Pilots express flight passion at rally
"If you have ever flown, you know exactly why birds sing."
Some say having your head in the clouds is a bad thing, but what happens when soaring among the clouds becomes your passion?
For pilots of the Krugersdorp Flying Club, this means being able to participate in fun flying challenges such as the recent Navigation Rally. One-by-one and minutes apart the planes took off from the Jack Taylor Airfield.
Sixteen teams of two – a pilot and a navigator – flew on that day, but only one was to be named the ultimate navigation expert.
Photo: Ian Morison
The route consisted of 100 nautical miles (185,2km).
The pilots each received a pre-set GPS that logged the flight pattern of the plane. The duo was required to navigate over a set route using only aerial photos as reference.
The route contained numerous photos of beacons pilots needed to find and fly over. For each beacon the plane passed over, the GPS logged the location and the team received points.
It only took pilots approximately one hour to travel the distance that would probably take two or more hours with other means of transport.
The race was not against time, however – it had to do with accuracy and careful route planning. It is up to the navigator to efficiently direct the plane in the right direction throughout the flight. This can become a difficult task as passing one beacon means immediately navigating to the next beacon because the plane travels a large distance in a short period of time.
Four types of planes were allowed to participate in the navigation rally, namely Bonanzas, Slings, Cessnas and Pipers. These planes only have one engine that propels them through the air. And while some vehicles have idling speeds of between 1 000 and 1 500 revolutions per minute (rpms), planes of this size only need between 200 or 300 rpm’s to fly. The Cessna aircraft provides 230 horse-power to propel the pilot and his navigator through the air.
The rally consisted of two categories: members of the Krugersdorp Flying Club and non-members. Celia Lastrucci (pilot) and her husband Peter (navigator) won the member category. Ron (pilot) and Dusty Stirk (navigator) landed the first prize in the non-members category.
Rob Jonker, a Protea team pilot secured a second place in the non-member category during this rally.
What makes these pilots even more interesting is that they do much more with their flying capabilities than just participate in challenges and rallies.
“Every now and then, we fly to other airports – some as far away as Thabazimbi – have breakfast and then fly back,” Rob said.
When asked why they flew, most pilots agreed that it is incredibly peaceful to fly and they feel entirely free when they are in their planes.
“If you have ever flown, you know exactly why birds sing,” Rob said.
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