Another Holiday Adventure

[BIG-G]

Hi Guys. Just found my laptop and spent some wonderful time reading about your fantastic adventure. I am so envious that I could not join you fellows.
Glad you all back safe and your GT450's performed well.

Next adventure Im not being left behind,

Safe flying
Big G

[Dish]

Jeepers, what a great trip lads, great photos and a brilliant story thatch... well written mate...

:D :D :D :D :D :D

Thats gotta be what its all about ......

[afskies scribe]

Thatchman, the Focker & StrayDog, thanks for a really riveting read that makes the rest of us feel as if we've experienced your exciting GT-450 adventure right there along with you guys you rock, boys :D

[Thatchman]

Some more pics

[Thatchman]

Last pics

[REDROMAN]

Hi Thatchman.Glad to hear that your trip went well.I was thinking about your trip every day and speculated about the weather.Good to know that everything worked out perfectly.Hope to see you guys again soon and it was realy nice meeting all of you.Regards to The Focker and Straydog.Keep in touch.

[REDROMAN]

After meeting The Thatchman,The Focker and Straydog in Aliwal North, i liked them from the start.They share the same passion about flying and felt a bit of a connection emediately.I just love it when microlighters visits our town so that we can share our interests and experience.

After Thatchman took me for a "FLIP" in his GT450 i got a new understanding of that kind of trike and was overwelmed about the performance.It changed my whole perspective on trikes and believe everyone should experience the performance of a Quick GT450.

Thanks for passing by and for the great frendship.

[RV4ker (RIP)]

Awesome. I need to get a 6 seater GT450 so I can join you guys

[Morph]

Brilliant trip guys, really envious.

With 44mph tailwinds I would have been more than nervous creeping over the pass at 300 ft agl. A mate of mine here in CT was flying back from Worchester (700ft AMSL) to Morning Star (200ft AMSL) in a gyro. There are 8500ft high mountains in between and the only low gap of 6500ft is over Du Toits Kloof. The cloud base was on the mountains and there was a little gap where he could see light. He too had a nice howling SE pushing him along. But Gyro's fly in any wind right. As he approached the gap, solid cloud a few hundred feet above him the pass a few hundred feet below the wind blowing against the mountain created an updraft and pushed him up into the cloud

Now he was in serious shit.

Fortunately he managed to climb through it and find a gap to descend but it could have gone very very wrong. Worsie Visser took off at Lamberts bay, ended up in mist and 14 seconds later he was dead.

Be careful

[John Young]

Howdy Thatchman,

Nice story and photographs – well written albeit a bit raunchy at times.

Some of those “photoshopped” conditions are not for me though.

Regards
John ZU-CIB

[Nkwazi]

What a fantastic trip, and a great account of it Thatch. Maybe next year you should plan a huge boys tour like this. Would be good if the Focker could change the colour of his flight suit, mind - looks like my leading and trailing edge :D :D !!

[Boer]

Microlighters in general are an awesome bunch of okes. I fly a windlass, Straydog made me do my conversion on the GT 450, we flew to Bloem together, 2H40 there - and back the same day. I was PIC halfway there and halfway back. The GT 450 ads a new dimension to triking. We learn a great deal through our years in flying, but flying this beast makes you realize there is more adventure beyond the patch without risking your life in the traditional trike. If you have the money get one - dont share one with mates cos they wont be mates for long - you will fight over who's flying slot it is today. TAKE ONE FOR A FLIP - The trike market will be flooded with trikes for sale. You will be hooked. If you dont have the bucs dont even sit in one cos your trike will gather dust. I've said too much already but I thought I'll warn you guys it's horribly addictive - That's why my trike is for sale.