GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - A resident of George, Andries Kruger, recently participated in the Africa Cup micro light aircraft flying competition in Hazyview, Mpumalanga. The competition was held in September and attracted pilots from various regions in South Africa.
Kruger managed a second place in the 'rookie' division and received a floating trophy, in the form of a traditional African drum, for the longest distance travelled to compete in the Africa Cup.
The organisers requested Kruger to sound the drum in the Cape, to ensure more competitors from the south next year.
Gyrocopters, fixed-wing LSA aircraft and the heart of the event, weight-shift microlights, competed in their different classes. The competition was divided into various flying activities that thoroughly tested the flying skills of all competing pilots.
Accuracy and fun
The navigation exercise consisted of a charted route from Hazyview to God's Window, then routing to Graskop, for a touch-and-go spot landing at Graskop airfield. After passing a checkpoint at Sabie, the pilots returned to Hazyview to have their flight times and navigational accuracy checked against planned flight times submitted the day before.
The rest of the competition consisted of events at the flying field, which were spectator friendly. Short take-offs, spot landings and flour bomb dropping were keenly contested.
Paper streamer cutting provided plenty of action.
Pilots had to drop a roll of toilet paper at 2 000ft above ground level and execute tight spiral dives to cut the ribbon of paper as many times as possible, until a minimum altitude of 1 000ft was reached, testing their ability to safely fly their machines to the limit.
All the different event scores were combined to give the pilots a total competition score. Any interested persons can contact the Aero Club of South Africa, Misasa division.
'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'
