South African Power Flying Association

An important part of the World Precision Flying Championships is the Landing Championship which comprises four different type of landings namely:

• 1 Powered approach with flaps (This is the normal kind of landing executed by pilots every day)
• 2 Glide Approach with/without flaps (Here the pilot is required to cut the power at 1000ft abeam the threshold and glide the aircraft onto the landing line. The use of flaps is optional)
• 3 Glide Approach without flaps (Here the pilot is required to cut the power at 1000ft abeam the threshold and glide the aircraft onto the landing line. No flaps are allowed in this approach)
• 4 Barrier Landing (This is a very steep approach where a 2 meter barrier has to be cleared before touching down on the landing line)

For each landing the pilot must touch down in a strip marked on the runway which is only 2 meters in depth. Penalties are awarded for ever meter short or long of the zero box. The competition has been dominated by the Polish and Czech Republic teams for years.

The World Precision Flying Championships were held in Troyes, France in July 2006. The conditions for the landing competition were reasonable with temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius and light and variable winds. The high temperatures resulted in variable lift in the circuit. The landing box was set up for landings on Runway 18 which was the preferred runway of the organisers despite the slight tailwind prevailing in the early morning. Landings No 1 & 2 were executed in the first half of the day and landings No 3 & 4 after lunch, this time on Runway 36.
Results were delayed due to a protest being received regarding a tailwind that was in excess of that allowed by the rules. After the Jry made a ruling Ron Strik was declared the winner and 2006 World Landing Champion with a total of 4 points.

This is the second time Ron has won the title, previously having won it in 2000 in Sweden. This is the first time in the 17 year history of this competition that a competitor has won the trophy twice.

Kassie Kasselman started flying in 1976 and since then has been actively involved in all aspects of general aviation. He has also left behind tangible evidence of his involvement.

He has organised six air shows in Bloemfontein over the years and has acted as Safety Officer at another five events. The most recent event where he acted as Air Show Director was the very successful air show held at Bloemfontein Airport during August 2006.

In the 1980’s he was involved in a significant way in the compilation of the first Aero Club Air Show Manual. Kassie has also acted as Testing Officer for display pilots.

Kassie served as a member of 106 squadron in the South African Air Force for approximately twenty years and for most of his career in the SAAF he acted as Safety Officer.

He started his active involvement in competition flying in the late 1970’s and earned his Free State colours in Precision Flying in the 1990’s. He also organised a number of club and provincial events. He has also served as an International Judge for Rally and Precision Flying.

When the new Tempe Airport was established, Kassie was one of the key roll players in the construction of the Club House for the Bloemfontein Flying Club. He has also been involved in its development on an ongoing basis.

In 1990 he was awarded the Paul Tissandier Diploma for his service to general aviation by the Federation Aviation Internationale. This award was presented to him by the FAI during the 1991 World Rally Championships in Stellenbosch.

Kassie has also been involved with the President’s Trophy Air Race as organiser and competitor. He was also instrumental in the drafting of the official rules for the air race. Kassie has acted as Race Director and chief organiser of six races, the first in 1998 and the last in 2005. He has also served on the race jury for a number of years.

He has also contributed to the administrations of general aviation bodies. He has served on the committee of the Bloemfontein Flying Club for a number of years. He also served on the committee of the power flying section of Aero Club and its successor, the South African Power Flying Association for a period of 14 years. He has acted as chairman of both the Bloemfontein Flying Club and SAPFA.

Kassie is well known in the flying fraternity not only as organiser of flying events, but also as a very competent businessman.