ALGOA FLYING CLUB

by Julian Smith

Although the Algoa Flying Club was officially formed on 26 November 1956, the club proudly claims to one of the oldest flying clubs in South Africa. It can trace its roots all the way back to 1929, when the Port Elizabeth Aero Club was formed.

THE MODERN ALGOA FLYING CLUB is a registered NPO (not-for-profit) organisation made up of flying enthusiasts with the aim of promoting flying and flying training within a friendly environment.

In 1971 a ground-breaking decision was made for the club to acquire its own aircraft and establish its own training centre.

Currently the club has a fleet of Cessna 152s, a Cessna 172, a Cessna 172 RG, a Sling 2, a Seneca, a Airvan GA8 and a SACAA Accredited Elite Evolution S812 (FNPT11) Simulator, which offers multi-engine piston training based on the Beech Baron B58 and single-engine piston based on the Cessna 172RG. The club offers training to local and international students.

2021 65th Celebration

In 2020, due to Covid-19, no wings awards evening was held, so a double celebration was warranted this year for the 65th Anniversary and Wings Parade.

On the evening of Saturday 20 November over 80 members arrived at the Walmer Golf Estate. As guests gathered on the balcony enjoying pre-dinner snacks, the festivities started with a sponsored flypast by Hangar51, using a L29 and Yak 52. The L29 Delfin was flown by Mike Weingartz and the lead Yak 52 by Koos Kieck. These two vastly experienced former SAAF fighter pilots had their hands full with the violently bumpy conditions from the famous windy city.

bumpy conditions from the windy city

Aircraft of the Algoa Flying Club taken either in 1956 or 1957.

A rare sight at Algoa Flying Club a J3 Cub with nosewheel.

Founder Members, Bennie Bergmann and Chester Chandler.

Once the pilots were back on the ground, the Master of Ceremonies and Club Chairman, Gareth Godwin, introduced the evening’s guest speaker: Colonel H.J. (Koos) Kieck. Colonel Kieck entertained all with stories from his SAAF days and some excellent advice for new pilots.

An excellent four course meal was served between the prize giving. Many prizes were handed out to students: for both 2020 and 2021.

Notable guests were Chester Chandler (a founding member) as the oldest surviving club member, with Bennie Bergmann being the second surviving oldest with 65 and 58 years of club membership respectively. A very popular award was to Bennie Bergmann for ‘Most Active Non-Flying Club Member’.

L29 and Yak 52 flypast.

Tristan Botes won many awards including BEST ACADEMIC PPL STUDENT and the R29000 bursary Patrick Davidson awarded "Best licenced pilot" 2021.

An award that surprised nobody was to ‘uber-pilot’ and former Red Bull Air Racer, Patrick Davidson, for ‘Best Licenced Pilot’.

As a climax to the evening, Patrick Davidson, on behalf of Stu Davidson & Sons, donated two substantial amounts for flying development: a R29,000 bursary to Tristan Botes and R86,000 to Qhawe Nxumalo towards her Commercial Licence on completion of her PPL.

The traditional ‘boat race’ drinking game between new pilots and the ‘ou-manne’ was won by the experienced ‘ou-manne’. j

YOUR PEACE OF MIND IN AVIATION MAINTENANCE

Gemair is an SACAA Approved Maintenance Organisation, AMO 1003 with 5 other African AMO Approvals and has a team of 9 full time engineers who together have a combined total of over 50 years aviation experience. Gemair are able to perform all aviation maintenance requirements on a variety of NonType certified aircraft, light singles and twins up to turbo propellers and light jets. Gemair also holds electrical and instrumentation approvals.

TEL: 011 701 2653 or 082 905 5760 Hangar 110, Gate 13, Turn right (old Pical hangar), located behind Spectrum Air Surveyors, Lanseria South Side, 1748

Big or small, Fire safety is for all

BY LANSERIA AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

From Lithium-Ion batteries to aerosol cans, many items used every day at home or work are regulated as hazardous materials (‘hazmat’ and ‘dangerous goods’). Fire block safety bags can safely and effectively contain flames and toxic smoke from devices such as laptops, smart phones and tablets or any other powered devices.

CAA No AMO 620

Tel: (011) 659 1962 Cell: 076 810 9751 Email: sales@lanseriarefurb.co.za Hanger 107 C and D Gate 13, Lanseria Airport.

These products may appear to be harmless, but when transported in an aircraft they can be extremely dangerous. Vibrations, static electricity, temperature and pressure variations can cause items to leak, generate toxic fumes, start a fire, or even explode. Hazardous material include, but are not limited to explosives, gases, flammable liquids and solids, oxidizers, toxic and infections materials, radioactive materials, corrosives and many other items that can endanger the traveling public when not handled correctly. Many of the hazardous materials are allowed as carry on luggage and for this reason the Fire Block safety bag may prevent a dangerous situation.

www.lanseriarefurb.co.za

Features:

• An effective part of the Safety Management System (SMS) • Fully burn certified and fulfils all recommended perimeters • Conforms to FAA flammability standards and conforms to SACAA FAR 25.853 flammability standards • Can withstand temperatures as high as 1500°C

Benefits:

• Only four easy steps required to utilise the bag. • To improve the battery safety and prevent an incident, the Fire Block Safety Bag have can be used as a storage device. WISHING ALL OUR CLIENTS A WONDERFUL FESTIVE PERIOD AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!Prevents: • Prevents the risk of bodily harm and property damage. • Can prevent flight diversions due to smoke or fire. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgaB388YChQ

TL AIRCRAFT’S SPARKER

CZECH AIRCRAFT BUILDER TL Ultralight has worked with their American distributors, TL Aircraft, to release their newest sport plane – the TL Sparker.

Power options include the Rotax 912 USL or the 915 iS. A choice of fixed or adjustable propellers are available, with TL’s top recommendations being a 3-bladed PowerMax or two-bladed DuoMax prop.

Estimated (albeit optimistic) performance from TL Aviation gives the 915 iS Sparker a range of 1,000 miles, a cruise speed of 175 knots TAS and a fuel consumption of 7.5 gallons per hour.

The launch marketing material claims, “Retractable landing gear with a steerable nose wheel make for easy taxi handling, with 24 cubic feet of luggage compartments hungry enough for a trip’s worth of luggage. The cockpit is where the aircraft shines, as the Sparker combines the sportiness of another of TL’s aircraft, tandem-seat, fighteresque Stream with the luxurious, spacious cockpit of a larger aircraft.”

The Sparker is claimed to be “a sleek, aerodynamic build with a spacious, high-visibility panoramic canopy that promises at a glance will make the most of every bit of its power. The carbon and Kevlar shell provides maximum crew protection in case of rough off-airport landings should the worst occur, which, given the ballistic parachute recovery system, should be a rare occurrence.” j

The TL Sparker makes ambitious claims.