Page 40 - World Airnews Magazine January 2021 Edition

RALLY

SPRINGS SEASON FINALE

SPEED NAVIGATION RALLY

Text by Rob Jonkers and photos by Willie

Bodenstein, Rob Jonkers and Mary de Klerk

with some new entries requiring test flights Once the shorten briefing was over, ev-

and some old entries wanting to retest to erybody prepared their aircraft and sorted

he 2020 season finale speed navi- re-confirm their handicaps. them into the parking bays. Aircraft were

Tgati on rally was held by the South The test flights were done by Mark then also scrutineered with all portable

African Power Flying Association (SAPFA) Clulow and Sean Cronin and had to be electronic devices sealed up in bags.

together with the main sponsor Aircraft curtailed after 3pm as the weather deteri- For this event Mark and Shane from Cen-

Unlimited. orated. tury Avionics were on hand to also block off

Although strictly not planned to have Thereafter at 18h30, Jonty Esser as the / seal aircraft GPS and autopilot systems.
been at the end of the second half of the MC introduced Rob Jonkers who took to Scrutineers Lizelle, Louna, Bernhardt and

year, 2020 being a year what it is, with the stage and provided a briefing on what Adrian were on hand to seal up all portable
reduced events, we decided to review the to expect for the next day in terms of the GPS capable devices, handing out papers

events and shorten the six per season to planned route, how many turn points, at the allotted time and checking the fuel
four, so season two started and ended at distance, departure and arrivals protocol, tanks were full. Starters Mark Clulow and

Springs, so that season three would start and also how the scoring system worked in Sean Cronin set up at the starting line

and end in 2021. terms of penalties as well as the expected adjacent the threshold of Runway 03, who

For the overall season scoring the best weather conditions, which looked overcast would release each aircraft at their allotted

of three events would count towards the to start with lifting after 9 am and 10+ kts time slot.
season results. of gusty northerly winds. Each team then received their envelopes
As the event has evolved, changes have Jonty Esser then took to the stage in with their loggers at 20 minutes prior take-

been brought into play, all with the partic- his signature competing crew introduc- off time, taxi to the starting line within 10

ipation of the organisers and competitors, tory theme song videos and race number minutes of brake release. First take-off was

and for this season the overall distance was handouts, and also including introductions at 11h30 for the slowest aircraft and last

reduced to 138 nm (from 150 nm), a hand- to the event and team sponsors. For this take-off at 12h100, with planned arrival at
icap overspeed penalty was instituted and event, an event sponsor was secured as 1pm.

allowance to fly with a GPS track-made- Aircraft Unlimited, an AMO based at Rand With all the competitors off towards the

good magnetic heading reference. Airport and Jonty introduced the new own- east, the route had a mix of easy and chal-

For this final season two event, 32 entries er Andrew Lester and his team. lenging turn points, this time some river

were received. Springs 2019 was also the They would also provide AMO support crossing also in the mix and a little more

debut of the Grand-Prix circuit and was also for aircraft during the event. Thereafter scenic than previous Springs events.

planned this year, a format that has also everybody was treated to a buffet meal Generally, the competitors found the

evolved over the last four GPs. before enjoying the evening of music from course easier this time round, with the pho-

The route was mostly to the east and one of the competitors Leon Joubert and tographs now in larger format to identify
south of the airfield, with a bit more of a his band re-living the 70s real music era. the ground features more prominently,

scenic route than previous events going Saturday morning dawned with windy which can be seen in the results where

close to the Vaal dam. and low overcast cloud conditions, with the many had a clear round in their tracks. At

The weather on Friday started out really decision to start the briefing an hour later just before 1pm, the first aircraft over the

well, the forecast giving late afternoon at 9am, and the start to be an hour and line was a little early and then followed by

thundershowers which were lurking a half later at 11h30 for an over the field at least three quarters of the field within

towards the west. Test flights commenced arrival at 1pm. one minute, with tail enders after that.

World Airnews | January 2021
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