EAA Chapter 322 Monthly Meeting Fly Inn Estate

By Garth Calitz

After the last-minute cancellation of the Rustenburg Airshow, I decided to make my way to Fly Inn Estate for the EAA Chapter 322 monthly meeting, I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout. Almost 50 aircraft made their way to this immaculate airfield which is situated just inside Waterkloof airspace near Bapsfontein.

The meeting was hosted in the hangar of Graham and Venessa Richardson, they also served breakfast in their adjoining home. Once everyone had eaten a delicious steak roll and had a very necessary cup of coffee it was time for the highly anticipated talk.

John Comley addressed one of the greatest fears in every general aviation pilot’s mind when flying, the dreaded forced emergency landing. John explained how executing a forced landing into trees may be the difference between walking away and your family receiving the dreaded news.

John and fellow author Paul Ludick published a book on the subject in 2022, FLIT: Forced Landing Into Trees and have instituted an online training and certification programme to provide a pilot-in-command of an aircraft with more options when conducting an ‘off-base’ forced emergency landing.

John explained how pilots need to ‘recalibrate’ the years of thinking about how they see the landscape within which they find themselves flying, and how they, as the pilot-in-command of an aircraft, view a tree in the context of a forced emergency landing!

A tree should no longer be something to be avoided at all costs, as It could be a friend and something that could possibly save the life of the pilot and pax once all other forced emergency landing options have been exhausted. John went on to explain the physics of how a tree can absorb energy thus reducing the dreaded G-Forces of impact during a forced landing. He explained the many different techniques that could be used to increase the odds of leaving the aircraft alive and fairly unscathed.

Once the talk was done the visitors seemed to make a beeline for their aircraft, not because they were sick of the company or anything sinister like that, they just wanted to get back to base and in front of a TV to watch the Springboks annihilate the Australians for the second week in a row.

Thanks to all the members of the EAA who continue to organise and support these events and thank you for a wonderful and insightful morning, it was great to see that general aviation is alive and well despite the challenges of late.