Oranjemund, Namibia

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 paying attention to the names…)

By the time we reached Port Nolloth the sun had pretty much set, so I didn’t get to see the scenery (or lack thereof) in that area. When we reached the border it was pitch black and freezing! This was the first time I’ve ever crossed a border (on land at least). After a quick passport check, we hopped back into the car, drove across a small bridge, and were in Namibia. Just like that.

On the other side of the bridge we had to hand over our passports again, and fill in arrival/departure forms. This took a while, but I didn’t really notice it. That done, it was back into the car. We drove about 200m (possibly less) before we had to jump out once again. This time it was to enter Oranjemund (I knew it was close to the border, but I didn’t realize it’s THAT close!)

More waiting. This time it was because my friend’s clearance thing had expired. Apparently. No security clearance thing means you can’t enter Oranjemund. Luckily it was just a misunderstanding. After a quick mug-shot (that was embarrassing; I’d been wearing a beanie for the whole day, and I had to take it off for the photo. My hair was a mess!), we were off.

Welcome to Oranjemund.

After a quick dinner, we both crashed. If I was feeling tired, I could only imagine how my friend felt (I got a few hours sleep during the drive)!

The next morning dawned bright and happy, and I saw Oranjemund for the first time. It’s different. The roads are quiet, the houses small, the people friendly, the shops almost non-existent, and there was sand pretty much everywhere.


Beach resort?

I walked to Spar and found it quite weird to see the desert right there. The place has a bit of a holiday feel to it, and I really enjoyed that. Kids could run around and not worry about being hit by a car, or being mugged or raped. It’s completely different from home. The place also gives one the impression that it was great at one stage, but now it’s entering a stage of neglect.

Very informative. This is near the mouth of the Orange River

I got the fright of my life when I walked into Spar and saw that all the prices were in $’s. It’s extremely weird. Now I have 10 Namibian Dollars as a souvenir. Just because.

I didn’t do much during my stay there; I slept, read, and did a bit of studying every now and then. I suppose that that’s why I decided to go there; to relax. And relax I did!

The beach there is awesome; it’s clean, and there’s driftwood everywhere. The waves are absolutely massive, and the sounds and smells were amazing. I very stupidly decided not to take photos when I went for a walk on the beach.

My only photo of the beach

Little braai spots along the Orange River add to that ‘holiday feel’.

Some of the River

I was also granted the opportunity to sit in an S-76. When I walked into the hanger and saw two of these machines sitting there, I got chills and felt giddy. Seriously. They’re beautiful aircraft! Once I was seated in the cockpit I didn’t want to get out! This is the second time I’ve ever sat in a helicopter (first one I ever sat in was a Huey).






Before I knew it, my week there was up. I was hoping that there wouldn’t be any space on the flight back, so I could stay a while longer. Unfortunately there were a couple of seats open.

Convair 580, ZS-LYL. My ride outta there

I was completely lost at the ‘airport’. Things are done very differently there. My ticket was a sheet of paper that not only had the wrong flight number, but also said that I was flying from Cape Town to Oranjemund. When I pointed this out, the chap there merely wrote in the correct flight number and said “Don’t worry; the ticket doesn’t actually count for anything.” Right.

After getting my passport stamped and handing my little security card thing back in, I made my way to an awaiting Convair 580 with a bunch of people who work on ships. I felt so out of place; every one seemed to know each other. Once on the plane, well, it’s a bit like being at a Ster Kinekor Junction; you can sit where you please. I found myself sitting in line with the wing, in the isle seat (I’ve been sitting there a lot lately), next to a young lady. We were the only two females on the flight. Excluding the airhostess, that is.

The nice thing about this little airport is that there’s no waiting for ATC and other traffic. By the time we were seated, they (the pilots) were ready to go. Lined up on the runway, the pilots applied full power against the brakes. The two giant engines roared, and the entire aircraft shook and groaned. It was different, to say the least.

The brakes were released and off we went. One second we were flying in sandy conditions, the next we were in cloud, and the next we were above the cloud. I settled in, ate the snacks they provided, and pretty much zoned out for most of the flight. The drone of the engines reminded me of the Cubby for some reason.

We were overhead Cape Town after less than an hour and a half of flying. Flying around the peninsula, we witnessed a spectacular sunset. On downwind for runway 19, they turned off the cabin lights. I felt like I’d been thrown into one of those plane crash movies; it was dark inside and there was very little sunlight left, dark clouds rushed passed the windows, the overhead baggage lockers rattled as the aircraft yawed all over the place, and the pitch of the engines was constantly changing.

Sunset in the Cape

The pilot made sure that we knew we had landed by slamming the aircraft into the ground and jumping on the brakes, throwing us forward in our seats. One of the passengers laughed and said “And that’s how you know the landing gear is down.”

Despite the fact that I didn’t do much there, I’d love to go back. I really like the feel of the place; the relaxed atmosphere, the ‘rural’ life(style). While I can’t see myself living there (especially if I had to live by myself), I definitely wouldn’t mind if I got to fly there often for work. Now I want to see what Botswana is like! From desert to swamps.


There's a desert out there!


Birds by the River

2010 Soccer World Cup (Eish!)

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 them. Studying? What’s that?

I have, however, started studying Met for my CPL. I’ll be attempting Met and Human Performance on 20 July. Scary thought. But I’m glad that I’m doing something productive, and it actually feels kind of good to be studying that stuff again.

Oh, it’s snowing. Happy happy! I don’t like the cold that much, but I love looking at the snow on the mountains. There isn’t much, but I’m sure more will fall in the next few weeks.

Charlie 152

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 hand, I re-familiarized myself with the cockpit. I was feeling surprisingly calm. Soon we were taxing to the holding point of runway 19. I realized that I was having absolutely no trouble taxiing the tin-can, and asked myself what had changed (normally my turning is surprisingly jerky).

Sitting at the holding point, I went through the checklist, asking my instructor about things every now and then. For someone who has very little experience in that aircraft, I felt I was doing quite well.

Soon we were lined up for take-off, and I went through the last of the checks. What To Do Last: Wind, Transponder, DI, Lights.
The windsock barely moved, transponder was set to Alt, DI was aligned, and the lights stayed off (except for the beacon).

I slowly opened the throttle, and we set off down the runway. At 50kts I raised the nose, and at 60kts we were airborne. Climbing at 70kts, we reached the circuit altitude of 1300ft faster than what I was used to.

It was weird flying the larger, faster, heavier aircraft, but it also felt so GOOD. Never have I felt so comfortable in that aircraft, but today everything just felt right!

The first landing was a regular, 30deg flap one. The next one was with 20deg flap. The one after that was flapless. Then another 30deg flap, then a simulated engine failure. After the second landing I managed to do everything without the help of my instructor, so I was feeling quite chuffed with myself.

Having done the simulated engine failure, we vacated the runway and made our way back towards the hanger. That was when my instructor asked if I wanted to do a solo circuit. I hadn’t really been expecting it, but for some reason my first reaction was to say “Ok!”. (When my instructor suggested I go solo in the Cubby for the very first time, I thought he was insane and shouted “No ways!”).

A few minutes later found me sitting at the holding point of runway19 once again, but this time there was an open seat on my right; my instructor had left me. I felt weird; not nervous, not excited… content maybe.

Things went off without a hitch, and I reckon I ‘greased’ the landing. Unfortunately I decided to be clever and, instead of running to the end of the runway, I jumped on the brakes in order to turn off at the first taxiway. I locked the brakes and the plane ended up skidding a bit, but I managed to make the taxiway and stay off the grass.

All the previous times I’ve flown the C152, I haven’t enjoyed it. There was always so much going on and so much to do. But today I handled her with ease, and didn’t get stressed out about the flaps and carb-heat (things the Cubby doesn’t have). It was still weird flying the larger, faster, heavier aircraft, but it also felt so GOOD. Never have I felt so comfortable in that aircraft, and today everything just felt so right!

I went solo in a C152, despite having flown one only 8 times, the most recent time being in December of last year. That’s got to count for something, right? Even if it isn’t some great achievement, at least I have another hour in the logbook.

Now all I want to know is: What’s next?!

Reach for a Dream

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 few circuits to make sure I can still fly the thing. Man oh man did it feel good to be back in that cockpit!

The kids arrived just after 10am, and my first passenger was a 15 year old boy. He had never flown before, and was extremely quiet. We took off and made our way to the Strand beachfront. The air was as smooth as glass and it was starting to warm up. They couldn’t have picked a better day for the event! I was a bit worried about my young passenger, but I relaxed when he started showing an interest and taking photos with his cell phone.

The route we were supposed to fly was Stellenbosch – Strand – Gordon’s Bay – Sir Lowry’s Pass- through “The Gap” (Eastern side of the Helderberg Mountain) – Stellenbosch.
I decided to cut the Gordon’s Bay – Sir Lowry’s part out, as it would just take too long in the Cubby. After flying along the beach, we made our way to Helderberg Mountain and through the gap.

Can you say congestion?!

Switching to 119.3, I was met by a cacophony of noise. Aircraft didn’t know if they were coming or going. A Jabiru (I think) had flown past me, so I decided to just stick behind him as we joined overhead to land on runway 01. There were 3 of us on Downwind and one or two joining overhead when the wind changed and the guys on the ground decided to start using runway 19 instead.

Fantastic! I decided to try land on 01 despite the tailwind, and I found myself passing the fence at 100mph (it was meant to be 60mph). Not bothering to even try get the wheels on the ground, I applied power and climbed away, intending to do a 180deg turn and land on 19.

That plan failed dismally when 2 more aircraft entered the circuit, and I decided it would be safer to just slot in behind them. As we descended on the dead side, 3 more aircraft joined overhead. Now, imagine how big those circuits became! As we were on Crosswind, I looked over my right should and saw a Cherokee 180 close behind me. I quickly asked him what his intentions were, not wanting to be shoved around by the other aircraft. Thankfully the pilot had common sense and didn’t try cutting in front of me.

By the time we were on Downwind, there were about 8 aircraft in the circuit. There were double transmissions and just general chaos! Eventually we made it onto a veerry long Final and after some time, we touched down… a few times. I somehow managed to wander to the left of the runway and found myself heading straight for the grass. A spurt of power got us back on track and we touched down with a few small bounces. Heart pumping and mouth dry, I taxied back to the clubhouse. My passenger seemed unphased by the chaos (and the pathetic landing[s]).

And I found myself thinking…

My second passenger was a very sweet young girl. She was quite talkative and over the moon that she got to sit in front. She had flown previously and was eager to experience flight again.

This time I decided to just fly around the mountain instead of going to Strand. 124.8 was a mess of radio calls, and half of the time I didn’t know what was going on, so I just made sure that everyone knew exactly where I was and what I was doing. It must’ve worked; there were a few times when aircraft would pass right beneath us, but we didn’t hit anything, so that’s good.

We flew over my school and when I told my passenger that that’s where I go to school, she whipped around to look at me, a horrified look on her face, and said “You’re still in school?! Yoh!” I couldn’t help but laugh.

The rest of the flight was rather uneventful. There was a lot less traffic as we joined overhead, and soon we were on a long Final. My young passenger decided that now would be a good time to ask me about my plane. I started answering her questions and, as we were on Short Final, I found myself thinking “Why the heck am I explaining EGT’s to this girl?! I’m supposed to be flying!”

A bit of wind had picked up, and the landing was hairy to say the least. Thankfully my passenger wasn’t too bothered by it. Another one safe on the ground.

Just refer to me as a beacon…

My third passenger was another young chap. Also very quiet, and also new to the whole flying thing. As were entering the runway, he loudly exclaimed that he “HAD to pee!” Great. I asked him if he could hold it and he gave me a firm nod.

This chap didn’t talk at all; I’m not sure if it was because he was scared or if he couldn’t hear me, or if it was because he had to pee. Maybe it was a combination of the three? Anyway, we made our way around the mountain and headed back towards Stellenbosch.

The circuit was busy once again. Two aircraft were in front of me, and at least 3 or 4 behind me. The radio was never silent, and I soon found that people started using me as a reference point “I’m 2 behind the yellow Cubby” … “I’m on downwind, behind the yellow Cubby.” … “I’m the one in front of the yellow Cubby.” … “I’m taking off behind the Cubby.” Hmmm… Must’ve been that hat of mine.

Random transmissions…

My fourth passenger was one of the helpers; A chap who had never flown before, and couldn’t wait to try it out. Almost everyone had finished flying at this stage, so we had the circuit to ourselves. I decided to do an extremely wide circuit and do a few steep turns so he could get a taste of what flying is like.

Before each turn, I’d say what we’re doing so he wouldn’t get a fright “Ok, we’re going to do a turn to the left now,” and I couldn’t help but laugh when he leaned to the right in order to ‘counter’ the turn.

As we were trundling back to Stellenbosch, the radio was relatively silent and I heard someone calling from the Langebaan Lagoon. Random. Another oke said “Western Cape traffic, blah blah blah”. The rest of the flight went without incident and we landed safely. After we shut down a young girl came to us and asked if she could take a few photos and get our details; looks like I might be in the newspaper!

That was my last flight for Reach for a Dream for the day.

I still wanted to fly some more, so after a quick snack, I asked a friend of mine if she was up to going for a flight (she has a broken rib and I didn’t want her to put any strain on it). She was game, and she was seated in the Cubby 30min later, camera in hand (Nikon, pfft ;) …)

As we lined up for take-off I mentally kicked myself; I had forgotten to wash the windows. Bright one. But this didn’t seem to faze her; I could hear the camera clicking away for most of the flight. I was also kicking myself because I forgot to give her a safety briefing (“In the event of an engine failure on take-off we will…”) Next time.

We made our way to Strand but didn’t stay for long as the wind was really pumping. Turning around, we made our way back to Stellenbosch. My grandparents were there (it’s the first time they’ve seen me fly), so I was determined to grease the landing. Unfortunately the cross-wind got the better of me and we had to go-around.

On the second try I managed to plant us firmly on the ground (ok, there were a few small bounces). Methinks my passenger was rather chuffed; she kept thanking me and going on about how great it was (I think she’s still going on about it…). Broken rib? What broken rib? *climbs out the plane* Oh, THAT broken rib!

All in all, a magnificent day! It was amazing being back in the air, and also a really great experience to fly some of those young children around. Now I can add another 3 hours to the logbook. I’d forgotten how tiring flying could be, especially with passengers. But it was totally worth it!



[Please note that all photos in this post were taken by Irene McCullagh. www.irene-mccullagh.com]

33 000ft

Sunday, 16 May

It was another early start. Normally I’d complain profusely about having to wake up at 0630 on a Sunday (or any other day for that matter), but today was different. See, I don’t mind waking up at the crack of dawn if it means I get to go flying…

3 words: Cessna Citation Mustang.
ZS-YES, the new toy on the block, brand spanking new, and the reason for having to wake up early.



What do they say about dynamite coming in small packages? Able to carry 4 pax and 2 pilots, she’s not as big as the PC-12, but she’s sleek, sexy and fast! Slipping into the right seat is a breeze; there aren’t any over-head panels for you to scrape your head on, and you don’t have to worry about accidentally kicking the throttle levers because a genius at Cessna left a gap between the seat and the center console so you can just slide your legs in and easily get seated comfortably.


All glass and ample leg room

Once seated, you feel like you’re in a sports car. This, in my opinion, isn’t that great. The oval air vents look cheap and tacky, and the seatbelts look like they’ve come straight from a car; no harness over the shoulders. It doesn’t felt right or safe.

Looking around the cockpit, you’re presented with 3 large screens. Yup, she’s all glass. Now, I’m not a fan of glass cockpits; I like having the ‘less modern’ stuff, but I’ll gladly make an exception for this little beast. The technology is absolutely amazing! It’s neat, organized, and show’s you everything you need to know. A really cool feature is that you don’t even need to look outside in order to see the terrain around you; the terrain is presented on the screen right in front of you It’s like playing Flightsim only it has less detail, and is 100% real (definitely “As real as it gets!”)…


Table Mountain on the screen

Starting up wasn’t very impressive; it’s more exciting having a blade whirring in front of you. Taxiing is a breeze; you need to put some effort in, but not much, and she’s soo responsive. I felt like I was flying the Cubby again because my feet were always working.

We were cleared for take-off and lined up on runway 19 at Cape Town International. Appling the brakes, the throttle was set to the ‘take-off’ position (set the throttle for take-off/climb/cruise, and the computers do the rest). The engines growled as they spooled up, then became wonderfully smooth. A smiled tugged at the corner of my mouth. The brakes were released, and I was quite literally thrown back in my seat. We accelerated down the runway, and left the earth at a mere 95kts.

Gear up, we shot skywards and I couldn’t stop laughing. It was awesome! Before I knew it we were at 12 000ft and still climbing, the speed steadily increasing. We passed over Sir Lowry’s Pass and I was given the controls. Flying with one hand, I found that she wasn’t nearly as heavy or twitchy as the PC-12. No, with a slight nudge, she’d smoothly do as she was told. I was in control for the whole of the climb, and I hit the AP button when we reached 33 000ft. Sitting back, I admired the view and marveled at this machine.

It was wonderfully quiet, quite different to the PC-12. Time flew (yes, yes), and we were beginning the descent for George before I knew it. All you had to do was set the altitude and set the optimal throttle setting; AP did the rest. We nudged the Vne (never exceed speed) of 250kts, and deployed the air/speed brakes. The entire aircraft shuddered and shook, and I wondered if this is what it felt like in fighter jets.


Nudging the Vne


BRAKE!

Gear down and locked, flaps set for landing, the runway at George got closer and closer. We met the ground softly, right wheel then left wheel, and nose wheel kept off the ground for at least an extra 10 seconds. We made use of the entire length of the runway instead of jumping on the brakes (the Mustang doesn’t have reverse thrust).

We taxied to the small terminal, staying clear of a Kulula 737-400, and shut down. I immediately set to taking photos while we waited for the pax. The grin was still plastered on my face.

It didn’t take long before we were lining up once again. This time I could see the runway on the screen in front of me (that feature wasn’t working on the flight up to George). It was awesome looking outside and seeing the runway, and looking inside and seeing the runway on the screen.



We climbed to 33 000ft once again, and I watched the mountains on the screen. I was still ecstatic. Normally I got quite bored on the PC-12 flights, but that definitely wasn’t the case with the Mustang. Within no time, we were passing overhead Robertson, and I thought back to the cryptic x-country and smiled at the memory of bombing around there. As we descended over the Stellenbosch mountain ranges, I admired the mountains and wished we could fly low-level through some valleys.

I realized that this is definitely one jet I wouldn’t mind flying! The idea of flying PC-12’s up and down doesn’t appeal to me because most of the time you just engage autopilot, then sit there and twiddle your thumbs. But you don’t have time to do this in the Mustang because she only has 2.5hrs endurance. J

When I got home and told my grandparents about the flight, I just had to laugh at what my granddad asked: “So, is that the closest you’ve been to Heaven?” Almost. Hopefully I’ll get to see the world from 39 000ft on the next flight.


George

"Dishwasher Safe"

So it’s been over a month since I last flew the Cubby. I could’ve flown at least another 6 hours this last week, upping my total hours to 70 (not that much, but still; every bit counts!) Sadly, it’s still going to be a while until I can fly the yellow beast again.

However, on Saturday (1 May), I was offered a flight. Itching to be airborne again, I accepted the offer and before I knew it, I was gingerly lifting myself into a piece of Tupperware. Yup, I was going for a flight in ZU-IOO, a Jabiru.

As I settled myself into the seat I found that, while comfortable, it just didn’t feel right; my feet were practically on top of each other, the brakes are operated by hand and situated on the stick which is between the two occupants. But I wasn’t complaining; I’d been wanting to fly in a Jabiru for a while now.

I had a quick look around the cockpit to try and familiarize myself with the instruments. Nice and basic; good, that’s what I like. ‘Familiarization’ complete, I hunted for a spot to rest my arm, but was met by an uncomfortable plastic armrest-thing. Joy.

The take-off run was exceptionally long, and the Jabiru’s thin wheels felt rock-hard and made sure that you felt every little bump on the surface of the runway. The shaking and shuddering was somewhat ominous, but as soon as we were airborne everything settled and we climbed like a rocket (sort of).

I was given control, and if I’m honest, I didn’t enjoy it that much; it was different and I wasn’t used to it. Having a central stick was a new concept for me, and having to fly with my left hand was just weird. Rudder? What’s that? I barely used any of it and the ball stayed in the middle.

The upside of the Jabiru is that she’s kind of fast(er) [than the Cubby], and I enjoyed not having to crawl along at about 80mph (74kts). And it was relatively quiet, another bonus.

The landing was… abrupt. It’s not the pilot’s fault; I just wasn’t expecting it. One second we were flying, the next we bumped into the earth and were immediately met with the shakes and shudders I mentioned earlier. Flare? I didn’t notice anything.

So it was definitely a different experience. No, I wasn’t very comfortable, but things settled the longer we flew, and I’d definitely jump at the opportunity to get to know this little (plastic) machine better.

However, the Cubby is still the one for me!

It's been pretty quiet

Can't believe how long ago it was when I did that X-country!

Not much has been happening on the flying-side of things. But a fair amount has been going on in general: School is on the go once again, and I'm already counting down the days until the June holidays! I can't wait until I'm free next year :D

I haven't flown for over 3 weeks now; I wasn't feeling happy with the aircraft, so I decided to cut back on the flying until I could have everything checked out. And now she's in the process of having her MPI done. It's been about a week and a half since we started, and I doubt we'll be finished by next weekend. Needless to say I'm itching to take to the sky once again!

I've been doing a lot of thinking about this whole CPL business. I wanted to start asap, but a few people have advised me against doing so, saying I must focus on my Matric year. At first I disagreed with them, but now I'm beginning to realise that it will be difficult to juggle flying lectures, school, school exams, and flying exams. Difficult, but not impossible!

But we'll see. I'll probably change my mind 10 million times before coming to a final decision. So until then, I'll just keep on keeping on.

Oh yeah, saw a Cessna Citation Mustang last night. Schweet! Brand new, with an all-glass cockpit. Very sleek machine!