Day 1 - flight from Langebaan Cape Town to PE

The flights from Cape Town to Durban fetching our Flight School plane Sling FYA were broken down to 2 legs of 4 1/2 hours each - the first from Cape Town (Langebaan where we flew in the seaplane) to Hitgeheim inland of Port Elizabeth where we spent the first night.. these pics follow. Tomorrow I will post the second leg. Durban Skyye Flight School

Follow the blue line from the Cape in the West to the East coast following a route over the Ceres mountains, Oudtshoorn, the Klein Karoo and Hitgeheim, our first stop-over. then onwards on day 2 to the coast at Port Alfred and then through East London and continuing along the Wild Coast to Durban.

Leaving Langebaan our first set of mountains were the Paarl mountains climbing to 7500ft  and once over them we reached the valley of Ceres with more mountains to climb to get along our route.

The vertical navigation plan shows peaks ranging up to 7500 ft with the top peak along my chosen path at 6000 ft, with our proposed altitude selected at 7500 ft to clear them and avoid down and updrafts that are often found around the mountains. In the middle is Oudtshoorn we had to descend to for refuelling en route so that we could make the second day without stopping. The range of the 2 x 75 l fuel tanks is 7 hours.

Louis (left) and myself on day 1 on route to Oudshoorn. The weather was fresh at 12 - 15c deg and a bit of cold air was coming in through the closed vents.

There were a number of small dams quite high in the mountains

The Ceres valley, famed for citrus growing in the Cape, viewed from 7500ft  surrounded by high mountain peaks we were flying over.

At times the clouds were gathering but there were plenty of gaps so that we could maintain visual contact with the ground at all times according to the VFR (Visual Flight Rules) we were following

More mountains and clouds - a lot of the time the route I picked followed between mountain ranges so that the peaks on either side of the valley we were following were higher than our plane. You can see the winding river below in this photo.

FYA on the ground in Oudtshoorn where I put in R1800 AVGAS to refill the tanks and take a full 25l container with to our next stop. Avgas is able to be used instead of car petrol (Mogas) where there is none available but at R17 a litre is more expensive. Usually I fill the tanks using a 25 l container at the local petrol station.

Feeling good after our fuel and piss-stop in Oudtshoorn

The mountain ridge seen here was one of a number of long ridges running parallel to each other and don't look so high seen from the right side of the plane as we were flying quite close to the slopes, but to our left they drop away down to the valley 5500ft below. If you look over this ridge in the Klein Karoo you also can see another valley and ridge in the distance.

After Oudtshoorn I followed the ridges of the Klein Karoo which line the route through to the coast leading down after Port Elizabeth to Port Alfred. 

There is a bit of reflection in the windscreen here, but the clouds were gathering and we were needing to drop below the cloud base and fly under the clouds and had to check our vertical navigation carefully to ensure no mountain peaks would be ahead so we wouldn't get trapped with a cloud covering over and mountains in our path. It is critical to check the weather en route ahead of each flight and to continually assess the weather en route to ensure we remain VFR and able to reach your destination safely. Only last year 3 planes got caught up in cloud in this vicinity and only two made it home, the other plane getting lost in the clouds and ended up crashing into the terrain.

We experienced a strong headwind along the whole journey with winds up to 50 kts (90 kmh) which slowed us down and increased our fuel consumption. This took my landing at Hitgeheim to 5.30pm which was sunset and with only 15 minutes to spare to a legal landing time. This is due to our planned airfield not having landing lights, as I am rated to fly at night, and had it been later we might have had to divert to Port Elizabeth... one of the reasons why fuel management is important to ensure one has adequate fuel for a possible diversion such as that.

We landed safely at 5.30pm on a private airstrip called Hitgeheim on a platteaux and which serves the Addo Elephant Park lodges in the area. We overnighted at a fabulous little guesthouse called Fish Eagles Lodge along the banks of the Sundays River which runs through this area.

Wonderful little guesthouse right on the banks of the Sundays River in an area called Sunland, close to the Addo Elephant Park where we could hear the eagles cry along the river. Thanks Sue for an exquisite Kudu steak dinner followed by the best malva pudding and custard.. a real treat and by far the best meal I had that week. Highly recommended stop-over or base to explore the Addo region. Great hospitality from both of our hosts.

See my Aviation blog for more great Africa aviation stories and how I got my licence.

Day 2 flight from PE to Durban

We set off on our second day of flying after the mist hanging over the plateau and river had burned off around 9.30am only. I phoned the PE Met office and they re-assured me that the mist was inland only and the coast was clear. When we arrived after a hearty breakfast we couldn't even see half way down the runway and while we waited for it to clear we walked the length of the runway to check for animals - wildebees and buck roam freely there.

Taking off there was a bit of mist swirling around but by 100ft off the ground the air was clear and crisp and we were on our way to Durban heading for the coast.

Unlike my home Sling ZDL which has an autopilot, the Flight School plane is not equipped with one so on a long journey with mapwork and multiple airspace and frequency changes to deal with, a co-pilot is almost mandatory.. thanks Louis for flying to Cape Town to join me on the trip and help fly our "Yankee" home.

Above the mist/clouds hanging over the rivers, the sky was relatively free of cloud, the temperature nice and fresh as 14c deg and the mountains behind us as we took off from Hitgeheim, near Addo in the Port Elizabeth area. We were keeping a lookout for elephants, but did see some giraffe and buck.

We reached the coastline at Port Alfred

Westbank Cemetrary East London shares the spotlight of the lighthouse.. I have been there at night where the eerie beam from the lighthouse sweeps over the gravestones casting shadows under the full moon which rises up over the Indian Ocean. One of my "haunts" with a gravesite of a special guy.

East London Harbour as we bypased the Airport in the East London TMA airspace, reporting at several points along the coast to the airtraffic controller at the airport.

The "hole-in-the-wall" along the Wild Coast - we came down low over the waves to get a peep through the hole

The coastline of the Wild Coast on the east coast of South Africa - famous for shipwrecks and giving mariners a tough time

One of my favourite landing spots - Port St Johns runway which sits on top of the mountain to the left. This time we bypassed the runway as we hurried along the coast, the photo taken from the river mouth as clouds swirled over the mountain-tops to our left.

Port St Johns, showing the fall from the airfield to the river and the town below.

As quickly as the clouds positioned themselves over the mountains they were gone again

The Wild Coast Sun to the left with the bridge that took you over to the Transkei, once an independent country, and famous for it's casino

A welcome sight as we round the Bluff and see Durban Harbour with our new home for FYA "Yankee" at Virginia Airport alongside the shore stretching out in the photo

Safe on the ground at Virginia Airport (Louis left, Dave right) after logging 11 hours of flying to get Yankee to Durban Skyye Flight School, my NPL and microlight Flight School in the city

See my aviation blog - Do Eagles Dare - for more great aviation stories and our Africa safaris

Fetching our Flight School Sling from Cape Town

I took delivery today of our Sling ZU-FYA for Durban Skyye Flight School from Jandre at Morningstar Airfield in Cape Town. My pilot mate and fellow Sling owner Louis will be joining me for the flights back tomorrow and Sunday.

At first I took to the air to get the feel of the plane and flew "Yankee" to Stellenbosch where we are staying for the night. In the morning the intention is to fly to Langebaan to see Rainer's Seaplane there and at noon start the trip back from the Cape to Durban.

Jandre congratulates Dave on delivery of the plane for the Flight School

A view of Table Mountain and Signal Hill with clouds on take-off from Morningstar

Morningstar Airfield near the Blouwbergstrand, Cape Town

Selfie flying the plane

A view towards Somerset West on approach to Stellenbosch Airfield

Final Approach runway 19 Stellenbosch

On the ground at Stellenbosch with the Stellenbosch mountains in the background

Just a joke fetching my co-pilot Louis from Cape Town International so he could join me on the trip in ZU-FYA to Durban

Seaplanes off vetch's pier Durban?

Apparently there is a seaplane operating out of Langebaan lagoon north of Cape Town and I understand that there are only 2 or 3 (including myself) qualified seaplane pilot's in South Africa. The amphibian (can take off on land or water) is operated by Wings and Tracks from Brits near Johannesburg and they also land on a dam near there.

I am going to fetch our new flight school Sling plane in Cape Town next weekend and will have time to go up to Langebaan to see the Seagle in action and maybe even fly the plane.

The Seagle Amphibian which flies out of Langebaan lagoon

Durban Harbour and Vetch's pier could be good landing spots for an amphibian based in Durban with training though Durban Skyye Flight School based at Virginia.

The popular Foxbat plane in South Africa can also be fitted with floats to land on both water and land (with retractable wheels) 

Bundu Aviation from Bronkhorstspruit also supply Zenair floats that can be fitted to a variety of planes

Watch this space for more updates and also check out my aviation blog for more African adventure stories.

Learning about stalls and ailerons

Here's the link to an interesting article explaining why not to use the ailerons in a stall and to use the rudders to stabilise the plane. Click on this link.

However there is no uniform agreement on this and if you read below the grahic, South Africa's own Jim Davis on Avcom, has the following to say with his recommendation:

Actually there is no straight answer to this question because it is an type specific thing.

What I can tell you is that with many "modern" aircraft - including the entire Cherokee range - which is 50 years old - the handbook tells you that the ailerons are effective throughout the stall. This is absolutely correct. If you stall a Cherokee by holding the nose in the level attitude until she is fully stalled, you can use the ailerons just fine while she is shuddering and dropping the nose. 

I can not speak for the Cessna 100 and 200 series, or the Beechcraft Bonanza, and Musketeer ranges, but I suspect they are the same.

The theory about the down-going aileron causing a larger angle of attack, and therefore stalling, is simply not correct. What happens is that the down-going aileron changes the aerofoil profile. It makes that part of the wing have a much larger camber, or curve. In fact it turns it into a wing that resists stalling at that angle. Don't believe me? Try this:

Fly your Cherokee, falpless, until it is just starting to shudder on the ragged edge of a stall. Now, without allowing the nose to move, suddenly apply full flap. According to conventional wisdom this should cause the wing to stall - because you have increased the angle of attack on that section. Actually the reverse happens - the flaps put you almost 10 kts above the stall.

HOWEVER don't expect ailerons to puck up a dropped wing in another types of aircraft - particularly the older ones - because many designers, at that stage, hadn't got round to protecting the pilots from their hammy flying!

I should also point out that when training new pilots, it is safer to teach them not to use aileron alone to pick up a dropped wing on the stall. Because that rule covers ALL bases.

In fact, you will get the most positive response by using coordinated aileron and rudder together, on all aircraft. I don't know of any exceptions.

Jim

New adverturers

New adventurers taking to the skyye over Durban today.. Nick and Neetha enjoying their first time microlight experience.. future pilots?

SeaPlane rating

Team Skyye Director Dave Mc Naught (CEO of Durban Skyye Flight School) has just earned his SeaPlane rating, flying a Cessna 172 Amphibian N172MY at Lake Havasu, Arizona after completing his SeaPlane training there.

Check the video clip on their website here.

The training included learning how to take off and land the amphibian plane on land and water in glassy sea water conditions, rough water and normal water, take-offs and landings in confined spaces, sailing the plane on the water with the engine off, beaching, mooring and docking and working with other water users - boats, jetskis and skiers. The process involved getting Dave's South African land-based Pilot's licence validated for use of the foreign licence in the USA, the issue of a temporary USA Private Pilot's licence, training on the water, a flight test by a USA FA-approved Examiner and the issue of the rating which will then be added and a USA Pilot's licence issued to Dave.  

Durban Skyye Flight School CEO Dave was in Arizona this week - this is his Flight Test (called a Check Ride in the USA) where he passed his test with the Flight Examiner to earn his SeaPlane Rating and USA Pilot's Licence in addition to his South African licences.

The shadow of the seaplane shortly before landing at the airport. The plane has retractable wheels which enable the plane to land on land or with the floats on water.

Refuelling the plane on land is quite high as the undercarriage are floats which in water submerge to half-way down, but on land  are completely above the ground, and the wheels also protrude to enable the plane to land on a hard surface but which raises the height of the plane further off the ground.

Part of the training involved learning techniques in beaching the plane and taking off again from the beach.

Wearing a life vest when over the water is compulsory 

Dave flying the amphibian with instructor Moe 

Lake Havasu, Arizona

The amphibian SeaPlane at Lake Havasu Airport with wheels down