My story

[DarkHelmet]

A bit of background about myself for those of you that do not know me yet, well – maybe just more than a bit...

Since I can recall I have always ran outside to go watch some buzzing machine flying overhead wherever I found myself. When I was 14 a neighbour of mine bought a Cessna 182. He had some pre-school children and as a result I became the family baby sitter. He took me up in his Cessna one day and since that day I could not wait to get my own wings!

Flying has since that day been my passion. I wanted to do it badly. So badly that I enrolled in the SAA Academy or whatever it was called those days. This was in 1994. I was at varsity studying a B.Ing (Electrical Heavy Current) Engineering Degree. An advert appeared in the Sunday Times inviting pilots to join. The advert requested interested parties to write a letter, regrettably I do not have that letter any more but I wrote it as a pilot doing a pre-flight taking off from FAJS (Johannesburg International – then Jan Smuts) to WSSS (Singapore Changi International) – to those that say it did not exist then – tough – I cannot remember now where I was going! Point is I used the ICAO code an replayed the entire flight.

I was invited for psychometric testing and was invited back for an in person interview.

The letter I received in the post is now history and I find myself in a career in IT.

Ten years later I find myself at a braai with my neighbour and he tells me that he is training to fly a microlight. Immediately I go “WOW” thinking to myself that I have always wanted to fly but it is just SO expensive and outside my reach. My understanding was that you had to put a big bunch of cash on the table to be taught how to fly. Owning an aircraft was not even a thought crossing my mind – just ludicrous!

“It is not that expensive, you pay by the hour!” buurman told me (neighbour = buurman in Afrikaans and he is registered on this forum as “buurman” by the way *wink*). I begged him to go with and the very next Saturday morning I had my first intro flight in a trike. The instructor I was introduced to saw my eagerness and he put me in the front seat on my very first flight! I was hooked – addicted – I needed more as soon as possible! I begged money to pay for my new addiction!

Needless to say I was at the field the next Saturday morning after phoning my instructor the Friday at 18:00 and then the Saturday morning at 04:30 when I was halfway there. It was a 75km drive for me to Kliprivier where I was training and I had to get up at 03:50 to do the whole SSS thing and then hop in my steed to rush through to my next hour of training.

After my second lesson I bought the manuals and all the what-not to get up to speed with the theory of flight. I read the manuals that afternoon. Those things that my instructor could not provide I went and bought at double the price from other parties.

School was a breeze for me, elephants did not have my memory back then – I thought I will wax this flying thing in NO time. I was so wrong!

The brain seems to form its own sense of how things get done. Flight simulator was my passion. I could land a Boeing 737 in Nepal. The real thing turned out to by much more counter intuitive!

The first entry in my logbook is 10 October 2004. 45 minutes. My final flight test is dated May 13, 2005. I obtained my license in 7 months. My first solo flight was on 21 February 2005 and it lasted all of 15 minutes. It took me 21 hrs to learn to fly on my own!

The law says 15... I am not dumb? But flying is NOT reciting a text book! My instructor, whom I still phone to this day if I plan something cross country and away from the patch thought I was ready that day.
My log book is dotted with 10 minute dual flights (with the instructor in the back seat) followed by 1 hour solo flights in the circuit (a circuit being take off, turn on the crosswind leg, turn on the downwind leg, turn the base leg, then the final approach to land) until February 27th when I was authorised to fly solo in the General Flying Area (GF).

It was around this time that I bought my first and current and OH SO SEXY ZU-AXC. “MY PRECIOUS!” My Aerotrike Safari with 14.9m2 Aeros wing, Rotax 582, with 246 hours on the clock. I bought her and paid for her on 21 February 2005. I flew her for the first time on 12 March 2005. Dagnabit! What a change from the huge 17m2 wing I was trained on! Ease off the throttle, EASE OFF THE THROTTLE! This always echo’d in my headset!

What can I say? I wear a size 12 shoe and gravity sort of sucks it down.

Smaller wing, less lift – dagnabit she scared the holy you know what out of me.

13 May 2005 was my day! My day, and only my day – I went for a test flight, my own aerie on a flip around the south I will never forget. My instructor was in the back seat and he sort of tugged on the wires once or twice to make me turn a bit steeper but I made the grade. From now on – it was up to me!

My logbook now has 155 total flight hours logged and I am plotting my next escape!

[Duck Rogers]

I was invited for psychometric testing and was invited back for an in person interview.

The letter I received in the post is now history and I find myself in a career in IT.

They conned you....it was a psycopathic test, that's why you didn't get the job :D

[DarkHelmet]

I just wanted to fly... They wanted a PC

[Morph]

I was invited for psychometric testing and was invited back for an in person interview.

They should have invited you for psychiatric testing instead

Welcome back, it's bloody time we experienced the force of DH again

[slysi]

Nice story DH . The story is inspiring and I hope to follow in your footsteps soon. You should write these type of stories more often, you certainly have a knack for this. Cheers!

[DarkHelmet]

Thanks Slysi - I normally get this inspiration when I am grounded on a perfectly flying weekend... or after a most exhilirating flight Awaiting the arrival of my father from Cape Town this morning so me wings are clipped sitting here on my perch.

[DarkHelmet]

PS: I wrote another story that was published in Aviation and safety magazine over 3 issues. It was posted to the forum here but I cannot find it any more - find the link to it below

If I keep going like this I might just have a book soon

[DarkHelmet]

Timing is bad presently for such an intrepid adventure this year! Also had to give up on a trip down to Hoedspruit in two weeks time

[Buurman]

Hi Ian.

Wierd thing is, I am still in training! Have been solo for some time now and ready for my light test, which I hope to complete any day now.

Maybe we can fly out together soon. I might also need hangarage once my instructor decides he needs the space and kicks me out.

[Tailspin]

Great story DH.

Took me 18months to get my License but as long as you hang in there you will get it

[DarkHelmet]

Buurman! We have space at Aviators Paradise