This flight is still in the planning stages, at the moment the plan is to start the flight first weekend in November.
Below you can see the 2 routes I am considering, the in-land one via the Gariep dam is a bit shorter (604 miles) but the trip via the coast is a lot more scenic (648 miles) I suppose a lot will depend on the weather so the final decision might well only be made on the day of departure!
Update 21/10/2016:I have been watching the weather closely the lst 2 weeks and during that time there was only 1 day where the coastal route was clear enough for flying! I am hoping this will change over the next 2 weeks, if it does not the ferry flight might well end up taking the more inland route. I hope not but I won't be taking chances with weather over the mountains.
Update 18/10/2016: The transfer of ownership and ATF has now been done for ZS-UAO so it is all systems go! The plan has now been confirmed, the "adventure" will start on the morning of 4 November. Now the weather just need to play along...
Update 8/10/2016: I have started watching the weather along the chosen route. So far it does not looks good, during the last week there was just 1 completely clear day! But it might not actually be a problem. Even if there are clouds they might be high enough to allow the trip to continue, at least up the coast. Crossing the mountains might be more of a problem but I only need 1-2 hours of clear weather!
Below you can see a screen shot taken from this afternoons weather along the route. The program used to display the route and the weather is EasyPlan, a proudly South African piece of software that is really superb!
Update 2/10/2016: The ATF inspection was done on ZS-UAO and all is well. She also now has brand new W&B as well as ASI ALT calibration certificates. This, along with the change of ownership, will be handed to SACAA and RASAA in the coming week. Then she is ready to go!
Update 25/09/2016: Arrangements are going well for the ferry flight. The plane will get an ATF inspection on 1 October, after that I need to sort out the change of ownership and ATF. Since some spares were included in the deal, a spare wing, tail section and landing gear, I have arranged to fly down to East London with a friend, there we will pick up a rented vehicle with trailer. The planned date for this is 4 November giving me enough time to sort out the paperwork. We will then drive to Port Alfred and settle in for the evening. The next day will be spent at the flying field packing the spares on the trailer as well as checking the plane from spinner to tail wheel.
Once I am happy with the plane and the systems I will do a bit of taxing before taking her up for a bunch of circuits. After that I want to land and fill the tank to the top before taking her up for 1 hour of cruising, maybe flying down the coast a bit (taking lots of photos along the way!) On return I will fill the plane again to determine the fuel consumption in cruise mode. The rest of the day/evening will be spent relaxing and sight seeing.
Departure is planned for early the next morning, me flying and my friend (Louwtjie Vosloo) driving as ground support. If the fuel consumption is as reported I will fly up the coast, skirting past East London (below 2500') flying up to Port St Johns. The main reason I want to land there is simply that it is an amazing runway on top of a cliff, I want to take photos! I will fill the tank as well, courtesy of my ground support, before departing for Margate.
The whole trip will be low and slow with detours to take photos, this is not a race, it is all about the fun of flying and the beauty of our country.
At this stage it looks like we will be staying over at Margate, we should be there quite early but I do not want to spend too many hours a day in the cockpit, I am still recovering from a back operation. I also want to give the plane, and mostly the engine a really good check over after landing, the next leg is over some formidable mountains so I want to be confidant all is well. By then I should have a better idea of fuel consumption and general performance.
The rest of the day will be spent relaxing and sight seeing, there will be lots of good food and drinks involved...
Departure the next day will be early again, weather permitting over the mountains as the track will now turn inland away from the coast. Depending on weather and the fuel situation I might land at Oribi (nice runway with Avgas) or maybe Howick or Eva's for a refill courtesy of my ground crew. I might pop in at Eva's to see a friend, if he is there since it would be Monday. From there the next stop will be Lady Smith, and it would most likely be where we stop for the day as well. They have a very nice flying club with a aviation friendly hotel right next door, I have slept over there before, the food is also pretty good!
Again the plane will be checked well before it is time to relax!
The next morning departure should be early again, weather depending as there is often clouds and/or fog in the morning over the last mountain range to be crossed, I have been stuck in Lady Smith at least 3 times in the past due to weather.
Below you can see the 2 routes I am considering, the in-land one via the Gariep dam is a bit shorter (604 miles) but the trip via the coast is a lot more scenic (648 miles) I suppose a lot will depend on the weather so the final decision might well only be made on the day of departure!
Update 21/10/2016:I have been watching the weather closely the lst 2 weeks and during that time there was only 1 day where the coastal route was clear enough for flying! I am hoping this will change over the next 2 weeks, if it does not the ferry flight might well end up taking the more inland route. I hope not but I won't be taking chances with weather over the mountains.
ZS-UAO patiently waiting for me to take her home
Update 18/10/2016: The transfer of ownership and ATF has now been done for ZS-UAO so it is all systems go! The plan has now been confirmed, the "adventure" will start on the morning of 4 November. Now the weather just need to play along...
Update 8/10/2016: I have started watching the weather along the chosen route. So far it does not looks good, during the last week there was just 1 completely clear day! But it might not actually be a problem. Even if there are clouds they might be high enough to allow the trip to continue, at least up the coast. Crossing the mountains might be more of a problem but I only need 1-2 hours of clear weather!
Below you can see a screen shot taken from this afternoons weather along the route. The program used to display the route and the weather is EasyPlan, a proudly South African piece of software that is really superb!
Lots of clouds on the preferred route!
Update 2/10/2016: The ATF inspection was done on ZS-UAO and all is well. She also now has brand new W&B as well as ASI ALT calibration certificates. This, along with the change of ownership, will be handed to SACAA and RASAA in the coming week. Then she is ready to go!
Update 25/09/2016: Arrangements are going well for the ferry flight. The plane will get an ATF inspection on 1 October, after that I need to sort out the change of ownership and ATF. Since some spares were included in the deal, a spare wing, tail section and landing gear, I have arranged to fly down to East London with a friend, there we will pick up a rented vehicle with trailer. The planned date for this is 4 November giving me enough time to sort out the paperwork. We will then drive to Port Alfred and settle in for the evening. The next day will be spent at the flying field packing the spares on the trailer as well as checking the plane from spinner to tail wheel.
Once I am happy with the plane and the systems I will do a bit of taxing before taking her up for a bunch of circuits. After that I want to land and fill the tank to the top before taking her up for 1 hour of cruising, maybe flying down the coast a bit (taking lots of photos along the way!) On return I will fill the plane again to determine the fuel consumption in cruise mode. The rest of the day/evening will be spent relaxing and sight seeing.
Departure is planned for early the next morning, me flying and my friend (Louwtjie Vosloo) driving as ground support. If the fuel consumption is as reported I will fly up the coast, skirting past East London (below 2500') flying up to Port St Johns. The main reason I want to land there is simply that it is an amazing runway on top of a cliff, I want to take photos! I will fill the tank as well, courtesy of my ground support, before departing for Margate.
The whole trip will be low and slow with detours to take photos, this is not a race, it is all about the fun of flying and the beauty of our country.
At this stage it looks like we will be staying over at Margate, we should be there quite early but I do not want to spend too many hours a day in the cockpit, I am still recovering from a back operation. I also want to give the plane, and mostly the engine a really good check over after landing, the next leg is over some formidable mountains so I want to be confidant all is well. By then I should have a better idea of fuel consumption and general performance.
The rest of the day will be spent relaxing and sight seeing, there will be lots of good food and drinks involved...
Departure the next day will be early again, weather permitting over the mountains as the track will now turn inland away from the coast. Depending on weather and the fuel situation I might land at Oribi (nice runway with Avgas) or maybe Howick or Eva's for a refill courtesy of my ground crew. I might pop in at Eva's to see a friend, if he is there since it would be Monday. From there the next stop will be Lady Smith, and it would most likely be where we stop for the day as well. They have a very nice flying club with a aviation friendly hotel right next door, I have slept over there before, the food is also pretty good!
Again the plane will be checked well before it is time to relax!
The next morning departure should be early again, weather depending as there is often clouds and/or fog in the morning over the last mountain range to be crossed, I have been stuck in Lady Smith at least 3 times in the past due to weather.
Clouds just outside Lady Smith on a previous trip.
Once over the mountains it should be an easy run, next stop should be Heidelberg for fuel and a leg stretch, then a short run, around 48 miles, the plane's new home at Rhino Park.
All of the above is "as planned", but we all know about "The best made plans of mice and men"..... The plan does make provision for a few extra days if needed for weather or technical reasons, time will tell how it all pans out.
All of the above is "as planned", but we all know about "The best made plans of mice and men"..... The plan does make provision for a few extra days if needed for weather or technical reasons, time will tell how it all pans out.
My view for the trip, a basic panel that includes all that is needed. I will just add my trusty Garmin Pilot III GPS as backup.
Flight planning will be done courtesy of Air Nav Pro on an iPad that will also be in the cockpit with me, the software also provides live tracking, via the internet, so that friends can check my progress in real-time. Added are features like an AH and synthetic vision showing the route ahead, great when crossing high mountains. It is an amazing piece of software!
Planned routes, the coastal one is the preferred one with the more direct one only as an option in case of bad weather along the coast.
The plane has a 35l tank and it burns around 10 l/ph at a conservative 90 mph. I am planning legs no longer than 200 miles at the most (sitting in the small cockpit for more than 2 hours at a time might not be fun!) so range is not a problem. My stops were mostly chosen based on fuel availability. I am also not putting any limit on how long the trip will take, if the weather is bad I will simply land and wait it out!
More photos of the Turblent
Engine run, she sounds great!
Engine run, she sounds great!
Below are a few photos taken along the Wild coast during a previous trip, the same route I want to take this time. It is so beautiful I just have to go back! This time I will have small air inlet "hatches" on both sides of the plane that is perfect for taking photos, no reflections from the canopy like in the photos below!
I will update this blog as planning progresses....
(c)2016 R Venter
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