Aviation Safety Magazine December 2006 - MOVERS AND SHAKERS IN SA AVIATION - by Mike Wright

Mike : Glen, Advanced World Aerobatic Champion and more than 20 000 flying hours to your credit – where did it all start?

Glen : I started flying while in standard nine, Queens College, Queenstown. My instructor was Ted Baines and I flew a Cessna 150. It cost R23 an hour dual and R18 an hour solo. This included the cost of ferrying the aircraft from Grahamstown. I received my PPL while at school and thereafter went straight to the SAAF where I flew various aircraft including the Alouette 3 and Puma helicopters.

Mike : Is your favourite machine the Red Bull Extra or the Slick 360 or both?

Glen : It would be difficult to say which my favourite aircraft would be. Different planes for different tasks. The Boeing 747 must be the greatest modern airliner to date. It is fantastic to fly. It is not necessarily the most advanced from an electronics point of view but perhaps Boeing wanted it this way. It does however have wonderful handling characteristics and is certainly loved by all that have flown her.

The Jet Ranger, which is statistically one of the safest aircraft ever built, has got to be a helicopter favourite. It may not be as glamorous as a Dauphine r Bell 222 or Puma for that matter, it just does the job and one feels safe in it. The Robinson R22 changed helicopter training worldwide. 20 years ago there must have been fewer than 20 civilian trained helicopter pilots flying in SA. Today there are probably over 400, 90% of whom have trained on the R22.

There are so many aerobatic aircraft of varying capabilities. The Pitts has biplane nostalgia, the Zlin is an honest and good airshow aircraft. The Sukhois have great performance. The Extra combines luxury, excellent build quality and great reliability with performance. The Slick is the easiest to do well in a competition as it has powerful controls and, being a four-cylinder plane, is very well balanced. Its cruising speed is much the same as a Zlin’s Vne. My favourite aerobatic plane would depend on what discipline of aerobatics I was flying.

Vintage aircraft are definitely favourites. The Cessna 120/140/195, the Piper series including the Pacer, J3/L4 etc. They are so honest, economical and fun to fly. The Beechcraft Staggerwing has pretty much everything going for it. Biplane nostalgia and very good looks, it is quite fast and smooth but requires some attention to fly. The Waco looks great, the Chipmunk has legendary control balancing, the Harvard has such proud history, the Tiger Moth is an absolute classic and the Bucker Jungmann and Jungmeister were way ahead of their time.

Warbirds are a favourite among many true aviation enthusiasts. The Sea Fury is powerful, fast and looks great. The Mustang must be one of the most manageable true warbirds. Likewise the T28 is incredibly pilot friendly – big, smooth and a real performer it must be one of the best warbirds to fly, own and operate. If I won a (big) lottery however, I think I would buy a Grumman Goose or Catalina and tour the world. Those aircraft have given me some of my best flying ever.

Mike : In regards to the Slick 360 this is an incredible locally designed machine in which you have played a major role.

Glen : I had been flying various aerobatic aircraft like the Sukhoi 26, 29 and 31, the Zlin 50 and the Pitts when it became quite evident that to win an International Aerobatic Contest the pilot needs a lot of ‘assistance’ from the plane itself. While pilots from Russia did well in the Sukhois and Yaks, the French in their Caps and the Czechs in their Zlins, no one outside of this band did well at all. That was with the exception of three pilots who flew the small four-cylinder Extra 230. I approached Aerocam and asked them to build an aeroplane for me based on the Extra and the Laser but using updated technology and materials. Chris Hattingh did most of the construction work while Francois did structural design analysis. These gentlemen and the rest of their company are brilliant!

Mike : You had a bit of an accident at Margate last year – can you comment on any safety aspect learnt for the benefit of our readers.

Glen : I was practicing for the Margate Airshow. I pushed up for a stall turn and on the way up did a half vertical roll at which time the rpm reduced. This was a well-known occurrence during certain manoeuvres as the rotation of the aircraft caused a temporary loss of oil pressure. I completed the stall turn and waited for the pressure to return so that Constant Speed Unit could get the prop back to full fine. It took somewhat longer than expected and I landed in the sugar cane. If I had been 500 foot higher I would have made it. If I had never started flying, it wouldn’t have happened either!

Mike : You have always said : “Never take off without a plan – the plan may change but always have one” – can you elaborate?

Glen : I sat in the jumpseat one of a B25 in Switzerland. We were going to take off into what I thought was quite bad weather. It wasn’t my plane and it wasn’t my airfield so I thought that these fellows must have some plan. Well, we took off and just carried on flying straight towards higher ground and worse weather. It became apparent that in fact there wasn’t really any plan at all. Eventually the Captain turned around to me an asked : “What should we do?” I said : “let’s just turn around and go back” – which is what we did. Back on the ground the chaps were a little rattled, not so much because of the weather, but because (as they said later) they simply had no plan at all.

The goal / destination or whatever is not the plan! The plan is how we are going to achieve the goal. A pilot needs to employ dynamic decision making into the process. We don’t need to stick to a plan at all costs. This can be equally disadvantageous. But we need to take off with a goal and a plan of how to achieve it. Whether it be flying a B747 to London or taking a friend for a flight in a Trike. A wayward flight almost always just gets worse and worse!

Mike : Your job at SAA presently involves training on the B737-800. How do you find this machine and what do you think of fly by wire?

Glen : Well the 800 isn’t fly by wire. I haven’t flown a true fly by wire aircraft yet. My colleagues on Airbus 319’s and 340’s love the technology. It’s probably the way all large aircraft will go.

The B737-800 is a really good aircraft. It’s not often one finds an aircraft that passengers, cabin crew, pilots and maintenance engineers all like. The 800 has a fantastic maintenance record and financial figures show it to be a highly successful airliner (Just like the B747-400).

Mike : Any advice you might like to give our younger readers, in particular on an airline career and aerobatics?

Glen : If you have a real passion for flying you will achieve your goal. Just carry on loving it and the destination will come to you. There will be difficulties along the way, very often as a result of airframe driver’s jealousies. It is easy to see through these people however, and they seldom remain in your path for long since they don’t really want to be there anyway.

Mike : Have you had any anxious moments that you might like to share with our readers from a safety point of view?

Glen : I have had some moments of concern. Most of them were caused by inexperience and lack of judgement. Many good pilots out there are not good because they have never made a mistake but because they have made many but got way with it. The trick is to never make that mistake again. Never stop learning and try and learn from other who you know are respected in aviation by aviators.

Mike : I first saw you flying a BMW SU 29 T at Margate some years ago and taped it. I will never forget that display but it’s just gotten better and better.

Glen : The Sukhoi 29 and BMW sponsorship was probably what got me into successful aerobatics. I was able to afford good instruction and that, together with the willingness to learn, is the most important thing in competition aeros. I have seen people with huge wallets buy the latest and greatest aircraft and go out day after day perfecting their mistakes. They become disillusioned by their lack of success and give up.

Mike : The aerobatic flying must give the body a big workout – how does one get and stay ‘g’ fit?

Glen : ‘g’ fitness is mostly about being really healthy and adequately fit. Exposure to ‘g’ will allow you to withstand high ’g’ forces with little detrimental effect. The tolerance should however be built up over time as high ‘g’ without a planned gradual build up can be very bad for ones health.

Mike : I was at the A1 GP, Wonderboom 2006 and DWC shows, all of which you flew at. What brilliant performances! At DWC that knife-edge after take off as just awesome. You must see it on film. My friends couldn’t even describe with their hands what you were doing?

Glen : Sometimes the easiest manoeuvres to perform are the most visually appealing. High negative ‘g’ manoeuvres are hard on the body, slow down brain function (mostly as a result of discomfort) and are seldom appreciated or even recognized by some spectators.

On occasion a pilot will have to decide as to what ‘type’ of spectator he is flying for. If he is flying for a knowledgeable audience he may do precise flying and tumbles, which they would appreciate. These tumbles are hard on the aircraft and consequently expensive maintenance wise. It is pointless stressing the body and aircraft when a less complicated but equally visually appealing sequence will suffice.

Mike : Congratulations on a brilliant career. Long may it continue. We will never forget some of the displays you have done. Well done and thank you for talking to Aviation and Safety magazine.