It was absolutely fabulous and a great honor to explore that part of the world with a Microlight. This is an absolute must for all microlighters!
The trip started on 27 May 2011 where I trailered my Cobra from Aeroden to Van Zylsrus. CHARLIE WHISKEY flew his Cobra ZU-CMS from Kitty Hawk to Van Zylsrus in about 6 hours with one stop inbetween. I had to make more than one pit stop
(They say panic starts with a "Pee") .Once CPT arrived with trailer and all, we quickly had to rig the wing and attach to the undercarriage. What a job and a half. But nevertheless, it was a race against time, daylight and the urge of cold beer at the local pub in the Hotel
After our tired body's awoke at 5:00am, we got dressed and made a turn by the aeries which were tied up like horses in front of the hotel. What a way to attract crowds I tell you! After a thorough inspection of the wing and the usual pre-flight checks, daylight broke at about 06:50am due to Van ZylsRus being in a quite far upper Westerly location of South Africa. We untied our horses and led them past the onlooking crowds towards the airfield. That morning was one of the most beautiful mornings for flying despite the weatherforecast. Nie `n enkele blaartjie het beweeg nie! Skies were sunny and everyone was relaxed and calm.
After take-off we made a sharp right hand turn towards Askam. Daylight broke in a bang as the flat dark surroundings gave way to rays of the sun. Although we had a slight head wind of about 10Mph North West, things were going smooth as planned. The flight took a steady turn due West from Askam, towards the Saltpans. 2 Major saltpans lay adjacent and divided by a rocky escarpment (barely a mountain range). We arrived in the middle of the pan called Koppieskraal pan which is as flat as a pancake and stretches about 10 000 hectares in size. After ZU CMS made a low level flight for about 3 minutes, I followed and joined him at the camp site where good friends and family awaited us after we completed the 108mile stretch in about 2 hours.After tying down the Cobra's (vat maar gerus jou Grippa ens. saam) we examined the pan a bit closer and started settling in with a "koppie koffie en beskuit" That afternoon we made a nice bon fire with the best wood one can get (accompanied with the other type of wood: "hardehout"
) Nice braais and flying weather the following morning etc etc..I will try my best to add as much photos and possibly videos on Youtube when time allows.
This is a def must for each person the experience. This does not get any better!!
Fly saveGroetnis: Triker and Charlie Whiskey
