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UP COMING EVENTS

Our Next Event

President's Trophy

Air Race

24th to 26th May 2018

Come and join us and claim your bragging rights !

With only days to go and deadlines looming, our race organising team with the Bloemfontein Flying Club are working towards making this event better than before, and in the background have been working on quicker race result outputs with the intention to be able to debrief teams on their scores as they come to hand to ensure agreement of results prior prize giving.

We have also appointed Ron Stirk as Jury Member to be the PRO for the event, and any queries will be welcome to take up with Ron at any time.

Entries are still OPEN and we are waiting for you to Sign Up

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

Once you have registered online, further instructions will be communicated

While the entry fee is R3500 and we are required to ensure all competitors are members of SAPFA and Aero Club as well as have a FIA licence, the winners have an opportunity to not only have bragging rights but also to walk away with a number of sponsored prizes.

Although this event has changed over the years, this race has had an esteemed history since 1937.

Please help us keep the Spirit of Aviation alive for PTAR !

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Third Party Insurance

Once again the Aero Club has been hard busy at work on behalf of our members, they have asked me to pass this on to you.

As you know, aircraft owners are obliged to carry third party insurance as prescribed in terms of The Civil Aviation Act No 13 of 2009.

The Aeroclub has negotiated good rates for this insurance on behalf of its members who own aircraft in the following categories:
1. Aircraft eligible for NTCA Classification in the following groups:
a) Amateur built aircraft including Fixed and Rotary Wing, Motorised Gliders,
b) Production Built Aircraft
c) Limited Aircraft
d) Veteran Aircraft

2. Light Aircraft with an all up mass not exceeding 600kg, including
a) Microlights,
b) Light sport aircraft,
c) Gyrocopters
d) Gliders.
3. Hang Gliders and Paragliders.

Members interested in getting quotations for 1) and 2) above should call Joanne Herman of DJA on 011 463 5550 or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Members with aircraft falling in 3) above will obtain insurance through SAHPA.

Notes:
The act does not prescribe the value to be insured. DJA will quote for cover of either R500’000.00 or R1 million as specified by the member.
Some comprehensive hull insurance policies include a third party component, so if you carry hull insurance check this first before taking out additional third party cover.

Regards

Richard Becker

The Aero Club of South Africa
Cell: 060 997 3605
Tel : 011 082 1100
Fax : 086 635 3755
E-mail : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.aeroclub.org.za

Krugersdorp Fun Rally – 15 Oct 2016

by Rob Jonkers (photos by Willie Bodenstein)

The South African Power Flying Association (SAPFA) together with the Krugersdorp Flying Club organised an extremely successful Navigation Fun Rally on Saturday 15th October 2016. Under the Stewardship of SAPFA’s Frank Eckard who planned & plotted the course, a total of 12 entrants were able to partake in the fun rally.

SA wins Silver Medals at the World Rally Flying Championships

by Rob Jonkers

The World Rally Flying Championship happens every two years and is hosted by one of the participating nations. This year Portugal hosted the 20^th FAI World Rally Flying Championships in the coastal town of Santa Cruz some 50 km north of Lisbon.

This year, 52 crews from 18 nations participated, where South Africa was the only Southern Hemisphere team to take part. Team SA was represented by 4 crews in the Advanced Class: Frank & Cally Eckard, Hans Schwebel & Ron Stirk, Thys vd Merwe & Mary de Klerk, Rob Jonkers and Martin Meyer. Arddyn Moolman & Jacques Jacobs were included as International Judges.

Our team’s arrival was Monday the 29^th August. 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 late morning we had our aircraft allotted, a Spanish C172 EC-KGG and a Portuguese C150 CS-EBD, and could get airborne in the afternoon for a short recce navigation flight.

Hoedspruit Fun Rally

By Cally Eckard

Wynand Uys from Hoedspruit Flying Club, has been in communication with Frank Eckard for three years, arranging this event, and finally the weather and dates coincided. Eleven teams registered, two of them from Tzaneen and one from Krugersdorp. The remainder were resident pilots, and it is clear from the good results that Wynand’s training in rally flying has stood them in good stead. Other clubs holding rallies should watch out when one of these teams compete.

Presidents Trophy Air Race - Home Page

Presidents Trophy

Air Race

President’s Trophy Air Race (PTAR) 2016 By Athol Franz

The Bethlehem Aero Club certainly ‘pulled out all the stops’ in terms of the preparation of the airfield and other arrangements for the more than 300 pilots, navigators, wives, girlfriends and spectators to enjoy what turned out to be a delightful weekend of aviation.

Start of the race - Athol Franz

Overall, the 2016 PTAR was an outstanding event which was safe and successful, but not without the usual complaints about handicaps. However, in all the years that I have attended the PTAR there is one thing that is certain: there will be controversy and there will be those competitors for whatever reason feel that their handicaps are unfair. However, this year 90% of the participants crossed the finishing line within nine minutes, which meant that the handicapping team actually had it right! Watching the finish was incredibly exciting as waves of aircraft crossed the finishing line, sometimes at up to seven abreast. I even heard one youngster say to his father: “Pa dit lyk soos in oorlog” (Dad that looks like war!) as the planes roared overhead the airfield.


ZS WAP winning aircraft - Athol Franz	ZS WAP overall winners - Athol Franz

Tribute must go to Philip Jacobs, chairman of the Bethlehem Aero Club and his closely knit team of volunteers who undertook all the planning. It was Philip’s wife Jacolien and her outstanding team who set up and managed the Saturday evening awards’ banquet that was brilliantly organised with considerable flare in one of the superbly decorated Bethlehem hangars!

Philip told me that the Bethlehem Aero Club was divided into various sub-committees where each was tasked with a particular assignment. The huge airfield’s dry winter grass had been cut very short so as to ensure that there was not any possibility of a run-away veld fire being any sort of danger to the arriving aircraft. The team of Isak Venter and Frans Moeder also ensured that fencing was in place and that security had been arranged for the protection of the aircraft and spectators. Then to cap it all the weather was ideal for racing with a very light easterly wind, cold nights and warm sunny days.

Frank Eckard (SAPFA Chairman), Philip Jacobs and Nico Smith (winners),
Robbie Myburgh (assistant race director) and Robin Spencer-Scarr (race director)

Sponsors and contributors
Shell Aviation paid for the Saturday evening gala dinner
Airborne Insurance donated caps and medals
Century Avionics donated a headset, watch and photographs. The company also assisted with the GPS aerial masking on all participating aircraft
The Airplane Factory donated a show stand and cash sponsorship
Professional Aviation donated a show stand and cash sponsorship
Eagle Air donated the aircraft race numbers
CemAir donated R22 000 worth of airline tickets
NAC donated a show stand and cash sponsorship
Air Traffic Control sent Whitney Stone from the Johannesburg O.R. Tambo tower
Permanon donated money towards Sharon Potgieter’s legs’ rehabilitation
African Pilot donated 10 full year magazine subscriptions and assisted with the advertising of the PTAR over the last few months.

Entire race group after briefing - Athol Franz

A message to the PTAR 2016 from an ancient airman

Poem by Tony Petter-Bowyer read by Mark Moses at the formal banquet

We are all aviators,
We all try to understand the air.
We know that things can go wrong there,
And life is not always fair.
But if I look at today,
We are flying at 400 ks(kay’s)
We touch the tall grass on the mountains,
We witness views that amaze.
How can we explain, I ask,
To those who do not fly,
The neurological nourishment,
That we get from being in the sky.
If we look at today for an example,
We have covered a thousand squares,
Of hills and valleys and meadows
Of god’s creative wares.
We have flown over Moonies and Pipers,
Sadly overtaken by a twin,
Got our knickers in a knot over a Lancair
Whose speed is actually a sin.
How can we thank these people,
Who come from millions of miles,
To organise this programme for us,
Who give of their time, for our smiles.
And yet you get the serial moaners.
Those complainers of note.
Who get slighted by the faintest of stalls,
Must get the committees goat.
But thanks to Robin and his team,
And all those who work in the wings,
The President’s Trophy Air Race.
Is undoubtedly the sport of kings.

At a personal level, may I thank each and every one who made this great weekend possible. Well done to the team from the Bethlehem Aero Club, the ATC, the sponsors – I hope I mentioned all of them, the marshals, the scorers, the handicappers, the SAPFA officials, the folk who organised the catering, the after dinner guest speaker Chester Chandler who made a splendid speech about the origins of air racing, the banquet organisers and everyone involved. Apart from the usual handicapping bickering due to considerable male testosterone levels, the weekend had a superb atmosphere where almost everything worked out to plan.


Winning Piper PA-28R-200 Christine Brits	Jabiru J400 Christine Brits

Message from the Race director: Robin Spencer-Scarr

It has been 3 weeks since the greatest air race ever was held in Bethlehem. I say this with sincere pride because, yet again, we broke a number of records.

For starters, the result was one of the closest we have ever seen with the first 50 aircraft crossing the lines within 3 minutes and 25 seconds of each other. This was followed by the rest of the field giving us a total result of the entire fleet crossing the line within 9 minutes and 9 seconds. This speaks volumes for the improvement in the handicaps.

The next record to be broken was the hospitality at the venue. The Bethlehem Aero Club excelled and the Prize-giving Dinner was, without a doubt, a truly Gala Affair.

My heartfelt congratulations go to all those competitors who took off and landed safely on both days of hard racing. Thank you for keeping the track record of the PTAR clean and safe.

We will be making small amendments to the handicap system for next year and will advising everyone of the details of the algorithm as soon as we are comfortable that it is as truly fair to everyone as it can possibly be.

We look forward to seeing you in Springs in May 2017