Articles Air Race (Page 9)

Day 1

Day 2

Total Distance – 642.0 Nautical Miles

2005 Imperial Bank President’s Trophy Air Race

Held at Tempe, Bloemfontein – 26 to 28 May 2005

Total Distance: 642,0 Nautical Miles

Unofficial Entry

2005 President’s Trophy Air Race

Tempe, Bloemfontein – 26 to 28 May 2005

2005 PTAR – Top 3 Crews and Aircraft

2005 PTAR

2005 PTAR – Banquet and Trophies

2005 Imperial Bank President’s Trophy Air Race

How to win the Stayers Trophy

Article by Viv

After much encouragement and persuasion from George Brink, which included the phrase, “it’s the most fun you can have with your headset on”, being said, (and posted on Avcom), many a time, Nasser and I decided to enter the President’s Trophy Air Race 2005.

Budget was in the lower end of the scale, so we decided on using a Jabiru SP. The plane was booked, and we were counting down the days.

The Monday preceding the air race, we found out that our little aeroplane would not be ready in time, due to it having been for an engine overhaul, and still needing a few parts. People were phoned, pleas were posted on Avcom, and eventually we came across a flight school that was willing to hire out their Cherokee 180 to us…. Check rides were done, documents filled in, we were sorted.

Thursday morning arrived, and while preflighting, we realized that the rotating beacon was not working, and a replacement bulb wasn’t available. Not a huge dilemma, so we set off on our journey to New Tempe. En route, our intercom decided to cease functioning properly and didn’t allow communication to occur from pilot to co-pilot, obviously a problem in a race situation. No problem. We continued being confident that we would be able to sort something out once in Tempe.

At Tempe we organized the loan of another intercom (thanks George), got down to the business of attempting to clean the aircraft for the extra streamlining of our aircraft, and then attended the briefing which exposed the route of Day 1. Tempe – Tierpoort Dam – Barkley East – Springfontein – Tempe. Seemed easy enough. We plotted our navigation – the obvious lack of waypoints along one particular leg became apparent, namely the Tierpoort Dam – Barkley East leg.

Friday morning we took off at the prompt of the green light. First turning point was found easily, and then we turned onto our planned heading for the second leg. By this stage there were no other aeroplanes in sight. On turning onto the heading, it became apparent that the magnetic compass was not behaving as it should be, but was instead spinning non-stop. Not the end of the world, so we continued unperturbed.

The turbulence was unlike any I’ve ever experienced, (I now have countless bruises all over my body as the temporary evidence thereof), and after about 10 minutes into the second leg, a big bump caused me to lose hold of the stopwatch. After frantically searching for the stopwatch myself, Werner decided to give me control, unstrapped himself and jumped to the back to look for the stopwatch himself – that didn’t turn out to be such a productive move. The stopwatch was eventually located, although the digits on it no longer held any significance…..

We continued along on our merry way.

By this stage, we seemed to locate ourselves on the map, and things still made sense, but that didn’t continue for long. Soon, there were just too many hills and too many lakes, none of which appeared on the map.

While doing the nav planning, we had very unwisely cut away all irrelevant, (supposed to be), parts of the 1:250 000 maps we had, only to leave the planned route. (Big mistake if there are any big deviations in track, which proved to be our situation.)

Instead of panicking, we took the calm approach and just continued along, not really taking any decisive action, probably hoping, (and praying), that Barkley East would just somehow miraculously appear!

Just before two hours total time elapsed, Nasser casually said that we should look at a contingency plan: one that included finding out where we were. This is when Nasser decided to heed a friend’s advice as to what to do when lost (or temporarily unaware of your location). Fly low-level along a road and read the road signs. (Needless to say this friend is a chopper pilot!)

King Wiliiam’s Town 54 km
Bisho 69km

So it had seemed we may have gone just a bit too far south. Ok, not just a bit, more than twice as far as we were supposed to have! Luckily Nasser had done his PPL training down south, so he had situational awareness to his advantage, and decided to head to Bisho, where he knew there was a nice, big accommodating runway waiting just for us.

After landing at Bisho, we made our way to the ATC tower, where we got a bewildered welcome from two ATCs, playing cards. They had not even realised that we had arrived, (don’t worry, we did join and land procedurally!), and when we asked them whether they had some maps to help us plan our way back, they pointed to the large, faded map of Africa on the wall. That was not going to help us!

After making contact with a rather surprised fellow PTAR competitor, it was ascertained that with the headwind now being as strong as it was, there was no way we’d make it back to Tempe with the fuel we had left, and there was none available at Bisho. Not being too far away, Port Alfred seemed the next logical stop for us, as Nasser had friends there who were willing to assist us, and there was fuel aplenty. So off we went, (after paying our landing fees of course), experienced my first low-level flight at the coast and then landed on runway 25 at Port Alfred.

Once there our embarrassing story had to be told to many amused people, but we managed to get the maps we needed, as well as GPS as back-up since our navigating-by-map-skills had obviously much to be desired.

Off we traipsed to our aircraft, where we were greeted by a girl holding one of our wheel spats- in lots of small pieces. The consequence of what seemed to have been a very soft landing; how that happened still baffles us to this day….

So off we went back to New Tempe, by which stage the sun was already setting, which proved a good opportunity for Nasser to log some night-flying hours. After several attempts to contact Cape Town East Information were made to no avail, they eventually contacted us, and informed us that they had been made aware of our “situation”, even so, the ATC was incredibly helpful and friendly, and was very welcome in our time of distress. Nightfall arrived, and when switching on the cabin lights, we were dismayed, (but not entirely surprised), to find that they were not working. So using an alternative source of lighting, we continued our flight to New Tempe: Nasser controlling the plane, speaking to Information intermittently, and me, securing the “alternative source of lighting”, and controlling the cabin heat airflow. (It was freezing at FL095.)

We landed at Tempe at approximately seven o’clock that night, a considerable few hours later than most competitors, by which stage we were completely exhausted. The first day of PTAR had proven to be more eventful than we had expected a real comedy of errors!

We decided to participate in Day Two of the race, even though we had now been disqualified. It turned out to be thoroughly enjoyable, and I’m happy to report that we never came across any overtly large bodies of water, so there IS hope for us!

At the ceremony, we were awarded “THE STAYERS TROPHY”, and a lot of laughs were had on our behalf, but it was all in good fun, and we were commended on how well we handled our situation by many of the PTAR competitors, really wonderful people – just one of the many reasons participating in PTAR is such an awesome experience.

After an experience like ours, there are the “how’s” and “why didn’t you’s” asked by others and ourselves, and we admit that mistakes were made, but at least we enjoyed making them, and I think it’s safe to say that this has been a huge learning curve for us, as well as a memorable experience, which we will not forget very quickly. (If we do eventually forget, there will definitely be someone there to remind us!)

Look out PTAR 2006, here we come!

2005 Imperial Bank President’s Trophy Air Race

Held at Tempe, Bloemfontein – 26 to 28 May 2005

Analysis of Logger Tracks

By Chris Booysen

Air Observer GPS loggers were used both for the test flying of aircraft with inadequate history as well as being fitted to aircraft in the race on both race days. SAPFA has approximately 20 loggers and so 20 aircraft were logged each day. 13 aircraft were logged on both days.

The loggers record the longitude and latitude and altitude every second, in other words the three dimensional position of the aircraft every second. Using these plotted positions the software can calculate the heading, climb/decent and ground speed of the aircraft. In addition the actual distance flown each day is calculated by the software

What is important to note is that there are a number of factors that affect the speed achieved by an aircraft. There is the inherent speed of the aircraft and the crew ability. The crew can increase the overall speed by flying in a straight line, using the winds, climbing and descending at the correct speeds and flying the aircraft in the most aerodynamic configuration (ie as “smoothly” as possible). Handicaps are set to remove the differences in the inherent speed of the aircraft and not the crew ability. GPS logging of aircraft can give an indication as to the accuracy of the flight. It can also give some indication of the usage of winds but it cannot give any indication of how well the aircraft was flown by the pilot. For example, it is impossible to detect a pilot that provides constant control input on the horizontal and vertical plain by means od a logger download. Constant input increase drag and reduces speed.

It is still the intention of SAPFA to purchase additional GPS loggers out of any surplus made at the Air Race until we are in the position to fit a logger in each aircraft.

On both days of the race there was a strong North Westerly wind. An analysis of the logger tracks shows that it was essential to climb as early as possible and as high as possible on the leg from Tierpoort Dam to Barkley East. Aircraft that climbed quickly to 10 000 ft gained approximately 40 knots when compared with the average speed they achieved in the next two legs back to Tempe into the headwind. Those aircraft that climbed slowly only gained about 36 knots while those that stayed low gained far less.
A table of the information gathered from the aircraft logged for both days is set out below.

The tracks flown on Day 1 by logged aircraft were fairly accurate with the exception of two aircraft that got lost. One flew past Tierpoort Dam, almost to Edenburg and the took approximately 35 minutes to find the dam. Another aircraft flew to the right of the mast at Springfontein and missed it. That aircraft flew approximately 120 NM until they eventually found the station (see top map).

The tracks flown on Day 2 were also flown fairly accurately. The leg from Koffiefontein back to Tempe seemed to catch most participants as that leg showed the largest deviation by most aircraft.

On an overall basis the shortest distance (of aircraft logged) was flown by Race 56 – ZU-APZ flown by Dieter Bock and Mark Steyn and the second shortest distance by Race 5- ZS-KSZ flown by Wally and George Brink. These competitors were placed 52nd and 53rd respectively. As mentioned above there are other factors that affect the speed of an aircraft but both these teams are experienced and their positions must be (at least partly) due to a harsh handicap. The Day 2 track of Dieter Bock shows that it is possible to go off course and still remain competitive. The correction when off track must be done to intercept the track at the next turning point.

It is interesting to note that the additional distances flown this year were greater than last year. Last year the winner was logged and only flew 2.4 miles over the two days racing. As the 2005 winner was not logged on Day 1 we do not have a comparison. The aircraft in 3rd (Race 104 Chris Briers and Jack Onderstall) and 5th position (Dave Mandel and Rod Crichton) in 2005 were logged and flew additional distances of 5.99 NM and 7.27 NM respectively.

A number of GPS loggers had problems. There were instances of loggers that were turned on late which meant that the software could not calculate the accurate distance flown. There was one instance where the logger lost satellite reception, one instance where the logger was turned off by the crew (after getting lost) and one instance where the logger failed to download any information.

Logger data – aircraft fitted with loggers for both days

President´s Trophy Air Race

Pietersburg Civil, Polokwane – 10 to 12 June 2004

By Chris Booysen

The 2004 President’s Air Race was run from the Pietersburg Civil Airfield (FAPI). The change of venue from Tempe was a refreshing one. While it was a long trip to get to Pietersburg for a large number of competitors the flight was worthwhile. The change of venue also introduced the race to a number of new competitors from the far north of the country. I am sure the majority of these participants will become as hooked on the race as I am. Organisers Chris and Dries Briers had proposed some drastic amendments to the format of the race. These included a major reshuffle of the handicaps with most being reduced, the attempt to give some real benefit to sponsors and reduce the vast and growing number of trophies that were awarded.

A large cold front had passed over the country a few days before the race so the forecast for the flight up, both race days and the return flight was good with a high pressure cell over most of the country.

For those that have entered the race before pre-race day was a routine event with arrival, efficient registration with Antionette from Naturelink, refueling and scrutineering. Test flights were compulsory for non standard aircraft. The refueling was also a pleasure with the Naturelink “valets” parking the aircraft for you. This also enhanced safety as there were very few turning props in the parking area. Unfortunately we arrived just after Race 25, the Piaggio Albatros of the Marx brothers which meant there was a considerable delay in the fuelling. At one stage I was worried that they would use all the fuel in the underground tanks. After all this was handled it was off to the hotel to grab a few minutes of shut eye (or a few beers) before the briefing at 6:00pm

The organisers were pulling their hair out with the large number of late entries and arrivals. I know that the last entry posted on the internet site was received on Wednesday evening. Although the rules state that aircraft need to be parked an refueled before 12:00 aircraft were still arriving after dark during the briefing.

Briefing started at 6:00 as promised and covered the normal welcome, safety issues, procedures, weather, ATC, start and the route for Friday. This would take the crews from Pietersburg to Giyani (74,5 miles), Messina (66,9 miles), Alldays (55 miles), Mokopane (formerly Potgietersrus – 93,5 miles) and then home to Pietersburg (33,2 miles). Pictures of all turning points were provided. Some very generous sponsored prizes were drawn in a lucky draw. These included vouchers of R5 000, fuel for the race paid and some “goodie bags”.

After the briefing supper was provided and then most crews rushed off to plot and study the route. The main discussion in our hotel was the options on the Alldays-Mokopane leg. A decision had to be made whether to go over or around the large mountain that someone had put directly on track. Consensus was that the best option was probably to go right of the mountain down the valley but we decided to wait and see when we got there.

Race Day 1 dawned with temperatures that reminded us of Tempe. No surface wind to speak of but a light easterly at about 7000 feet. This immediately started the debate on the necessity to climb on the Messina-Alldays leg and make use of the tail wind. We were also kind enough to show Race 5 (George and Wally Brink) the two mines on the first leg just before Giyani that were not marked on their 1:500 000 map. These mines would make it simple to find the Giyani field as you had to fly directly over both just before the turning point.

Aircraft engines were started 15 minutes before the take of time. This might seem a long time but before you know it you are at the starting robot waiting for the green. Aircraft were launched at 30 second intervals with the fastest aircraft off first. There were 70 aircraft on the start list, proof that the race is maintaining its popularity. Much to our disgust the DI precessed about 20º to the left after take off putting us off track immediately. Luckily the railway line was a dead give away and after cursing the AMO who serviced our DI we continued using more navigation and the compass. A few minutes later we realised that the lack of vacuum might be the cause and turned on the standby vacuum pump. Much to our disgust there was no sign of any mines and we almost missed the Giyani turning point. A number of other aircraft were not as lucky as when they popped over the mountain at Giyani the turning point was covered by a small cloud that made it invisible. At one stage there were three aircraft circling over the turning point but unable to see it. Race 23 (Dave Mandel and Rod Crichton) wasted at least four minutes looking for that red cone.

The route between Giyani and Messina required a small climb over some mountains. At this stage a few aircraft became visible and we had the frustration of an aircraft with a lower handicap breezing past us. Dare I mention the handicapping now!!! Between Messina and Alldays the scenery was incredible. The “bosveld” at its best with thousands of enormous baobab trees.

After Alldays there was a large mountain to get over so the climb was started immediately. The view of the mountain cliffs was incredible. Once over that mountain the discussion of the previous night became irrelevant as it was obvious that the best option was to start a slow descent and pass to the right of the high mountain. Most aircraft chose this option. A notable exception was Race 4 (Jacques Vercueil and Chris Spencer-Scarr) who decided that the mountain was not marked on their map and that they would have to turn more and more to the left to get onto track. Once past the mountain there were enough features to make the run down the valley into Mokopane a straight forward affair.

After Mokopane the left turn took the aircraft back to Pietersburg. To avoid a big climb the best track was up the highway through the kloof. Thank heavens the power lines were well marked or there could have been an incident – or as we were told at the briefing “You could pick up some copper”. Pietersburg runway is visible from a distance and so the last leg could be enjoyed by both the pilot and navigator.

Results handed out for the first day showed Race 52 (Jay Bartholomew and Lawrence Bettesworth in a Cessna C172) in the lead followed by Race 30 (Harry Antel and Barry de Groot in a Grumman), Race 53 (Nico van den Berg and Johan Rautenbach in a Cessna C172) and Race 43 (Adrian Tomaz and Llewellyn Potgieter in a SAAF Cessna 185). An error in the original handicap dropped Race 52 down the listing and the team of Antel and de Groot therefore took line honours for Day 1.

The briefing was a repeat of the Day 1 event with emphasis on the circuit procedures that would become critical at the end of Day 2. Some transgressions of the first days briefing were noted but no penalties were applied. Once again all waited for the important announcement of the route for the next day. The route started with a short leg to Tzaneen (46.5 miles), then to Lydenberg (76.8 miles), across to Warmbaths (114.5 miles) and then back home to Pietersburg (87.7 miles). The distance totaling 326.4 miles. What worried the contestants was the grin on the faces of Dries and Chris Briers when they announced the route. Once again clear colour pictures were given of each turning point. After the briefing the evening meal was again supplied courtesy of the sponsors. Provisional start times were handed out but these were subject to change due to the correction of some handicaps.

Back at the hotel the reason for the smile on the route planners faces was apparent. While the first leg was similar to Day 1 the second leg took the aircraft over some enormous mountains. Also immediately after the turn at Lydenburg was a few contour lines that were very close indicating a quick climb over the mountains again. The long leg to Warmbaths (Warmbad/Bellabella??) had enough good navigation points to make sure that one did not get too lost. The last leg home paralleled the main road so would also not be too difficult.

Race Day 2 dawned with some high cloud cover and little wind to speak of. Winds at most altitudes were a light 3 knots – not a major factor for the days racing.

The start times for Day 2 are determined with a finish time of 13:00. If you fly at exactly your handicap speed for both days then you will finish exactly at 13:00. If you gained a minute on day one then your take off time would be determined by the time you need, at handicap speed, to cross the finish line at 12:59. This method can result in very close take off times. For example Race 38 and Race 19 took off only 3 seconds apart. While this sounds scary to new race participants the distance between the aircraft only increases on the take off roll. In fact, by the end of the runway the crew in the aircraft behind tend to feel if they did not start quick enough

On Day 2 it becomes apparent on how important it is to do well on the first day. It is very disconcerting seeing aircraft with handicap speeds equal or greater than yours taking off earlier than you. You know you will never see them until the end unless they get lost. This method means that the bulk of the slowest aircraft take off first. It is also not a good feeling seeing aircraft taking off an hour before your start time.

The first leg to Tzaneen was similar to Day 1. The heading was only a bit greater. The turning point was well hidden behind a hill making for some sharp action to make sure you cleared the red cone shaped beacon. Then the big climb over the Drakensberg. The scenery was stunning and the navigation fairly easy as in the zero wind conditions it was a simple “stay on heading” type of exercise. Some local knowledge made homing in to the airfield at Lydenburg an straight forward affair and then a steep turn and into the climb over the mountain. We turned with two other aircraft and each headed off in a different direction. When this happens the normal discussion with the navigator starts with predictable results. “Of course they are wrong and we are right!” – (I only wished we were the middle aircraft).

The “2 minute” calls now start indicating that the field is starting to bunch. The adrenaline starts pumping and you start willing the aircraft to fly faster. The calm was suddenly shattered by a Mayday call. Race 43 was doing a forced landing with engine trouble. There are immediate calls asking if they need assistance (how?) but indicated they would phone Race Control when they are safely on the ground. While on the subject of radio calls the low point of the race was some disgusting comments broadcast by one of the race participants. Unfortunately the culprit was protected by the anonymity of a radio broadcast.

The turn at Warmbaths required some care as it was approximately 130º and the traffic was getting more dense. Normally the last leg is busy. Just after Warmbaths we passed a gaggle of Cherokee 140’s and other slower aircraft and then seemed to hit a “bare” patch and do not see any slower aircraft. Once again the question to the navigator as to his ability and once again the predictable reply.

The last leg was a little more difficult than indicated on the map as the main road was not really close enough to help for accurate navigation. The little rivers, farm houses and roads etc had to be used to keep perfectly on track. Pietersburg runway came into view fairly far off and then it was over to the aircraft to make sure you passed more aircraft than passed you. The circuit was busy approximately 20 aircraft in the circuit at any time. By following the briefing instructions, ie keep approximately 100 knots and space yourself, meant that the whole procedure was safe and efficient.

Day 2 (only) saw Race 30 (Antel and de Groot) in the lead, followed by Race 53 (Nico van den Berg and Johan Rautenbach) and Race 19 (Sean Hughes and Harry Moos). This mean that Harry Antel and Barry de Groot were first overall followed by Nico van den Berg and Johan Rautenbach. Third overall was Race 38 piloted by Wessel Vermaas and navigated by Pieter Lordan.

The banquet was a smart affair at the Casino in Polokwane. Speeches were made by dignitaries and sponsors and the appropriate thank-you’s were made. The Awards were presented to the top three teams and other deserving participants. The number of awards was limited as promised by the organisers.

The overall conclusion? A Great Race!!! The venue, the organisation, routes and functions were fantastic. The handicaps – the jury is still out in that one. See you all again next year.

Day 1

Day 2

Total Distance – 649.50 Nautical Miles

2004 President’s Trophy Air Race

Held at Pietersburg Civil, Polokwane – 10 to 12 June 2004

Total Distance: 649.50 Nautical Miles