EAA Chapter 322 is a highly active group of aviators and enthusiasts that gather monthly at different airfields around the greater Gauteng area. This month, the fly out was held at the Krugersdorp flying club.
Earlier in the week, prior to the meeting, an e-form was sent out so that members and interested parties to confirm their attendance of the meeting on Saturday. This assisted Johan and his team at 26 South, the on-site restaurant, to determine how many guests to cater for. I arrived at the airfield at around sunrise and found the restaurant team hard at work, preparing for all the visitors when I arrived at the airfield at sunrise.
The light wind was favouring runway 06, and after getting all my equipment situated, I made my way out to the edge of the runway to capture some arrivals.
Club member Peter Lastrucci, was also up at dawn for some circuits in his lovely 1946 Piper Super Cruiser, ZS-VZU. The adage of, if it looks right, then it will fly right, certainly rings true for this invention of Mr. Piper.
The activity of this sole Piper called the masses to the airfield. With the sun in their eyes, the pilots had their work cut out for them on final approach. This early morning light made for fantastic photographic conditions.
Graham Richardson was to have a presentation about a recent Gyrocopter Expedition to Namibia, something I did not want to miss, so I made my way back to the clubhouse to sample the breakfast and attend Graham's talk. With breakfast on board, and the expectant audience settled in, Laura McDermid, opened proceedings and introduced Capt. Karl Jensen for a segment called “KykWeer” on in this instance “CakeWeer.” This is a review of recent events where the EAA had a presence. Capt. Jensen spoke about EAA Taildraggers at Warmbaths, the Elders Flight as well as the highly successful EAA Young Eagles event held at Lanseria. It was also suggested that HMS Krugersdorp could be a future venue for such an event, which received resounding support from all of those present.
Laura then handed over to Graham for his review of their Gyrocopter Expedition to Namibia. The group consisted of twelve Gyrocopters grouped into two flights of six to make the operational side of things less cumbersome. Handling refuelling of six Gyrocopters at a time made better logistical sense than have twelve on the ground at a time. Speaking about refuelling, it was related that each Gyrocopter used about R30,000 in fuel for the three thousand miles covered. The average speeds during the trip were about 80mph.
Graham also said that as most of the Gyrocopters were yellow, it made for interesting visual contact keeping as the yellow blends in with the surrounding landscape and dunes. The group also heard that the key to the success of the adventure was having likeminded individuals on the trip, having the planning and logistics arranged in advance, as each Gyrocopter carried additional fuel, clothes, and spares to make them self-sufficient in the desolate conditions. Many MAGNIficent pictures of the Namibian desert were shared, and this made me realise that Namibia is a must-see destination!
Proceedings were closed with the schedule of events for the next month or so, with the next EAA Monthly Meeting taking place on the 3rd of August.
With the meeting being concluded many of the visiting crews elected to brave the ever-increasing wind to route back to their respective home bases. I captured these
departures.
EAA Chapter 322 Breakfast Fly Away to Krugersdorp March 2023
