SA National Landing Championships 2024 - Stellenbosch Leg
By Pamela Russell
26.10.2024
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Three aircraft on departure
Saturday 26 October saw the SA National Landing championships taking place in Brits and Stellenbosch simultaneously under the auspices of the South African Powered Flying Association (SAPFA). The Stellenbosch leg was combined with a fly-in breakfast to ensure a good buzz of activity on the airfield. This was extremely well attended, and was definitely a drawcard for the general public. The restaurant is always popular, having such brilliant views and expansive lawns for kids to play on. But for many, the real attraction is the opportunity to see the aircraft, and particularly to see them flying.
Dipstick was at the training school from early morning ensuring sign-out procedures were adhered to.
The competitor briefing was held in the clubhouse, with the glorious conditions in the background
Last year, the wind at Stellenbosch was extremely challenging for this competition, while Brits had smooth sailing. This year, the opposite was true - sort of. Wind on the ground at Stellenbosch was negligible although a slight tailwind had been reported on final for 19 at 7:30am. This was consistent with the forecast (if a little ahead of schedule) which had the wind moving round to that direction during the morning. So with a landing box available at the northern end only, there was going to be some excess energy for the pilots to contend with.
Competitors focussing on the briefing
The briefing started a little late, but because of the small group it went quickly and we were ready for first take-off at 9am local time. With only four entrants, it was decided to do both sets of landings back-to-back without a full stop. Entrants Tony Russell, Christiaan du Plessis and Thys van Der Merwe had plenty of experience to draw on, while newcomer Michael Welgemoed who mostly flies from Morningstar was entering a landing competition for the first time. It is always nice to see new faces, and in this case, it was also great to see the safety briefing end, and transition into a mentoring session. Some of the more experienced judges were also able to offer good feedback after the competition, to help Michael build on what was by all accounts a very solid first showing. Well done Michael, I hope we see you again soon! Bring friends.
Deon's final remarks to the competitors before they head to their aircraft
SAFAIR makes an unofficial appearance overhead while the “obstacle” is unfurled
There are four different landings in this event, each of which must be executed twice. The first is a standard powered landing. The second (described in the rules as landing number 4, if you are researching this with a view to competing in the future) is a powered landing over an obstacle. The obstacle can be dropped for the sake of safety but that landing would then be penalised. Third, the competitors need to execute a glide approach, cutting power abeam the landing line and then completing their circuit to land. They can use flaps on this landing if they wish. The fourth landing is a glide approach from the same point, but with no option to use flaps.
The media on the far side of the runway
Scoring is done by penalties, and so lowest score wins. Landing with perfect control on the 2m painted box scores zero points. Penalties for landing short are higher than penalties for landing long (think aircraft carrier). Penalties for anything that potentially impacts safety are the highest (e.g. abnormal landing, taking power while still in the landing box near the judges). Sadly, there is no option to throw away your worst score - although many a pilot has pleaded for it.
For this event, all judging was done by eye, with judges spread out along the landing box, each “in charge” of the section in front of them. Any uncertainty among the judges, or any dispute by a competitor, is resolved with reference to video. Judging a landing competition is definitely one of the more fun jobs when assisting with a competition - although a hat and sunscreen are definitely recommended. This was no exception and it was fascinating to watch the different styles of the four competitors, at least in part due to the differing characteristics of their aircraft.
The final results had Christiaan du Plessis finishing in first position, followed by Tony Russell, Thys van der Merwe and Michael Welgemoed in that order. Once the Brits results were in and the two sets were collated, Christiaan took Silver in the overall National results.
Tony Russell in ZS-OHI
Michael Welgemoed in ZS-EXP
Christiaan du Plessis in ZS-NDB
Thys van der Merwe in ZS-AFP
We have entered a very busy season in the aviation calendar. With Alewyn competing at Oudtshoorn and Rikus busy at Wonderboom, the regular organisers needed a few fresh faces to complete their numbers.
Bernard Leicher was an absolute standout in this regard. He took on the organising and advertising of the event on behalf of the club, and assembled a team of marshals to direct landing and departing visitors, as well as judges to assist with landings. As always, the depth of availability and willingness in the club and the flying school was on show, and he was not short of willing hands on the day.
Meet Director for the landings event was Deon van den Berg who will be leaving us soon to join family overseas. He will most definitely be missed. Mauritz was chief judge and also chief safety officer. Additional safety officers were Brent Warren and Derek Lord. With a team like that in place, Rikus definitely had nothing to worry about. Everything went off well with good comms throughout, and with the competitors constantly focussing on safe spacing and positioning despite the occasional complications of fly-in traffic.
With a good day's work behind him, Dipstick goes off duty
Huge thanks as always go to Stellenbosch Flying Club, as well as to all the SAPFA officials and Club volunteers. And for once, the weather gods also deserve a (mildly qualified) vote of thanks.
