Early April found all South African rally flying hopefuls converging on Stellenbosch Flying Club for the 2019 Rally Flying Championships. Unlike other years, 2019 is not a selection competition, but was regarded as a training event, and a measurement of progress on the long road to the next World Rally Flying Championships which will be held in Stellenbosch in November 2020. Entering a local world event is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in a competition that would earn Protea colours. 
Contestants gather at Stellenbosch airfield against the backdrop of the mountains before setting off on the second day’s route at the 2019 Rally National Championships last weekend

SAPFA has revealed that it would like to select as many as ten teams to this prestigious event, and it is looking for “new blood” amongst the rally flying fraternity. To this end, the organisers have been “head-hunting” prospective teams from recent rallies, and Speed Rallies. They have invited them to training sessions on plotting the routes, the role of the pilot, communication in the cockpit, and photo recognition. This resulted in a very large field of 17 crews, the largest in recent years for Nationals, some of whom have flown only a few rallies.Competitor’s aircraft parked at Stellenbosch Airfield. Arguably the prettiest field in the country

A team of very young local pilots experienced their first rally on Friday in Class 3 category, then went on to fly their first Class 1 rally the next day, and managed very well. They were Jovan Barkenhuizen and JD Stofberg from Cape Town, and were severely disadvantaged by flying their Rockwell Commander at a ground speed of 115 knots. Jovan was first introduced to Speed Rallies at Morning Star Airfield a few months ago, where he took first place.
Stellenbosch Flying Club’s own student Ashleigh Prinsloo and Marko Nel, her instructor, couldn’t have been prouder to win the landing trophy, scoring two perfect “bingo” landings

Another local team was that of Marko Nel, chief flying instructor, and his student Ashleigh Prinsloo from Stellenbosch, who are one of the teams to look out for. Ashleigh blew everyone away with her landing score of 2 bingos, and for this they walked away with the Landing Prize.Our competition also attracted a team from Austria, consisting of Walter Dworschak and Michael Riedel. Unfortunately their licence validations were not available in time, so they had to fly with a local pilot. However, they thoroughly enjoyed the challenging routes and beautiful scenery, and will be back for the next championships.

The other team which must be mentioned is that of Nigel Hopkins and Mary de Klerk. Mary, a Protea pilot and navigator in her own right, well known in Rally and Precision circles all over the world, has teamed up with ex-rally pilot Nigel, who has made a name for himself in recent years in the aerobatics world. Nigel has returned to Rally, and it seems his skills are as sharp as ever. With Mary’s broken shoulder strapped up, they still managed to win the championships with a very impressive performance.

The competition was supposed to begin on Thursday 4 April, but the weather was unsuitable for any kind of flying, so Mary de Klerk took the opportunity to fit in some extra training for the less experienced pilots and navigators, who afterwards all agreed that what they learned was invaluable.

 

The master map, showing the route, turn points, ground targets and observation photos on the second day’s Mountain Route

Friday’s weather was somewhat clearer, so it was decided to fly the “Bad Weather” route, which took the teams to the North of Stellenbosch, in a clockwise track towards the coast, narrowly skirting around the South of Fisantekraal, then Eastward towards Riebeeck-Kasteel, following the railway line towards Wellington, then heading back towards Stellenbosch. Navigation in this area was very difficult, especially for up-country pilots who are not used to the small farms and details in the terrain.The results for Day 1 were:

 

Day 2 brought clear skies and no wind – a perfect day to fly the Mountain Route, a spectacular tour which began from Stellenbosch, leading down the Franschoek valley, over the Franschoek Mountain, over Theewaterskloof Dam, and Villiersdorp, over Kwaggaskloof and Brandvlei dams South of Worcester, Northwest along the Breerivier then turning back over the mountains by way of the Bain’s Kloof Pass, carefully following two “arcs” in opposite directions over Wellington and Paarl, finally ending at a railway station North of Stellenbosch. Unfortunately for the navigators, the plot was very difficult, and some were completely flummoxed by it. However, it was a good lesson in how to cope with a world-class route under challenging circumstances.Three teams competed in Class 3, which on this occasion merely meant that they plotted on the ground instead of in the airplane. Their scoring was the same as Class 1, and their observation targets were the same.

 

Mary de Klerk, a Protea pilot and navigator in her own right, well known in Rally and Precision circles all over the world, has teamed up with ex-rally pilot Nigel Hopkins, who has made a name for himself in recent years in the aerobatics world. Nigel has returned to Rally, and it seems his skills are as sharp as ever

Challenges that were insurmountable for two of the crews were flat tyres and broken brakes, meaning that the up-and-coming teams of Chris and Ryan Shillaw in their Cirrus, and Leon Bouttell and Karen Purchase in their Sportstar were sadly out of the competition before their day began. However, all intend to fly the route on their own in order to gain experience.

Jonty Esser and Sandi Goddard have represented South Africa for several years in Rally Flying, and were pleased to receive their medals for third place in the championships this year

The results for Day 2 were:

The Chief Judge and organisers then had the privilege of announcing the winners of the event at an informal ceremony on the Saturday evening, after which the club organised a braai for the competitors and organisers.

Tony and Pam Russell have been practising very diligently on their rally skills over the past few years, and were thrilled when it finally paid off and they achieved second place

The overall results for the championships were:

The overall results for Class 3 were:

These championships were a wonderful opportunity for the pilots and navigators to learn to fly and navigate in the Stellenbosch terrain, but it was also a vital chance for the organisers of the 2020 Nationals and the World Championships to get the lie of the land. Mary de Klerk and Colin Jordaan, Director and Deputy Director were able to meet up with local sponsors and with the management team of Stellenbosch Flying Club; Route Planners Frank and Cally Eckard were able to practise setting and scoring routes in the area; and Judges Deon van den Berg and Jacques Jacobs, Ursula Schwebel and Barbara Friebose were able to see what needs to be done at the airfield to make Stellenbosch suitable to hold a World event, and to meet up with local club members who wish to avail themselves to be marshals at the World event.

Mary de Klerk and Nigel Hopkins (absent) were proud winners of the 2019 National Rally Flying Championships, beating the competition by an astounding 1410 points

Stellenbosch Airfield, under the organisation of Rikus Erasmus, Anton Theart and Frank Olsen is probably one of the most beautiful and well supported in South Africa, and definitely worthy of holding a World class event. 

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As a follow-on to the Rally Navigation Training event held at Aerosud on the 19th of January 2019, it was planned to fly the practice route that was plotted on that day. The 16th February was chosen and as the week unfolded with almost daily rain, it looked doubtful to get good weather, although it looked a little promising on Friday. As the day dawned, the clouds were on the deck throughout Gauteng, north of the Magalies in the Brits area was a bit better. The cloud base only started lifting around 9 am, and then only in patches, so even with 12 teams registered to take part, only 4 teams eventually were able to get to Brits. Frank & Cally Eckard prepared the route packs for the teams and were on hand to do the scoring.

Frank Eckard – Presenting the Rally Flying Techniques Course.

The focus of the day was more related to flying techniques and Frank Eckard provided an hour’s presentation on how to prepare the cockpit, roles of the crew in work sharing, organizing the photos, flying techniques such as speed management, altitude and the approach to turn points.

Nigel Hopkins & Mary de Klerk preparing their maps for their flight.

The teams then plotted the course, basically replotted the course that was previously prepared a month ago and went to fly the route. Aerobatics ace & SAA Captain Nigel Hopkins who has been a previous rally world champion 15 years ago, flew with experienced navigator Mary de Klerk, and proved by his excellent score of 64 penalty points that he has not lost his touch in rally flying.

Leon Bouttell & Karyn Purchase preparing their plots. 

Veteran Protea pilot Thys van der Merwe preparing the maps with navigator Frans Smit.

As SAPFA is preparing for the World Rally Flying Championships in 2020, the focus on the two years prior the event is to gain as many South African qualified teams to take part, and every event being held this year will be an event that can improve skills.

Nigel & Mary preparing the cockpit.

To achieve world standard qualification, there is a route to achieve these skills in classes, with Advanced Class as the definitive level of competition, where existing Protea teams would compete, and new teams would vie to achieve a qualification standard. The initial Sportsman’s Class is the entry level where teams gain experience to get to try their hand at the Advanced Class. There is also an Intermediate Class, which has a combination of Protea pilots and navigators that fly or navigate with new team members as further skill building in a step to achieve an Advanced level.

 
A competitive score for Nigel on a route with arcs and follows the feature.

As the weather was not favourable on this weekend, SAPFA will look at rescheduling this event again at a future date.

The next rally is being held at Virginia on the 26th March. For more information Contact Mary de Klerk cell: 084 880 9000 e-mail: maryd@expandingbranding.co.za 

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The SAPFA Committee, particularly Rob Jonkers and Mary de Klerk, who organised a very thorough workshop recently on Rally Flying, saw their efforts bear fruit at the annual Rand Airport Challenge, when a record 8 teams took part in the Intermediate form of the sport. In previous years most participants preferred to stick to the simplest and easiest form which is Fun Rally, but this year pilots and navigators were encouraged to enter the more difficult category. The reason for this is to elevate their skills levels, so that they can participate at national level, thereby building up a new breed of South African champion rally pilots and navigators.


Participants and organisers at Saturday’s Rand Airport Challenge

The navigators and pilots in the Intermediate category had one hour to plot the entire route, and had to do so in the cockpit, which was a first for most of them. They also had far more photo targets to identify, and these were mixed up instead of being sequential and only one per leg. The pilots had only a 5 second window to get through each turn-point, instead of 15 seconds for Fun. 

Frank during the briefing. 

Some of the participants during the briefing. 

Participants hard at work plotting their routes.

Organisers Frank and Cally Eckard gave them the task of flying an arc, which is a curved track between two turn-points, and a follow-the-feature, where they have to fly along a road, river or railway line. Every pilot flew the arc perfectly, and really enjoyed the challenge. 

Jonty Esser and son Jonathan finished 2nd in the Intermediate Section. 

Rob Jonkers Martin Meyer won the Unlimited Section. 

Don Lucas and Andre Kluyts were placed 4th in the Intermediate Section. 

Phil Wakely and Mary de Klerk did not complete the course due to mechanical problems. 

Hans Schwebel and Ron Stirk were placed 2nd in the Unlimited Section. 

Shane Britz and Karen Stroud were the winners of the Intermediate Section.

The route took them south from Rand Airport, around Suikerbosrand to Heidelberg, then down to two turn points on the banks of the Vaal Dam, and back again near Vereeniging to the Finish Point at Klipriviersberg Nature
Reserve. 

Leon Bouttell and Karyn Purchase finished 5th in the Intermediate Section. 

Adrian Pilling and son Adam were placed 3rd in the Intermediate Section. 

Thys van der Merwe and Gerda Pienaar finished 2nd in the Fun Rally section. 

Kim Pratley and son Andrew finished 3rd in the Fun Rally section. 

Piet Meyer Pieter Kriel were placed 4th in the Fun Rally section. 

Mark Clulow and Renee Clulow were placed 6th in the Intermediate Section.

Antony and Pamela Russell who came all the way from Cape Town to compete finished in 3rd place in Unlimited Section. 

RC and CJ Shillaw were the winners of the Fun Rally section. 

Jakes Jacobs and Franz Smit did not complete the course due to mechanical problems. 

Shane Britz and Karen Stroud the winners of the Rand Challenge. 

Rand Airport, who sponsors the Rand Airport Challenge Trophy, also waived landing fees on the days for the participants. The trophy was won by the defending team of Shane Brits and Karen Stroud, who have been putting a lot of effort into their sport.The full results are:

The Fun Rally section:

Pilot Navigator Points
1 RC Shillaw CJ Shillaw 319
2 Thys van der Merwe Gerda Pienaar 870
3 Kim Pratley Andrew Pratley 1231
4 Piet Meyer Pieter Kriel 1410

The Intermediate Section:

Pilot Navigator Points
1 Shane Britz Karen Stroud 750
2 Jonty Esser Jonathan Esser 967
3 Adrian Pilling Adam Pilling 982
4 Don Lucas Andre Kluyts 1488
5 Leon Bouttell Karyn Purchase 1955
6 Mark Clulow Renee Clulow 2170

Unfortunately the two teams consisting of Phil Wakely and Mary de Klerk, and Jakes Jacobs and Franz Smit did not complete the course due to mechanical problems.

The Unlimited Section:

PilotNavigatorPoints
1 Rob Jonkers Martin Meyer 409
2 Hans Schwebel Ron Stirk 766
3 Antony Russell Pamela Russell 1344

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of this sport, and is all very motivated to take part in the next events:

· 1-2 Feb – Cape Speed Rally, Morning Star
· 16 Feb – Training Day in Brits, with the focus on the role of the pilot, and cockpit-management
· 23 March – Virginia Rally, Durban (with a training course on 22 March)
· 4 – 6 April – Rally Nationals, Stellenbosch
Please enter online at Sapfa.org.za

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SAPFA held a very successful training event on Rally Navigation on Saturday 19th January as the first SAPFA event of the year. Initially planned for a maximum of 30 participants, and at Grand Central, the eventual total participation was 50, and fitting everybody into the Aerosud training hall proved a challenge.

Alan Evan Hanes – GM of the Aero Club with a short Aero Club Intro
It is great to see the sport being supported so enthusiastically, and the willingness to learn these basic skills of map reading and planning. The GM of the Aero Club Alan Evan Hanes opened the day with a brief overview of the Aero Club and its functions, that the Aero Club has as its mission to protect all forms of Recreational Aviation, and supports Sections of the Aero Club such as SAPFA to be able hold successful events within the procedures governing recreational aviation in SA.

The Participants – 50 in total
With that Mary de Klerk took charge and laid out the objectives of the day, by initially going through the theory of plotting, and then to practice on an actual plot. With this year of 2019 having a full calendar of events, and the Nationals coming up in April in Stellenbosch, and with SAPFA having won the bid to host the World Rally Flying Championships in 2020 (which is also the Centenary year of the Aero Club), this training event would serve as an excellent platform to entice new members to the sport and to start training for the Internationals and obtain Protea Colours.

The Rally Plotting Class of 2019
Mary first started off with having everybody introduce themselves, and what they each had as objectives for training, some were there as newbies interested in taking part in the sport, some having takien part previously indicated they needed some formal and expert training, and some others indicated they just wanted to delve more in depth than what a ppl course would give on the art of paper based navigation.

From there Mary outlined the theory on plotting procedures and described the tools of the trade. Then it was off to plotting an example course which had to be done from basic plotting principles of co-ordinates, bearings (which could be in either true or magnetic) and distances (either in nm of km). Each turning point then had to be found and identified and linked into legs, some of which could be arcs or follow map features.

The goal in getting to National level standard is to be able to plot in the aircraft with a papers time of around 30-40 minutes prior take-off, which means speed is of the essence in doing the plot, so that the navigator can assist with finding and identifying the ground photos.

The morning’s training ended off at around 11 am, and after a short break, everybody got their first route in an envelope, got the laminated transparent tool, which they had to cut out, and proceeded to plot each of the turn points making up the route. It was decided to proceed right through lunch, and most had finished their plot by after 2pm. The course was ended off with an in cockpit video of one of Rob & Martin’s 2012 rally flights to show how the leg photo features match up with the real world outside to give the perspective of what one sees outside the cockpit from the flying height and distance.

Everybody left with some knowledge gained on plotting and techniques of planning & flying a rally, and it is hoped that many will come to the Rand Challenge on the 26th January and Nationals in April.

Daniel Ralefeta and his team of Rise Above Aviators getting ready to plot


Feverously map reading and plotting


Martin Meyer assisting Dave Thomas
Mark and Rene Clulow figuring the plot.

 

Newbies to the sport, Time Scharf, Conrad van Coller and Daniel Ralefeta

Mary de Klerk assisting Melika Mohapi with Franz Smit & Ashley Loynes at left

Kim Pratley and his son Andrew Pratley working their plot
Protea pilot Adrian Pilling and newly minted ppl pilot son Adam learning from the expert

Arthur Piercy working his plot
Michael Stofberg & Bryony Martin from 104 squadron


Virtual Aviators Johan van Wyk and Freek Stegman

Shaun Barron with Cally Eckard helping in the background
Rob Jonkers explaining some flying techniques

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The first in a series of Rally Competitions was held on Saturday 3rd Nov 2018 at Stellenbosch Airfield. Everything from the weather, the venue and route planning etc was perfect – only one thing was missing…. The number of entries… Its seems that the communication did not go out on time, but this will be corrected for future events.

FASH approach


FASH

This particular event heralded the first in a series of Rally Flying Competitions which will take place Nationally and in Stellenbosch leading up to the World Rally Flying Championships which will be held in November 2020. Participants in these lead up rallies will earn accumulated points which will determine their eligibility to participate in the 2020 World Championships. So participation will be crucial to the selection of the final SA Rally Flying Team.

Jonty, Sandi, Frank, Cally, Mary, Benjamin and Andre

 

Frank in Training


Pam and Tony Russell

So determined are the team of Shane Brits and Karin Stroud that they ventured to fly their Jabiru all the way down from Johannesburg to Stellenbosch on a 16 hour round trip.

Mary de Klerk and Richard Newton

Brand new to this sport is retired Captain Richard Newton who flew this rally for the first time ever in his RV7 with Mary de Klerk. His exceptional flying experience clearly shone through in his final result.

    
Alwyn Burger Map Preparation……… Frank congratulates Benjamin Cserveny. Benjamin and Alwyn finished 3rd in the Sportsman Class.

Frank with Karin Stroud and Shane Brits (2nd Place Sportsman CLass)

Frank with Ashleigh Prinsloo and Marko Nel (1st Place Sportsman Class)

Frank and Cally Eckard were responsible for planning the route which was flown by all 3 classes:
1. Sportsman – Neither Pilot nor Navigator have earned Protea Colours
2. Intermediate – Either Pilot or Navigator has earned Protea Colours
3. Advanced – Both Pilot and Navigator have earned Protea Colours

Frank with Pam and Tony Russell (3rd Place Intermediate Class)

Frank with Andre Kluyts – missing Mauritz du Plessis (2nd Place Intermediate Class)

Frank with Richard Newton and Mary de Klerk (1st Place Intermediate)

The route consisted of 11 Checkpoints (including Start and Finish) and took the teams in a North Westerly direction up towards Koeberg before turning right and zig zagging back into the picturesque Stellenbosch valley. The Sportsman’s class had to identify 9 sequential photos (1 on each leg) whilst the Intermediates and Advanced had to identify 20 non-sequential photos. All the photos and some checkpoints were very challenging but all teams managed to find their way around the course and all returned safely to base.

Frank with Sandi Goddard and Jonty Esser (1st Place Advanced Class)
 

FINAL RESULTS

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The South African Power Flying Association (SAPFA) together with the Superior Pilot Services (SPS) organised a successful Navigation Fun Rally on Saturday 8th September 2018.

Under the Stewardship of SAPFA’s Rob Jonkers who planned & plotted the course, a total of 18 entrants registered to partake in the rally, although only 13 eventually were able to take part, some of them having had to withdraw.

Rob Jonkers busy with the competitor briefing.

There were 3 crews from SPS, all commercial pilot students getting their first experience in the art of Navigation Rally flying, although traditionally in previous rallies there was a Friday night course, this was not done, thus the newbies had to learn from the older hands in the room on the day.

Sanele Mkize and Lungule Jiyana listening to the briefing.

With a mix of Newbies and Protean teams, there were three classes of competition, Fun, Advanced, Unlimited, where the Fun class were for those new to the sport, Advanced Class where a Protea team member teamed up with a Newbie and Unlimited Class with a full Protea team. There were two competition rule sets flown although both were on exactly the same route, with the Fun rules requiring photo recognition in sequence, one per leg, and Unlimited with 18 scrambled leg photos.

Most competitors arrived by 8.00 on Saturday morning to start the plotting activity which took the best part of 2 hours with the first aircraft off at 10:45. The weather forecast initially did not look promising with early morning showers, which did not materialise, just some scattered cloud with not much wind. The wind prediction for the day however was going to be blustery later in the morning.

Edzard Verseput and Michael Crause busy plotting the course.

The route was planned to go out north, into familiar territory for the Grand Central based crews as most of the legs were in their training backyard. The start and finish points were just north of the N14 in the narrow Special Rules corridor between the Waterkloof & Lanseria airspace, and from there the route went out past the red and white radio mast, up through to Soshanguve, west over the hills adjacent to the Brits airfield, then south through granite quarrying territory, then further west with a turning point over the Silver Creek Airfield. From there across the Maglies northern ridge, then east across the Hartebeepoort Dam, then south to the finish point being a road and creek crossing just north of the Ernie Els Golf course.

There was one photo per leg that needed to be recognized, somehow for this rally not many of them were spotted by the crews in this year. After returning, the teams had to carry out a spot landing, only yielding three bingo’s, as the stiff crosswind became apparent as the competitors returned.

Newbies Wian Minne & Keuler Breed busy plotting their course.

One of the SPS crews of Wian Minne and Keuler Breed did exceptionally well, having found all the turning points, but hampered with a late take-off, thus catching up on timing proved difficult, although good effort was made to catch up and timing was overall good. One team had to divert with some sickness on board, and the last teams to take-off had to contend with high westerly winds of 20 kts gusting 27kts making the downwind legs tough to keep time having to perform snake maneuvers and 20 degree of flap at minimum speed.

Newbies Wian Minne & Keuler Breed’s track they flew with only one track error.

After all the scores were tallied, first in Fun class was Leon Bouttell with first time navigator Karen Purchase, in Advanced class Steven vd Merwe with father Thys flying at 130 kts in their RV6 with Pierre Dippenaar achieving a perfect timing score, and in Unlimited Rob Jonkers and Martin Meyer who being the route planner was expected to return with a perfect zero, but could not find the all the photos…., memory not that good it seems.

Leon Bouttell with Mary de Klerk on their Spot landing attempt.
 

Shane Britz and Karen Stroud on their spot landing attempt.
This event was for sure enjoyed by all, especially for the entrants never having flown a rally before, getting an understanding of flying with more precision, especially in the slower flight regime, and having to deal with wind variation. Many thanks extended to SPS for making all the arrangements with Grand Central Management, also to Frank Eckard who assisted with the scoring allowing Rob & Martin to catch some air time to practice.

Some of the competitors at the end of the day.
 

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The World Rally Flying Championship happens every two years and is hosted by one of the participating nations. This year Slovakia hosted the 21st FAI World Rally Flying Championships in the town of Dubnica which is along the river Vah (which flows into the Danube) in the northern most valley of Slovakia where the Carpathian Mountain range borders with the Czech Republic and Poland.

This year, 50 crews from 16 nations participated, where South Africa was the only Southern Hemisphere team to take part. Team SA was represented by 4 crews in the Unlimited Class: Frank & Cally Eckard, Thys vd Merwe & Ron Stirk, Jonty Essor & Sandi Goddard, Rob Jonkers (Team Captain) and Martin Meyer with Mary de Klerk as the Team Manager, Hans & Ursula Schwebel, Jacques Jacobs, Barbara Freibose as International Judges and Leon Bouttell as Judge Observer. The team was given superb support from Vera Jonkers and Alex Meyer, and later joined by Dr Thys and Rentia Geldenhuys as South African supporters.

The scenic town of Trencin with the Castle on the hill

Our team’s arrival was Monday the 30th July. 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 mid-morning we had our first aircraft ready for us, a local Slovakian C172 OM-DCD (DOC) and joined the next morning with another local C172 OM-SNA (SNAP). Thus as a team we could get started with our training. Normally no validations are required, but back in 2010 this club had the bad experience of one of the participating teams have bent two aircraft (by the same crew no less….), thus we all had to have a check ride with the local instructor for 2 circuits to verify we could fly, thus by lunch time this was completed. Each team then had a chance to fly a navigation exercise in DOC for the rest of the afternoon till late and with European summer the light fades only around 9 PM.

The team SA C172’s DOC and SNAP

The organisers provided three official practice routes, and these were put to full use in the following days, where we were able to carry out the plot inside the aircraft as one would do in the competition week, giving us a good practice run-up. The landscape varies radically between the valley at 800 ft and mountains going up to 3500 ft, and within minutes of taking off some routes would see you facing a steep climb out over the mountains, with check points often located just behind a steep incline and hidden behind forest features.

The river Vah with Trencin in the background

The weather for the practice week was good without much wind, although some thundershowers had to be avoided, with temperatures mostly above 34 deg, making the cockpit a sweltering sauna, at least in the mountainous areas higher up the cockpit became slightly cooler.

For this competition format, there was only an Unlimited class, in previous years there was an Advanced Class as well which was intended to bring in newer or amateur teams which made the competition somewhat more difficult for those teams who had no year round sponsorship or sports federation support. Clearly in the case of Team SA, all of the competitors and judges have to fund their own costs towards the event, travel, hotels and aircraft hire which is almost three times the cost of hire & fly in SA.

For the three practice days left from Wednesday to Friday, each of the teams flew the given practice routes, the Red route which was mostly east of the city of Trencin, proved the most difficult, as the terrain was very undulating, with more densely populated areas, making following the route very difficult especially recognizing the map shades of the various features and looking for turn points of minor river creeks and farm road crossings. The routes also had two arcs to follow, and with precessing DI’s somewhat challenging to follow round, with the need to rely only on what is going on outside the window and what is on the map, and at least some sense of direction. Some of us re-flew the Red route a second time to get more familiar with the terrain in that busy eastern area.

Slovakian valleys and mountains

At the end of each day, each of the teams did landing practice to get speed and descent control familiarisation at these near sea level conditions to find that sweet spot of rate of descent at minimum control speed to bingo the landing line, and as most pilots know, every landing is completely different. Saturday was a rest day, with some sightseeing flights and visiting the old town area of Trencin, and Sunday the whole team went to the airfield for our customary team photo shoot with DOC and SNAP, and then returned to the hotel for the opening ceremony in the late afternoon which was somewhat a simple and short event followed by an excellent dinner.

Team SA with DOC and SNAP in the background

For the competition week, flights are organized into two groups, flights start around 10 am at 5 minute intervals with the last flight taking off around 2 pm, and when returning, one spot landing needs to be done.

Frank flying DOC & Rob flying SNAP were divided into group one, and Jonty in SNAP and Thys in DOC were in group two. There was a strict procedure of parking aircraft next to the grass runway in take-off sequence where crews were isolated prior to receiving papers, normally around 30 minutes prior the flight starting which each of the routes having around 15 plotting points, allowing 2 minutes per plotting point to prepare the map, the cockpit during this period normally a frenzied affair.

Team Rob Jonkers and Martin Meyer

As Monday 6th August dawned, the week’s weather prediction was good with the latter part of the week with possible rain and wind, with four routes to be flown, one per day, where only three count as towards the competition results, the first day is generally excluded or only used if there were difficulties in completing the rest. Thus the teams set-off on the first Green route which was mostly south across a mix of high ground and next door valley, with two arcs to fly, and given the results of this first day some of us would be happy to have this day excluded from the results.

Team Thys vd Merwe and Ron Stirk

On Tuesday we flew the Yellow route, which was also towards the south, and did a little better, with Wednesday the infamous Red route which proved to be as difficult as the practice Red route in the busy eastern area, and the wind was around 20 kts pushing many off course, what we found especially in this terrain area, that flying at higher altitudes gives better view and perspective but makes the timing over check points more difficult to achieve within the 2 second window. Some teams drifted off course into the Czech Republic, so I guess most would have wished the Red route would be forgotten. As it turned out with many teams complaining that high wind conditions were not declared for this day, that the day needed to be annulled, which the organisers duly did.

Team Frank & Cally Eckard with Team Manager Mary
 

Attempting Spot Landing in SNAP

Thursday was the last competition day for the Blue route, with again high wind conditions predicted, at around 15+ kts, the plots and timing were given with a wind compensation factor, so that is was somewhat easier to fly in terms of consistent speed, although headings would remain a challenge to maintain. With this route most of our teams started to improve on our scores, especially the photo recognition and finding the elusive white markers, so just as we were finishing up on the competition, so we started to get a real feel for the landscape.

Team Jonty Esser & Sandi Goddard

With the competition flights done, team SA organized the traditional international drinks evening at the field, making “melk tertjies” shooters with the Germans, Italians, Russians, Norwegians bringing their traditional hooch. Needless to say, good fun was had by all. Our supporter Dr Thys Geldenhuys was the designated drinks judge, and judged Germany the best team, and Norway the best food team having brought their traditional Norwegian Salmon all the way from Norway.

The Norwegians preparing their salmon snacks

Friday was packing up day and the closing ceremony and prize giving held at the Airfield, with most of us going for a day outing for some sightseeing before dressing up for the closing ceremony. This day is also when the heavens opened with torrential rain waterlogging many places including the airfield. The top prizes went to the Czech Republic, Poland and France, with Poland winning the country team prize, Team SA were in tenth place, and with landings were able to achieve 4th place.

The SA Flying Team at the closing ceremony parade of nations
It is clear that our teams to compete at the level displayed by the Polish and the French need way more practice and experience, and sponsorship would of course also help, and with the next competition being held in South Africa in Stellenbosch in 2020, we have an excellent opportunity in the intervening 2 years to get more teams to take part and improve our level of competitiveness.

Many thanks to our SA supporters that watch us from afar, also thanks to African Pilot and Absolute Aviation for the team clothing sponsorship, we always are the best dressed team with the best team spirit.

The SA Flying Team

For those who have adventure in their blood, where you can sit in an airplane ready to go anywhere without a clue where the route will take you, and figure it all out in the air and find your way around with only a map and eye-ball Mk1, then take up the challenge and join the sport of rally flying.

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The SAPFA Fun Rally team hit Virginia on Friday 2 March 2018 for another of the series of rally events that are held throughout South Africa. As usual Mary de Klerk was the driving force and she spearheaded the organisation of the rally. As happened last year, the afternoon was used to introduce new pilots to the concept of rally flying and equip them with the tools to successfully complete the event. More experienced pilots, used the session to refresh their skills. These events are a unique way for upcoming pilots to mix with some of the best and most experienced in the country. The training and plotting session was once again held in the DAC (Durban Aviation Centre) training room.

Durban Wings Club’s committee member responsible for flying events, Brendan Adams, welcomed the pilots and outlined the housekeeping and advised that the club would sponsor two rounds of drinks and boerewors rolls on Friday night, breakfast on Saturday and student subsidies for half of their event entry fees. Cost of entry was R200 per person. In addition, the DWC put up R1000 in prize money and Mike Wright also donated flying magazines and annuals as prizes.

This year a pleasing total of fifteen crews entered and if this growth continues at other SAPFA rallies at Virginia, a larger training room will need to be found. For this round it was pleasing to see many entries from Gauteng pilots as well as crews from Scottburgh and Ballito. Several aircraft made the trip down from the reef including the tiny Ikarus of Marie Reddy. It is hoped that this outside participation will inspire more locally based pilots to take part next time around.

Mary also explained the different classifications in rally flying. The advanced section is restricted to pilots who have been given Protea colours and who have competed in a Word Championship competition. The sportsman class is where either the pilot or the navigator is a Protea who has competed in a world competition event. They fly with a new rally pilot with the aim of grooming them and bringing them up to the level of a Protea, to maintain continuity of the high standards South Africans have previously attained. The fun section is for all where the aim is to give them exposure to this type of flying, to have fun but also to provide candidates who could represent the country in the future.

Mary took the participants through the various procedures that the crews would need to follow and advised them how to plot their tracks and add minute markers etc. She also explained many of the tips and tricks that would enable them to do well. After this, time was allocated for the teams to begin plotting their routes. Thereafter there was a flurry of concentrated activity, with maps, markers, rulers, dividers, minute marker sheets (among other tools) being used to mark their maps. On completion Mary took everyone through part of the course using Google Maps, so that they could see a preview of what to expect the following day.

 
Mary de Klerk…..Fergus Snow, last year’s winner in the fun section.
Chareen Shillaw and Brian Laurean.

Dirk Grobler and Russell Mann.

Enthusiastic as ever Mary encouraged everyone to raise their sights and to try and win a coveted green Protea blazer prior the World Rally Championships which are to be held in South Africa in 2020. After the session ended and entry forms and indemnities had been completed and signed and entry fees had been paid, all involved headed for the Durban Wings Club for well-earned refreshments. There was much teasing and psyching out of the opposition teams. All in jest of course and a fun time was had by all. While the entrants relaxed and discussed the day ahead Mary and her helpers were busy at the computer entering the entry data and the elected speeds. In her normal unflappable way, amidst a sea of people in the club (regulars and visitors), she managed to produce and print the lists of the competitors start and finish times. These were handed to the teams.

Steve McCurrach and Mark Warren in the Wings Club,
Mary de Klerk and Frank Eckard at work in the pub, helped by Chareen Shillaw and Thys van der Merwe.

DWC manager Dave Harrington was once again assisted by his wife Alwina. They ensured the pub ran efficiently and organised the pool and braai area and food on behalf of the Durban Wings Club.

When crews gathered in the pool area on Saturday morning the weather was glorious with a little wind and bright sunshine. As the morning progressed the wind became stronger from the north east and there were some overcast patches before the sun was out in force again.

Andrew Lane and Chareen Shillaw relax before the start.Crews were treated to breakfast courtesy of the DWC and many could be seen making hurried final preparations for their flights. A couple of people had to find last minute crew replacements due to illness and unavailability. Start times and sector times were confirmed and Mary briefed everyone on the rally format for the day and explained the spot landing scoring.

Mary explains the spot landing scoring.

John Neilon then advised on the safety aspects and the frequencies to be used. All watches were synchronised with the event’s official clock and the event started with the first aircraft airborne at 09:30. This was the Van’s RV-4 of Dirk Grobler and Russell Mann. Their elected speed was 100 knots.

John Neilon.

The following aircraft took part in the rally: There was a Chipmunk, a Cessna 182, a Cessna 172, a Van’s RV-4, a Sling 4, a Sling 2, two Jabirus, a Sportsman, a Harmony, a C42 Ikarus and three Cessna 152s (one of which flew twice.) The crews nominated their cruise speeds, varying from 100 knots for the RV-4 to 65 knots for the little Ikarus flown solo by Marie Reddy.

All the participants prior to the start.
Winners Mark Warren and Steve McCurrach with their Harmony just prior to the start.

Andrew Lane checks his Sling 4 prior to departure.

Aircraft departed Virginia at 5-minute intervals. The course commenced on the coast to the south of Durban and then followed varied sectors inland before returning to the coast to cross the finish line. The only small irritation on the day were a couple of crews saying that they had been sent off too early and this had meant them having to circle for a while just prior to crossing the start line. This was a minor factor in a very successful day. The teams then spent just over an hour finding their way around the KZN inland area.

Frank Eckard and Cally Eckard – ZS-DOS – C182.
Jica Coelho and Fergus Snow – ZU-FDZ – Jabiru.

Bennie du Plessis and Franz Smit – ZS-OHM – C152.

Thys van der Merwe and Leon Boutell – ZS-ETO – C172.

Mark Warren and Steve McCurrach – ZU-TRG – Evektor Harmony.

Dirk Grobler and Russell Mann – ZU-CDK – Van’s RV-4.

Andrew Lane and Chareen Shillaw – ZU-IBM – Sling 4 (Chareen photographing the photographers!).

Pierre van der Merwe and Sandy van der Merwe – ZU-FWY – Sling 2.

Les Rhind and Lance Poynter – ZS-OWJ – Chipmunk.

Malcolm Mercer and Murray Nel – ZU-FEZ – Sportsman.

Alistair Matthews and Brian Laurean – ZS-PLS – C152.

Taylan Ayliffe and Chris Gillespie – ZS-PLH – C152.

Shane Britz and Mark Clulow – ZU-FEP – Jabiru.

Fergus Snow and Nishon Thulsi – ZS-OHM – C152.

Marie Reddy – ZU-EEE – Ikarus.

After crossing the finish line aircraft returned to Virginia perform a spot landing and this score formed part of the overall classification. As has become an institution now, safety officer John Neilon manned the spot landing cones, doing an admirable job in the unpleasant heat and humidity.

John Neilon manning the spot landing line.The spot landing proved to be challenging for most contestants with aircraft floating much longer than one would normally expect.

At the end of the rally, crews got together and braaied and discussed the exploits of the day. There were tales of missed and wrong tracks and other deviations. Everyone spoken to said they had a lot of fun and at the end of the day, this is what it is all about. As Mary said earlier, it was not about winners and losers it was more about learning and experience. All participants brave enough to put their skills on the line would go away with that little bit of extra knowledge that would make them better pilots.

Waiting for the results.
Fergus Snow and Nishon Thulsi putting in the finishing touches.

Pierre van der Merwe and Sandy van der Merwe.

Fergus Snow and Nishon Thulsi

Before Mary presented prizes and certificates to the pilots, she reminded everyone that they had a spot landing world champion in their midst, namely Frank Eckard. She praised those who had taken part and trusted that they had all enjoyed the experience.

The overall results including the spot landings were as follows: –

Advanced Class
 

1st Frank Eckard and Cally Eckard – ZS-DOS – C182Sportsman’s Class

1st Thys van der Merwe and Leon Boutell – ZS-ETO – C172Fun Class

1st Mark Warren and Steve McCurrach – ZU-TRG – Harmony
(with their wives).
2nd Shane Britz and Mark Clulow – ZU-FEP – Jabiru57

3rd Dirk Grobler and Russell Mann – ZU-CDK – Van’s RV-4
– Dirk Grobler and his children (Russell Mann had left).

 

The spot landing competition (on its own) was won by: –

1st Frank Eckard and Cally Eckard – ZS-DOS – C182 – 10 points.
2nd (tie) Pierre van der Merwe and Sandy van der Merwe – ZU-FWY – Sling 2 – 20 points.

2nd (tie) Taylan Ayliffe and Chris Gillespie – ZS-PLH – C152- 20 points.

2nd (tie) Malcolm Mercer and Murray Nel had left.- ZU-FEZ – Sportsman – 20 points.
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All in all, a very successful air rally. Entries were up from the last event at Virginia and it is hoped that the upward trend will continue in future SAPFA rallies at this venue. It was fantastic to see the visiting Gauteng crews and their aircraft. Coastal flying is spectacular so it is hoped that more out of province competitors will be encouraged to take part. Also of course more KZN pilots need to enter and encourage their friends as well.

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