Microlighters

I have a private farm strip of 600m which has been used by Microlights and others for 12 years
Question 1? Can the local authority close me down ?? and for what reasons?
Question 2? Do I have to apply for a consent use to secure the continued use ?
Question 3? Does CAA have a say or opinion ?

If anyone knows the answers I would appreciate a response !!
Cheers
Warren -Knysna

Bit of a discussion can be seen here:

http://www.avcom.co.za/phpBB2/viewtopic ... =kortbroek

I see Mike also touches on section 24(2)(a) and (d) in the editorial of Microflight Africa.

Flew to 8 farmstrips this morning around Paardeberg. Kortbroek is going to have one hell of a time trying to tell all these farmers the cropsprayers will have to return to a approved strip to refill. (See my log of today on www.zu-dve.com and also the one of 20050913)

Het Kogtbroek al gehoog hoe lelik pgaat so n bolandse kogingboeg as hy dik de moeg in gaak?

Let's think logically about this.

Who ?
When ?
How ?

White cross on your runway ? Remember to check it every three months.

If you use your entrance road to land on sometimes, does it qualify for a white cross ?

Think it goes mainly about insurance. my 2c. Private property and thus owner can dictate use. Potetial problems would be if something went wrong and you represented that the strip is in order? Legaleese and in USA they would have a field day. As long as all use at own risk there should not be a problem.

Fawgie at Watts has disclaimer for what it's worth.

PS
When kort broek asks tell him it a fire break and not a strip.

I also have a farm strip and had several other planes land on it.
I just put a huge "P" for "private" at the windsock and also a notice bord on the premise that you are not liable for any loss or damage on the premises.
Legally if you dont state that, you can be sued for loss or damage because you "gave permission" for them to land there.
Also if somebody asks permission to land there, have them sign a document stating that they do it at own risk.
You never know when things turn against you..... or prevention is better than cure.

I have not seen Kortbroek's statement and can only coment on my perception of what I have read on this forum. In terms of the Environmental Conservation Act (Act 73 of 1989), constuction of an airfield is a listed activity ( listed from 8 September 1997) and the EIA process has to be followed before construction can proceed. Kortbroek's jurisdiction only covers environmental aspects and will not be valid for insurance purposes. That is the function of CAA. Licencing is also a CAA function and would probably include a clause that the EIA process must be followed. It would be extremely difficult to close down all air fields on a whim. The people responsible for enforcing these regulations would probably put up a fight as they have more than enough work without added aggravation from an ill informed minister. There might also be a govermental move to control this as well, cf. Firearms act, Fishingski laws, Diving controls, driving on beaches, access to sea, etc. We are on our way to over regulation with insufficient enforcement.

Hope this helps a bit

Stan