Well folks, I am finally back from all my travels and endless hours in the simulator in Orlando, 16 legs flown out of Johannesburg International (OR Tambo), line checks, and I am now quietly flying out of my hometown of Port Elizabeth for SA Airlink on the Jetstream 41. What a massive effort it was to switch to airline flying as general charter operations are done so differently. At nearly 10 000 hours I found that I was having to completely re-learn how to fly. A huge challenge at my age of 45 but hey, I am made of hardy stuff! Apologies to those that I said I would contact once in the USA but I really just never had any spare time. The one day that we did have off we raced off to do the "must-do's" like Kennedy Space Centre and the Warbird Museum. Also popped down to Cocoa Beach for a few wetties, that was lovely. In New York got a cabbie to take us on a tour and did all the touristy things like Ground Zero, Trump Tower, Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the site of John Lennon's murder, Brooklyn Bridge, you know, the usual stuff so as I can say I've "been there done that". I took a zillion pics and will obviously do quite a few articles on the simulator flying, warbird museum, NASA, etc in future mags so keep a lookout for them. Here are a few piccies in the meantime....

Gary:

I read with interest your piece on forced landings. No matter what the circumstances, they're never fun.

Perhaps because of the nature of my international flying (a variety of ferry airplanes operating under Special Airworthiness Certificates, always well over gross with ferry fuel), I've been unfortunate to have had 13 engine failures during 12 incidents in the last 40 years.

Yep, one of those was a double engine failure. It was in a new Cessna Crusader in Christmas 1984, flying about 1000 pounds over gross. I was out of Libreville, Gabon headed for Windhoek, then overnight and on to Joberg. Both engines quit over Tchibanga, near the Congo border, and of course, it was predictably fuel contamination in the temporary fuselage ferry tanks (that can't be sump checked - cutomers don't take kindly to pilots cutting holes in the airplane's belly.)

This was the first Cessna 303 ever to be tanked and leave the USA, so I had no idea what V-speed to use for climb, glide or landing. I took a wild guess at 120 knots for dead stick glide, but because of the weight, the airplane still had the glide characteristics of a set of car keys, sinking at about 1500 fpm.

Fortunately, I got really lucky in dropping the airplane onto a grass strip near the VOR outside Tchibanga. Apparently, it's an emergency strip where missionaries and medical rescue folks fly in to pick up natives bitten by bad snakes.

As I remember, the strip was about 2500 feet long, and it was wet and muddy from recent rains. I actually touched down a few feet short, splashing mud all over the airplane, then skidded all the way to the end. Fortunately, there was no damage other than the need for a very comprehensive wash job.

After I'd cleaned up the wet spot on the seat and wondered what to do next, a rickity old Peugeot came groaning down the dirt road from the village, hauled me back to the inn, cranked up the HF radio and let me talk to the folks at Libreville.

Air Service, Libreville, the Cessna dealer, dispatched a 310 with a mechanic and full tool kit, and he determined that nearly all 12 injectors were clogged with a fabric material.

It turned out to be the remnants of a fabric fuel filter from a Shell refuelling trailer in Funchal, Madiera Islands, ingested three days before out in the middle of the Atlantic. I'd gotten the bottom of the trailer's tank (in fact, they had to refill it in order to finish refueling me), and sure enough there was crap in the bottom.

They cleaned the injectors, I flew back to Libreville, and the next day, nearly 350 gallons of avgas was drained from my Crusader (and chamoised into a long line of 30 autos.) We put the fabric contaminant in a plastic baggie, and when I returned to the states, I shipped it to Shell who determined that it was indeed the remains of the cloth fuel filter that was supposed to be changed every 90 days. They estimated this one was about three years old.

Bill Cox

Senior Editor

Plane & Pilot/Pilot Journal

Name? Emmie Oelofse

Age? 48

Personal qualifications? Matric

Flying qualifications? MPL, GPL, PPL

Do you own an aircraft? If not, what do you fly? Dynaero MCR4S

What is your day job? Hospitality, Marketing

Why did you choose flying as a career/sport? I love it, make me feel alive. Wanted to buy a plane, got the agency, lovely job, mix with great people, fly everywhere.

What irks you about aviation? Adrenalin, never boring, especially in PE, every landing is a challenge

Can anybody learn to fly? No, I do not think so, although everybody can give it a go.

Describe your most memorable flight? St Francis to Carnarvon, 40knot head wind, 6 hrs in my Gyrocopter. Landed in Beauford West with 2 liters of fuel left. Made it back in 3 hrs, non stop.

Your closest call/most anxious moment? Landing without a nose wheel.

Your most admired aviation personality? Carolyn Grace, and British lady flying a Spitfire, Alex Henshaw, Spitfire test pilot.

What is your ultimate goal in aviation? To grow in flying, perhaps a night rating and instrument rating. Definitely my twin rating.

What aircraft would you still love to fly? King air.

Is flying really safe, and why? Yes, if you can always remember to apply the right procedure and stay situational aware but NEVER lose concentration.

What direction do you think aviation will take in the future? Not sure, Comm pilots are seeking jobs, although many more private people own planes. I reckon it is something that will never die.

What is the most important single item of advice/suggestion that you would wish to pass on to your fellow aviators? Do not lose respect for engine and nature

Do you read Aviation & Safety Magazine? Yes, love it.