In my opinion a fantastic Convention was put on by Hennie Roets and the Chapter 870 team. They deserve a huge round of applause. The food was plain but delicious with super tender juicy steaks, sosaties and wors. Organization was good and I have only one complaint, that I got more sun burnt than I had planned to! You may say that this is my own fault but I believe it is the organiser’s fault; because apparently they also had something to do with the weather.
For those who don’t get the African Pilot Newsletter, I am cutting and pasting their article (I’m sure Athol won’t mind) which apparently was supplied by Neville Böhm (EAA’s Safety Officer):
EAA 2008 Convention.
The EAA national convention and fly-in was held over this past weekend at Kroonstad airfield. Fourteen aircraft arrived on Friday and by early Saturday morning there were 46 aircraft parked on the airfield. During the course of the day another 20 or so aircraft visited and then departed. Most of the attending pilots flew EAA-type aircraft. There were less than a handful of the American-built light aircraft parked on the field. What was also interesting was the variety of aircraft makes and types.
Sitting next to Dave Becker at the dinner who provided me with the opportunity to swap notes, and between the two of us we spotted 37 different types and this excluded the variations within the types. It was gratifying to see that the Savannah was represented in-force, with six or so aircraft present. It was also good having the oldest, continuously registered aircraft in South Africa in attendance, an Aeronca Chief, first registered in 1939 similar to the aircraft on which Neil Armstrong trained.
The EAA AGM was chaired by Russell Dold. Usual AGM matters were quickly addressed before the election of the new committee was elected. The newly elected office-bearers are: National Chairman: Karl Jensen; National Vice Chairman: Gavin van den Berg; National Treasurer: Wayne Estment; National PRO: Trixie Heron; National Technical Representative: Pierre van der Walt; National Safety Officer: Neville Böhm; Young Eagles Coordinator: Christo Greyvensteyn.
The members decided that the 2009 EAA convention and fly-in will be hosted by Chapter 322.
Some members volunteered to take part in a navigation exercise and landing exercise. Sadly, those that participated were far less than what was expected due to an unfortunate incident involving an abusive SA CAA official in attendance. Seven participants found the first navex turning point, while only three found the difficult second turning point. The winning team, piloted by John Waterson flying a Savannah VG, managed to get back within 16 seconds of their estimated time for the route. Landings were better though, as many pilots were within a few meters of the task requirement.
The prize giving dinner was a grand affair, with the trophies handed out, good food and great camaraderie. I take my hat off to the organisers of the dinner as only 70 or so people paid and booked for the event, yet the organisers catered for an additional 20 people at very short notice. Entertainer, Dix Voster kept the delegates at the dinner entertained with his repertoire of jokes and songs.
The only blot on the scorecard for the weekend, which had nothing to do with the organisers or the members, was the uncouth, aggressive and tactless manner in which the SA CAA inspector carried out ramp-checks of a selected number of parked aircraft on Saturday morning. Sadly, if this person is an indication of the CAA’s direction in its approach to undertaking enforcement duties, we may as well shut down general aviation. I have no issue with carrying out checks and inspections if this activity is aimed at promoting aviation safety and compliance, but when the approach used is so that it leaves pilots quivering in their boots we have the very real danger that the safety chain is broken and accidents will result. I am personally very concerned that this CAA inspector has set the stage for potential accidents amongst the pilots he has accosted. I will be watching the aviation accident statistics very carefully in the coming months to see whether any of our EAA members inspected are affected.
Pilots, please be very careful whilst flying these coming months. If you are upset, stressed or fatigued by the occurrences of this weekend’s inspections, do not fly. Also, I urge anyone that was inspected to politely place your experience in writing within the coming days and courier this document to the Commissioner for Civil Aviation.
Kind regards and please fly safely,
Neville Böhm – National EAA Safety Officer.
