Fish River Canyon: FYKT-FYKC-FYKT

Decided to fly over Fish River Canyon, about one hour south west, towards Lüderitz. I planned to stop at the Canyon lodge (FYKC) first, to have lunch, and ask the local pilot about flying over the canyon. Upon arrival (thanks, GPS), I flew over the airfield from the north, checked the wind, and turned left to enter a left pattern for runway 18. It is common practice to overfly the lodge to alert them that one will land, so they can send someone for pickup (walking is not recommended - it is hot, and at some places there are all sorts of hungry animals between the field and the lodge). According to my approach diagram, my route was supposed to bring my over the lodge, but I didn't see it. As it turned out, the approach diagram was wrong, and the lodge actually on the other side of the field.

So, while I fly downwind looking in vain for the lodge, another aircraft announces its intention to land here. I inform it of my position and chosen runway, and soon land. The other plane is so close that I don't backtrack on the runway all the way to the parking area, but wait in the middle at the wind sock, and soon enough the other pilot lands (here approaching above a parked aircraft):

Fortunately the other plane has arranged for a pickup and overflown the lodge on the other side, so we are soon picked up. The other pilot, Rachel, is a commercial pilot for Desert Air, and has 5 passengers, French tourists. We have lunch together.

Note the beautiful sunglasses that I have bought in Keetmanshoop for about 2 EUR.


And we drive back to the airfield.

Preflight.

Takeoff from FYKC (Canyon Lodge at Fish River Canyon, Namibia).

Fish River Canyon from about 3500ft MSL or 1000ft AGL.


In case of engine failure, land here:



Back in FYKT (Keetmanshoop), I have the fuel tanks filled up, and quickly go inside the airport building for a weather update for my next flight to Olifantwater. Within minutes, a thunderstorm builds up, heavy rain starts, and I run to secure the plane (control locks, chocks). Totally soaked I wait, and wait. At 17h, the airport closes, and the very friendly lady from the fuel station (she's been running this business for 44 years) offers me a ride to town - I am not leaving today. A beautiful evening compensates. And, here in Keetmanshoop I eat the best steak I have ever eaten. Fantastic food, both at the Schützenhaus and the Central Lodge.

Entering Namibia: FAKD-FAUP-FYKT

After a hearty breakfast, Cliff took me to the airport, and off I went to FAUP (Upington - note: one "p").

Here I cleared customs and immigration, fueled up, and went up to the tower for a weather briefing and to file my flight plan across the border into Namibia.

Here's my little plane, nose in the wind.

My clearance/landing permit was ready, but I called the Namibian Civial Aviation Directorate to confirm that my change of aircraft is on file. The helpful guys in the tower tell me that if I arrive in FYKT (Keetmanshoop) after 1500Z (that's 17:00h local time, 5pm for our American friends. I note in passing that this primitive "am/pm" method of denoting time necessitates deadlines of, for example, 11:59pm, since nobody knows whether 12:00pm is noon or midnight. Far from the elegance of the 24 hour clock. End of digression.), they will charge me a $500 call out fee for international arrivals (apparently they bring out the fire equipment), so I hop back down and expedite departure.

Upington has one of the longest runways in the world at 4900m (the longest runway in Africa, longer than any in the US). The story behind it is quite interesting. Took me a long time to identify the airport, because I could not believe that this was a runway... Here's a picture taken when departing Upington. There's a shorter runway visible in the middle, and the long one extends behind it, beyond the boundaries of the picture.


Soon I approached FYKT (Keetmanshoop, Namibia), diverting a bit to avoid a local thunderstorm. The tower asked me to expedite, as customs and immigrations were ready and waiting and wanted to go home. Upon arrival, they were very friendly and quick. Alcock from the Namibian Airport Company gave me a ride into town and dropped me at a guesthouse, the Schützenhaus, with "Knobelclub 1907" and "Mitgliederkneipe" (member's bar). It's also the base of Turnverein "Gut Heil" (I hasten to add that this is a common, traditional name for sports clubs in Germany, and nothing to do with Nazism as far as I know - certainly predating it).


More vestiges of the time when Namibia was a German colony: Das Kaiserliche Postamt (The imperial post office). Quick history: Inhabited by Khoisan people (Khoi aka Hottentots, San aka Bushmen), later Bantu. 1884 Bismarck claimed it as Deutsch Süd-West Afrika. During WW I, oocupied and later administered (under a mandate by the League of Nations) by South Africa. Full independence in 1990 (before the downfall of the South African apartheid regime 1994).

Finally on the road! FAGC-FAKD

After a quick one hour checkout I got ZS-NXW, a fine 1979 Cessna 172N with 180 hp (good to have with the density altitudes prevailing in Namibia at this time of the year.) With 16l of water and 1kg of muesli bars and peanuts (enough to survive a week in the Namibian desert) in the back of the plane, I finally took off in the early afternoon.

After my first solo flight in South Africa, and the first leg of my cross-country-trip. With ZS-NXW in FAKD (Klerksdorp).


Freedom! Sun!


To FAUP (Upington, South Africa, the last stop before crossing into Namibia) it's about 450NM from FAGC. I decided to have a fuel stop en-route, and decided on FAKD (Klerksdorp). When I had arrived and fueled up, it was nearly 16h, and the 3 hours remaining to Upington would have put me quite close to sun set. I didn't know the airport, and the next alternate was nearly 100 NM (one hour) away - so, I decided to stay overnight. As it happens, another pilot (Lee) landed just after me, and we briefly deliberated the situation. When I decided to stay, Lee whipped out his phone, called his friend Cliff, and stated that I'd stay with Cliff.

Soon Cliff was at the airport, working on his RV-7. Here he is with some family:


Kids are playing hide-and-seek with my camera.


One of Cliff's hobbies, the RV-7 kit plane. He built it himself over the course of several years (and several years longer than he had anticipated...).


Another of Cliff's hobbies.

Getting a Cessna in Grand Central

After some phone calls, I got a Cessna 172N with 180 hp for a good rate from Babcock Central Flying Academy (CFA).. Willie Marais and Meka (right) did a great job getting me the plane on short notice, and sort out all the formalities.

So, in the afternoon we left Bloemfontein to get to Grand Central (in Midrand, between Johannesburg and Pretoria). Weather in Bloemfontein was pretty bad for once, so we were glad to leave it behind.


Johannesburg.


This weird asymmetric water tower really helps finding the runway when approaching Grand Central.


And smack on the glide slope for FAGC (Grand Central).

Thunder and lightning in FAGY

Today we wanted to fly to Pietermaritzburg close to Durban on the Eastern coast and then up the coast to Moçambique, but encountered cumulonimbus and thunderstorms. Had to divert to FAGY (Greytown), a nice little private field. Fortunately, Stefan had family nearby, and they came to pick us up by car.

A nice lake on the way from Bloemfontein to Pietermaritzburg:


Stuck in FAGY (Greytown).




Stefan organizing rescue...

Flying the Jabiru J400 (FATP)

Today Stefan checked me out in the Jabiru 400 that I was planning to take on my long cross country trip (can't take the Mooney for insurance reasons, you need 50h in a complex plane). I didn't quite like the Jabiru - it is wide and comfortable, but the controls are located differently than in a Cessna. There is a central stick that you control with your right hand as PIC, the throttle is below the seat between your legs, the brake is a lever on the center console (no differential braking). It feels weird, and it is not trivial to both steer and brake simultaneously.
The controls are very direct, but do not give pressure feedback as in the Cessna or Diamond, so you don't notice easily that you reach the margin of the flight envelope. Lastly, the approach is flown very fast, and if you cut back the engine, this thing sinks like a brick (nearly 1000 fpm). Not quite my cup of tea!

I was prepared to go with it after some more training, but then it turned out that it didn't have enough hours left before the next MPI (mandatory periodical inspection, 50hr inspection). Then there were some problems with the magneto. Then I wanted to start the engine, and the key broke off. Then I did a run-up, and the fuel was spilling from the wing. I checked, it was normal (overfull). Then I did another run-up, and the engine quit on the left magneto. So, I called it a day, and decided to go with a Cessna rather than this Jabiru...

This is the Jabiru. It has serial number 5.


A Robinson R44 helicopter. Lots of helicopter flying and training in South Africa, a lot of it for gaming and hunting.


Panel of the R44.


The DC-3 still dropping parachutists.

License in Jo'burg, sightseeing with Caroline and Stefan: FATP-FAGC

Stefan and I flew to FAGC (Grand Central Airport, Johannesburg) to submit my application for the private pilot license to the CAA (the South African Civial Aviation Authority). Half an hour later I had it.

In the afternoon we met Caroline and Stefan, old friends of my family (they used to live in Ethiopia, but are now based in Pretoria). We went for a short sightseeing flight north of Grand Central.

My first flight as PIC (pilot in command) in South Africa.

Roodeplaat Dam (note that in South Africa a lake is called a "dam", while a dam is a "wall". I don't know what they call a wall.)

Back! Fab, Caroline, Stefan.

Then Stefan and I were stuck here for 3 days due to bad weather...

Practical test FATP-FAJK-FAKM-FATP

Cross country flight and practical test. From FATP Tempe (Bloemfontein) to FAJK (Jan Kempdorp - a fairly obscure field, not listed in many places, apparently used to be a military field). I flew right past it without seeing it initially - pilotage is not trivial. At least I did not fly over the ammunition depot there, a prohibited zone. Then off to FAKM (Kimberley) to refuel, and back to Tempe.

My instructor Stefan Veldman and I in Kimberley after refueling.


Back to FATP Tempe, left downwind for runway 01 (you can see the other end, runway 19, in the lower right corner).


I passed!

Flight training in FATP

Flew around in the Mooney. Radio work, stalls, emergency landings, precautionary landings, incipient spin.

There are many parachuters on the field, both recreational and military. Here are some parachuters entering a DC-3 at FATP:

Arrived in FATP (Bloemfontein, South Africa)

Flew from FAGM (Rand Airport, Johannesburg) to FATP (New Tempe Airport, Bloemfontein) with my instructor, Stefan Veldman from EagleWhizz in a Mooney M20 with manual gear retraction, constant speed unit, and hydraulic flaps. Interesting machine, flies nicely.