Durban - The wait is almost over for aviation fans who have been patiently anticipating the second edition of the Sky Grand Prix of Aerobatics.
On Saturday, Greyville Racecourse will be buzzing as the aerobatic experts wow all with their moves in the skies above Royal Durban Golf course.
There will be loads of action, including demonstrations from South Africa’s famous Silver Falcons and others of formation flying as well as loads more in the air and on the ground.
The South African pilots entering the Sky Grand Prix of Aerobatics are no lightweights: all five are seasoned campaigners who have competed on the world stage for many years and their collective experience is phenomenal.
Two are from Pretoria and also participated in the last event in Durban.
Neville Ferreira has already “checked out” the course – albeit from a distance, and is looking forward to performing on the day.
Ferreira will fly Slick 540, the 540 referring to the 315Hp Monty Barret Precision engine size in cubic inches.
Ferreira flew his first aerobatic competition in December 2010. His current competition class is Unlimited.
“Flying is in my blood, I grew up on my dad’s lap flying. From the age of three until I went to school, I flew almost every day unless there was no open seat.
"In high school I manned the radio at Vereeniging airfield for five years on weekends. I completed my PPL (private pilot’s licence) at the age of 30 and started with aerobatics four years later in 2004,” said Ferreira.
“As for my aircraft, ‘Slick’ says it all. The acceleration of the Slick is the fastest of any aircraft I have ever flown. The roll rate is modest at 400+ degrees per second.
“From opening the throttle for take-off, then climbing to 3 000 feet above the runway takes only 1min 12sec.
"Diving to 50 feet above the runway at 300mph then pulling 9Gs to vertical, she will climb vertically for 3 500 feet and that takes only 12 seconds.
“I have logged more than 240 hours on this plane and she has trained me well. I expect to do well at this event, but as we all have seen, it is he who makes the fewest mistakes on the day who wins.
“There are so many factors, from the weather to how one sleeps the night before, that play a huge role. Unlike the previous Sky GP on the beach where the wind played havoc with the pylons and the aircraft, we are better protected at the racecourse.
"The atmosphere inside this arena is going to be epic.”
Another pilot from Pretoria is Bertus du Preez.
Du Preez is a full-time airline pilot and has accumulated more than 19 000 hours of flying time.
Having been involved in aerobatics for the past 18 years, his accomplishments include SA Aerobatic Champ in the Sportsman, Intermediate and Advanced Aerobatic classes and he has represented South Africa three times at the FAI World Aerobatic Championships.
“The Sky Grand Prix is an awesome, exhilarating event and I am only glad to be part of it.
"I am really excited and looking forward to participating in this event, which boasts some of the top names in the world,” said Du Preez.
Other pilots taking part are Rob Holland (USA), Artur Kielak (Poland), Aude Lemortand (France), Mikhail Mamistov (Russia) and South Africans Nigel Hopkins (Centurion), Barrie Eeles (Johannesburg, Mark Hensman (Cape Town), and Patrick Davidson (Port Elizabeth).
The event is a Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), FAI Aerobatics Commission (Civa) internationally sanctioned event and is sanctioned locally by the Sport Acrobatic Club (SAC) and the Recreational Aviation Administration of South Africa. (Raasa).
There will be other activities to enjoy on the day in between the aerobatic competition heats, such as formation flying.
On the ground there will be loads of interesting things to see – including helicopter displays, information about learning to fly and items manufactured from aircraft parts.
In addition there will be an array of different types of food and beverage outlets including the Galloping Gourmet Food and Beer festival.
These outlets open at 8.30am. The Bar service opens at 10.30am.
This event is held in conjunction with the annual Daily News2000 horse race, The first race starts at 1.55pm.
Cost to enter Greyville Racecourse on the day will be R220 for adults and R50 for children under 12.
Entrance to the races is free from 1pm.
Tickets are on sale at Computicket.
You can also spoil yourself and your guests with a VIP Package, which includes your entry ticket, bars, banqueting and a space to watch the acrobatic flying from the air-conditioned rooftop venue at Greyville Race Course for only R600 a person.
For package tickets, contact Kirsty Newton at the Greyville Convention Centre at 031 309 1430 or e-mail [email protected]
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How the pilots are judged
All judging is done according to the Civa Regulations for Aerobatic Contests and is mainly concerned with the accuracy of the individual figures being flown in a sequence.
Civa Regulations determine exactly the characteristics of aerobatic figures and how they should be flown. Each variance from these regulations is penalised according to the extent of the error.
Any minor error barely noticeable may attract a deduction of half a point, whereas a major error or omission may result in a Hard Zero (HZ), it is also possible to achieve a score of a Soft Zero (0.0). All the figures in the known and free programmes are scored out of 10 and errors are subtracted.
An HZ will result from the omission of a figure from a sequence or an error of 90 degrees or more, a soft zero would result from multiple errors where deductions have exceeded or equalled 10 points.
In the Free Style Programme, a different set of standards apply, where the entire sequence is considered instead of individual figures and marks are awarded rather than points deducted.
Unlike the Known and Free Programmes, the judges do not know what will be flown. It is sometimes referred to as the “Air-show Sequence” where competitors set out to impress the judges rather than be judged on errors.