Microlighters

Dear Eben,

As I am very passionate about the flying industry and especially gyroplanes, I have noticed that none of the Rotorcraft Associations honour or reward any of the instructors, machines, pilots, as well as people that promote the sport.

I therefore wish to introduce a yearly event for ALL Rotorcraft Owners/Pilots, an evening of rewards, to acknowledge and reward our owners, pilots, instructors for the part they play in promoting this sport, and hopefully bring the gyro community much closer together.

I am currently busy with the website, which will be launched soon. On this website there will be categories per Gyroplane Type and the owners/pilots can enter themselves and gyro’s for a specific or more than one category and then they can send the link to all their friends to vote online, so that we keep it fare at all times.

I was thinking of doing the first Rotorcraft Awards Evening together with North meets South as this event is the biggest get together for all the different gyroplane instructors, owners, pilots. I am busy making contact with all the gyroplane manufacturers / agents for prizes to sponsor for each Type of Gyroplane and each category. I am also making contact with all the gyroplane suppliers, like the Pilot Shop, Comet Aviation etc for prizes.

We will also have fun categories, like rookie of the year, pilots that solo’d this year for the first time, artwork of gyroplane, most impressive dash, longest journey, oldest pilot, youngest pilot, etc. I am also planning on inviting a guest speaker on Rotorcraft in general, and have the perfect person from FAA/EAA in mind.

I will need some help on the categories and would like all the gyroplane experts to assist in making this evening a huge success.

We will also link SAGPA’s website and all the other gyroplane associations websites to this website. The sponsors websites will also be linked and clearly identified and thanked.

I hope that the gyro community out there will see that as a positive event, and that they will be as excited about these awards as I am. Hopefully this will become a yearly event together with North meets South.

We are looking at taking this event globally, but would first like to do the dry run in South Africa as we hold the record for the most gyroplanes at one point at the same time. Your and SAGPA’s help and advice will be greatly appreciated!

Kind Regards
Yolandé Combrinck
Rotorcraft Awards
Mobile : 0832828792
Email : awards@rotorcraftawards.com

Hi Eben, what a great idea but I think there might be some questions about having a supposedly impartial "awards organisation" being aligned to one specific manufacturer. No doubt you'll get all sorts of people claiming that there are vested interest because your sister is involved with RAF and of course if RAF got an award there might be moans about favouritism etc. You know how some people are...

It's such a lekker idea though so why doesn't Yolande run it under the auspices of SAGPA or is the Rotorcraft Awards going to be a commercial enterprise? If not, by running it through SAGPA there can be no moans about favouritism etc and to be fair, the "North meets South" has become a SAGPA event. Hopefully SAGPA would even be in the position to fund the initiative in part or in full instead of Rotorcraft Awards having to rely solely on outside sponsors every year?

Yolande, this is very commendable of you to want to create awards for Rotorcraft/Gyroplanes.............and I'm sure you will find some very worthy recipients in all categories.
I just question your motivation, what or who do you represent that may gain some form of recognition from it?
Or am I missing something.
BTW I do NOT fly a gyro.

Dear All

Thank you so much for your positive reply, this is what I am hoping for!!

Let me try and explain the entire idea around the Rotorcraft Awards.

Rotorcraft Awards is an entity on its own, apart from any type of gyroplane or association, a totally different company and I would like to keep it that way. I prefer having the front door key for my ideas and projects. In short I saw an opportunity and took it.

RAFSA’s involvement?

I will request and require the same involvement from them as my requests to the other manufacturers/agents/pilots. RAFSA will get no less or no more exposure than any of the other Gyroplane Type’s and or suppliers. All will be treated equally. At the end of the day each supplier will be responsible for the amount of exposure they get by what level of involvement they give, as this will be on the Rotorcraft Awards website, there will also be a link to the supplier/sponsors website.

I am not doing this not for RAF but for the current gyroplane community and the new younger generation pilots.

What motivated me to start with Rotorcraft Awards?

This is actually such a big sport in South Africa and so little recognition is given. It is great that you have the SAGPA Awards, but only one person benefits from this, where Rotorcraft Awards is totally different.

The biggest motivation is the animosity currently amongst the Gyroplane Community.

The Gyroplane Community can only bad mouth each other and each other’s aircraft and with this they further destroy the sport. If the gyroplane community focus on the bad and negative all the time the sport will die soon, it’s like cancer if not treated with a solution, it will spread, and sooner or later will take its toll. I personally don’t want this to happen.

I asked myself if I can stand up with pride and say that I am part of doing the right thing for the Gyroplane Community? And up until now the answer is no, and I want to change that or try to change the animosity. There will always be, but if we focus more on the positive this will at the end overrule and weigh out the negative.

No matter what TYPE of Gyroplane you own or fly, they all have one thing in common, ROTORBLADES which are all driven by wind!

1. Why is that we can drive different motorcars and sit around one table having a ball of time, but not with the Gyroplane community?
2. How can we bring the gyroplane community together in a way that we support, learn from each other and encourage the sport ?
3. How can we positively influence and promote safety of the aircraft, not matter what type & sport?
4. Why is it that none of the Gyroplane Associations are asking these questions and not focussing on positive solutions? Endless meetings and committees are not going to solve it, currently it is not…

If I look at the hassles with SACAA all has or have experienced at some point difficulty and negative responses from the SACAA, a governing body that are supposed to support and help us, and be positive about a new registration ,as the sport gets promoted does’nt it? But are the SACAA positive and happy about this and goes out of their way to assist? I don’t think so…..? The same with the forums, it is devastating. To be honest if I was a potential buyer and I saw all of this I would walk away and rather look at another sport….. deep down in all the “men on the forums & blogs hiding behind their alias’s” I don’t think that you really want this sport to die?

If this sport dies, have anyone ever thought of what you were going to do with your half a million or million rand investment? It will become a white elephant. The more we stand together as team the bigger voice we will have to work on solutions for our problems with our Aircraft, instructors, pilots, SACAA and gyroplane associations. And by rewarding someone for something small or big, makes a huge difference in that persons feeling and mind-set towards the sport and fellow pilots. Recognition is something very small but very powerfull.

How nice will it be if the forum changes from negative bad mouthing each other, from my ones’ faster than your one’s, it actually childish, my dad’s gyroplane is bigger, faster, more expensive than your dad’s kind of approach, to a forum where you raise a concern or problem and a receive positive answer like a solution and assistance as a reply. Where you can tell and share your experience on your accident or incident or engine out to foster and increase the safety of flying, and not be afraid of who’s going to take you apart on the “shit” you are flying or the shit instructor you have had…..

Sorry for all of this, but you asked my for my motivation behind the Rotorcraft Awards, the last thing I want is to further increase the animosity.

This is when I came up with Rotorcraft Awards, to honour , recognise and award all involved in the Gyroplane Community and not just one person. Hopefully Rotorcraft Awards will assist us to foster better relationships between the TYPE of gyroplane owners. One evening per year on mutual ground where everyone stands a fair chance to be awarded and thanked for their role in the community and give their positive input on the safety of our pilots and our aircraft. And let’s have some interesting topics about general rotorcraft practices, standards etc from which all can learn from and not make it TYPE specific.

Rotorcraft Award Categories

Gyroplane Types, these are currently registered in South Africa. I still need to do some re-search on how many of each type is still active flying in SA, and therefore need the input from all sectors of the Gyroplane Community.

Air & Space 18A -
Air Commander 1000
Bensen B-8
Bensen B-80
Bensen DS-B-80A
Bensen MB82
Bensen-8M
Bill Parson 2
Calidus
ELA
KB3 Gyroplane
Kingfisher Gyroplane
Leopard V-2
Magni M22
Magni M24
Minicopter
MT-03
MTO-Sport
Noble Gyrocopter
RAF/2000
Sycamore
VPM M-13M
VPM M-14
VPM M-16 Gyrocopter
Xenon

Each Gyroplane TYPE will have the exact same Categories whereby you will be able to enter your gyroplane/pilot online and then send the link to vote.

Example:

TYPE : MAGNI M22
Best Paint Job
Longest Cross Country
Most Cautious Pilot

TYPE: RAF2000
Best Paint Job
Longest Cross Country
Most Cautious Pilot

TYPE : MAGNI M24
Best Paint Job
Longest Cross Country
Most Cautious Pilot

I need some help on the categories so if you can suggest any categories please do!

Regards
Yolandé Combrinck
Rotorcraft Awards
Mobile : 0832828792
Email : awards@rotorcraftawards.com

Any suggestions??????

Yolande

I can't see how handing out lolipops to the gyro pilot with the best designer logo on his flighsuit's belt bucket will help gyro safety.

Perhaps I don't understand enough of how you wish to achieve this.

Firstly I don't understand what you are talking about when you say:

saraf wrote:The biggest motivation is the animosity currently amongst the Gyroplane Community.

saraf wrote:The Gyroplane Community can only bad mouth each other and each other’s aircraft

saraf wrote:1. Why is that we can drive different motorcars and sit around one table having a ball of time, but not with the Gyroplane community?

I don't know where you get your information but I think you have been misinformed. I suggest you check your sources and experience the gyro community for real and you will see what a great bunch of people it is, doesn't matter that they know my gyro is better than all of theirs.

saraf wrote:2. How can we bring the gyroplane community together in a way that we support, learn from each other and encourage the sport ?
3. How can we positively influence and promote safety of the aircraft, not matter what type & sport?

You have described the purpose of SAGPA here and we must all support them to make this happens, the whole committee and others are trying their utmost to achieve this. They have done a huge amount the past couple of years to improve safety, training, maintenance, image, spirit, etc. Unfortunately this doesn't happen overnight. We must rather give them our support, input and constructive criticism where needed rather than having 25 separate committees and/or organizations, each trying to do his own thing. Lets rather make SAGPA what we want it to be and let them do what we want them to do.

Your awards sound like a nice gesture and fun thing to do, but I fail to see how this will improve gyro safety.

My suggestion for awards, namely best looking gyro pilot and best looking gyro, coincidentally will be for the same person, you all know who I am talking about right, right

mak wrote:My suggestion for awards, namely best looking gyro pilot and best looking gyro, coincidentally will be for the same person, you all know who I am talking about right, right

Are you talking about me, Hubby?

Hoe meer bohaai daar aanmekaar gemaak word oor die sogenaamde verskille en geskille onder gyro tipes , hoe meer onmin word ongevraagd gesaai. Hou tog in vadersnaam op met hierdie kleinlike en onnodige getwis oor niks en vlieg jou eie blerrie gyro sonder hierdie kunsmatige bemarkingsfoefies en gekuif oor twak en geniet jou vryetydsbesteding. Ai jirrietjie tog mense ...
Sorry guys... My reaction came on the spur of the moment and I am still working on an acceptable translation. Len you can help cause you are much more confident in both tales. No seriously guys and Galls. Surely we have passed this petty type cast arguments a long while back. For goodness sake. We all know by now that all gyros are parading their stuff and comparisons are not required to elicited a healthy discusion on the joys of flying autorotating rotorcraft. Come on !! Or have I lossed the plot since becoming a senior citizon. ( cant spell anymore for one thing...)
Marius, ek neem aan en aanvaar dat jou verwysing en aaname slegs van toepassing is as jou wyfie stewig ingeburger agter die stuurstang van die Xenon is

More manne, ek dink julle verstaan yolande verkeerd en die doel van die hele rotorcraft awards ding. Sy wil graag n event reel wat julle almal wat n verskil maak in ons sport te vereer. Johan ek dink ons he vergekom met die myne is beter as jou e ding. Ek dink glad nie yolande probeer se dit is hoe dit is op die oomblik nie, ek dink sy wil net probeer voortbou op ons vordering.

Groete eben jnr.

Hi Yolande

Dit is al baie bewys deur die jare dat bang pilots groot bek het en net negatief kan dink en praat. Ons dink dit is fantastiese iedea van jou en sal jou ondersteun waar moontlik en ek glo hierdie bang gatte van pilots sal jou nie van koers stuur nie.

Ek dink baie dae as ek hierdie bang gatte van pilots se kommentaar lees wat hulle sou gedink het van ons vlieg by Court Helicopters in winter maande wanneer Skepe sink en see reddings gedoen moet word saam met NSRI (deesdae skuil hulle mos agter die woord VEILIGHEID die bang gatte)

Johan ons dink die selfde as jy.......EK hoop net die bang gat pilots met groot bekke stig hulle eie ding en los die res van ons wat ervaring het.

Groete

K Foster & Chuck Norris get my pilot awards nomination votes.

K Foster wrote:hierdie bang gatte van pilots sal jou nie van koers stuur nie.

Na wie presies verwys jy, K Foster?

Jip! I've lost the plot.

K Foster - One hit (post) wonder ...?

I thought for one moment that the banggat reference was addressed at me. Then I thought that it is a fair assumption cause I really am a banggat when my friend Vic comes close to me in his M 24 to take a pic of my Xenon and ends up getting a close up of my eyeballs, wide in terror as I can see Vic is so focussed on what he is seeing through the lens that he doesnt realise how close he is! My good friend Bennitt Joubert was cruising along happily in his M16 taking a video of his beautiful sunflower crop on his farm. He noticed through the eyepiece that he was executing a magnificantly smooth zoom to a close up of a particular patch of sunflowers. Only when he realised that his finger was not on the zoom button of his video camera did he dislodge his eye from the viewfinder and open the other eye which was firmly shut up to now. He did not need a combine harvester to harvest his sunflowers. The rotor did a great job and so did Eric Torr in repairing the gyro.
Ebie I really apologise if you took me up wrongly. I did not express myself correctly. All I really wanted to do is support Marius. We really believe that we have left any I fly, You fly, yours crap, mine great pettiness on the tar mac at Gariep last year. Any reference to this old mindset should not be used as an argument to launch an initiative. You guys meant well and I salute you for this. Sorry if I jumped on my high horse. Dis n sestig ding. Vra jou pa!!
Now who are the banggatte? I think it must be Tinkerbell cause she wont dare take the Xenon for a flip without Mak knowing about it or permitting her to.