Rise Above Aviators at EAA Sun 'n Fun 2019 - 10 Nov 2019
By Goitseone Diale
It is always a joy to be around aviators and there was no better place to be on the 10th of November 2019. Rise Above Aviators was pleased to support the EAA on their successful event.
To enjoy the festivities of the weekend, Rise Above Aviators invited students from Rabboni School, a local high school who were very pleased to be immersed into all the aviation talk and learning a lot more about flying. As part of our transformation and awareness projects events like EAA Sun 'n Fun gave us an opportunity to showcase the spirit of general aviation in South Africa and to let the next generation of young people in the community know that aviation is alive and well under their noses.
An Inspirational talk on explaining the Physics of Flight
The proposed programme for the day included a walk-around static general aviation, aviation talks with the Rise Above Aviators team, a flight in the Sling 4 and a flight simulator session. However, due to budget constraints and unforeseeable circumstances, only half of the proposed plan was executed.
However, we could not let an amazing day go to waste as we welcomed the Rabboni School students just before noon on 10 November 2019. We then setup a home flight simulator donated to us by one of our members. We let the students and guests take a ride at landing an aircraft on the simulator and this included a short briefing on principles of flight and general physics. Shortly after everyone had a go at the simulator a generous closing gift was granted to the Rabboni students and the Rise Above Aviators team to fly in the Albatross by Krause Venter. Local pilot Arjan Schaap also donated a flight in one of his bat-hawks to one of our guests and offered us his personal hangar to facilitate our activities.
Students being given an experience of flying the flight simulator
This flying finale was life-changing for some of our students who have now been bitten by the aviation bug. Rise Above Aviators got positive feedback from the school convener and the students, a huge portion of their learning experience were the discussions with our Air Traffic Controller guests and one of our own pilots.
The children getting real flight experience in Krause Venter's Albatross
As per every event, we were proudly supported by the Aero Club's Transformation & Development team, the financial assistance was greatly appreciated and proved vital in providing food and drinks to our students, guests and team members. Our proposed budget was cut in half due to cancellation of proposed plans but we were more than satisfied with what was achieved.
A huge take-away point from the project of the day by Rise Above Aviators was the need to improve our aviation awareness effectiveness by engaging with the greater school community and inviting other stake-holders to take part in our activities.
Of dreams to the reality of flight
A word of gratitude to our friends at the Aero Club of South Africa, Mr Arjan Schaap, Krause Venter and our guests.
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