The idea of
making the Bantam aircraft accessible for disabled people was born in
She broke
her spinal cord in a skiing accident leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.
It was her dream to fly and the inventor of the Bantam Max Clear from
The rudder controls at the feet controlling the rudder and the front wheel were removed where the disabled person is strapped in to give more space for their feet.
The rudder control
lever was now placed on the left hand side and combined with the throttle
control and easily accessed with the left hand. The joystick in the middle
remained untouched for the instructor to teach the disabled person to fly the
craft. You will also notice that at the instructor side the foot pedals are
still there for use by the instructor to override the student when training the
student.
The inventor Max moved the stabilizer on the left hand side slightly to the front to create more space to get in the craft. By doing this he had to cut the bubble in the front slightly to get the stabilizer to fit but this had no effect on the strength of the structure nor did it make the aircraft look very different from the original. Actually, if you don’t look carefully you won’t notice the difference.
Local disabled
paraplegic André Goosen went solo on the 10 of April 2003 and finished his
training recently with instructor Alec Green from the Lowveld Aeroclub.
André went
solo after 14hours and had to do 15 solo hours more to qualify for his MPL. His license
was issued on
It’s a dream
that became a reality for André. His Motto in life is: Life ain’t over yet
and if you can’t walk there, why not fly.
Thanks to Andrew
Pappas and his son’s Kuen, Terence and friend Nick for assembling the
aircraft.
Lowveld
Aero Club Nelspruit South Africa hosts disabled aviators.
On
No,
it was not a military coo by vigilantes but disabled enthusiast aviators in
wheelchairs “taxiing” to the waiting aircraft.
Local Bantam pilot André Goosen decided it’s time for his fellow wheelchair friends to feel the joy he is experiencing and with the help of local pilots and sponsors he organized a day for them to get exposed to the joy of flight. “I’m trying to plant the seed that was planted into me after flying the Harvard at the 2001 airshow” Goosen said, and that is wanting to fly.
Group
Photo
Participants looked on while the aircrafts were inspected and they were told the details of safety and what all the instruments are there for. With big eyes they were given a helping hand to get in the different aircrafts. There were 8 three axis Bantam B22J’s, 2 Cheetahs, a Robin R22 helicopter, a Piper Cruiser and 4 Trikes all the way from Drome Z.
One
by one the aircraft took off and the route was over Nelspruit town and
surrounding areas. Participants now had a birds eye view from what Nelspruit
looks from above. Some comments were: “Gee man, is a rugby field really that
small”, and “There are a lot of pools in Nelspruit”,
“Wow
, that’s my house, better get dad to clean the pool”. Well, those big eyes
subsequently turned into amazement and for those who reckoned flying was for
birds only had to think again.
Flips
was until 08h30 and for the early birds there was a chance to fly more than
once. Some participants actually flew three aircraft and that was the seed that
was meant to be planted Goosen said. I’m sure to soar the sky free as a bird
is not only meant for able people and that we will see many more disabled
enjoying this freedom he added. Currently there are two disabled students
training on Goosens aircraft and they come as far as
After
the flying experience the participants enjoyed boerewors rolls {That's cooked
sausage on an open fire} and a drink at the Lowveld Aero Clubs clubhouse.
Goosen
said that this day was only made possible by the sponsors, the local pilots and
the use of the facilities at Nelspruit airport and on behalf of all disabled
participants he would like to thank them for there unconditional support and
help. He said that more venues like this one is definitely on the agenda. Life isn't
over yet.
DAASA {Disabled Aviation Association SA} was recently established and they will represent the disabled aviators locally and internationally.
André Goosen
Nelspruit
+27 13 7434545
+27 82 6773494