Sir Keith Park

Nice to La Spezia by train.

How do you find the Germans and the Americans on the train? Remain quiet and listen...

Why is it that when outside of their own countries,  the German and the American just have to be heard? A strange feeling of superiority? The rest of the world doesn't exist? And more strangely, what makes them think that the rest of the world really wants to hear them at their loudest anyway.

Paris Day One.

17 ks walk,  visited the Louvre and Notre Dame.  Shared it with half of Europe plus more.  Beautiful weather for walking.

First impression of the Louvre,  willies,  willies and more willies.

First impression of Notre Dame,  gargoyles that would scare even the most devoted congregation to convert to Islam...

Paris wanderings

I think you might be interested in this track: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=217453193751723759039.0004dbe56ecf5319125ab Created by Google My Tracks on Android. Name: Paris Day One... Activity type: - Description: - Total distance: 14.43 km (9.0 mi) Total time: 4:51:31 Moving time: 3:29:44 Average speed: 2.97 km/h (1.8 mi/h) Average moving speed: 4.13 km/h (2.6 mi/h) Max speed: 12.82 km/h (8.0 mi/h) Average pace: 20.20 min/km (32.5 min/mi) Average moving pace: 14.54 min/km (23.4 min/mi) Fastest pace: 4.68 min/km (7.5 min/mile) Max elevation: 130 m (427 ft) Min elevation: 59 m (194 ft) Elevation gain: 450 m (1475 ft) Max grade: 23 % Min grade: -29 % Recorded: 04/05/2013 10:50

What happened to all the Fiat Bambinas? They grew... Paris 2013

They have grown over the years..

Eurostar..

The Eurostar, a real threat to commuter aviation. This thing is faster than a small turboprop.

I think you might be interested in this track: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=217453193751723759039.0004dbd37e04898188295 Created by Google My Tracks on Android. Name: 03/05/2013 14:42 Activity type: - Description: - Total distance: 173.53 km (107.8 mi) Total time: 1:12:10 Moving time: 44:18 Average speed: 144.25 km/h (89.6 mi/h) Average moving speed: 235.03 km/h (146.0 mi/h) Max speed: 305.38 km/h (189.8 mi/h) Average pace: 0.42 min/km (0.7 min/mi) Average moving pace: 0.26 min/km (0.4 min/mi) Fastest pace: 0.20 min/km (0.3 min/mile) Max elevation: 146 m (478 ft) Min elevation: 41 m (133 ft) Elevation gain: 440 m (1444 ft) Max grade: 4 % Min grade: -2 % Recorded: 03/05/2013 15:42

HARLINGTON

Good lord, England without all is glory.  Dog poo and rubbish...

I think you might be interested in this track: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=217453193751723759039.0004dbc1ca1c61bc2f00d Created by Google My Tracks on Android. Name: Harlington Activity type: - Description: - Total distance: 5.90 km (3.7 mi) Total time: 1:25:21 Moving time: 1:17:51 Average speed: 4.15 km/h (2.6 mi/h) Average moving speed: 4.55 km/h (2.8 mi/h) Max speed: 11.25 km/h (7.0 mi/h) Average pace: 14.46 min/km (23.3 min/mi) Average moving pace: 13.19 min/km (21.2 min/mi) Fastest pace: 5.33 min/km (8.6 min/mile) Max elevation: 116 m (381 ft) Min elevation: 62 m (205 ft) Elevation gain: 58 m (191 ft) Max grade: 9 % Min grade: 1 % Recorded: 02/05/2013 15:07

Checkride

¨Trim set¨
¨Mixture-rich¨
¨ Fuel-on¨
¨Flaps-set¨
¨Instruments-set¨
¨Hatches-closed¨
¨Harness-you strapped in sir?¨
¨Yup.¨
¨Controls-full and free.¨

She is doing her best to not forget any of her pre-takeoff checks as today is her big day, her aerobatics checkout and she wants to do everything well.
At age 17, she is young to be a pilot and feels excited with the prospect of one day taking to the sky in a hot little aerobatic machine, by herself. Todays flight will determine whether all her devotion to her training has paid off.
The examiner, now sitting next to her, will be expecting a well above average performance and though she fears failure, he once told her that an honest effort will achieve an honest result.

High above the Franklin countryside, he takes a moment to enjoy the cool air, the clear sky and the sensation of flight. Even after 30 years of professional aviation, it is still his passion to fly. From the silky smooth silence of high altitude jet flight to the low level rattly din of piston engined aerobatics, he loves it all.
Today is an aerobatic check with a young girl who has a promising future.
¨OK, make your lowest safe two thousand, its all yours.¨

Lowering the nose of the aircraft into a dive to gather energy, she adjusts the throttle to keep the propeller RPM within limits and waits for the entry speed of 150 Knots. With sufficient speed she firmly applies rearward pressure to the elevator control, raising the responsive little aircraft´s nose steadily towards the blue. There is the familiar and pressing feeling of ´G´ force and she tightens her muscles in anticipation while re-applying power as they pass through the horizon.

He has checked many young pilots and watches her loop entry as the multiplied force of gravity takes effect.
They usually show weakness here.
Loops are certainly the most spectacular of maneuver for a ground observer and the basic maneuver can easily be done with a big yank back on the stick, but to do it neatly requires skill and practice.
This one has something, she is remaining in perfect balance while her head is swiveling from the side to above to view her natural horizon. Her hands and feet are continually correcting the aircrafts flight path, as if she´s operating in automation, almost connected to the machine. Automation that not everyone has is allowing her to think quickly and to manage her machine with accuracy and creativity.

Over the top, she strains her head back to follow her vital ground references, she can hear, feel and just sense the airspeed over her flight controls. Like tying shoe laces in the dark, she keeps the aircraft balanced and off the stall by touch. She feels connected to this beautiful little machine, feels part of it, as if it´s an extension of her body and mind. It almost talks to her.
She lives for this, it´s her life and she thinks of nothing else, but flying.
Her older passenger appears relaxed, seems to be barely watching and has had an almost bored disposition though he briefly catches her eye and grins as they hang in their straps over the top.

This kid can fly.
A quick glance across at her reveals crystal clear and focused eyes, relaxed hands and feet on controls and a look of sheer joy as she neatly exits the loop with sufficient energy for a her next maneuver.
Yes this kid can really fly.

Exiting the loop she pulls the nose up high over the horizon into a vertical climb for the entry to a stall turn. She is already planning ahead, after the stall turn she will make a four point hesitation roll to the left followed by a snap roll to the right.
That should blow his socks off.

As the aircraft climbs vertically, he observes the normal airspeed decay, expecting her to start a conservative recovery at around sixty knots, he´s surprised that she´s letting it go slower, as it´s now rapidly decaying back through fourty! She seems to be still with it, still in control and nicely hanging the little plane on its prop. So he watches on.
Only two ways out of here young lady, an unpleasant spin or some clever tap dancing.
He instinctively tightens his lap harness and waits.

She savours the seconds of weightlessness with her hair spreading out above her head, while her mechanical friend hangs protestingly on his propellor!
She starts the recovery, booting in full left rudder, easing forward on the elevator and applying a little right aileron. As the nose starts to move left, she slowly starts closing the throttle.

He picks a reference point on the horizon just off the left wingtip and watches the nose, followed by the right wingtip pass exactly through same point. The aircraft rotates left about its vertical axis, right on the verge of a spin and then exits into a vertical dive.
Hmm, not bad!

During the recovery dive she is already looking out through the top canopy, looking for her next reference points in preparation for her next two creations. The hesitation roll goes well, though he appears to be more interested in observing something that is happening on the ground below them. Part way through the snap roll, with the world rapidly swirling around the out-side of her perspex, she gets his attention.
Gotcha there old fella!

The difficult four pointer is crisp and precise and with the minimum of height loss, however the snap roll catches him unaware.
Bloody hell!
While they are shaking and shuddering their way through a very tidy snap roll, he cant help but exclaim.
¨Jeez mate, where did all this come from?¨

¨My Dad¨

The approach back to Ardmore is neat and the landing is well done, but now it only seems like a means to an end. He´s more than mildly impressed.

In the debrief room, his appraisal is clinical and to the point, he offers her a few pointers and fills out the paperwork, then endorses her log-book. His demeanor is slightly guarded and reserved, she knows him well and recognizes his way of dealing with emotions.
The most precious thing to her at this moment has just been entered into her pilots logbook, it´s in her fathers own handwriting.

´Cleared for solo aerobatic flight´.

Stoney

During the spring of 1981, common words used by many New Zealanders were apartheid (apartness in the Afrikaans language), politics and Rugby. The abhorrent apartheid policy of the incumbent Boer government of South Africa had to be stopped and along with many like minded Kiwis, he was going to force it to be abolished. They had to be wrong, how could they do such things to other people just because of their race. Very much like the differences in South African skin colour, it all appeared black and white to a 21 year old, far removed boy from Helensville.

Enter the South African international rugby team, the Springboks, the New Zealand rugby football union and a fair bit of Kiwi naivete. The stage was set to change history.

Rugby had never been one of his strengths and only vaguely stirred patriotic interest when the all-blacks occasionally won against Australia. So when attending the protests at Eden park on the 12^th of September 1981, he felt proud to rise above the dogma of the rugby unions, and to make his stand. Rugby was just a game, just like any other game and should not stand in support of something that seemed so damn unfair!

Violence erupted in a very public way and New Zealand society was polarized. Much of his family cooled on him for many years and he nearly lost his aviation career for his protest involvement. But he didn´t care as he felt that they had fought and won by sending a loud message back to South Africa and the rest of the world.

Apartheid was eventually gone, Mandela was let out of jail, the Africaaner government was slowly dismantled and South Africa had an apparent equality. A pleasing result for a young man taking life for granted while living in a comfortable and secure country.

During 1999 the New Zealand aviation industry was in a decline and after the very bitter and public demise of Ansett New Zealand, he found himself unemployed and forced to leave his beloved New Zealand to sign up with a Swiss Airline. Leaving his family at home with the intention that they would follow at a later date, he paved the way to Basel for a new life. An ex patriot life where he was to become, for the first time in his life, a foreigner and a minority with few rights.

New Zealand wasn't the only country with an aviation decline and he found himself on an induction course with many pilots from around the world. During the course of his training, he was paired with a large man called Stoney. An extraordinary series of events happened that would change his views forever.

Stoney was of similar age, had a family of similar age to his own, who were due to arrive in Switzerland at roughly the same time as his were too. It made sense that he and Stoney would rent a flat together until the families arrived some six months later. Stoney had similar beliefs and values to his, shared his sense of justice and even had much the same interests. A decent, respectful, though in theory unlikely, friendship developed. Like a pair of boy scouts their exploration and often shenanigans out and about in their new country earned each others mutual trust and respect, the friendship was cemented for life.

Stoney was the English nickname for his family name of Steenkamp, the Afrikaans word for Stone Man.

Yes Francois Steenkamp was a Boer, had lost his job, his house, his property and also a good friend who was murdered during a house robbery. And like many of those who spoke the Afrikaans language, he had lost his roots of some four hundred years and had little to return to. His own personal challenges paled into insignificance in comparison to Stoneys as Stoney had joined the rapidly growing Boer diaspora of South Africa.

Not all was well post apartheid!

It´s 6 AM, January 2000 in Basel, Switzerland and two pilot trainees are about to start their day.

¨Och man, I need a favour, but I´m a bit embarrassed to ask.¨
¨Sure mate, what can I do for ya?¨
¨Normally Sondrie, she shaves the back of my neck, but she is err well, not here, can you help?¨

I have absolutely no hesitation and am more than happy to offer my friend some assistance.
He produces a razor and shaving foam, sits backwards on a chair with his shirt rolled down from his shoulders and trustingly tilts his head forward. His moderately scarred skin reveals a previous uncomfortable puberty and I am also shocked at seeing such a large man up so close. Something I´m not used to but thats what friends do, right? Help each other. So I attempt to learn the skill of a Barber.

During this, bizarre and somewhat awkward moment in a cold little Swiss flat, my mind wanders back to 1981, back to my previous life in New Zealand and to the events that have led me to here. In Basel Switzerland unreservedly shaving the back of my new found, Africaaner friend´s neck.

How life can change.