|
|
|
 |
“Flying the Fish”
Ever since I can remember, I have dreamed of flying a microlight. As a young boy I looked forward to the annual air show at Virginia airport, where I got to witness these strange flying contraptions take to the air.
Buying my trike in 1997 was not the only fulfilment of my dreams, the acquisition enticed me to dream a little further… The dream of combining my passion for flying together with my passion for filming, and to go out and explore the open spaces of Africa.
A suitable destination was needed. Following a fair bit of research, I stumbled upon to the idea of flying to the Fish River Canyon. The title of my movie “ Flying the Fish” followed shortly thereafter and the idea stuck.
I called up my two friends Tjeerd Beens and Mark Wegener and asked if they wanted to join me. Without hesitation they both enthusiastically agreed. Tjeerd was to fly and Mark double as ground crew and second camera unit.
The big questions then were when and how. Which way would we go and what permissions would we require. After many phone calls to fellow pilots Charl Starke, Ricky De Agrela and Frans Grootepas I was able to gain invaluable information. The main requirements were
over flight clearance from the Namibian CAA, a customs and immigration point of exit and entry and security clearance from what I call the country of Namdeb, namely De Beers Namibia .
We decided to route coastwise to Oranjemund for customs and immigration. From there we would follow the Orange River to the Fish River and then follow the Fish River up to the Canyon. The Namibian CAA was great and sent through our clearance on the same day. Namdeb on the other hand require 4-6 weeks notice to provide a day permit. This makes for some interesting planning when working around the Cape’s winter weather.
The photographic side of our expedition also required some careful planning and modification. For my large cameras I attached two camera bags, one on each side of the seat saddlebags for easy access during flight. These were connected to three pencil cameras, audio input from the intercom and the LAN C remote camera cable. All wired into a switch box powered from the trike with an over voltage regulator for added camera protection.
This enabled me to hit a remote record button and switch between any of the three pencil cameras or take my Sony PD170 out of the bag to film, quickly put it away and then take some stills… this was to keep me really busy on most legs of our flight.
We set off from Cape Town on a cold cloudy winter’s morning. Two trikes, two gopeds and ground support/second cameraman. The weather miraculously cleared north of the Berg River and along with a tail wind we were on our way, albeit without security clearance to enter the restricted diamond area in Namibia.
We met up with some gyrocopters at Elands Bay and enjoyed a lovely coastal flight together to Lamberts Bay. After landing, Tjeerd informed me that he had conveniently left his passport in the hangar in Cape Town . What now
|
 |
|
 |
We decided to head for Vredendal. Tjeerd would drive back to Cape Town (an 8 hour round trip) and Mark and I would set up camp.
By chance one of the Gyrocopter pilots had landed before us at Vredendal and kindly opened a hangar and the club facilities for us to use. I have never experienced so much kindness and support from fellow pilots.
Still without security clearance, we set off at sunrise in beautiful weather. Climbing through 1000 feet the temperature changed instantly from cool to intense heat. From my previous experience I knew that there was a northerly wind blowing and that we were in for an interesting day. We decided to head directly for the coast and route low level under the northerly Hondeklip Baai to refuel and for a leg stretch. We told Mark over the radio that we would meet him in Port Nolloth. The magnetic external antenna that we had fitted to his car was proving to be worth its weight in gold.
Continued
on Page 2
|
