Good day All
I greet you today with a very heavy heart after the tragic loss of two wonderful young people over the weekend. I met Ben when he was a young boy with stars in his eyes, always positive and he’s appetite for life was unquenchable. Ben packed more living into his twenty-four years than many do in a full lifetime. I only met Annene in passing and her lovely smile and bubbly personality always made an impression.
May they Rest in Eternal Peace.
Our sincere condolences to the families and friends of both of these lovely you people.
When this life I'm in is done,
And at the gates I stand,
My hope is that I answer all
His questions on command.
I doubt He'll ask me of my fame,
Or all the things I knew, Instead,
He'll ask of rainbows sent
On rainy days I flew.
The hours logged, the status reached,
The ratings will not matter.
He'll ask me if I saw the rays
And how He made them scatter.
Or what about the droplets clear,
I spread across your screen?
And did you see the twinkling eyes.
If student pilots keen?
The way your heart jumped in your chest,
That special solo day-
Did you take time to thank the one
Who fell along the way?
Remember how the runway lights
Looked one night long ago
When you were lost and found your way,
And how-you still dont know?
How fast, how far, how much, how high?
He'll ask me not these things
But did I take the time to watch
The Moonbeams wash my wings?
And did you see the patchwork fields
And moutains I did mould;
The mirrored lakes and velvet hills,
Of these did I behold?
The wind he flung along my wings,
On final almost stalled.
And did I know I it was His name,
That I so fearfully called?
And when the goals are reached at last,
When all the flyings done,
I'll answer Him with no regret-
Indeed, I had some fun.
So when these things are asked of me,
And I can reach no higher,
My prayer this day - His hand extends
To welcome home a Flyer.
— Patrick J. Phillips
Anyone in the Pretoria area please come and Support the Safety First Aviator Campaign, the team will be at Kitty Hawk airfield on Thursday 7th September. Please make an effort to support these talks you may just pick up something that might save your life one day,and there will be a lucky draw with some amazing prizes.
On Saturday 9th September the World Aerobatics Championships get underway in Malelane, Mpumalanga. We would like to wish team South African all the best. Nigel Hopkins, Patrick Davidson, Mark Hensman, Barrie Eeles, Neville Ferreira and Bertus du Preez Good luck guys and make us proud.
While the Unlimited guys are fighting for glory in Malelane all the other aerobatic classes will be competing in Vereeneging at the SAC Gauteng Regional's.
Some interesting facts about the A380.
The two-story A380 has a maximum takeoff weight of 575 tonnes – that’s about five blue whales!
The A380 is the largest passenger airliner in the world and when launched, airports had to upgrade their facilities to accommodate the giant.
It has 40% more usable space than the second largest plane – the Boeing 747.
An Airbus A380 can provide seating from 525 to 853 passengers.
The A380 has a total flying range of 15,200 km which means that it’s used to service two of the longest non-stop flights in the world: Emirates Auckland-Dubai and Qantas Dallas/Fort Worth-Sydney.
An even bigger lover of the A380 is Emirates Airlines which has the most A380s in their fleet – 94 (plus 12 on order). With infrastructure struggling to keep up with demand for landing slots and airport gates, the superjumbo allows the airline to increase passenger volume with fewer aircraft and fewer flights. Emirates sends nine A380 flights from Dubai to London every day!
The first ever airline to have an A380 in their fleet was Singapore Airlines who started flying it in 2007.
At the airport, other airplanes have to wait up to three minutes before they can start their takeoff after an A380 due to the wake turbulence from its four engines and wingtips.
The wingspan of an Airbus A380 is 79,75 meters – that’s nine London’s double deckers.
The asking price of one Airbus A380 is a whopping $428 million dollars – that’s a LOT of money.
It takes 34 people and 15 days to repaint one A380!
Have a great week and please fly safe
Garth Calitz
