OUR THEME THIS YEAR IS
‘POLITICALLY CORRECT BLACK & WHITE WITH LOTS OF BLING’
As usual all newly qualified PPL pilots are invited to attend at our cost. All other qualifiers (or non-qualifiers) are welcome to enjoy the evening with us at only R50-00 per person. The cash-bar will be open and no private liquor will be allowed. Rina and Albie do their level best to have a wide range of drinks available and their prices are good. Let’s support them!
Make sure that you have reserved (and paid) for your tickets by latest Tuesday 29th November 2005. Mariè is taking a very hard line on people who arrive at the buffet table without having made reservations which then leaves paying party-goers without food.
COME ALONG AND JOIN IN THE FUN! PRETORIA FLYING SCHOOL IS WELL-KNOWN, NOT ONLY FOR OUR TOP-STANDARD TRAINING BUT DEFINITELY ALSO FOR OUR STUNNING PARTIES!
DECEMBER CLOSING
As most of you are aware by now, we are forced, by the closure of all maintenance organizations at Wonderboom, during the X-Mas hiatus, to also close formally from the 23rd December 2005 until 3rd January 2006. We will be running on skeleton-staff from the 16th December. Unfortunately, our business heavily relies on the AMO’s and there is not much that we can do with unserviceable aircraft. Should any of you wish to complete a certain phase of your training before the end of the year, now is the time to cram in as much as possible.
NEXT COMM GROUNDSCHOOL
We don’t have exact dates yet but our next course should start around the 30th January, 2006. The first syllabus will therefore be during February, with March for studying and writing of exams and the second syllabus during April. Remember to make your bookings by the end of November. Fee still R6,000-00, notes including
WHAT IS THE PRICE OF AVGAS DOING THESE DAYS?
We were hit with another increase in the price of Avgas on the 10th October, which increased the Avgas-price to R7-64 per liter. However, there are rumours in the media that the fuel price may decrease before the end of the year. We have therefore decided to keep our prices static for the time being, until we find that no decrease is forthcoming or if we are faced with another price increase, when we will have to adjust our prices accordingly.
For now, fly your little hearts out!
NOW, FOR THE FUN PART OF OUR NEWSLETTER!
– NEWS ABOUT OUR PEOPLE!
WERNER SMIT STARTS WITH S A EXPRESS
I think I should start a business as a psychic on the side. Did I not in my last newsletter say that one of the Airlines would be grabbing one or all of my new ALTP-licence holders, very soon?
Well, they must have read my newsletter. Werner was the first to go but I have no doubt that Mariè and Shaun would be following suit very soon.
Poor Werner started the technical part of his conversion on the Dash 8, with what seems to be tickbite-fever and he was really feeling very ill. Starting a conversion course at an Airline is bad enough without having a throbbing headache and swollen glands to help matters along. He has been able to hang in there though which makes us even more proud of him. We wish him many, many happy landings and a very bright future.
UDO LEFT US. AGAIN!!
Just when we thought we had him back again! Oh well, I suppose we can’t hold on to everyone for ever. Udo was appointed as Flight Safety Officer for South African Airlink. And are we proud of him! We know that we are in a position to fill all the crew-requirements of the various Airlines, but now we even fill their Responsible Person positions. Wow!
Jokes aside. Udo is the perfect person for this position. Everyone who knows Udo, knows that the safety aspect of flying lies very close to his heart. I, for one, will feel very safe when flying with S A Airlink, knowing that Udo plays a part in ensuring the safe operation of the Airline.
We wish Udo only the best for the future. We will keep you informed regarding the imminent arrival of the next little Skawran, expected in March 2006
SEEMS LIKE THE BABY-BOOM HAS HIT PFS!
Little Nadine Jacobs came into this world on 21 September with little fuss and no hassle. We wish Karin and Danie many years of happiness with their little bundle of joy. Here’s a picture of the little angel just to show you that Danie is not only good at landing making!
TANNIE RAAITJIE TAKES SINGAPORE BY STORM!
Most of you know that Tannie Raaitjie’s son and his wife currently live in Singapore where Kobie flies for Tiger Air on the Airbus A320.
Kobie had command at S A Airlink for quite some time when he and Kotie decided to add some real adventure to their lives and move to the far East on a five year contract with Tiger Air.
Tannie Raaitjie went over in September to see what their new life looked like and brought these stunning pictures back.
OUR INSTRUCTORS FEATURE THIS TIME, IS ON HENK DU PREEZ
Henk started training towards his PPL at the ripe old age of 22. Until then Henk was studying towards a degree in Software Systems Engineering at Unisa. It was not too long before Henk realized that this line of work would frustrate him endlessly. Flying is what Henk wanted to do and that was exactly what he was going to do.
Henk started his training at Progress in Port Elizabeth but the adverse weather conditions was standing in the way of his progress, so he decided to take it up north and fortunately for us landed on our doorstep.
Henk completed his Instructor’s rating in 2000 and has been part of our exceptional team of instructors ever since.
Henk’s logbook at this point shows his total hours to be 3,600. He has a turbine rating on the Grand Caravan and the Convair 580.
One fine day in 2001, a very beautiful specimen of the female gender by the name of Shantelle Henning walked in to our flying school and requested an Instructor to teach her to fly. Please. And guess who was allocated to this lovely student? Henk, no less. It was not long however, when Shantelle requested to switch instructors. Please. Henk was devastated. What on earth did he do wrong? He was being patient, respectful and professional. Damn. To lose such a wonderful student. In the meantime, he actually did everything right and Shantelle was smitten. She completed her PPL with Marie and patiently waited for poor Henk to get the message. They were married in December 2004 in a little chapel in the Drakensberg and now live happily ever after in Garsfontein, Pretoria.
HANG IN THERE IF YOU WANT YOUR DREAM TO COME TRUE!
During April 2004, a small, slightly-built young woman by the name of Maipelo Kelotlegile joined Pretoria Flying School to complete her Private Pilot’s Licence.
Her dream was to progress and obtain a Commercial Pilot’s Licence with an Instrument Rating. Maipelo was one of a chosen few who received a grant from the Botswana government to undergo training in South Africa. She initially joined a flying school in Cape Town. After some training the CFI called her sponsors and informed them that in their opinion Maipelo was untrainable. This did not deter this young lady. Maipelo moved up north and the day she walked into Pretoria Flying School, she did not even have a place to stay. She was immediately settled into a commune for students and started training straight away.
On Saturday, September 11, a mere 16 months after her arrival, Maipelo passed her test for the Commercial Pilot’s Licence with an Instrument rating on a Beechcraft Baron 58.
Her flight instructor, Henk du Preez, describes her as a diligent, committed and focused student who was a pleasure to train.
After a conversion onto the ATR-500, Maipelo will start her flying career as a co-pilot for Air Botswana.
Well done Maipelo! We are very, very proud of you
WE’RE EVEN MAKING BIG WAVES IN THE US of A
Many of you know our friend Robin Gorringe who started training with us for his Private Pilot’s Licence, about 5 years ago. It was a Godsend that Rob had to go for chest X-Rays at that time, as the X-Rays showed a lung-tumor. Rob has never smoked a single cigarette in his life and is one of the most health-conscious people I know. All the same, lung-cancer was diagnosed and Rob started chemo-therapy shortly afterwards.
Rob has been living with the cancer-threat for the past five years and has been the biggest inspiration in my life, for one, and I know, in the lives of all who get to know him. Rob has undergone chemo-therapy every year for the past five years, usually over Christmas time when he has finished with the service and maintenance of all the cars of friends, family and clients who go away on Christmas vacation. This year will be no exception. Rob has never booked himself into a hospital for the therapy and insists on driving himself home after every session. He gets up every morning, regardless of how bad he is feeling that day and starts to work on something. He believes that working and keeping busy is the only way to fight this terribly debilitating disease.
It has been a life-long dream of Rob’s to get a sea-plane conversion in the United States and to see that wonderful country from high up in the air. He made his dream a reality earlier this year, when he and a friend went over to the USA. The first part of their holiday was paying a visit to the world-famous Airshow at Oshkosh. From there they moved up north to one of the most beautiful parts of North America, Maine, where Rob did his seaplane conversion. (A picture or two is included here as proof that he actually was there.) Apparently he is only one of two South Africans who has acquired this rating with a full FAA validation on his licence.
A few weeks after Rob’s return I received a letter from the owner of Twitchell’s Airport & Seaplane Base in Maine which read as follows: “Recently we had the pleasure of giving a SES (Single Engine Seaplane) type conversion to Robin Gorringe, a student and member of your flying club. I enjoyed the time that we spent together in my seaplane and look forward to flying with Robin in the future.”
Robin (left) and SAA co-pilot on B737, Karel van Rensburg.
Is that a smooth landing, or what??
This flying school does 17 Float ratings in a year and they remain in business?? Wow!!
Between chemo and many hours under the hoods of motorcars, Rob managed to obtain a Test Pilot Rating as well. He is used by various AMO’s at Wonderboom to test fly Aircraft after maintenance. Robin’s exceptional skills are even now crossing continents and he returned a few weeks ago from Italy where he acted as test pilot for an organization currently in the process of developing a new type of training Aircraft. During one of these test flights, Rob suddenly noticed smoke in the cockpit. A few seconds later the flames were everywhere. Imagine this scenario ; trying to get hold of the fire extinguisher in the back of the plane whilst trying to find a suitable spot for an emergency landing whilst keeping the Aircraft in the air, whilst keeping your burning sneakers on the rudders, whilst trying to douse the fire, whilst trying to see outside through thick smoke and actually landing safely? I’d say that’s not for sissies for sure?!
Robin returned with burn-wounds on his hands and feet and regardless, will be returning to Italy shortly for the next phase of test flying to be done.
First though, he is on his way to Seattle, where he will do some test flying on none other than an amphibian plane! This guy’s reputation is way faster than a knife going through warm butter!
Please let me list here, just a few little things that Rob has been keeping himself busy with over the past 8 years in order to combat cancer and give him a reason to get out of bed every morning:
- Together with a team of trackers, he searched for the 13 year-old daughter of a Dutch couple who went missing in a National Park in Uganda for 3 days and nights without a moments sleep and found her with a few scratches where she fell into a termite nest a mere two kilometers from the base camp.
- He presented his own defense in a Ugandan court when he was tried for attempted assault due to him and his team of trackers dropping a few coconuts from a plane, onto the shacks of poachers in the National Park in Uganda. And he won!! This after the legal team of Shell refused to represent him as they were of the opinion that he had no chance!
I’m sure you’re all wondering by now, why it is that I am writing this eulogy while the guy is still with us? The reason is that I want to share with you the lesson that Robin has taught me in a thousand different ways over the past 8 years. And that is to live life to the fullest. Every single day. No matter what type of hand you have been dealt. To make a concerted effort to see the good and the wonderful in every situation. And to never, ever give in to defeat.
Even when de feet are burning!
We salute you Robin Gorringe! Truly a man amongst men!
TOGETHER WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL!
AWSA, (Aviation Watch South Africa) is an information network and was brought to life by Chris Booysen (Chairman of SAPFA – South African Power Flying Association) and Paul van Tellingen, (Chairman of AWAC – Aviation Watch Action Committee) who are the same guys who challenged the 2001 “Peak Approach Charges” in the Cape region.
Chris and Paul realized that there was a desperate need for a General Aviation information centre of some kind where all parties with a vested interest in General Aviation could get information about all matters relating to GA. And so the Internet-based AWSA was born.
We all know that the archaic activity of people attending meetings where information is exchanged is no longer viable in this day and age where 14 hour workdays are the order of the day. AWSA therefore is the perfect forum for Aviation enthusiasts to not only get information regarding aspects that affect their flying but also to give their opinion regarding these matters. All too often, decisions are foisted onto the GA community with little regard for the affect that those decisions have on all of us. If we are able to voice our opinions whilst the decision-makers are still in the process of doing what they do, we would have a much better chance of achieving an outcome with least negative impact.
We find that the work that Paul is doing to act as spokesperson and co-ordinator for every one who has an interest in General Aviation is absolutely invaluable. This lead to my decision to add AWSA’s latest Newsletter to ours in full as I want each and every one of our clients to read it AND to respond to Paul’s request for a choice of Scenario’s 1 or 2
AWSA NEWSLETTER 28 OCTOBER 2005
1. ATNS TARIFFS - YOUR THOUGHTS ARE NEEDED
2. ADDO ELEPHANT PARK OVERFLIGHT CONCERNS
3. WEATHER SERVICES MEETING POSTPONED
4. FLIGHT SAFETY SEMINAR POSTPONED
5. LANSERIA TMA RE-DEFINED
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1. ATNS TARIFFS - YOUR THOUGHTS ARE NEEDED.
INTRODUCTION
The 2005/2006 ATNS user tariffs were introduced on 1 April 2005 catching virtually the whole of the GA sector unaware. The following summary reflects some of the real world issues which aviation will have to deal with as a result of the tariff increases. At the user end there seems to be a high degree of consensus as to what is required to remedy the situation. Getting GA, ATNS management and airline representative bodies to agree is proving to be a more difficult nut to crack.
BACKGROUND
During the various ATNS briefing sessions in March 2005 it became clear that approximately 95% of GA users were unaware of the quantum of the new tariffs to be implemented. At the time the incumbent CEO of ATNS confirmed that the large increases were approved by the regulating committee as a result of a request from the airlines to reduce the degree of subsidisation that GA enjoyed. (Dr Van Vollenhoven ? 15 March 2005) The new fee structure was based on the user-pay principle and was aimed at achieving proportional recovery amongst all users.
Unfortunately the concept of "ability to pay" was not incorporated in the new fee structure with the consequent disastrous effect on GA. (Flying schools closing down, AMO’s reporting losses, increase in the number of ‘stealth flight’, incidents etc.) The writer finds this oversight on the part of the policy makers, and the ensuing persistence in the belief that these increases would not harm GA, very perplexing.
THE ARGUMENT
The debate surrounding the application of ‘User Pays’ in the case of GA can essentially be reduced to two questions. Firstly, why should GA be accommodated in any way, and secondly, what should the quantum of such accommodation be??
WHY SHOULD GA BE ACCOMODATED IN ANY WAY?
POLITICAL/ SOCIAL
1) “Every village should have access to an aerodrome?”
-State President ? Sun City 18 May 2005
The requirements of Nepad also suggest that the Southern African sub continent requires a strong aviation infrastructure which includes a strong GA sector.
2) “I have instructed the Department to examine these problems carefully and to report back to me because general aviation is a major source of revenue for the tourist trade, for business activity and charters, and as a training pool for future pilots, engineers, navigators and ground support staff that we cannot afford to lose.” -Min of Transport - Parliament 20 May 2005.
3) “It can be concluded that GA is a major contributor to the South African economy and that aviation policy should also embrace the interests of this often less conspicuous, but active part of civil aviation.” - White paper
4) Since the decline in the number of military pilots trained, GA has become the primary supplier of pilots to the airline industry. Transformation is slow, and in order to encourage applications from trainees of previously disadvantaged backgrounds, GA training institutions need to keep their costs low. ATNS fees have become a major cost component stifling entry of disadvantaged trainees. The misconception that GA consists predominantly of financially affluent participants is not assisting the policy makers in formulating sensible policies. Further, it should be noted, the airlines are incurring substantial savings by having access to a pool of trained pilots from GA for their recruitment needs.
5) The opportunity of South Africa acting as an African Nursery providing the aviation requirements of Africa cannot be lost given that GA in sub Saharan Africa (other than in the RSA) does little to contribute to the training or charter needs of Africa. We are presented with the opportunity of acting as a facilitator to re-establish acceptable standards in a geographical area that has attracted much negative attention with regards to safety from the international community.
6) Mercy flights - This invaluable service to society is predominantly provided by aircrew from the GA community on a voluntary basis. If GA is undermined this could be lost.
7) Bateleurs - as above.
ECONOMICAL
Jobs are being lost as the policy makers are trying to find a solution. Some training institutions and lements of commercial operators have already closed down as a direct result of the increased fees. AMO’s are retrenching staff. The question to policy makers remains, "Once you have broken it will you be able to fix it?"
Ironically exempting the greater part of GA from the fees will cost passengers less than one Rand per airline ticket.
Throughout the debate the Airlines motivated their insistence that they will no longer subsidise GA by citing their present economical hardship. Presently most airlines are posting substantial profits for the 04/05 financial year.
Then, on the issue of subsidisation, it is clear that a B747 will always subsidise a C152. Clearly the ability to pay, with long term strategic interests of the aviation industry in mind, should enter the equation. Government contribution with regards to infrastructure development is also a requirement. The lack of suitable alternative airports in the coastal areas comes to mind here. If this kind of infrastructure investment had been made in the past then the issue of congestion, which to a large degree is driving the debate, would have become muted. The following extract from a government report with regards to aviation supports this notion. It reads, "The commercialisation of the infrastructure companies requires the development of detailed investment planning and targets/incentives or performance contracts to ensure facilitation of government policy."
The high collection cost on the part of ATNS further leaves one in doubt as to how cost effective the policy is.
Of greater significance is the fact that during the mathematical simulation, run by GA using the formulas in the current gazette, it became apparent that overly conservative growth figures had been assumed by ATNS leading to a revenue over recovery. This might fall outside the permission afforded by the regulating committee given that ATNS had been tasked to remain ‘Revenue neutral’.
A report prepared for the National Treasury specifically highlights risks of this nature when it warns "If for instance passenger traffic is underestimated in the tariff structure that is based on the allowable returns (e.g. assuming annual growth of 2% instead on 5-6%), the approved tariff per passenger translates into a higher income. Similarly costs can be overestimated to achieve the same result."
The report continues to state "Neither the lack of regulatory Independence nor the shareholding role of the Minister of Transport adds to the Regulating Committee’s regulatory credibility."
It follows that for any appeal to the Regulating Committee to meet with any degree of success a unified approach by all users will be required. It is therefore imperative that GA establishes common ground with the Airline representatives.
OPERATIONAL
One of the primary motivators advanced by ATNS as justification for the large increase in fees was the issue of limited capacity. The thinking was that the ‘appropriate price signal’ will be a constructive way to create capacity. GA is of the opinion that such an approach brings with it unwanted ‘baggage’ as mentioned elsewhere in this report. GA is of the opinion that if aircraft below 5000kg are given a lower priority in handling then they will effectively be using ‘excess’ capacity and will make more resources available for use by the airlines during peak times. Since GA is not adding to the cost of peak requirements it should be exempted from paying fees.
What is of further interest is the following from the treasury report, "improvements in ATNS’ operations could allow it to navigate and land more aircraft". We are of the opinion that allowing operational staff and controllers to develop new procedures, coupled to the redesign of airspace, more effective capacity utilisation can be achieved.
SAFETY
The writer is of the opinion that the introduction of the new fees introduced a systemic fault which is the second link in the chain of events that could lead to safety standards being compromised. (The first link lies within the regulatory structure.) The higher incidence of unreported and untracked aircraft in controlled airspace is cause for concern. Although airline operators agree that there has been an increasing trend of such incidents ATNS presently does not acknowledge that there is an additional risk.
There is already a negative effect on the training standards within GA as a result of the new fee structure. This will lead to further safety compromises. "Scud running" will become more commonplace in an attempt to avoid fees which will in turn lead to a higher number of CFIT accidents.
WHAT SHOULD THE FINANCIAL ACCOMODATION BE?
It is unlikely that any changes to the fee structure can be effected before 1 April 2006 given the constraints of the present ‘permission’. As such granting a total exemption of fees to GA users below 5000kg w.e.f. 1 April 2006 will merely reduce the effective fees paid over the remainder of the permission period. (four years) Given the substantial nature of the existing fees, and its crippling effect on industry, it follows that this is a minimum requirement to reverse the damage done already. Urgent attention should be given to utilise possible options within the wording of the current gazette to bring immediate relief of some kind.
GA showed ATNS is over recovering in terms of their regulatory permission. We feel that this excess can be utilised to bring relief to GA. Certain parties within ATNS feel that a ‘contingency fund’ should be retained from this excess.
THE CURRENT POSITION
At the last TCB Meeting on 19 October the positions of the various parties were briefly as follows; GA - Since our CPTS (Commercial Payload Tariff System) was not considered seriously by either ATNS or the airlines the representatives of GA are of the opinion that the alternative of a blanket exemption of all fees for all movements of aircraft below 5000kg is the only sensible option remaining which will address the political, social, economical and in particular the safety issues.
Such a move is required in the long term interests of ALL parties concerned. ATNS - They have pledged themselves to facilitate the process of finding a solution and forwarding any proposals to the regulating committee. Although they acknowledge that ATNS is currently over recovering, they stated that they reserve the right to retain some of the excess funds for ?contingencies?. They further felt that penalty tariffs should be levied for entry into the Johannesburg TMA to send a "price signal" to alleviate congestion. They suggested that GA should find agreement with the airlines before presenting a further proposal on the next meeting on 10 November 2005.
Airline representatives - The representatives of AASA, IATA, BARSA felt that GA needed some relief given its role in aviation as a whole. They stated that the funds over recovered by ATNS could in part be utilised to assist GA with the proviso that flights into the Johannesburg TMA are charged to relieve congestion. They expressed the opinion, to which GA agreed, that the state should assist financially in the infrastructure development of the aviation sector.
THE QUESTION
At this point a position needs to be adopted by the GA representatives as to whether we would be prepared to pay the fees for entry into the Johannesburg TMA and CTR in isolation. This will assist in finding a common position with the airlines which will allow an unified proposal to ATNS and the regulating committee.
Given that GA will be expected to use only "spare" capacity if exempted, there might be an operational requirement by the light charter operators, operating out of FALA for instance, to opt for this option in the interest of maintaining their schedules. (If they pay they will enjoy equal priority) At other airports/TMA’s congestion is not so much of a problem.
The representatives of GA feel that your opinions are crucial in the interests of unity and transparency.
IN SUMMARY
SCENARIO 1
All flights conducted by aircraft below 5000kg will be exempted of all ATNS fees except JHB AERODROME charges. The difference in revenue recovery will be financed by the over recovery. This scenario has been rejected by the airlines.
SCENARIO 2
All flights conducted by aircraft below 5000kg will be exempted of all ATNS fees except JHB AERODROME AND TMA charges. Charges will be levied according to current fee structure only at JHB Aerodrome and for flights into the JHB TMA. The difference in revenue will be financed by the revenue over recovery. The airlines have indicated that they are receptive to such a suggestion.
Please e-mail your comments to awsa@awsa.co.za {mailto:awsa@awsa.co.za} . These will be used for our further negotiations with ATNS and the airline representatives.
2. ADDO ELEPHANT PARK OVERFLIGHT CONCERNS
The promulgation of the Greater Addo Elephant Park will reduce significantly the airspace used by General Aviation. A large portion of the park is under the PE TMA with a lower limit of 2000 ft and the ground level is above 500 ft meaning that aircraft cannot over fly the area at 1500ft without entering controlled airspace.
Details of the problem have been sent to the "Public Process consultants" by Chris Booysen.
3. WEATHER SERVICES MEETING POSTPONED
Weather services have informed that the tariff 06/07 presentation meeting scheduled for 31 October 2005 has been postponed to 28 November 2005.
4. FLIGHT SAFETY SEMINAR POSTPONED
It is with regret that we have been informed by Bongi of the SACAA that the Flight Safety Seminar, scheduled for the 3rd of November 2005, has been postponed indefinitely. The Minister of Transport was to be the keynote speaker.
5. LANSERIA TMA RE-DEFINED
The the proposal for revised Lanseria boundaries is approaching finalisation. Most of the areas that were cause for concern were addressed. The narrowest point of the "corridor" is now 4.8 NM wide. There is still some concern that the lower limit of 6500 feet is very close to terrain in some areas.
Compiled by Paul Van Tellingen
This newsletter is sent out via the AWSA notification system. Details of previous newsletters can be found on the AWSA web site at www.awsa.co.za.
We expect each and every one of our pilots to respond to the above request for your opinion regarding the matter of ATNS fees. Let’s try a different approach and actually make our voices heard instead of simply standing by and waiting for someone else to fight our battles. Each and every one of us has a vested interest in General Aviation. If one suffers, we all suffer eventually. Stand up and be counted!!
With this we conclude our last Newletter for 2005. We wish you all a very merry Christmas and a New Year filled with boundless joy, good health, happiness and prosperity.
From all at Pretoria Flying School – Sonja, Andre, Frieda, Tannie Raaitjie, Rina and all Instructors.
