Flying Cape Town

[jtresfon]

I love flying in Cape Town, and here's a series of random shots to help explain why...

Overhead Hout Bay...



Southern Right whale and calf off Muizenberg Beach



Overtaken by R44 ZS-RKT along Muizenberg Beach



Colourful bathing huts from the last century at St James beach



Learjet flying ZU-EPZ in the sunset light



Cape Point from 4000ft (note the current line)



The Seli1 shipwreck off Blouberg beach is long beyond refloating as originally envisioned



Table Mountain as seen from Blouberg on a classic day



Cape Town's new stadium with Table Bay harbour in the background



A great white shark swims in the shallow water off Monwabisi Beach



Table Mountain forms an impressive backdrop to the waterfront and city centre



The quaint beach houses at Smitswinkel Bay



Following the sandstone cliffs at Strandfontein



My shadow while doing a touch & go at Fisantekraal



Preparing the new tidal pool at the Strandfontein Pavillion



Muizenberg Corner looking towards Fish Hoek



Overhead Cape Point at 2000ft... not many dry landing options here



The Sentinel and Hout Bay seen from above Champman's Peak



Shark spotting along the Strandfontein Coast



PPC's cement factory at De Hoek near Piketberg



Insanity... a lone paddle-skier 500m offshore at Monwabisi in the area with the probably the highest population density of great white sharks



The BOSS400 wreck in Maori Bay



Overhead Sandy Bay heading for the Twelve Apostles



Sol Kerner's new One & Only Hotel in the Victoria & Alfred Basin at the Waterfront



Learjet in ZU-EPZ overhead Gordon's Bay



Cape Town's Container Terminal, currently undergoing a R5.4mil upgrade



A pod of around 500 common dolphins hunts off Oudekraal



Atlantic Beach Golf Estate near Melkbos



Big Bay Point and Blouberg in the sunset light



Cape Town's White Elephant... the new soccer stadium built for the World Cup



Hout Bay harbour



Cape Point from a more unusual viewpoint



Regards
Jean.

[theJok3r]

Very nice - CPT is Great for flying and your shots shows this nicely.

[Big Man]

Jean, jy MAG maar!!!! Dankie!!

Keep them coming!! Wow!!

[hennies1]

Wag net dat ek die loto wen dan wil ek ook graag so vlieg

[Gyronaut]

Dit vat BAIE minder as 'n Lotto-wen om so te kan vlieg Hennies1

Die kameras dalk ja, nie die vlieg nie.

Len

[hennies1]

Ongelukkig kos gyros bo die gemiddelde persoon se begroting. Party mense betaal 20 jaar lank aan hul huise en dit is wat gyros kos.

[jtresfon]

Have to disagree... no way a gyro costs the same as a house! Unless its a very small house or a very fancy gyro! Find a house in CPT for under R1.0mil these days, not easy... Find a gyro for under R400k, how many would you like? A new double-cab bakkie costs around R450k these days and it can't even fly!!! Yes buying a gyro is expensive relative to the cost of a trike, but how about compared to a helicopter? And given a gyro's excellent wind and turbulence tolerances you can actually fly it in Cape Town, and not only between the hours of 5am-7am...

[THI]

Who says you need to buy a gyro to fly a gyro? Yes it would be nice, but hire and fly is also possible, not to mention partnerships.

Yes yes not ideal, but possible

[Gyronaut]

Hennies1, Perhaps as much as a car yes, not a house.

True Thinus. How many hours a year does the average Gyro pilot fly? My guess is around 50 only. With a bit of TLC and a friendly AP you'll find 4 people would happily time-share R100k each and about R300pm fixed costs (hangarage insurance bla bla bla) and the Gyro will still be chomping at the bit to go fly. Set up a booking system, agree the terms and the cost-split up-front and Voila!

The alternative is not to buy yourself the new BM but to buy a gyro instead. The gyro will hold its value far better.

[lion]

The pictures are awesome.

Can someone please recommend best mounting position on the gyro for scenic flights from 500 - 1000 ft agl. Which camera would be the best choice - GoPro etc? Can one remotely take stills from the GoPro or only screen grabs?

Any other info would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Lion.

[jtresfon]

Mounting position depends on what you want to show... Scenic shot with no foreground, mount under the nose. Shot showing the pilot/pax, mount on the mast. Shot showing the whole gyro, mount on the tail. Camera choice depends on resolution requirements vs. cost, weight and mounting considerations. Easiest and cheapest option is to by a new generation "wearable" camera like a GoPro or Drift HD. The new GoPro Hero2 is currently the best quality available and has numerous easy mounting options. With the new Wifi back system the camera can be remotely operated for both stills & video via a remote and/or your smart phone. Screen grabs work well for capturing the perfect moment but are good only for web usage and not print.

Hope this helps.

Rgds
Jean.

[THI]

Good info

[lion]

Thanks very much for the info Jean - much appreciated.

Regards,

L.