Low Level Nuisance flying, near Wintervogel

[Barryathome]

Amen to that!

[Learjet]

I think the manner is which this situation was handled sets an example for us all. Well done to Morph and the guys.

Now that everyone's buddies let's see the pics Morph hehehe

[Bundy]

Nice one Morph! All about finding common ground.

[John Boucher]

Yes.... always good to have a "convert" in the midsts!

I do think however there is one or two dangling strings still to knot and then onward!

[Harlequin]

Gents.
Evening, I can only echo the comments that this issue has been handled in a mature and open manner.
As one of the “bad boys” perhaps some facts and comments from my side without getting into any more mud flinging or shooting from the hip !! This post should perhaps also have been made earlier??
Some facts:
I flew Trygve’s strike, CFK, and did five flips in a similar route on the Saturday…a great flying day.
There was a cycle race on and they routed along the Malmsbury --- Durbanville road…during all my runs I flew parallel to the roads used by the cyclists, not flying towards or overhead any of the marshals or cyclists. On two of the runs I flew really low on the eastern side of the road, this is a section of fields clear of animals, power lines and only one fence and a windmill as hazards. The only telephone and power lines are parallel to the road. (There are some photos of this)
On our first flip I do not recall any flamingos at the dam but encountered them flying in on my second run. There are about seven zebra in the field to the north of the dam which makes good viewing.
At no stage did I fly over or even close to the dam, on all the runs I was to the north, (again you can see this in the photos) There is a farm further east of the dam which has a number of ostrich on it, this was also avoided from my route as they frighten irrespective of height!!
I speak for myself and not the other pilot involved…..A lot has been learned from this saga......enough said !!!
Morph for the process and others who have been objective in their views…thanks…
Safe flying
Graham.

[John Boucher]

Graham

Thank you for your post....

[Morph]

Thanks Harlequin,

Email me your response please.

Once I have all the responses then I submit it to the committee and we wrap it up. I am waiting for Trygve to email me.

From a Misasa point of view you should see Misasa becoming more propactive in handling complaints on behalf of the members. It is at the discretion of the Committee to take any issues forward to RAASA/CAA. It is the opinion of the Aeroclub and RAASA on behalf of CAA, that MISASA (and other sections/AROs) needs to be more involved with ethical/disciplinary/operational issues of members.

[Grumpy]

MISASA (and other sections/AROs) needs to be more involved with ethical/disciplinary/operational issues of members.

OH DEAR........... Here we go..........
You mean like the Tshwane Metro Police of the skies.??

[John Boucher]

Almost Grumps with one serious difference... we don't get paid, we are not corruptable & we fly for enjoyment rather than ride around in expensive BMW X5's & 6's and laundering ratepayers hard earned moola!

Receive it in a positive light and it will ensure many pleasurable experiences!

[Morph]

Short Chubby Brother is watching you

[gertcoetzee]

4 places in the Western Cape where the Greater Flamingo can be seen

Not true. He should visit me in Aurora and I will fly/take him to
32°46'56.74"S 18°22'29.82"E
32°36'33.82"S 18°17'59.78"E
32°47'46.93"S 18° 8'36.41"E
32°48'11.67"S 18°12'9.34"E

Gert, does this imply that there is therefore nothing wrong with being a nuisance to wildlife? I hope not

I think it is reasonable to think that nuisance should not be defined as someone creating a single instance of annoyance. For example, if the neighbour's dog barks now and then, it might annoy me, but if it barks constantly it becomes a nuisance. The City of Cape Town got that right when they started to put a time barked per hour as basis to define a nuisance.

The reason I am nitpicking on the above is that unless it is agreed that a single complaint is not enough to be considered as a complaint of nuisance, we will all be "unsafe" when flying ANYWHERE low level. I will be scared to fly low over a desert lest some bloke on a camel having a bad day appears behind the next dune.

As far as the wildlife is concerned, this morning I saw 178 guinea fowl taking off when I flew over them, I am sure I saw one of 2 ostriches showing me a finger while gathering her youngsters, then there were the springbok at Papkuilsrivier which scattered as I flew overhead. The seal on the beach looked pretty dead to me, so I would not count that one. None of whom I divebombed, and hopefully none of whom will be able to complain to the CAA.

[zucac]

well done Gert, you live life and love it

[Gyronaut]

Hear Hear Gert!

[Africa]

Gert!!

[Barryathome]

Raait Gert well said, your thoughts echo how most of the guys who fly feel.

The key is whether the wildlife represents a protected specie and the people are residents who have a valid complaint about low flying/ noise etc.

In this case the only valid element for the complaint is the flamingo's, which my friends in Nature Conservation described to me in an e-mail this morning as:

"The Greater flamingo does not breed in the Western Cape, although if conditions were perfect they may well do – I think they may have very rarely bred in the past. However, it is still important not to disturb them at their feeding sites"

So, we will most probably formulate some Wintervogel flying rules for overflight of that dam, once we have all the inputs from the Nature Conservation experts.