Chris Booysen and Dave Stock
English Electric Lightning

Very few South African Flying Records had been ratified by an official body. There are a large number of anecdotal records that are bandied about without any of them have been independently verified. After encouragement from the FAI, SAPFA took on the task of maintaining the documentation relating to speed and altitude records for Class C aircraft.

The record attempts were kicked off at the Overberg Airshow when Dave Stock set the first South African record to be monitored and recorded by SAPFA.

Dave Stock, piloting the Thunder City English Electric Lightning T5 – ZU-BEX, reached 6000m in 70 seconds. The GPS logger placed in the aircraft by SAPFA representatives failed as it was unable to cope with the massive acceleration. The backup manual timing system had to be used.

The Lightning develops 36,000 lbs of thrust whilst burning 500 litres per minute of Jet A1 fuel. The aircraft lifts off the runway at 160 knots and then accelerates to 600 knots (Mach 0.95) before pointing almost straight up to maximise the rate of climb. ZU-BEX was specially prepared for the record attempt and had its external fuel tank removed to reduce weight. In full power with the afterburners aflame the aircraft had only 5 minutes endurance.
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Paul commenced his flying career in the SAAF (44 Squadron) and is rated on Harvards, Impalas and Dakotas. He served as the Flight Safety Officer of that unit. After giving aviation a break for a while Paul joined the Cape Aero Club in Cape Town in 1995 to regain his CPL and IF ratings. Paul immediately involved himself in Club activities, and has played a valuable role in guiding the Cape Aero Club with his extensive knowledge of the practical and legal aspects of aviation. During all of his involvement in aviation he has been making a contribution for the benefit of others.

Paul served for an extended time at the Club involved in Safety activities, coordinating with the other Cape Clubs, and also chaired the Safety Committee and dealt very efficiently with a number of delicate safety incidents.

Paul contributes to aviation in many ways, contributing both financially and of his time, to the organizations he is involved with, often without other members of the organisation being aware of it. In 2001, Paul was deeply involved with the Action Group against the Peak Approach Charges promulgated for Cape Town, then threatening the viability of GA. Through his efforts an innovative solution was found to address those issues.

With the introduction of the new ATNS tariff structure in April, Paul has once again, without hesitation, taken the lead in doing something really constructive in neutralizing the threat to General Aviation. It is hard to comprehend the amount of time, personal money and energy Paul has invested in dealing with this matter by arriving at a solution that is acceptable to all parties. He is willing to contribute substantially despite the risk of neglecting his own business that needs his attention.

Without Paul, General Aviation would be a more divided body at the mercy of practices and costs more appropriate to the airline industry which would be to the detriment of GA. Paul does this without seeking any personal glory, power or compensation.

The Story of this record
Number SA001
Class C (Aeroplanes)
Sub Class C1-h (Landplanes: weight 12,000 kg to less than 16,000 kg)
Group III (Jet)
Type of Record Time to climb to 6 000m
Course/Location Overberg, South Africa
Performance 00:01:10
Date 26/11/2005
Record Holder Dave Stock
Nationality South African
Aeroplane English Electric Lightning T5 (ZU-BEX)
Engine 2 Rolls Royce Avon 302 (16 300lbs)
World Record? No
Status Current Record