By Garth Calitz

The Brits Flying Club held a SAPFA-organized ANR rally on Saturday, December 2. Rob Jonkers designed the route using the latest software employed in international competitions. Two routes were crafted, and the final score was determined by combining the scores from both. Each route was about 25 nautical miles long and was structured to keep the teams actively engaged in the cockpit, with turning points occurring every one to two minutes.

The weather posed a threat to the event on Friday, but it improved by Saturday morning. Unfortunately, some competitors opted to remain at their home bases. Ultimately, nine teams arrived in Brits, and favorable weather contributed to a fantastic competition. The participants were split into two groups, Unlimited and Sportsman, with identical routes for both groups.

Preparing Maps over a tasty Brits Flying Club Braekfast

The primary goal of ANR is to ensure timely arrival at both the start and finish gates, as any deviations result in a penalty of 3 points per second for arriving either early or late. Additionally, the route must be flown within a specified corridor that is only 0.4 nm wide, allowing minimal room for mistakes. A penalty of 3 points is incurred for every second spent outside this corridor.

The competitors

The initial flight took off at 9:30, with subsequent departures occurring every 5 minutes. By 11:30, all teams had returned and were prepared to commence the second round. Mary de Klerk and Thuys van der Merwe each flew both routes twice, switching pilot roles for their second attempt. It appears Mary excelled as a pilot, while Thys proved to be the superior navigator that day.

Mary and Thys

Following the enormous task of downloading the loggers, analyzing all the data, and printing each competitor's actual routes, a brief prize-giving ceremony took place. The banter among the teams as they awaited the results was often quite entertaining.

The results in the Sportsman class were unexpectedly impressive, with winners Leon Boutell and Mike Gamble in an Evektor Aerotechnik Sportstar, also outperforming some of the unlimited teams to secure third place overall.

Leon and Mike

Pierre van der Merwe and Deon Calitz, flying a Sling, secured second place in the Sportsman class.

Pierre and Deon

Chris and Johan Shaw secured third place with their impressive Cessna 177 Cardinal.

Chris and Johan

Pierre Dippenaar secured fourth place in his Piper Cub, and I emphasize "secured" because navigating such a tight course solo is a significant accomplishment.

Pierre Dippenaar

In the Unlimited Class, Rob Jonkers and Martin Meyer claimed first place in their Cessna 182, with Mary de Klerk and Thys van der Merwe closely following in a Cessna 172. Thys and Mary also secured third place, this time with Thys piloting.

Rob and Martin

Mary and Thys or is it Thys and Mary

Frank and Cally Eckard secured fourth place flying a Cessna 150, followed by local Brits residents Hans Schwabel and Roel Jansen, who took fifth place, also in a Cessna 150.

Frank and Cally in Hans' C150

Hans and Roel

The popularity of these events is certainly growing, and it was great to see some newcomers accepting the challenge. The team from SAPFA is planning numerous ANR and Fun Rally events in the new year, so if there's one near you, be sure to take on the challenge and join in the fun.

Martin and Rob 1st place overall

Mary and Thys 2nd Overall

Leon and Mike 3rd Overall

The day concluded with a visit from Jason Beamish, Mark Hensman, Charles Urban, and Kayle Wooll, who stopped by for some last-minute practice before the Ace of Base Aerobatics competition the next day in Vereeniging.

#Rallyflying #Brits