What did you fly this week

[Tailspin]

Demon

That was my fault, been running around to so many conferences i have not been home for the last 2 weeks and i will only be home till tonight, tomorrow morning off to PE again and then Nelspruit

There will be more of these events happening and i will be posting them on the site, sorry i will take the D.I.C.K. award tonight and a slap on the wrist.

Drama
Idiocy
Confusion
Kak

[Wart]

0.5 hours circuit training. Bumpy in the SE!

Pilot induced oscillation and one really hard "bump and go"

[ACE]

Pilot induced oscillation and one really hard "bump and go"

I had this also, I got too vigorous on the bar and we were swinging about like a pendulum on finals. The instructor quickly sorted it out for me and we went around. Shorter inputs on the bar he told me.

At least you have this "extra" experience now.

[Wart]

ACE, the instructor actually spoke me through the correction of "relax on the bar, get the trike flying straight again, now look for the runway". It was a great learning experience as he left it up to me to correct and at our debrief he explained that he could see that it was about to happen but wanted me to experience it and learn to rectify it rather than step in and take over.

You learn every-time you fly!

[Junkie]

Jhb ain't that bad reallllyyyyyy :D

..was fortunate enuf to join up with the Rietfontein crew & FF this morning for a run over to Crosswinds & back
A zillion tx FF for bugging me to fit it in and to Batman for entrusting his lovely Gemini ... AND his ever so trusting butt to me

After an interesting takeoff... (and with me looking behind me anxiously to figure out if someone had left that ol' anchor dragging out back of us whilst silently pleading for a few more ponies outta the ol 582) we finally 'danced ' into the air (is there any of it up here ) .... ahhhh nice... Gemini handling great.. looking good

What a great flight to Crosswinds. Beetlejuice kept buzzing the troop in his Peg and generally making me green with envy whilst Gerry Hatrick gave us an excellent guided tour of the route via Orient to Crosswinds.

Tony and Jaco were there to greet us with a very welcome cuppa. By this time the wind has started to bare its teeth a tad and after a short natter we saddled up and headed for Rw One Zero.

FF hadnt been too happy with the Blades throttle on the way in, and as sods law would have it, Demons Blade decided this was far enough - Colin came over and managed a jump start, but the new Flydat and lectrics had gone south.

Not fazed by this, the boys at Crosswinds kindly made space in their hanger for the Demons trike.. thanks guys ..im sure glad i dont have to try and get my trike outta the back of that line up

.. nothing for it then but for FF to jump in behind Beetlejuice and off we went. Well... another INTERESTING process of becoming airborne, and Batman in the back still ever soooo trusting.. :D

The trip back was fun with the odd bump & grind enroute and all too soon we found ourselves, lining up for an uphill landing at Rietfontien. Over the fence and .. it just got a whole lot more interesting - have to commend the Batman for his cool in the face of adversity and his endless trust... so with a wiggle here and a large waggle and grunt there, with the edge of the runway beconing us ever closer , we were down, managing to put Batmans beautifull Gem and im sure by now grateful butt safely back on the ground unharmed.....
Man now THAT was FUN !! :D :D :D when can we do it again

The gang the headed off down the road for an excellent and relaxing breakfast at Garden World .. thanks again Guys and it was really so nice meeting FF at last.. ,

All added up to the highlight of my visit up North.

[Fairy Flycatcher]

I had a lovely time up in JHB, thanks everyone. Got to fly on my own with Demon's amazing Blade, with DH on his Safari, and as Beetlejuice's tailgunner in the sleek Pegasus.

Demon's Blade is a wonderful machine, and if he will ever let me near it again , I'd love to get to know it better.

Everyone I met was friendly and helpful. The hospitality superb! I am definitely going to spend a couple more weeks up there soon getting to know some of the other airfields.

Thank you very much for everyone at Crosswinds who made me feel so welcome, thanks for all the help as well, and the willingness to find a safe space in the hangar for FLY.

I wonder what Demon's gonna think when he gets back to his hangar and the trike's not there anymore. I think I'll tell him that his sticker "Drive it like you stole it" was just too much of an incentive

[Gerry Hatrick]

HI FLYERS
JHB WEATHER WASNT THAT GOOD FOR NICE FLYING THIS WEEKEND.WE TRIED TO FLY WITH FF AT RIETFONTEIN ON FRIDAY ARVIE BUT NOT LEKKER.HOWEVER BIG G DID FLY TO HARTIES TO DO AN AP IN THE 30KPH WINDS.ON SATURDAY MORN WE MANAGED TO GET A FLIGHT IN OF 1.4HRS WITH FF AND IANRW,GOOD TO MEET YOU IAN AND LET US KNOW WHEN IN GAUTENG NEXT TO JOIN US AGAIN.THE ROCK N ROLL DID MAKE FOR INTERESTING LANDINGS AT CROSSWINDS AND THEN BACK AT RIET
CHEERS
GERRY HATTRICK

[Ratman]

:D :D :D What a great pleasure it was sharing Saturday morning with Ianrw, FF, Gerry Hatrick and Beetlejuice.
I must admit that I was somewhat concerned about the wind but Ianrw handled it like the pro he is. The Gemini was a little slower than he would have liked - given my lump of lard in the back - but we did well to keep with the team. Beetlejuice kept coming around on our six with that sleek Pegasus of his and I am sure that at least once I heard a "drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" in the headset as he keyed the PTT thinking it was a trigger button

The landing back at Rietfontein was one that I can honestly say I am glad to have behind me :shock Beetlejuice went it first and let us know that it was busy - then Gerry Hatrick who came back with the same comment - our turn next only to see Ianrw's line up spoilt just before the flare - some serious steering followed by a bad smell from the back seat and we were calmly taxiing back to the hanger. Jokes aside - very well handled by Ianrw

thanks for a great morning guys!

ps. Gemini would be glad to see you again Ianrw - anytime

[Morph]

Saturday morning got to the airfield and the $$%g starter motor wouldn't crank again. One of my hangar mates helped me hand crank her and after 30 minutes of sweating, swearing and struggling we got her started. I took off and did a few circuits while waiting for CLU-less to arrive. Eventually he did and I landed again to have a chat. Finally when we were ready to get up in the air again the #$$%&G thing wouldn't start. I just gave up and put her back in the hangar.


CLU-less took off and did two circuits when a sudden squall came through. He came in for a very bumpy landing. His worst yet, he says. Lucky I was on the ground. Divine intervention

Anyway took the starter motor off and took it home to strip it down. Found an obvious fault, one of the brushes had come loose, fixed that, made sure the wire connections were secure, sorted out the tensioning springs that hold the brushes in place and gave it a bit of a lubrication. Sunday midday went back to MS, installed it and she started like a dream :D

So, 10 minutes this weekend but fixed the starter motor and my guardian angel had his work cut out for him. :D

This morning, looked out the window, light westerly, went across to the airfield, hit traffic and finally arrived there an hour later, damn people going to work, don't they know that I need to fly
Finally arrived at the airfield and Strong easterly. 90deg to the runway which due to the hangars causes lots of rotor turbulance. So nothing

[Microwave]

Dont worry Morph, the weather here has also been very sh....ty the whole weekend. Big G came through on Friday afternoon to AP my plane and he was thrown all over the place getting here and returning. Anyway, my divine intervention was his discovery of a seriously frayed accelerator cable, which put paid to my whole flying weekend too. So I'm out of the sky till its been fixed / replaced. Next weekend will be better, I hope .

[velocity]

On Saturday met 2 microlighters @ DromeZ near Sabie, Philip & Maureus and myself and a fellow jumper did a jump from their trikes into a tiny DZ in the forests near Sabie.

Blue Skies & thanks to both of them for the lift Some pics of our Sabie trip on www.avcom.co.za under 'Sabie Fires'

Graham

[BIG-G]

Hi all. Pity that the wind spolt a good weekend. Friday was rather interesting to say the least. But duty called to AP Microwaves plane and repair a Gemini stranded at Bundu Inn that got its landing wires cut in a collision with a runaway Viper. (German Trike)

Chaperoned the Gemini back to its base. Then just made Rietfontein in the last bit of light.

[Ratman]

Hi all.
Chaperoned the Gemini back to its base. Then just made Rietfontein in the last bit of light.

:D :D Big G - glad to see that you still care about the Geminis


BM

[Junkie]

BIG-G wrote:
Hi all.
Chaperoned the Gemini back to its base. Then just made Rietfontein in the last bit of light.

Big G - glad to see that you still care about the Geminis

BM

Love my Gemini.. but i wouldnt say no to Andys Peg either ... impressive flying machine Big G.. hows it compare to yours and the Blade
Hope you guys managed to sort out Demons baby

[Morph]

This morning I looked out the window and no wind, quick shower and raced across to the airfield only to find that @#$%%g Easterly 90deg across the runway. I listened on the radio and heard other guys up there so I decided to test the conditions. Take off was bumpy as usual with a significant crab angle due to the wind but was quite manageable. Once above 800' it was smooth as a baby's blanket. :D

I cruised over to Altona and did a touch and go there and no turbulance My word, there are other airfields out there that don't have the bronco riding approaches of Morning Star. Did a low level along Ou Malmes but did not want to land there since it is a working farm and I havn't got permission from the farmer. Cruised around and did a low level along Dieprevierbrug, again no turbulance.

Back to MS after 35 minutes of fun, and guess what Rocking and Rolling. Huge sink as you come over the trees on finals, I opted to land downwind on 20 since there are no hangars on the NE side of this field that introduce rotors. The runway is long enough for this. Anyway a few ups and downs, the odd wing dip and a big crab angle and a little wiggle on touchdown caused by the wheels not being straight, but a safe landing neverless. :D Phew

BTW speaking to a good friend of mine who has 20000 hours flying experience mostly on 747's and he mentioned when a wing dips on late finals use the opposite rudder to bring the wing up since the rudder has more authority at that stage than your ailerons. Seemed to work for me here. Comments from other instructors?