Krugersdorp Fun Rally – 15 Oct 2016
by Rob Jonkers (photos by Willie Bodenstein)
The South African Power Flying Association (SAPFA) together with the Krugersdorp Flying Club organised an extremely successful Navigation Fun Rally on Saturday 15th October 2016. Under the Stewardship of SAPFA’s Frank Eckard who planned & plotted the course, a total of 12 entrants were able to partake in the fun rally.

SA wins Silver Medals at the World Rally Flying Championships
by Rob Jonkers
The World Rally Flying Championship happens every two years and is hosted by one of the participating nations. This year Portugal hosted the 20th FAI World Rally Flying Championships in the coastal town of Santa Cruz some 50 km north of Lisbon.
This year, 52 crews from 18 nations participated, where South Africa was the only Southern Hemisphere team to take part. Team SA was represented by 4 crews in the Advanced Class: Frank & Cally Eckard, Hans Schwebel & Ron Stirk, Thys vd Merwe & Mary de Klerk, Rob Jonkers and Martin Meyer. Arddyn Moolman & Jacques Jacobs were included as International Judges.
Our team’s arrival was Monday the 29th August. A full week before the championship, team SA are normally the first to arrive, as we need the most exposure to the European conditions and terrain as well as aircraft familiarization, as we need to hire local aircraft. By Tuesday late morning we had our aircraft allotted, a Spanish C172 EC-KGG and a Portuguese C150 CS-EBD, and could get airborne in the afternoon for a short recce navigation flight.
Hoedspruit Fun Rally
Hoedspruit Fun Rally
By Cally Eckard
Wynand Uys from Hoedspruit Flying Club, has been in communication with Frank Eckard for three years, arranging this event, and finally the weather and dates coincided. Eleven teams registered, two of them from Tzaneen and one from Krugersdorp. The remainder were resident pilots, and it is clear from the good results that Wynand’s training in rally flying has stood them in good stead. Other clubs holding rallies should watch out when one of these teams compete.
Presidents Trophy Air Race - Home Page
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Presidents Trophy Air Race
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Message from the Race director: Robin Spencer-Scarr It has been 3 weeks since the greatest air race ever was held in Bethlehem. I say this with sincere pride because, yet again, we broke a number of records. For starters, the result was one of the closest we have ever seen with the first 50 aircraft crossing the lines within 3 minutes and 25 seconds of each other. This was followed by the rest of the field giving us a total result of the entire fleet crossing the line within 9 minutes and 9 seconds. This speaks volumes for the improvement in the handicaps. The next record to be broken was the hospitality at the venue. The Bethlehem Aero Club excelled and the Prize-giving Dinner was, without a doubt, a truly Gala Affair. My heartfelt congratulations go to all those competitors who took off and landed safely on both days of hard racing. Thank you for keeping the track record of the PTAR clean and safe. We will be making small amendments to the handicap system for next year and will advising everyone of the details of the algorithm as soon as we are comfortable that it is as truly fair to everyone as it can possibly be. We look forward to seeing you in Springs in May 2017 |
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Results Day 1 | Results Day 2 | ||
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Shelia Taylor Nav Rally - Krugersdorp 14th May - Postponed
To all who have entered the Shelia Taylor Nav Rally - Krugersdorp on the 14th May, please take note that has been postponed due to weather.
The majority opinion is that the weather in the Krugersdorp area on Saturday 14th May is going to get in the way of safe flying.