THE MICROLAND THREAD..."Home of the Tailwinds"

[mulderpm]

They will be having a rally too.....but that is more for the spam cans.

[Asterix]

Dudes a note or two on your leg to Loskop:

1. The nice thing is that flying to Loskop, you don't need a GPS! As you pass Rhinopark, you will see a big koppie towards your East - Renosterkop, which is situated at the start of the Loskop Valley. So just route slightly to the North of Renosterkop.

2. If you pass Renosterkop on the North side you will fly over Loskop towards the northern side - much less valleys / mountains / etc.

The line I drew on google is just the direct thing - but do yourselves a favour and go just north of the Kop and then up the northern shore to the damwall. Then descent into and follow the valley over the expanse of level and beautiful terrain to Grobbies. Smell the orange blossoms! It is awesome - one of the best flights I have ever had!

[Asterix]

The Loskop Dam routing is without doubt the more scenic way to go...and in some ways "safer" as we fly over far less "RDP housing".

Routing looks good, I think the headwind factor will be the determining one? The prevailing winds are nearly always from the North, a 15knt wind at altitude will make it tough going for those cruising slower than 54mph IAS. I think Paul is at about 48mph?

Glad you joining us Anthony, we will be flying virtually directly over Rhino Park so will be easy to pick you up along the way...will sms you when we are rolling and you can take off 15 min later. See if there are others keen to join? Just remember to take the Fri Off!

If the headwind is too strong we can always change routing and fly direct. The routing back is also very nice. I have done the Rust de Winter run many times, some really beautiful stretches along that route aswell.

I will prob be driving the first stretch so we can load all the fuel needed on the bakkie...I will meet you at Groblersdal for anyone needing a "top up". Cant wait...this is gonna be a wicked trip.

So so far we have:

Paul and Dionne
Stefan/Bundy
Fiezel (Pax?)
Anthony Hugo (Pax?)
Asterix (flying from Potties)

I want to make sure I understand this post: I read: I will prob be driving the first stretch so we can load all the fuel needed on the bakkie...I will meet you at Groblersdal for anyone needing a "top up"

What the Hell? Bundy - you plan on driving through and provide "ground support?" Were you planning on trailering in or bumming flips? Noooooo Dude, Noooooo. Nobody will need a "top-up" @ Grobbies. If the weather is of such a nature as to drain tanks before arrival, I promise you that any half-decent pilot would have turned back for Rhino / ML, long before THAT happens?

What up Bundy? Explain this Isuzu shit to me? ( YOU CANNOT PLAN FLIGHTS OVER HALF OF SA if you want to drive to Blue Max to give "ground support". And leave The beautiful dawn in the hangar??????)

Again: What up?

Or is Stef flying in - and you flying out? In which case - no problem. (Just don't leave DBP in the hangar on this one? ) IF we can go - and the weather might be very IF... )

[Bundy]

Or is Stef flying in - and you flying out? In which case - no problem. (Just don't leave DBP in the hangar on this one? ) IF we can go - and the weather might be very IF... )

Aaaaah....at least after the unnecessary uitkak, someone had a "lightbulb moment" Next time engage brain first...then type!

James, I've volunteered for some pretty stupid things before, but leaving my plane at home and driving would not be one of them dude.

The Eland's weekend is Stef's with DBP. Rather than have one of us miss out, we've decided to share the flying on a trip like this (and future one's as well). When you share a plane, one must share the time and share the fun too.
The Oosthuizen's are busy creatures...you have to book them two months in advance and make an appointment!
Stef might not be able to go in which case I will fly both there and back....this is why I have told the guys that there may not be a vehicle avalable to cart crap.

Some suggest we should fly together... but for me, cross countries and PAX do not go together. My personal philosophy this so dont take offense anyone.

I am going to service DBP on Sat morning and then drive through to Louis, I will bring DLY paperwork as discussed.

Louis Cole, my flying partner in the TRO will also be joining us for the trip to Elands. All three TRO pilots together....

[F Smallwood]

Hello all. I only looked at this thread yesterday. Would there be space for a newbie to come with to Elands on the weekend of the 8 December? I would like to bring my wife, Sharon with. If so what do I need to arrange with respect to accommodation, who do I contact for fuel at the other end, is it possible to arrange food and more importantly beer/wine? Does anyone have GPS coordinates for the waypoints along the route so they can be entered in GPS.
Also can some of the experienced guys give advice on what to take to minimize luggage. What is required for effective tie-down of trike.
If there is rondawel or chalet available that would be great as Sharon is not that keen on camping/roughing it.
Cheers Frank (BOG)

[mulderpm]

Bundy, get your own aerie.

[mulderpm]

Ok it is now morrow, pics first:

[mulderpm]

More

[Tribal Croc]

AAAA I see the video camera was up Where do I order my copy

[mulderpm]

And now the packing list and proposed route to Elands and back (Garmin Mapsource / Basecamp format) Just change the file name.extension from "Blue Max.doc" to "Blue Max.gpx" Upload extensions seem limited.

[mulderpm]

AAAA I see the video camera was up Where do I order my copy

Tribal, I will make some CD's and leave them at ML in the lapa. First come first serve. Will be there on Saturday.

[mulderpm]

AAAA I see the video camera was up Where do I order my copy

Tribal, I will make some CD's and leave them at ML in the lapa. First come first serve. Will be there on Saturday.

[mulderpm]

Alan, R 25 000 and she is yours.

[nicow]

Alan, R 25 000 and she is yours.

Thats a fair price.

[BeanCounter]

This morning I added another item to the preflight checklist - make sure the lens cover on the strobe is screwed on tight The bloody thing came off mid-flight and took a chunk out of my prop F*k tog, as dit nie een ding is nie, is dit iets anders. So on Sat I'll be doing prop repair and refitting a strobe. At least I received good advice on how to get my cruising speed up so that I'm not left behind on the Elands trip - that's assuming nothing else breaks before then

What is required for effective tie-down of trike.

Frank, if you're at ML on Saturday Paul (your hangar neighbour) is going to show me how he ties down his trike and you can also see the kit I bought. I'm sure Alan will check what accommodation is still available, the other things you asked about are all on the thread.