Drakensberg Camp Well - despite the name we never connected with any wave at this year's Drakensberg wave camp. That did not stop glider pilots from a number of clubs from having some serious fun in the berg.  From Parys , I  dragged my Standard Cirrus "66" along for the second week of the camp. Having rigged at Berg Air at the end of the Champagne Valley on Monday evening it was time for a site briefing Tuesday morning, much sage advice. (far too many grey heads involved in this sport) and then aerotow in the Janus to Dragon's Back and an intro to the escarpment with Mike Gundrie. It' has been a while since I have flown in the mountains, and the "Big Berg" is certainly different from the Underberg area. Flying was outstanding during the week, with many flights spanning the Lesotho escarpment from Champagne Castle to the Caledon River in the north, and back South as far as Giant's Castle. Being less experienced I spent a couple of days running the ridges before following the camp director (Mike Barenbrug) up to the sentinel. this involved a lot of patience on his part as he waffled along with landing flap out and the occasional airbrake to allow me to keep in touch with his 18m Ventus CM. There are some traces of the camp on the OLC here.   As you can see Peter Riha in his beautiful Ventus 2CxM was far in front urging us on. Suffice to say the berg is spectacular with lots of energy around, massive cliffs and ridges to navigate and the opportunity to fly with resident black eagles and vultures.  Fortunately the gliders don't seem to bother them, and with luck they come and join the gliders in a thermal. Some pictures in the gallery. 28 is Mike Barenrug. Unfortunately there was no opportunity to take the camera in a two seater. The various family members enjoyed the variety of activities, from the Drakensberg Boys Choir to horse riding, to hiking. As ever the bakery was popular. Be there next year if you can. Bruce Last Updated ( Monday, 24 August 2009 ) Instructor Course. During May and June the club held lecture and practical courses for advancement to Air Experience, Assistant and Senior Instructor ratings. Four half day lectures were held at Bruce's house. As always Lynda catered for twice the participants, so no one went home hungry. Thanks L. All solo pilots with adequate experience were encouraged to participate with the objective of learning as much as possible, and calibrating the standard of instruction in the club with the SSSA. Our primary objective was to get the three current Assistant instructors signed off as senior instructors. There being four other members who qualified to become candidates for the Air Experience rating we pushed ahead with the theory and flying required to get them to standard. Mike Pascoe generously gave up a long weekend early in June to assess our progress. Friday evening was a SSSA Exco meeting for Mike, and then  it was off to Parys for some flying. Saturday morning at 08:00 on a winters day is pretty early to have the gliders out of the hangar and getting shiny. Proof that everyone was keen. We proceeded to have two days of perfect winter weather. Cold overnight, but gin clear skies and gentle breezes. There was very little thermic activity, but we were able to launch without interuption and complete the air exercises.  Ongoing improvements to the launch site and parking area make the ground part pleasanter, and the operational side went well. By Parys standards the level of civilisation was high, Pat Pickford, Gerda Pieterse and Moira Herbert supplied a picnic lunch with hot tea (for Mike) and coffee.  Saturday evening was a buffet dinner provided by the same ladies, with all the candidates getting an opportunity to present briefings on instruction topics, and completing a surprise examination. By the time we got to Egwini Lodge for the night  at 22:00 we were all grateful for the comfortable rooms and a warm bed. Sunday was more of the same with practical assessment of instruction and a review of our performance. The club will now be able to operate somewhat better as all three Assistant instructors passed. Mike took the opportunity to offer some constructive advice. Three of the other candidates have to get some paperwork together and will have to write their theory examinations before getting signed out as Assistant Instructors. So congratulations to John Herbert, Evert Strydom and Stephen Ueckermann on their results. Moira Herbert also participated, and will progress to Air Experience Instructor once she has completed her GPL. Our thanks to Mike for candid assessment and constructive criticism of our operations and instruction. We learned a great deal, and will reap the benefits in safety and progression of our members. As ever there are pictures in the gallery. Last Updated ( Friday, 20 June 2008 ) Solo at sixteen. Kevin Pickford and a few enthusiastic members sent MArcel solo on his sixteenth birthday. Our cable chose the big day to decide it was tired and there were two cable breaks in a row, before he got in the air. Neil Viljoen took a launch with him - then of he went for two quick circuits. He brought GSI back in useable format, and was rewarded with a cooling bucket of water from Kevin, and a meal at the local food place. Look for a presentation with pictures in the downloads section. Read more... More... 2007 04 01 Kevin's Birthday << Start < Previous 1 2 Next > End >> Results 1 - 4 of 5 [ Back ]

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