Midweek Update 1 May 2013
By Willie Bodenstein
4 May. Warbirds, New Tempe, Bloemfontein. Lucas Wiese 082 566 0656
11 May. SAPFA Fun Rally & Precision Qualifier, Krugersdorp. E-mail: maryd@expandingbranding.co.za
11 May. FASHKOSK Fly in, Stellenbosch. E-mail polis@iafrica.com
11 May. SAAF Museum Airshow, AFB Waterkloof. E-mail: oconnormike@webmail.co.za
17-18 May. Botswana International Airshow. E-mail gknipe@work.co.bw
18 May. Battlefields Fly in. E-mail bookings@battlefieldslodge.co.za
18 & 19 May. Sports Aerobatics Free Sate Regionals, Parys. E-mail change@mweb.co.za
22-26 May. Presidents Trophy Air Race, Oudshoorn. E-mail roblena@mweb.co.za
25 May. Baberton Airshow. E-mail cc@bushair.co.za
28 May. Kalahari Bundu Bash. E-mail kalaharibundubash@gmail.com
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) of SA 2013 Annual Convention
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) of SA will be holding their 2013 Annual Convention at the Brits Airfield from Friday 9 August to Sunday 11 August. The event is to be hosted by the Brits Flying Club. There are many B&B type establishments nearby who are prepared to supply transport to the airfield and back as well as more luxurious accommodation close by. There are airfields with decent accommodation on site within 10 minutes flying time. Camping on the airfield will be encouraged.
The EAA CONTACT newsletter will have more details as soon as possible. The purpose among others of the Annual Convention is to hold the EAA of SA AGM which will take place on Saturday 10 August. The Convention will feature technical forums, a Fun Rally laid on by our SAPFA friends, aircraft judging, an organised fun fly to points of interest and all the camaraderie that is an essential feature of EAA conventions.
For further information, please contact Trixie Heron editor@afsies.co.za
Upcoming Springbok Classic Air Show attendance and Scenic Flights
Springbok Classic Air's DC-3 (ZS-NTE) will be attending the following airshows:
04 May Warbirds Tempe, Bloemfontein
Leave Rand early the Saturday morning, fly back the Sunday.
Flippie Vermeulen will be the Pilot in Command, and will be entertaining the attendees to the airshow with a flypast in the gracious DC-3. We will also be doing 10 minute fun-flips in the DC-3 at the airshow. Cost per ticket will be R350.00. Return flight ticket, per person R1 950.00. This does not include accommodation.
Saturday 11 May Swartkops
Return flight on the day, depart 06:45 from Rand, will leave Swartkops late the afternoon. Return ticket R450.00 pp.Flippie Vermeulen will be the Pilot in Command. He will be doing a display flight with the DC-3 during the airshow.
Book your seat for the flight with Ronéll Myburgh:
Tel: Landline +27 11 824 2142; Mobile +27 82 779 9421
or E-mail: info@springbokclassicair.co.za
Ex RSA Catalina spotted in USA
Pilot's Post reader Ken Claypol a USA resident reports that he had the opportunity to see the ex Rand Airport Catalina in its new home at new owner Jim Slattery's hangar at Gillespie field in El Cajon. The Catalina is the 46th aircraft in Jim's collection and she will eventually be on display in the 'Greatest Generation Naval Museum'.
Ken was a crew member on Cansa's, Catalina's manufactured in Canada during the WWII and flew for VOB-61 Squadron. The pic below of the crew was taken at Dutch Harbour in 1944.
Stellenbosch RC Airshow
Wessie v/d Westhuizen reporting
There were 65 Flying Models, 35 Static Airplanes and helicopters. 32 Pilots took part in the airshow, in front of 2500 odd spectators.
The Pilots all belong to one of the seven RC Clubs dotted around the Cape Town Area. Some models, like the Tiger Moth belonging to Oom Gerrit Swanepoel, took no less than seven years to build, and not an ounce of scale detail has been spared.
Other models are of the off-the-shelf variety that can be assembled in a week or two. In almost all cases the models are manufactured from balsa wood and covered with heat shrinkable film. Some high performance models, like the turbine jets, are made from composite materials.
More than 800 delegates from across the world will attend the three day conference which is being held in Africa for the first time. The conference will focus on the prospects of developing Ekurhuleni into an Aerotropolis, or airport city, in the future.
Ismail Dockrat, the CEO of Denel Aerostructures, says the company strongly supports the growth of an Aerotropolis as envisaged by the City of Ekurhuleni and the Gauteng provincial government. “Denel is a key contributor to the economic life of the region and we intend to be at the core of future initiatives that will shape the growth of industrial and manufacturing opportunities,” he says.
Some 240 VIP delegates to the conference will visit the Denel Campus in Kempton Park on 24 April as part of an extended tour that also includes the O R Tambo International Airport. The campus is home to Denel Aerostructures, Denel Aviation, Turbomeca Africa and a growing number of aerospace-related companies. “We will show delegates that the core of a high-tech manufacturing industry already exists within the boundaries of the proposed Aerotropolis,” says Mr Dockrat. “The idea behind an Aerotropolis is to utilise an airport as an engine for economic growth that drives the development of the commercial and industrial sectors.”
“The global trend towards locating manufacturing and commercial activities around airports fits in well with the South African government's own vision for the future growth of the aerospace sector,” says Mr Dockrat. The National Development Plan notes the importance of growth in the manufacturing sector through intensified support for research and product development and policies that will promote localisation and industrial diversification.
In addition Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) singles identifies aerospace as a primary sector with the potential for the long-term growth of advanced manufacturing capabilities. Mr Dockrat says the delegates to ACE represent cutting-edge thinking on the future growth of cities located close to international airports. “This is a great opportunity to showcase Denel's modern facilities and take delegates through our high-tech manufacturing processes.”
This will be the 11th global conference hosted by ACE. Previous conferences were held in cities such as Athens, Beijing, Denver and Frankfurt. Conference delegates will be given a tour of the company's production facilities where vital parts of the A400M military airlifter are being manufactured. The 19th ship set of the Wing-to-Fuselage Fairing and Top Shells is currently on the production floor before delivery to Airbus Military in Europe for assembly onto the A400M.
Mr Dockrat says the tour will focus on DAe's global leadership in the design and manufacturing of aircraft parts made from composite materials. It will include visits to the company's new clean rooms and high-speed machining facilities.
Diamond Unveils Turboprop Single at Aero Friedrichshafen
As the 21st Aero opens in Friedrichshafen, Germany, an early peek by AVweb on Tuesday suggests there will be plenty new to look at and even some surprises. At the top of a list is a new turboprop from Diamond called the DA50 Turbine, some new models from established Italian aircraft maker Tecnam and a surprise flying appearance by Pipistrel's sleek Panthera retractable single, which proved to be the hit of Aero last year. We didn't expect to see it here this year, but Pipistrel has done sufficient flight testing and felt confident enough to bring it into the show.
Diamond CEO Christian Dries gave a quick tour of the DA50 Turbine, a beefy looking single turboprop that capitalizes on the fuselage design used first in a piston version proposed a few years ago and now finding application in the DA52 diesel twin. The DA50, which Dries says hasn't flown yet and is just entering the proof of concept phase, is powered by a 450-HP AI-450S turboshaft engine built by the Ukrainian company Motor Sich JSC. When the Soviet Union still existed, Motor Sich built engines for the prodigious Mil line of military helicopters and the An-124 commercial transport. Dries said the company has entered into an agreement to develop markets for western application of the engines and that the initial focus, if the project comes together, will be a heavy hauling aircraft for unimproved airports in Russia. Dries said a mid-altitude high-speed cruiser version might be pitched to western buyers, with cruise altitudes typically in the high teens. The aircraft would not be pressurized.
Solar Impulse, the one-of-a-kind solar-powered airplane from Switzerland, flew above the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on Tuesday as the crew prepares for a flight across the U.S. next month. The aircraft took off from Moffett Field about 7 a.m. with Bertrand Piccard at the controls and flew above the bridge at about 3,500 feet. Another flight above the Bay Bridge was planned for later in the day. As the crew continues to prepare for the cross-country trip, experts in the development of battery-powered aircraft will be gathering in nearby Santa Rosa for the 7th annual CAFE Electric Aircraft Symposium.
A roster of speakers from research centers, NASA, the Green Flight Challenge, and major aerospace companies will be meeting at the event to share an "interest in rejuvenating general aviation with small, quiet electric aircraft," event organizer Brien Seeley told AVweb on Tuesday. "Several new electric aircraft and related technologies will be unveiled," he added. The event will be held Friday and Saturday; registration is open online. AVweb's Mary Grady will be reporting on the symposium from the site.
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