RIGHT SEAT RULES NO. 8 - THE PREFLIGHT BRIEFING.
SA Flyer Magazine|August 2023
If I were a fisherman, which I'm not, I would exhort fellow piscators, via the Best Bait Buyers' Bulletin, to use the right worms. As an instructor, I now beg you to use the right words - always.
JIM DAVIS
RIGHT SEAT RULES NO. 8 - THE PREFLIGHT BRIEFING.

SOME TIME AGO I SAVED FOUR LIVES, one being mine, before lunch, by doing exactly that. Here’s what happened.

I had a little flying school in Port Elizabeth, and so did the SAAF. At the Algoa Flying Club we would often all make merry together.

I soon realised that the SAAF pilots would give anything to fly my Tiger Moth. Their currency was time in a Harvard, or an Impala, and the going rate was two hours in their government-sponsored toys, in exchange for each hour in my Tiger (R2 worth of fuel).

I kid you not. This was my mate Bob Emmett’s holiday expenses when he flew his little Aeronca Champ from Knysna up the Wild Coast.

It was on the occasion of my first flight in an Impala that my prompt use of the right worm, sorry, word, saved everyone’s lives. And do you suppose they thanked me? Little buggers.

The flight wasn’t exactly what I expected. The back-slapping captain with whom I had enjoyed several pints in the pub only appeared briefly to introduce me to three spotty fourteen-year-olds. Two of them would propel one Impala while I was to be a passenger in the other. Hmmmmm. Not really what I was hoping for.

I was kitted out with overalls and helmet, both of which trailed a young snake-park of tubes, wires and pipes. We then sat in a briefing room and were talked at by someone who told me, and the acne trio, that I was to be a passenger in a low-level formo flight to the west of Kirkwood.

After going inverted and crossing a couple of ridges of high ground, we were to become uninverted, climb to plenty of feet and do some pre-planned aerobatics.

Denne historien er fra August 2023-utgaven av SA Flyer Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra August 2023-utgaven av SA Flyer Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA SA FLYER MAGAZINESe alt
Iris - her early years: IRIS FLIES ACROSS SUDAN
SA Flyer Magazine

Iris - her early years: IRIS FLIES ACROSS SUDAN

Laura McDermid continues her stories about Iris McCallum's early years in East Africa and the Sudan. In part 1 of this story she recounts how she had to fly a bunch of Belgian Missionaries to Aweil, a city in northwestern South Sudan, from Wilson in Nairobi in her old mate 'ARN', the Piper Aztec 5Y-ARN.

time-read
6 mins  |
June 2024
UGLY IS PRETTY: LEAR 25 VS PILATUS PC-6
SA Flyer Magazine

UGLY IS PRETTY: LEAR 25 VS PILATUS PC-6

When you go to a party where you don't know anybody, you should always go for the 'Ugly' girl, because she will be happy that you chose to spend time with her.

time-read
4 mins  |
June 2024
CIRRUS G7 LAUNCHED IN AFRICA
SA Flyer Magazine

CIRRUS G7 LAUNCHED IN AFRICA

What makes one aircraft better than another? Range, Speed, or carrying capacity, short field performance, operating costs, high wing, low wing, side stick, traditional control yoke?

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2024
PRESIDENT'S TROPHY AIR RACE 2024
SA Flyer Magazine

PRESIDENT'S TROPHY AIR RACE 2024

The annual Presidents Trophy Air Race (PTAR) is the highlight of the year for many competitive general aviation pilots.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2024
THE ABSA LOWVELD AIRSHOW 2024
SA Flyer Magazine

THE ABSA LOWVELD AIRSHOW 2024

This year marked the thirtieth edition of the Lowveld airshow – and it was widely acclaimed as the best ever.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2024
PREVIEW: AFRICAN AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE EXPO(AAD)
SA Flyer Magazine

PREVIEW: AFRICAN AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE EXPO(AAD)

Guy Leitch finds out from AAD Exhibition Director, Ms Nakedi Phasha, how the buildup to this year's biennial expo is going, and what visitors and exhibitors can expect.

time-read
4 mins  |
June 2024
APRIL 2023
SA Flyer Magazine

APRIL 2023

April has been a very quiet month on the local aviation marketplace with only nine new registration allocations and three deletions, according to the officially-supplied register review.

time-read
2 mins  |
June 2024
PIPISTREL PANTHERA FINALLY HERE
SA Flyer Magazine

PIPISTREL PANTHERA FINALLY HERE

One of the world's most eagerly awaited piston single engine aircraft designs has finally arrived in South Africa. ZU-KTR is a long awaited Panthera, proudly owned by Bertus Kritzinger, a Free State trucker, and based at New Tempe in Bloemfontein, where the well-known Ferriera Aviation has assembled it.

time-read
9 mins  |
June 2024
STAGGERWING - ALREADY OLD WHEN NEW
SA Flyer Magazine

STAGGERWING - ALREADY OLD WHEN NEW

The Staggerwing was the climax, and the end, of an era.

time-read
5 mins  |
June 2024
The Aim of Bombing
SA Flyer Magazine

The Aim of Bombing

In modern warfare it's not the soldiers who die - it's the civilians. One of the best examples of this is carpet bombing.

time-read
6 mins  |
June 2024