First Solo flights today

Sjoe, was landing perfectly on Monday but the paperwork and insurance was not in place for my solo, so managed my first flights on my ace today after work and shortly before the beautiful sun was ready to set after a stunning day in Durban.

Was pretty awesome.. not the most perfect landings on runway 19 but I did ok, the second circuit better than the first. Thanks Noel and Brad for the patience and effort you have put in to getting me to this point. Can only get better. Had to rush off to Pietermaritzburg as the sun did set for the second part of my Radio Course with Sakkie, the ATC at the Pietermaritzburg Airport. So will have to postpone the regulation celebration drinks to the weekend....!!

Flying the Sling

The red Sling I flew in to The Airplane Factory

Dave and Llewellyn with their Sling in production

We designed our cockpit avionics layout on the computer

Terry and Ruan putting the prototype 4-seater together

Dave with The Airplane Factory's CEO Mike Blythe and our aeroplane

Computer design of the 4-seater prototype

We spent an awesome weekend in Johannesburg visiting Mike Blythe's Airplane Factory where our new Sling is in production. Mike picked me up in the red TAE at Lanseria Airport to fly to the factory at Tedderfield. At the factory there are about 10 Slings in production and Mike hopes to push up production as the orders flow in.

Also being built is the 4-seater prototype and in the 4th photo above Terry and Ruan fit some of the panels to the aircraft. They also showed me some of their incredible Solidworks computer designs that precede the final product on the factory floor.

A morning at Light Flight

Dave takes off at Light Flight

Dave and Kate-Lynn check out the instruments on the Foxbat

Kate-Lynn visits Light Flight

My daughter Kate-Lynn came to watch me flying last Saturday and the top photo is the first of me up in the sky taken from the outside.

Cruising the Skyways

Proof that I made it to Margate on my first dual cross-country is in the top photo. We got off to a shaky start with a little brake trouble after start-up (and Noel will no doubt laugh often about this) but after that it was plain sailing.. or flying I should say. We landed first at Richmond which was just a 15 minute hop away, and then headed towards Ixopo. With maps, stopwatch and landmarks noted, neither of us could find Ixopo airfield and it is maybe no longer in use. It was not intended to land there though and we continued our journey towards the sea and Fredenheim... beautiful little airstrip on the edge of a cliff and in the Oribi Gorge area.

After a touch-and-go at Fredenheim we continued to the coast and made a landing at Margate where we enjoyed an excellent breakfast and watch the airforce helicopter in training. After that we routed along the beach doing some low-flying over the breakers towards Scottburgh and saw the sardines from the air.

Changing frequencies several times we crossed inland into the Virginia general flying area and routed back to Light Flight where we finished off with me doing a couple of circuits. All in all 3,1 hours flying time!!! Excellent exercise.

Converting NPL to PPL

So I can convert my NPL licence to a PPL after I get it, I am registering now as a PPL Student. The PPL licence will enable me to fly my Sling aircraft in the long-range tanks heavier version.

Registering now as a PPL Student pilot will also enable me to write the higher PPL exams.. otherwise I would have to do the NPL exams and then re-write to get my PPL if that makes sense.

So today I did my intro flight on a Cessna 152, an old workhorse compared to the light and responsive Foxbat I have been flying. So here's a pic of Sierra Charlie Lima .. again I was concentrating too much to be able to take any pics in the sky.

Getting ready for cross-country



Flying over Grassroots with Light Flight behind 



Getting ready for my first dual cross-country I have been flying in to the neighbouring airfields - Emoyeni, Grassroots, Rob Mirtle and back to Light Flight ... all within 5kms of each other. It's a process of learning to recognise an airfield from the air and adjusting to the different altitudes of each field but recognising the height from the ground for landings.

I have also been studying the aeronautical charts for the area and plotting the different airfields. My landings are coming along slowly but there is progress.

Chart of the Durban TMA

Noel takes a pic of me flying

Right downwind Runway 01

 Doing circuits at Light Flight I am now right downwind for Runway 01, trying to get my landings right in preparation for Tuesday's cross-country to Richmond, Ixopo, Fredenheim, Margate, Scottburgh and back to Light Flight. This also takes us into several frequency zones as we change from the uncontrolled general flying area in the Pietermaritzburg general flying area, as well as Margate controlled space and back out again.

The flight will take about 2 hours and I have been preparing my first flight log... drawing vectors for anticipated wind, ground speed, distance and flying time, as well as fuel consumption and anticipated totals and reserves.

Taking off from Light Flight 01

Final Approach Runway 19

I thought I was landing nicely on Thursday but with the cold front we have had since, the air was bumpy today and even on final approach was throwing us around. There was also a little crosswind so learnt about crabbing and lining up with the runway even though the nose of the plane was pointing a lttle off into the wind. Good experience weather I am told. My Instructor took the photo in case you were wondering how I was on finals and snapping away at the same time. Notched up 11,7 hours total so far by the end of the lesson.



What comes up must come down

The crew at Light Flight School got a table of pilots and friends together for a pasta evening. Here's my instructor Noel (above right) giving the thumbs up. Then this morning I accomplished my first landings... wow, what a feeling! I was concentrating so heavily though that I forgot to take a photo and had to snap one in the car returning home to remember the day. Hopefully it wasn't just a lucky day like playing pool sometimes when you can just about sink any ball and the next day none. Well I managed to get that plane pretty steady and just floating down out of the sky... bit of a bump with the landing, but not too shabby. Was on a high the rest of the day!

Richmond Fly-in

We got up early this morning to get to Light Flight School where I joined Marc in the yellow machine Echo Tango Delta for the fly-in to Richmond. This was my first time in another aeroplane since starting my lessons, so it was cool to experience something different as well as analogue instruments only.

What a magnificent airfield where we were joined by a ralley of MG classic/vintage cars.

The second photo is of an impressive retired SA Defence Force Bosbok... immaculate and neat.

Well done guys for an excellent fly-in attracting about 20 LSA's and experimental craft and trikes.

First pics from the cockpit



Instructor Brad from Light Flight School practises stalls with me



I can multi-task but at this early stage of my flying asked Brad to take control as I took my first pics from the "driving seat"...ha ha. We practised stalls today.. no power, under power, no flaps and with flaps.. no problem. Must say that the little Foxbat handles them well. I was interested in knowing that there were available emergency landing strips below. Quite amazing how many private fields there are in this area. Landings were very shaky and Brad had to sort them out for me.. amazing these dual controls, although they can also be restricting if you are trying the get the feel of it and correct your own mistakes.

Clocked up a total of 8,7 hours as of today... and climbing.



Fear of Flying

I've always had a fear of flying, but at the same time an intense fascination with it. As a kid at Kloof schools, I used to "fly" my bicycle down the hectically steep Emolweni Hill just before school.

I spent many hours designing and drawing my bicycle with wings and pedal/cog driven propellers that would take me into the air half-way down the hill and land me triumphantly on the school fields below. That was never a problem.

It was the big commercial airliners that bumped and shuddered, and perhaps the engine fire on my first trip to London, aborting take-off in Nairobi, that was scary.... but nothing that a few double shots before boarding a flight couldn't cure. Maybe it's a control thing... when I'm on my own and in control, I'm fine. Jumping solo out of an aeroplane with a parachute was no real problem either. I think the scariest part was taking the step out of the plane by myself into the wind and clutching on the wing struts all alone. Letting go was easier. Floating down was glorious.

The wreck in the photo is my flying school's training plane that crashed into a local Church steeple killing the newly qualified young pilot and his father. I cry to myself when I look at the wreck and the photo. I hope there was some other sense or greater purpose in this tragedy. So scary! Air Crash investigations on TV are also fascinating to me.. I've watched them all and followed with great respect the care and attention to detail that takes place to unravel the darkest moments before the crash. I'm awed at the safety improvements introduced afterwards and usually retro-fitted to hundreds of aircraft to make flight safer in the future.

I'm conscious of the risks and responsibilities of a good pilot and am enjoying the challenge. Just teach me to land in one piece and level. I'm getting there!