[WATCH] Spot landing competition continues – this time in perfect weather
And with a full house of visitors – the most they'd ever had –- the day was greeted with smiling faces all staring up in the sky at the mechanical birds soaring by.
Nearly a month after the previous Krugersdorp spot landing competition was postponed due to poor weather conditions, the Krugersdorp Flying Club re-hosted the event and this time, pilots were embraced by a warm sunny day and ocean-blue clear skies.
Pilots took to the skies as early as 7am to battle it out in the epic and difficult South African Flyer and Shell Aviation spot landing competition.
The competition tests the ability of a pilot to land his/ her aircraft on a white line (approximately 40cm wide) painted from left to right across the runway. On each side of the line, there are 17 thin lines, one metre apart.
The aviation judges, in all their experience and precision, take note of which line the aircraft’s wheels touch first, and score the pilot according to that spot. The centre line is the target. If the pilot lands exactly on the centre line, he scores zero. The further the plane’s wheels land from the centre line, the higher the pilot will score. The pilot with the lowest score out of three runs, wins.
And with a full house of visitors – the most they’d ever had – the day was greeted with smiling faces all staring up in the sky to view the mechanical birds soaring by.
The birds, all 37 of them, soared among vultures from the Krugersdorp Game Reserve which is located next to the airfield.
But, the birds were not only in the sky. The club combined the competition with an aircraft display festival which gave boys and girls a chance to see them up close.
From historic aircraft to home-built and vintage planes, and even vintage cars, visitors from all over had the chance to see the incredible machines up close. With free entrance and lots of activities for the children, the whole family could enjoy a cool but sunny day out at the local airfield.
At the end of the competition, the club gave away sponsored prizes valued at more than R49 600.
The top five prizes went to:
Best over-all winner – Peter Lastrucci
Best female pilot – Marie Reddy
Greaser – Dieter Bock
Student – JJ Lotter
Visiting pilot – Willem Greyling
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