Welcome to the Kalahari Flying Club
First logbook entry
Eighteen year old Megan De Graaff, an "A" Level student at Rainbow Schools in Gaborone, fell in love with aviation around the age of five. Ever since then, without fail, she has consistently read about, learnt about and dreamt about airplanes.Finally at the age of seventeen, her parents relented and said, "OK, let's try it and see how you do."
For Megan that was the best news she had ever heard, so she picked up the phone and called the Kalahari Flying Club. The ladies there referred her to the current Vice-Chairman, Bill Scott, who is a Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor, and a Botswana Department of Civil Aviation Designated Flight Examiner.
Megan learnt that the first step would be to determine if she is physically fit to fly. She went to local Doctor, a Designated Medical Examiner, who confirmed her physical and mental condition and then issued her a combination Medical Certificate and Student Pilot License.
Armed with a clean bill-of-health and a new Student Pilot License, Megan and her family proceeded to join the Kalahari Flying Club (KFC) which has three aircraft available for Student Pilot training. Two of the aircraft are based at Sir Seretse Khama Airport in Gaborone, and one is based at the "Hub of the Okavango Delta Airport" in Maun.
After the KFC's governing committee approved their membership, Megan learnt that any KFC Member who operates a Club aircraft must be responsible for the BWP 20,000 "Excess" (Deductible) Insurance - - in the unlikely event of an Incident or Accident. With that in mind Megan contacted a local Insurance Broker and for a small portion of that amount, purchased Insurance coverage to cover that "Excess" for a whole year - on any airplane she legally flys.
With most of the administrative red-tape behind her, Megan, with her parents help, paid a deposit into a flying account at the Kalahari Flying Club to function as pre-paid flight time.
She knew from Mr Scott and others, that many hours of Ground School Instruction are necessary before actually getting into an airplane. Since there are four or five licensed Flight Instructors in the Gaborone area, she contacted several, selected one, and made a similar financial arrangement to receive both Ground and Flight Instruction.
Megan already knew, and the instructors had confirmed, that throughout the world (except in very special cases) all pilots must have a legal minimum of forty (40) hours Flight Instruction before they can be recommended for a final exam that if passed would result in the issuance of a Private Pilot License (PPL) - - similar to a Drivers License - - that is recognised throughout the world. She also learnt that in actual practice, the average flight training time for most Student Pilots to get the coveted PPL is about fifty-eight (58) hours - - due to the intense learning of multiple areas of physics, mathematics, communication, meteorology, navigation, human physiology and government regulations, most of which are unfamiliar to a majority of non-pilots.
During several hours of Ground Instruction Megan learnt what makes an airplane fly and why, if the engine stops, the airplane does not fall out of the sky but continues to fly - - albeit in a steady but gently downward direction. Now she was anxious to get near a real airplane.
After almost two months of preparation, class room learning and some homework - - Megan and her instructor went to the airport for the very first time. They spent about three hours just looking at and studying fifteen or twenty different makes, models, sizes and shapes of airplanes. At long last, they selected one of KFC's airplanes and after a thorough exterior study and inspection, boarded the craft, learned how to start its single engine and began a lesson in taxiing to the active (based on the wind direction and velocity) runway.
Learning to listen to this new unfamiliar language, became easier the more she heard it. In most cases her instructor patently explained the words that were spoken, their meaning, and how they applied to "her" training airplane.
With all the needed systems checked and confirmed properly operational, they entered the runway, back-taxied to the very end, pointed the nose into the wind, eased the throttle forward and within a few seconds their speed had increased to the point where the airflow over the wings created lift, and they were in the air. Megan loved it.
Since this flight was meant to be a familiarisation flight, they did some sightseeing over and around the city. They even flew over, found, and circled around her home - - her mother came out and excitedly waved at them.
Megan kept her orientation quite well and showed her instructor where the airport was and which direction to fly to get there. Easing back on the throttle, they began a gradual descent, gently touching down on the runway - - just like kissing the petals of a beautiful rose. Megan loved it.
Continuing her taxi lesson, Megan taxied the airplane off the runway, onto and across the main ramp where the commercial airliners were deplaning and boarding passengers, and finally back to the original parking place.
Learning to secure the airplane, tie it down so the wind would not blow it away and heading for the car - - made both Megan and her instructor thirsty. Thus the next stop was at KFC for a cool refreshing drink followed by the formality of entering Megan's first flight in her Pilot's Log Book. That Log Book is likely to last Megan many years and record enjoyable, challenging and thrilling flights. The memories triggered by those Log Book entries will last forever.
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Contact
Kalahari Flying Club (Gaborone)Private Bag SK2
Sir Seretse Khama Airport
Gaborone, Botswana
Phone: +267 31 21 68 0
Fax: +267 31 21 66 7
Mail: kfc-gaborone@kalahari-flying-club.org
Kalahari Flying Club (Maun)
P.O. Box 20976
Boseja, Maun, Botswana
Phone: +267 74 49 69 85
Mail: kfc-maun@kalahari-flying-club.org