SAPFA Air Navigation Rally Nationals Northern Leg 2024

By Andre Venter

13.04.2024




Competitors, judges and others

The Air Navigation Rally is a fun day depending on the weather. Sadly this event was postponed on the scheduled day, due to the inclement weather that was expected to reach the Highveld over the weekend. A new date was discussed and the event was moved to Saturday the 13th April 2024 which was to be held at the Brakpan Airfield.







I arrived fairly early to a sun filled airfield and found two entrants had already arrived and were sitting down to a hearty breakfast and a hot cuppa. The early birds of the day were two trikes who were out for their early tour of the countryside and a Giles G-202 that was also visiting.










Competitors and others before the start of the briefing


Surprise of the day

Surprise of the day was a visitor from Tel Aviv who arrived in a hired aircraft, called a Ninja, apperently the only example in South Africa. Karl Jensen had met up with them at Krugersdorp the previous day and politely escorted them to Eagle Creek Airfield where they got to visit Mike Puzey's and Derek Hopkins hangars and their fine contents. Karl then suggested that they visit Brakpan the next day. And so, after a awesome breakfast, they made their way back to Krugersdorp. These friends were to leave South Africa on Monday.



Briefing and welcomes were made by Leon Boutell who is also the Competition Director. Maps were distributed with all the start and finishing points marked. The allotted starting times of departure was pasted on the notice board.
















Some of the competing aircraft



The ANR (Air Navigation Rally) is a short rally that can be held at any airfield around the country. You are given 2 maps with a corridor already plotted on it. Participants are given a 2 maps with a corridor already plotted on it. You have thirty minutes to prepare your map before you fly out. You may write in the headings and mark each minute on the Maps. The idea is to fly within the corridor, which is typically 04nm wide. For each second outside the corridor participants get a 3 penalty points. Only the start and finished points are timed.



Competitors fly two to three rounds during on the day. The routes are short, about 30 min each and finish with a spot a landing. The spot landing results are calibrated out of the 3 landings made during the day. Frank Ekhard acted as the landing judge fduring the compettion.

National and provincial colours can be earned in the ANR discipline. A Air Navigation Rally is set to take place the Western Cape in the very near future and the results from that will be combined to create the overall Nationals results.

Kitplanes for Africa

ANR competition winners of the day were Tarryn Myburgh and navigator Iaan Myburgh with Fanie Scholtz and navigator Herman Haasbroek winning the landing competition.







Bell UH 1 Iroquois Matsieng Botswana
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