MIDWEEK UPDATE 4 OCTOBER 2017

THIS WEEK IN MIDWEEK UPDATE

Plan Your Weekend……..Forthcoming Events…….Aviation News

Worldwide Incidents and Accidents……This Week in Aviation History





6-8: EAA Sun 'n Fun, Rustenburg. Contact Marie ReddyE-mail: marie.reddyy@gmail.com Cell: 083 259 7691.

7: SAAF Museum AFB Zwartkop open practise day



21-22: SAC Free State Regionals. Tempe airfield. Contact Annie Boon e-mail:
chunge@mweb.co.za


21 Durban Wings Club Fun Rally. Virginia Airport. Frank Eckard 083 269 1516 frank.eckard@mweb.co.za


3rd Saturday of every month. Microland. Bring and braai. Fires and bykos provided. Fires start from 09h30. Contact person: Nick Swardt 082 441 8011 or Alan Hussey 072 82 2341


24-26: African Airshow. Kotoka International Airport Ghana. Contact Jade Myburgh at +971 2 4192714 Website: www.africanairshow.com


27,28 & 29: Oudshoorn Aeroclub Fly in. Braais, Fly-outs, live music, free shuttle service no landing fees and discount on Avgas. Contact Morne Jonker 062 429 5614 mornejonker @rocketmail.com


27-29: Palala Boutique Game Lodge weekend fly in. Directions 06/24 Airstrip is 1200 meters long, with 150 meters paved with hard rolled gravel in between 2700 ft. above sea level. S23 06 16 E027 52 49. Contact Elizabeth Olivier E-mail: marketing5@fusionhotel.co.za Cell: 072 320 4406 or resrevations@palala.co.za




1: EAA Chapter 322 meeting. Dicky Fritz Moth Hall Edenvale. Contact: editor@afskies.co.za

4: SAAF Museum AFB Zwartkop open practise day

4: Aero Club of South Africa annual awards evening. Contact: Sandra Strydom Tel: 011 082 1100 E-mail:
office@aeroclub.org.za


11: Peter Hengst Memorial Adventure Rally Brits EAA Adventure Rally-Brits. Contact Rob Jonkers 082 804 7032 rob@aerosud.co.za for Rally information and entries and Trixiie Heron editor@afskies.co.za for EAA


18: Baragwanath Fun Rally. Contact Frank Eckard 083 269 1516 frank.eckard@mweb.co.za


3rd Saturday of every month. Microland. Bring and braai. Fires and bykos provided. Fires start from 09h30. Contact person: Nick Swardt 082 441 8011 or Alan Hussey 072 82 2341




2: SAAF Museum AFB Zwartkop open practise day

2-3: SAC Ace of Base Vereeniging. Contact Annie Boon E-mail: chunge@mweb.co.za

6: EAA Chapter 322 meeting. Dicky Fritz Moth Hall Edenvale. Contact: editor@afskies.co.za

9: SAAF Silver Falcons 50th anniversary airshow. AFB Langebaanweg, Western Cape.

28: FACF Fly in. ST Francis Airpark. Reserve date of 29 December in case of bad weather. All welcome, food and beverages will be available. Contact Barry Culligan mailto:barry@otto.co.za



The Aviation Radio Show; get all your questions answered in one place. To listen to a recording of the live broadcast click on the link:
www.debela.co.za/aviation-radio-show



AIRLINK TO COMMENCE SCHEDULED SERVICE TO ST HELENA


The inaugural flight for Airlink's scheduled air service to St Helena will take place on Saturday, 14 October 2017. On this occasion, the aircraft will stay overnight on St Helena and will return to Johannesburg via Windhoek on Sunday, 15 October 2017. This gives passengers the option of a one-day or a seven-day visit to St Helena.

LANCAIR MAKO QUALIFIES IN RENO RACING


Photo © Lancair

Joining 14 other 2-seater Lancairs in a field of 40 sport aircraft, the new Mako showed it has the 'right stuff' by qualifying as the sole 4-seater plane in the class. Piloted by Lancair President Conrad Huffstutler in 3 separate heats, the Lycoming IO-540-powered Mako achieved a maximum speed of 216.870 mph in Heat 2D on Thursday, Sept. 14.

In a hotly contested class with some highly modified aircraft posting 380 mph laps, the normally aspirated Mako held its own in its class. Nonetheless, Conrad endured some good-natured kidding about his air-conditioned 4-place sedan cruiser with humor and grace.

FIRST FLIGHT OF THE ELIXIR

5h30min of flight in 6 days! Watch the video to learn everything about the Elixer's first flights!



AIR SEYCHELLES LAUNCHES NEW SCENIC FLIGHTS IN TWIN OTTER DHC-6 400 OVER MAHÉ


Photo© Viking Aircraft

Air Seychelles has announced the launch of a new "Scenic Flights" product that will allow air travellers to experience panoramic flights over Mahé at low altitudes enabling them to have a bird's eye view of the most beautiful spots of Seychelles largest island.

The "Scenic Flights" have been carefully developed in cooperation with Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) which has assisted in designing the low altitude routes, as well as, the travel trade and DMCs who will be key distributors of this product, offering more choice of activities to tourists visiting Seychelles.

The first flight is scheduled to take off at 11am on 16 August with a group of travel agents and representatives from the tourism industry onboard.

Starting from Seychelles International Airport, the 30-minute flight will take guests on a North Mahé tour with Cerf Island, Moyenne and Ste Anne islands visible to the right.

The aircraft, a Twin Otter DHC-6 400 with 19 seats, will then continue past the capital of Victoria, following the coastline around the northern point of Mahé to Beau Vallon beach.

The flight will then head past Anse Major, the Baie Ternay marine park and Port Launay, providing unparalleled views of the Morne Seychellois national park, before circling back at Grand Anse beach.

Roy Kinnear, Chief Executive Officer of Air Seychelles, said: "With our new "Scenic Flights", travellers will be able to experience and appreciate the unparalleled beauty of Seychelles from a whole new angle.

"Flying at a low altitude on a Twin Otter aircraft, our service will provide breathtaking views of many famous sights and landmarks of north Mahé, from stunning beaches to the verdant rolling hills of the national park, all framed by the Indian Ocean.

"This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience and we are confident it will appeal to both residents and international visitors who are looking to explore Seychelles from the air."

"Scenic Flights" will be available for bookings with Seychelles DMC's as well as directly with Air Seychelles. For more information, interested parties are invited to contact local DMC's or Air Seychelles on 439 1000.

AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE HANDS OVER 50TH A400M


Photo © Airbus

Airbus Defence and Space today delivered the 50th A400M new generation airlifter to the German Air Force marking a key milestone for an aircraft which is transforming the world of air mobility.

The aircraft, known as MSN59, is the twelfth to be delivered this year at the Final Assembly Line in Seville and the thirteenth to be accepted by Germany.

The A400M is steadily becoming the backbone of the European transport fleet and in recent weeks began to demonstrate its full potential as aircraft from Germany, France and the UK undertook intensive hurricane relief missions in the Caribbean.

MSN59 will shortly be ferried to Wunstorf, Lower Saxony which is home to Germany's A400M unit - Air Transport Wing 62.

BLOODHOUND SSC AND THE TEAM WILL BE HEADING TO NEWQUAY TO PREPARE FOR THE FIRST RUNS OF THE SUPERSONIC CAR


Photo © Bloodhound SCC

Very soon, BLOODHOUND SSC and the Team will be heading to Newquay to prepare for the first runs of the Car. Amid the rising levels of excitement, there has been a massive amount of planning going on, plus the rather important job of getting the Car itself ready to drive, including:

# A 'flight worthy' operational EJ200 jet engine has been delivered by Rolls-Royce - this is the one that will power the Car and it has now been installed into the Car (see photo above).
# The Team has been fitting and calibrating sensors for the upper chassis and adding water and air cooling systems throughout the Car.
# The brake disks and rear suspension have been added.
# A lot of work has been done in and around the cockpit, such as fitting the power assisted steering, LP cock shut-off, smoke detectors, halon gas fire extinguisher, breathing air, throttle and brake pedals, 6-point harness, head protection, radio communications, wiring looms and control systems - all of which is tricky in such a confined space!

Since writing the Car update (below), the Car has been completed and transported to Newquay ready for the next phase of the runway trials process. We'd like to offer huge thanks to all the sponsors who have made this possible, particularly Arthur Spriggs.

SAMAA AND THE AECSA TRANSFORMATION AT SILVERTON MODEL FLYING CLUB



As some might be aware the AeCSA Transformation Section has been supporting the Cornerstone Model Flying project for the last couple of years.

On Wednesday 20 September 2017 at 14h30 the SAMAA hosted a meet and greet with the students and instructors from Cornerstone College at Silverton Model Flying Club situated on the property at Rhino Park. Boerewors rolls and cold drinks were served and some demo's was flown by professional pilots.

Jeff Earle Chairman of AeCSA and Alan Evan Hanes (AeCSA General Manager) were invited by Daniel Ralefeta to present a T&D cheque of R20,000.00 to SAAMA for the great work they are doing with the kids from Cornerstone College.

It was actually a privilege to meet such capable and enthusiastic youngsters. In the preliminary meeting we asked them who wanted to be a pilot, and unexpectedly only five expressed such a goal. Rather maturely, others wanted to be: an Air traffic controller, astronomer, dispatcher / operations, a couple of aeronautical engineers, etc; all in the aviation industry.

Thanks very much for the amazing afternoon we shared with you yesterday. Sylvester and our model flying club members are still glowing with excitement and enthusiasm! They all signed the attached card at break time today to say thank you in their own way.

Sally (my wife and our Principal) and the school staff were very encouraged to hear of your support and commitment. We will showcase the cheque, club members, SAMAA caps and Gentle Lady to the whole school at our assembly next Wednesday.

We are very grateful for the financial sponsorship, it will enable us to cover our costs and replace aircraft and equipment when enthusiasm exceeds skill. Our financial lady confirmed that the funds landed in the school's account today. Excellent timing, thanks very much!!

The club members were particularly impressed by the donation of the Gentle Lady and radio. A big thank you to Stan for thinking of us and passing something of his legacy on to the next generation.

A special thanks to each of you for making it all happen. We especially thank the Dept. of Sport and Recreation for making the funds available. Please pass our thanks and the attached card to them as well.

We look forward to seeing you on the flight line again!



Kuwait, Kuwait City: An Etihad Airways Boeing 777-200 freighter on a freight flight EY-927 from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam (Netherlands) with 4 crew, was en-route at FL320 about 130nm southeast of Kuwait City (Kuwait) when the captain, who had increasingly felt unwell, became incapacitated prompting the first officer to declare Mayday and divert the aircraft to Kuwait, where the aircraft landed safely about 25 minutes later. Medics awaiting the aircraft could not help the captain anymore, who was pronounced dead on arrival.

DRC, Kinshasa: An Antonov An-12 cargo plane of the Air Force of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is reported to have crashed near Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The aircraft had departed Kinshasa-N'Djili Airport and crashed in the N'sele DAIPN agro-industrial park area, killing all three Ukrainian crew members and five Congolese soldiers.

Canada, Goose Bay: An Air France Airbus A380-800on a flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Los Angeles with 497 passengers and 23 crew was en-route at FL370 about 200nm southeast of Nuuk (Greenland) when the fan and inlet of the #4 engine separated from the engine. The crew descended to FL310 and diverted to Goose Bay for a safe landing about 2 hours later.
.




8 OCTOBER 1883

French brothers Albert and Gaston Tissandier make the first flight with an airship powered by electricity.

Gaston Tissandier was born in Paris in 1843. He studied chemistry and in 1864 became the head of the experimental laboratory of Union Nationales. He was also a teacher at Association polytechnique. His interest in meteorology led him to take up aviation.

His first trip in the air was conducted at Calais in 1868 together with Claude-Jules Dufour, where his balloon drifted out over the sea and was brought back by an air stream of opposite direction in a higher layer of air. In September 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, he managed to leave the besieged Paris by balloon.


Image © Louis Poyet United States Library of Congress.

His most adventurous airtrip took place near Paris in April 1875. He and companions Joseph Crocé-Spinelli a journalist, and Théodore Henri Sivel a naval officer, were able to reach in a balloon the unheard-of altitude of 8,600 meters (28,000 feet). Both of his companions died from breathing the thin air. Tissandier survived, but became deaf.

In 1883, Tissandier fit a Siemens electric motor to an airship, thus creating the first electric-powered flight.

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