DAASA Report 2017-18By Simon Smith Our member have been fairly active last year, where Mike Lomberg has joined the Swiss based Handiflight team who are preparing for an around the world flight to draw attention to disability issues and promote aviation within the disabled community (read Mikes report below). Jeffery Yates has been building a trike to enable him to paraglide.  Unfortunately our attempt to expand the gliding facilities into Gauteng has had to be put on hold where a prospective hosting club withdraw its support. We are also looking for a prospective flight training school to install hand control in a powered aircraft. Handiflight is a Swiss organization that has been organizing fly-ins of disabled flyers from all over the world every two years since 2007. The week-long event is held in Gruyere in Switzerland and has seen disabled aviators from a whole range of activities participate: fixed wing flying, ballooning, gliding, paragliding and parachuting. Daniel Ramseier, who heads up the initiative, together with his team of patrons and supporters, has now launched a project whereby Handiflight will support a global organization working in the field of disabilities, Humanity & Inclusion (HI, which was previously known as Handicap International), by flying two Flight Design CTLS aircraft eastwards around the world, flown by disabled pilots.  Mike Lomberg, from Morningstar Flying Club in Cape Town, will be one of the three CTLS pilots, together with Guillaume Feral (France) and Paolo Pacobelli (Italy), who will be the backup pilot for Guillaume and Mike. All three are paraplegics. A single-engine Comanche flown by Laurent Wulser (Switzerland) will be the support aircraft. The flight is planned over a 10-month period so that considerable time can be spent with other adaptive flyers in countries that will be visited, and in promoting the goals and work of HI in each country. In all, 80 000km will be flown (approx. 400 flight hours). 12 other disabled pilots will be joining the flight on the legs in Australia, New Zealand, South and North America and will fly with Guillaume and Mike in the two CT's. The trip will leave from Geneva in November 2018. The two CT's have been modified with hand controls for rudder operation, and the STC for the modification is in the final stages of EASA approval. Mike has recently returned from Europe where he completed his check ride in the CT, having obtained his EASA PPL based on his SACAA licence by flying with Aerobility in the UK. The next preparation phase will take place in June with more flying on the CT's, a visit to the Flight Design factory, a sea survival course and flying some longer legs at the allowed over max gross take off weights planned. Follow the preparation and progress and find out more: Facebook: www.facebook.com/handiflight Handiflight: www.handiflight.com Humanity & Inclusion: www.handicap-international.ch Mike also posts to Instagram: radial090 |
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