The Flying Fish

I know I’ve been quite quiet. Things have been busy, what with preparing briefings for my instructor’s rating and procrastinating. Yesterday (Tuesday), I was at the airfield debating whether or not I should go fly, when I had the opportunity to see 3 professional aerobatic pilots run through their formation routine during a briefing, and I also got to see and chat to two pilots of the South African Air Force. But the best was having the opportunity to take the following photos, and realising that its days like those that I live for. Yup, life really is the Pitts... x3! ;)

After passing the instructor's ratings exams, I hit the briefings. On average, someone wanting to be an instructor will complete about 40hrs of briefings before qualifying. Doesn't seem like too much, right? But what people don't realise is the amount of time and effort that goes into those briefings. One briefing can take between 5 and 15hrs to prepare. And then it still has to be presented, refined, and sometimes, completely reworked. But that's still not bad. No, the really tricky bit is making the transition to 'teacher mode'. What's also difficult is trying to pretend that your instructor (the person you're presenting the briefing to) is someone that know's nothing about flying. It's all good and well throwing a briefing together and going over it a few times in front of your mirror or dog, but standing in front of a room with a whiteboard marker in your hand while trying to explain the Principles of Flight in the most simple manner wh...

The South African designed and built 4-seater Sling aircraft, manufactured by ‘The Airplane Factory’, caused a stir when the manufacturers decided to fly it around the world. Pilots Mike and Jean departed Johannesburg on 7 August 2011, and so began their epic journey. They completed 20 legs, some exceeding 18hrs of flying, and they had the opportunity to travel to 14 different countries. Some 47 days after leaving South Africa and travelling in an easterly direction around the earth, they returned home after a gruelling 27 hour leg from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), to Cape Town (South Africa) on 23 September 2011. After clearing customs at Cape Town International, they made the short flight to Stellenbosch Airfield where friends and aviation enthusiasts gathered to welcome them home. For the first time in a while, the Stellenbosch Flying Club was buzzing with people. It was cool seeing a few aircraft fly in, as well as seeing random members of the public pitching up to see the Slin...

Another one down, another one done, another one bites the dust! Friday was the day... Applied Navigation and Meteorology was waiting for me, and after taking in the wonderful smell of fresh coffee coming from the kitchen in the Heli building, I walked into that exam room thinking "If I don't pass this, it's my own fault; I should've put more effort in." Well, I passed it. There were 50 questions, most of which were on Meteorology. There were also a couple of Flight Planning ones (take-off distances etc). The Met questions were the usual tricky ones that are so vague the answer could be anything. Eish. During my PPL, Principles of Flight and Air Law were my worst exams. During my CPL Nav, Met and Air Law were my worst exams. And now I've gone and written combinations of those exams and passed first time. It feels good! Hey-yo, it's off to prepare briefings I go!

Thursday 1 September – Friday 2 September I’ve wanted to go to Maun for months having never been there before, but getting there would be a problem; flights are in excess of R3500, and driving wouldn’t be much cheaper. I tried to save as much money as possible, but I was struggling. But then things changed. A charter came up, and there was an open seat. When I first heard about it, I refused to get my hopes up; we first had to make sure that I would be able to go with, and flights like these often get cancelled at the last minute. A few days before the flight we (my dad, who would be flying, and I) received confirmation that the flight was still on, and that I was going with, but it was only the day before the flight that I started getting excited. Waiting for a 737 to take off at Cape Town We would only be in Maun for one night, so all that was required was a change of clothes. Which is probably a good thing; we wanted to keep the weight down so that we could carry enough fuel to make...

About 2 days after I passed my CPL Flight Test, I realised how bored I was; there was nothing for me to study. For the last 8 months or so, I've done some form of studying almost every day. And now, nothing... So while completing the somewhat tedious task of preparing a CV and contacting various charter companies in Botswana, I also started studying for my Instructor's Rating. There are 5 subjects, and two exams. Principles of Flight, Law, Flight training, and Applied Navigation & Meteorology. Not knowing what to expect, I spoke to some Instructor's and they said that the exams are easier than the PPL exams. Well ladies and gents, they're about the same as the PPL exams. Do yourself a favour and go to the CAA website and download the list that says what you must study for each subject. Just be warned, they don't mention anything about Flight Planning, but I was asked two questions on it (had to use loading graphs). I wrote the exam at Heli, and I upo...

I thought I’d try giving some helpful information regarding the Com and IF Flight Tests, having just completed them and all that. I’m by no means an expert, but perhaps sharing my experience will help those of you that are nervous or unsure about the test. First things first, go to the CAA website and download the testing forms, as well as the Recommended Ground Evaluation for the Instrument Flight Test. While you’re at it, download the form for the Application of a Rating or License. I’d do all of this at least 5 days before you test. There isn’t a recommended ground evaluation form for the Com test, but it’s quite similar to the PPL ground evaluation, so if you’re really worried, just download the PPL one and go through that (CATs, CARs, AIPs, AICs, NOTAMS, TAFs, METARS, etc). The testing forms outline all the exercises you are expected to do, so go through them and check to see if you’re unfamiliar with any of them. If you are, now’s your chance to ask your instructor for some...