Post 25: Alpha Charlie goes partying

Wednesday March 9^th



Piper Party time, Woonderboom Airport Johannesburg



Alpha Charly went partying tonight. By happy coincidence the US-based Piper Aircraft Corporation were launching their new dealership in South Africa, also headquarters of their entire African operation. (Factoid: four USAs can fit into Africa. Even though 50% of Africa’s population lives on less than US$1 a day, people do an awful lot of flying around the continent.)  

Anyway Piper seemed keen to show off AC after her 9000nm journey from the UK along with her bigger siblings. Woonderboom Airport, Johannesburg. Big hoopla. Smoke, coloured strobes, nibbles, press and Frank Sinatra booming Come Fly With Me over a loudspeaker system which you could probably hear in Benghazi.

Cleaned and buffed, her chrome prop nose shiny as a button, she sat the back with her three bigger siblings: A Piper Matrix, a Seneca Twin and a Meridien. A bit like Thomas the tank engine sitting beside the Flying Scotsman and the Eurostar.

She had to have a double vodka to steady her nerves. She declined the Piri Piri prawns and beef carpaccio canapes. Staying lean and mean for the flight north.

Randy Groom, the Vice President of Piper USA had flown in from Florida. He said how well she’d done and what wonderful aircraft Piper were ( well he would wouldn’t he). The aviation industry is going through a tough time There is a big debate about how General Aviation is on the cusp with older, metal-framed aircraft being blown away in the market by newer composite aircraft which are slicker and, sometimes, cheaper to run: Cirrus, Diamond, Light Sport Aircraft. It's not obvious to me. Privately-owned aircraft take a lot of hammering. Pipers and Cessnas are rock solid. And Piper are holding their head above water. So Randy has a point. All they way here, through the most testing  environments on earth, small strips, big, rough runways, she has carried Steve and me safely without missing a beat –not one- bless her little T&Ps which remained reassuringly in the green. No overheating. No hysterics. Not from her anyway.  

The best bit of the evening was having her picture taken with Captain Courageous Laurie Kay ( see my earlier blogs and watch the move Invictus if you haven’t already) Chris Briers and his son Darius who extracted me out of Mozambique and their better halves. Chris is part of the National Aircraft Corporation (NAC), founded fourty years ago by my cousin Gilly’s Dad, Donald Ord, DFC and Bar, 21 Squadron SAAF bombers operating out of Italy and North Africa in World War II. Small aircaft. Small world.



From Left: Chris Briers and Diola Briers,( my rescuers in Mozambique), me, super-pilot Laurie Kay, Kim Beck and her bofriend Darius Briers ( son of Chris and Diola)  who flew the Cessna to get me out and Michael Van Coller who accompanied me from Rand Airport to the party

 It was all a bit overwhelming. But I could feel the quiet sense of pride radiating from under her cowling.


The good-looking guy in the suit is Randy Groom, VP Piper Corp, USA 



Sunday Jo Gemin, my immensely experienced French co-pilot and I head north: Namibia, Angola, Gabon, Sao Tome, Nigeria, Niger, Algeria, Ibiza and home.