2008 SA National Landing Championships

BRITS AIRFIELD

20 – 21 June 2008

……and the 2008 South African Landing Champion is…….(drumroll….) WALTER WALLE!!!!

So who is Walter Walle? 

This young man hails from Germany. He started his flying career in Bloemfontein by winching gliders and soon progressed to flying gliders. He spent twenty years instructing on Glider Flying, four of which he acted as CFI and seven as Chairman of the Bloemfontein Flying Club.

It was at a Rally in Bloem sometime back in 1991 that Walter and his Navigator were first spotted on the radar when they won the event in their Superfalke Motor Glider. This was the beginning of Walter’s competitive flying career. The late, Andre Fourie, suggested that if ever he wanted to achieve his Protea colours, he would have to get his PPL. This Walter did in a heartbeat at the tender age of 60, and then set about his ambition to wear a Green Blazer. His high level of aviation, absolute commitment, and dedication to the sport earned him his first Green Blazer in 2003, when he represented South Africa at the World Rally Championships which were held in Sun City. South Africa won this event. It did not stop there – he went on to earn his Green Blazer for Precision Flying in 2004 and again in 2008 he will soon be flying the flag in Austria when South Africa competes at the World Championships in July.

About 3 years ago, SAPFA introduced a new discipline into the Sport of Aviation. This took the form of a Landing Championship. The objective here is to open the window of opportunity for pilots from around the country to achieve their Provincial Colours. Every pilot HAS to land – this is not an option, so why not get good at it? Those of you who have ever had the misfortune of running out of options in the air, and have had to put down very quickly in a field or on a road, will testify to the fact that the ability to land safely in a short space over an obstacle can be a real blessing.

At a Landing Competition you are required to do 4 basic landings being:
1. Power Approach using flaps
2. Glide Approach using flaps
3. Glide Approach without flaps
4. Obstacle Landing over a 2m barrier 50 m from the touchdown point.
These are all relatively simple and “all in a days’ work” for the average pilot…..but….the challenge does not come in HOW you land but WHERE you land. The runway has been pre-marked with a Landing Box consisting of a 2m wide Landing Line (Bingo) and 1 – 5 m Markings before and after the Bingo Line. Ascending penalties are awarded the further away from the Bingo Line that the main gear touches down.

Ideally you want to get “4 Bingos” to achieve a Zero Score. This is however not always as easy as it seems and does take a lot of practice.

This year the Championships, held in Brits, attracted nearly 30 aviators from various disciplines. The competition was a one day affair on Saturday on 21 June 2008 but arrangements had been made for the South African Protea Flying Team to be at the venue on Friday as a practice day. One of the first to arrive was CC Pocock who had decided to make a weekend of the event. CC was determined to use
his bush pilot experience to do well in the competition. Much to his dismay, every tactic he used was against the rules of the competition and was banned by the organisers. In addition, just because of his reputation he was placed in the Open Class even though it was his first competition.

The rain in the early morning did not deter the competitive spirit. The Competition is divided into following classes:
1. Open – 12 Entries. It is from this class that Provincial Colours are awarded for attaining a certain percentage in the overall Score
2. Sportsmans – 3 Entries. The is the Entry Level. Medals are awarded but not colours.
3. Microlights – 8 Entries. Medals are awarded but not Colours.
4. Virtual Aviation – 5 Entries. Medals and Provincial Colours are awarded.

Each pilot had to execute 8 landings (2 of each type) and the rules were set to allow competitors to discard the worst landing in each set. This set the stage for some very interesting results…

Provincial Colours were awarded to:
Walter Walle – Orange Free State
Mary de Klerk – Kwa Zulu Natal
Barry de Groot – Kwa Zulu Natal
Many awards were also handed out to the Marshalls who gave so tirelessly of their time. Special mention must be made of Jacques Jacobs who has been heading up the Landing Competition since its inception. He has also been awarded his Green Blazer as a Coach and International Judge for the Protea Flying Team.

Thanks must also go to the following
Competition Director: Deon van den Berg
Chief Landing Judge: Jacques Jacobs
Safety Officer: Andries Ehlers
Jury: Chris Booysen (Jury Boss)
Deon van den Berg
Jacques Jacobs
ATC: Mof van Niekerk

The event was sponsored by “Wings ‘n Tracks” so a Big Thanks goes to Barbara & Renier for their generosity.

2008 South African Landing Competition – Results

Held at Brits Airfield, Brits – 21/22 June 2008

2007 SA National Landing Championships

Story by Johan Naude

A cosy fire was crackling in the fireplace, while the organizers of the National Spot Landing Championships discussed the final preparations for the event in the clubhouse of the Bloemfontein Flying Club. The go/no-go depended on two issues. One, will there be enough participants to make it a worthwhile exercise, and two, what will the weather be like.

At that stage we received 14 possible entries, but the weather forecast painted a gloomy picture of snow on the mountains of the Eastern Cape, and a light south-easterly that would bring the cold front to Bloemfontein on late Friday afternoon. But, we decided to push through.

As I was packing to leave my office on the Friday afternoon, I looked out my lovely panoramic window on the ninth floor of the office building. What I saw was black clouds rolling in, and the tree tops were swaying back and forth in the gusty wind. I saw people down in the street clutching their thick wool jackets, and I thought to myself that the competition was never going to happen.

I thought about the guys flying down to Bloem in this poor weather. Do they know what is waiting here for them? And I thought about Walter Walle and his helpers painting the runway markings in this sub-zero temperature. Things didn’t look good at all, so I called the weather office. The sky would be clear by 10:00 but the maximum temperature would be only 11°C. A 6 knot breeze from the south would be blowing right in the face of the pilots on runway one-niner.

And they were right! When I drew back my bedroom curtains early Saturday morning, I realized that it was going to be great weather for flying. I grabbed my cameras and stuff, and off I went to Tempe Airfield just outside Bloemfontein, where old familiar faces were basking in the sun.

I was greeted by Ron Stirk, current world champion, Mary de Klerk, Barry de Groot, Jan Hanekom, Schalk Kotzé and Hans Schwebel from Brits. Local club members Cobus van der Colf, Martin Deysel and Jack Onderstall were eager to give the experts a run for their money. Two participants, Gordon van Wyk and Radies Rademeyer arrived from the gliding club in a motor glider from the opposite side of the airfield. Unfortunately Jack Onderstall had to withdraw due to alternator problems on his Kitfox.

So after the pilots briefing, there were ten participants that were eager to get going. First out was Barry de Groot. From the start it was clear that these guys had put in lots of practice. Mary de Klerk rode the Cessna 152 as if it was a bicycle. Hans Schwebel seems to be looking at the box through a magnifying glass, as he almost hit “bingo” with every landing!

Local first timer, Martin Deysel did quite well with his Samba XL to finish in forth place, before the reigning world champion. Ron didn’t have a good day behind the stick, finishing in sixth position.

All kinds of confusion broke loose when the two glider pilots in the same aircraft swopped control during flight, and nobody on the ground knew who was in command at what time. The judges had to rely on radio comms and video replays to determine their individual scores.

According to Walter Walle, there were four bingo hits during the day. We saw excellent flying skills displayed throughout the day.

To round off the event, Jack Onderstall gave us a display in his self built Glassair that earned him the trophy of best home built aircraft in 2005. Zooming past at almost 450km/hour at 20’ above the runway, and then shooting up at an unbelievable angle really made all the slow flyers envious

Then it was decision time. The judges went ‘in-camera’ or is it ‘under cover’ for almost an hour, while everybody else watched on the big screen how the Free State Cheetahs demolished the WP guys on home turf only a few kilos away.

And then, in typical Free State style, the day was ended with a braai at the clubhouse. A beautiful trophy was handed to Hans Schwebel. It was a very chilly but fun filled day. On behalf of the Bloemfontein Flying Club, I want to thank all the participants who braved the cold to come and be part of this event.

Freezing Temperatures

Evening Function

Mary de Klerk, Hans Schwebel and Barry de Groot

2007 South African Landing Competition – Results

Held at New Tempe, Bloemfontein on 28 July 2007