The Iveco Extra 330s on a ‘knife-edge’
Shooting the impossible! Two of South Africa’s aerobatics greats, Nigel Hopkins and Jason Beamish, and arguably our most accomplished specialist air-to-air aviation photographer Justin de Reuck, took to the air on a warm winter’s day on the highveld, to create a bit of visual magic. Justin says the aim was to capture the manoeuvre that Jason and Nigel do in their Iveco Extra 330s at an airshow, where they fly down the runway ‘knife-edging’. Justin was in a Harvard with Arnie Meneghelli at the stick, and got Jason and Nigel to carry out the ‘knife-edge’ near to their aircraft. “We let them
Update – 2022 World Aerobatic Championships
Final results are in for 31st FAI (CIVA) World Aerobatics Championships held in Leszno, Poland, and it looks like a French whitewash for the top podium finishes. Rob Holland was knocked out of contention on the final day, but the only two participating women pilots (both from France) finished in 11th and 20th place respectively. OFFICIAL RESULTS OF THE WORLD AEROBATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS Rank Team Pilot Aeroplane O/all % 1 FRA Florent Oddon Extra 330SC 84,184 2 FRA Alexandre Orlowski Extra 330SC 83,296 3 FRA Louis Vanel Extra 330SC 82,329 4 ESP Olivier Masurel Extra 330SC 82,258 5 USA Rob Holland MXS 81,888
Remembering John Louis Gaillard
John Gaillard, who passed away on Sunday 7 August, has been involved with aerobatics since the 1970s, and has chaired the South African Sport Aerobatic club for several years. John was once a competitor himself, and had captained the South Africa team at several world championships. He also became very proficient at judging local contests and was soon invited to judge at international events. He always understood how contestants felt before a competition and was always seen before a contest sharing a joke over coffee, making contestants and novice judges alike feel at ease. He worked tirelessly to recruit and train a
Update: South Africa gliding its way to the top
On Monday 8 August the SA Gliding Team returned to warm and joyous welcome with some of the best news around. After participating in the 37th FAI World Gliding Championships in Szeged, Hungary, Team South Africa finished in second place overall. South African gliding legend, Oscar Goudriaan finished in 2nd place in Open Class, and is now officially ranked number two in the FAI world gliding standings. The South African team finished with 11 daily podium finishes. “This is the best result ever achieved for Team SA,” said Team Manager Jason Adriaan. “Gliding is one of the best aviation sports where pilots
Walter Goodrich – A pilot with an aerobatic heart
It’s a challenge to fly competitive aerobatics after a triple bypass but to win the Sportsman class at Nationals level sets Walter Goodrich apart. With a father in the construction industry, Walter grew up in many different areas – Port Alfred, Aggeneys, Aliwal North, but mainly in East London. His school career was to a large extent nomadic, and he went to numerous schools in his junior years: Berlin Secondary School (Berlin), Queen Alexandria Secondary School (Port Alfred), Crew Primary (East London), and finally settled at Selborne College in East London for his high school career. Walter always knew he wanted to
Meet Lt. Amanda Lee, the first Blue Angels woman demo pilot
Currently a single-ship Super Hornet demo pilot, Lt. Amanda Lee has enlisted roots and is now about to make history with the Blue Angels. Compiled for Smoke on Go! from Thedrive.com and Defense Visual Information Distribution Service U.S. Navy Lt. Amanda Lee, who goes by the callsign “Stalin,” has been selected to become the first woman to join the famed Blue Angels as a pilot on its core six-ship jet demonstration team. The Blue Angels, first formed in 1946 and officially known as the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, made the announcement official Monday morning. “Among those team members selected this year
Oscar Goudriaan, a perfectionist who’s happiest soaring in a thermal
Coming from a gliding and flying family, Oscar started flying at the young age of 14. He officially went solo in 1982 when he was 16 years old at Goldfields Gliding Club. Oscar became the World Gliding Open Class Champion in 2001, and has represented South Africa in ten World Gliding Championships since 1991. In Texas he achieved Bronze in 2012. Oscar has also taken part in two Sailplane Gran Prix Finals. He is a perfectionist, always focused on winning. Oscar currently holds a Private Pilot’s Licence and a Glider Pilot’s Licence having over 5000 hours in gliders and almost as much
Exclusive interview with President’s Trophy Air Race 2022 winners
Scully Levin in conversation with President’s Trophy Air Race 2022 Winners Stefan Lombard and Martiens Marais, ZS-NXG from the Letaba Flying Club flying a Piper Pa24-250 single engine Commanche.
The President’s Trophy Air Race 2022
The President’s Trophy Air Race, formerly the Governor General’s Cup Air Race, is taking place in at New Tempe in Bloemfontein – hosted by SAPFA it is one of the oldest air races held in the world today. The race was first held in 1937 and the cup was originally presented by the then Governor General of South Africa, His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Patrick Duncan, G.C.M.K.C. The trophy, which is still in the possession of the Aero Club of South Africa, was manufactured in Sheffield, England by Mappin & Webb Ltd. The event was organized to coincide with the opening
How aircraft make smoke
PISTON ENGINE AIRCRAFT Smoke oil tanks come in a variety of sizes and are installed and mounted differently based on the aircraft type. The tank connects to a pump that continuously operates, even when empty, without reducing the effectiveness or causing damage to the pump or the aircraft. An oil mixture valve attaches to the outlet of the pump to optimize the flow of oil. A pressure hose runs from the oil mixture valve to the aircraft firewall where it connects to a bulkhead fitting. Teflon-lined stainless steel braided hoses deliver the flow to the injector or multiple injectors. This flow is
Understanding ‘Three-Axis’
An aircraft rotates in three axis: Yaw, Pitch and Roll. Here is a quick recap and summary. HOW IS CONTROLLING AN AIRCRAFT DIFFERENT THAN CONTROLLING YOUR CAR? Cars only move in two dimensions: forward, backward, and left and right. Aircraft have a third dimension: up and down. Stability and control are much more complex for an aircraft, and it is through the Center of Gravity (CoG) that all three axis rotate. Rotation around the side-to-side lateral axis is called PITCH. Rotation around the front-to-back longitudinal axis is called ROLL. Rotation around the vertical axis is called YAW. PITCH Let’s start with the pitching motion around
Stalling, Autorotation and Spinning – Part 6 – Flat Spins
If you have carefully read all five parts of the “Stalling, Autorotation and Spinning” articles and you have a reasonable understanding of the phenomena of spinning, then now is the time to read up on the subject of flat spins. Our starting point will be from when the aircraft has already settled into a steady-state spin and all the aerodynamic and inertial forces acting on it are in equilibrium. If you missed part 5, click here. For simplicity and consistency, this article pertains to monoplanes, which only have one set of ailerons and that are fitted with American engines, where the propeller
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