PART 1 of 2
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Well it was time for another trip?destination Hazzyview, Numbi Hotel for the Microlight African Cup.
Every year the Microlighters meet here and have a big party, and the flying and comradery is awesome, hotel Numbi take out all the stops to make us feel at home. Yes I know the RV ZULU 7 is not a microlight, but the challenge to land on the Numbi strip and be with old friends made the trip worth while.
Friday morning I phone the MET office in Johannesburg, the VFR weather report I got was shocking?If I listened to the lady I would not even go out the house, what she told me and what my own internet WX report showed conflicted, so I phoned the MET office in Port Elisabeth, much better and accurate report. I had a two hour window for my flight out of JHB, and a 4 hour window for the lowveld. My flight was only going to take 1:15 so I was good to go?
We flew with weather pushing in from the north (dark on our left) but never got close to it. The sunlight played nice effects with beams through the middle clouds, but the picture did not come out that great. Approaching the Lydenberg Origstad valley.
I don?t know was on duty at the ATC at Hoedspruit on Friday morning, but what a wonderful experience. As I approached his airspace he called me over to Hoedspruit frequency from the Lowveld frequency (Lowveld ATC was not manned since it was before 8am). He had one look at my flight plan and asked?
Hoedspruit ATC: ?LUZ - from your flightplan I assume you want to fly the Blydepoort valley??
Me: ?Affirm?...enough said, this ATC knew I was here for the sight seeing!
ATC: ?Cleared for the valley report exiting Blydepoort Canyon, enjoy!?
We descended and flew along the Lydenberg, Origstad valley into the
Blyde River Canyon:
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By some measures it is the third largest canyon in the world, after the Grand Canyon in the United States and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia but this depends heavily on one's definition of a canyon (see canyon.) By any definition it is one of the largest canyons on earth, unquestionably being the largest 'green canyon' due to its lush subtropical foliage, and it has some of the deepest precipitious cliffs of any canyon on the planet. It is the second largest canyon in Africa, after the Fish River Canyon, and is known as one of the great wonders of nature on the continent.
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We stayed slight higher than the surrounding hills. A beautiful sight below overcast conditions, pitty for the pictures though.
We excited the
Blyde River Canyon, and flew all along the escarpment edge. I stayed 50-100 meters of the edge and bobbing and weaving the responsive RV following the outline of the escarpment from Blydepoort, pass
God's Window, Grasskop to Sabie. The weather was perfect. The escarpment close on the right, but to the left 1,000 to 4,000 foot drop into the low veld should anything happen while cruising along the edge.
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At God?s Window majestic cliffs plunge over 700 meters to the Lowveld and the game reserves which have made the area one of Africa?s prime wildlife destinations. From this Escarpment - a 250km long rampart of sheer cliffs - opens a vista into a plush forest, the Eden-like aesthetic appearance of which prompted the name. On a clear day it is possible to see over the Kruger National Park towards the Lebombo Mountains on the border with Mozambique.
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We flew over a couple of the waterfalls in the area.
At Sabie we flew down the Sabie river valley to Numbi. The numbi strip is +/- 800 yards long. For a fast and sleek aircraft it is a one way in and one way out, due to the hill on the southern side. If you come in over the hill and push the nose down in the RV you are going to float the whole runway, so it can?t be done from that side. The runway also has a dip in the middle, so both sides start downhill, bottom out and then go uphill. From the north you have 1 chance to put it down and you are commited. With absolute good technique and early go around the RV has enough power and climb (compared to spam cans) to abort if I stuffed it up during the first 100 yards of the downhill. This is what I was here for, the challenge of a tricky runway. Gone are the long straight runways of city, now it is just me and this one?
I committed to long finals with a flat approach, (I did not want to come in steep and then balloon along the down hill). You come in over a shopping center for finals. I did not take any notice of it, but my wife caught it in the pictures. It was just me, the aircraft and the treshold of the runway..
The runway edge is on an embankment, and you want to hit the beginning of it, just over the fence, cuase it runs downhill for a while...
I hit the airspeed numbers perfect, 5 miles slower than my typical approach; this is going to be a short field landing, with only 10 mph margin to the stall. (Typical for me is 70mph over the fence, today its 65 with the stall full flaps at 55 indicated). Slight Crosswind from the left, good since it is not over the trees on the right. I get over the fence just right and close the throttle completely. My fixed pitch RV with a cruise prop, does not create a breaking effect like the constant speed units do, so with the downhill runway I still float another 100yards before the wheels touch down. The angle of attack and stall buzzer bleats in my ear for the last 50 yards as I float 3 point attitude 1 foot above the ground all downhill. It?s a tailwheel greaser of a 3 point landing, but the runway is bumpy, a bit of footwork and we are tracking straight in the middle of the runway, compensating for the bumps that want to set us off course.
The uphill part of the runway comes into effect and I did not even have to use brakes. The RV comes close to a standstill 200 yards before the end. Shoe I think to myself, I did it. Well done my wife says. That was simple enough I thought and the anticipation of a new short runway is gone. My RV did well. The rest of the flights in and out of Numbi were a non event ;-) I guess once you?ve done it it becomes easier.
We taxi up into the hotel Numbi grounds and tie down with the other microlights.
The next day we did some Sight Seeing, I?ll post some pictures soon, in a new post.
Regards
Rudi
South Africa: Numbi Trip 2009
CJ
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