Flying the Cub was quite strange, and the biggest problem for me was that there was a delay when one opened the power, so you have to be very careful, especially when on the ground (brakes don’t work very well). The Tiger however, is an absolute dream to fly, and she’s even a pleasure on the ground, despite the lack of brakes. It’s quite something sticking your head out of the cockpit, wind blasting you in the face as you fly the Final approach, alternating between watching the ground, checking the speed (using the primitive airspeed indicator on the wing), flying, and trying not to be blown away. One also flares a lot sooner in the Tiger as it has ‘long legs’. Awesome! The really cool thing is that I can log the times of both those flights. And I’ve finally started a new page in ...

20 July, 2010 Today I wrote the Human Performance and Meteorology exams for my Commercial Pilot’s License. I’ve been preparing for over 5 weeks, and I was feeling okay. That is, I was feeling okay up until last night when I decided to check the form with the names of those of us that are writing. I discovered that, because I had neglected to tick the little box that mentioned something about “IFR”, I would now be writing the “VFR” exam. Why did I make that mistake? Because it should say “If you plan on doing an Instrument Rating, you should tick THIS box!”, but it didn’t say that, so I ticked the other box. Now I might have to rewrite both exams because they are – apparently – two different things (my Human Performance exam actually said “Human Performance (VFR”) ). What’s the difference?!?! But anyway, the exams went kind of ok. Human Performance was quite basic, and Met was tricky. I think (hope) I passed both of them. And I sincerely hope I won’t need to write the “IFR” versions (wh...

3 July You’ll often hear pilots say that; “In aviation it’s not about WHAT you know, but about WHO you know.” You can be the best pilot in the world, but that won’t do you any good unless you have some contacts, right? It’s also about being in the right place at the right time. I was bored and cold, and stuck at work, so I figured I’d walk over to the clubhouse and get myself a cup of tea. As I was leaving the clubhouse, a steaming cup of Rooibos in hand, Peter asked me if I wanted to go for a flight. “I’d love to, but I kind of need to be at work. Thanks for the offer though!” For some reason, it didn’t click that Peter is the owner of RV-8, ZU-LUS. Geoff, who was sitting at the bar, said, “I’ll go with you!” Peter just laughed and said that he wouldn’t fit. A little switch went off in my head, and I turned back to Peter. “What are you flying?” “The RV.” My face split into a grin as things clicked into place. “Ok, I’d LOVE to go for a flight!” Work? What’s that? “Alright, go tell the ...

A couple of days ago I was sitting at work, and a guy came in all bright-eyed and happy, a list of the ‘PPL kit’ in his hand. This is about the third time in two weeks that hopeful beginner pilots have come in to buy the ‘kit’. Why is there a sudden influx of new students? Oh well. I went about getting everything this chap would need, and set it all down on the counter for him. When I was busing ringing everything up, he picked up the stack of books, looked at me as if I was crazy, and said “Do I need to study all of this?” I raised my eyebrows, smiled a bit and said “Yes you do!” He didn’t seem so bright-eyed and happy anymore! The more he looked at the stack of books, the more nervous he looked, and he was probably thinking “What have I let myself in for?”. I contemplated reaching down and placing my stack of Com notes on the counter and saying “And if you do your CPL, you get to study all this too!”, but I didn’t want the poor guy to die of shock. The point of this post is thi...

My visit (21-28 June) A while ago, a friend asked me to visit her in Namibia. After thinking about it for a while, I decided that the trip might do me some good. So we set about getting the necessary security clearance so that I’d be able to enter Oranjemund (a mining town). Some of the wildlife The original plan was that I’d stay there for 2 weeks. But things changed, and I only ended up staying for 1 week. Rather unfortunate, I must say. I was also meant to fly up. But because the plan had changed, there weren’t any flights, so I ended up driving. Road trip! Well, not really. But I still enjoyed it. Normally I get bored after an hour or two in the car, but for some reason that 8hr+ drive was different. Silly me didn’t take any photos along the way. Now I have a good reason to drive up again! The scenery was quite amazing. The furthest north I’ve been by car is Langebaan, so I got to see all sorts of new places along the way (just don’t ask me what they’re called; I wasn’t really payi...

So, “World Cup Fever” is here (apparently)… I don’t know about you, but I’m not feeling it. The sound of vuvuzela’s is annoying, the hawkers at robots are annoying, the need for a SSC and FAC to go do circuits is annoying, and I find soccer plain boring. No photographers are allowed on the active side of Stellenbosch airfield. I honestly don’t know why; what’s the difference between standing on the one side of the fence and taking photos, and standing on the other side of the fence taking photos? Not much except for angle and distance. Or one could just stand on the balcony and get a nice view of pretty much the whole airfield. Just do go on ‘that’ side of the fence, or the cops WILL have a word with you. I know this from experience. Four words come to mind: “Stupid World Cup Restrictions”. I’m on holiday now, and I’m supposed to be doing all this assigned holiday school work. Needless to say I went to the library and picked up a couple of books (ok, 7), and I’m working my way through ...

Tuesday, 1 June Today was quite a big day for me. I wrote my final mid-year exam paper this morning, and I go on holiday next week. Needless to say I’m excited! Not only did I complete my exams, but I’ve also completed my Cessna 152 conversion. It’s only taken me a few months! Thinking back on today, it feels like the events happened weeks ago. It’s got that surreal feeling. I’m sure you’ve experienced something like it at least once before. I was tired. Writing a 3 hour chemistry exam isn’t fun, especially for someone who detests chem as much as I do. After some lunch and a power nap, I headed off to the airfield for my long-awaited C152 flight. It felt so weird having to fill in the authorization sheets; the last time I had to do that was in December. How time flies. Paperwork done, I headed to trusty ZS-LSN and did a pre-flight. I remembered everything, surprisingly enough. Then my instructor told me to climb in and get comfortable while he went to grab his headset. Checklist in han...

29 May 2010 First of all; THE CUBBY IS BACK IN ACTION!!! Yesterday, she took to the sky after almost 2 months of being stuck on the ground. Yes, I’m extremely happy. And today, I got to fly my beautiful baby, so you can just imagine the grin on my face. * Reach for a Dream is an organization that helps children that have been diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses fulfill their dreams. For the past couple of years (except for 2009), Stellenbosch Flying Club has hosted a day where some of these kids are given the opportunity to go for a short flight. The members of SFC graciously donate their time and aircraft for these flights, and KFC provides meals for the kids. In the past (2007 and 2008) I helped out as ground crew, but this year I was given the privilege of flying some of these kids. It was an amazing experience! The morning was bright and cold. The sky clear, and there wasn’t a breath of wind. After a short briefing about how things would work, I took the Cubby out and did a f...