Anybody interested in learning about South Africa

Twinco · 07-30-2009, 01:02 AM

Hi there

I am new to the forum & am actively growing at the moment.

I live in this beautiful country & travel to many exciting places in SA & Africa, sometimes for business & sometimes for pleasure.

I have never travelled to the States but import many items from the states. I have travelled Europe & the far east extensively.

I had threatened to go to Oshkosh this year, right now, but had too many commitments to take leisure time amongst aviation enthusiasts. I will be there next year.

If anybody is interested, ask questions & I will be able to answer most questions, not purely weed related.

We enjoy a good lifestyle & I would be interested in swopping local stories with others who can give me an insight as to their own cultures.

Bring it on.

bizong · 07-30-2009, 03:34 AM

Twinco, glad to see such a diverse crowd on the yooka. Well, where to start? I'm a resident of the United States and have lived in colorado for all of my eightneen years of life. I enjoy snowboarding at our local resorts in the winter and boating in lakes over the summers. I've travled to Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, Italy, and I'll be going to University and the end of next month. What can you tell me about the food & recreational activites of your country?

Twinco · 07-30-2009, 06:42 AM

Hi Bizong

Our winters are not too severe, lows of -2 deg c & highs of about 17 deg c.

There are some areas where we do have snow, but we have not had snow in Johannesburg for 30 odd years. In winter because I have young teenage kids, we play 10 pin bowls, conventional bowls, golf, paintballing. We also often take our caravan out for weekend trops away into the bush. You can find good places within 50 miles. I own & fly aircraft for business & pleasure so my interests are wider than most. I can also fly quickly to places in the bush that have runways etc. We have a large dam within 60 miles & in summer enjoy waterskiing, jetskiing, yachting etc. We also fly model aircraft & helicopters. I have a home at the coast in a small village where I keep a 4x4 & a boat there & we fish & ski & go on 4x4 trails etc. Down there it is fun to have a barbeque on the beach in one of the coves there.

Food is much the same as the rest of the world, any cuisine is available, but particular to SA are maize meal with stew & gravy, Bobotie, which is curried mince with egg poured over it & baked in the oven, we call a barbeque a braai & we braai at least twice to 3 times per week. A typical braai would consist of t bone steak, lamb chops, boerewors which is flavoured sausage, mealies (corn) boiled & then crisped on the fire, green salad etc. A normal evening meal would be grilled fish & veggies, soups in winter, prawns or lobster at least once per month, fresh oysters, mussels, crabs, squid etc. We eat plenty of meat, tongue, kidneys, liver etc. One meal I consider a delicacy but most people would not touch it is cow stomach, cleaned & bleached, then cut into strips, onions sauteed & the tripe added with herbs to flavour & slow cooked for a few hours. Served with mashed potatoes & veggies, it is a very tasty meal.

May SA people eat very conservatively, as must be the case in the States too. I will eat practically anything, I consider crocidile tail to be a delicacy.

What are typical meals in the States?

Kompressor · 07-30-2009, 09:02 AM

Welcome again twinco, I travel to Kenya and Tanzania on a fairly regular basis. Been to Jo'burg once when i was little, amazing place.

What aircraft do you fly? Private, airliner?

Meals here in the states are much less fresh than what you'd find in SA.

Twinco · 07-30-2009, 02:56 PM

Hi Kompressor.

I have owned a Fokker D7 which was destroyed on finals to Rand Airport after an engine failure, very sad, she was a classic. I have owned one of your famous RV's, originating in Bend, Oregon, was a beautiful, fast aerobatic aircraft. I have owned a Piper Cherokee 235 which I flew for over 1000 hrs. I have also built a Kitfox replica with a Rotec Radial engine. Do a google on Rotec, I owned one with the 7 cylinder variant, lovely puddle jumping & fly for fun aircraft. My current aircraft is a Piper Turbo Twin Commanche (hence the nick Twinco). I often fly up to the Democratic Republic Of Congo with a Beech Kingair & fly the same aircraft up to Seychelles for the owners (they do not fly themselves. They have just purchased 2 Cessna Citation 550's & we are refurbishing them including new avionics to comply with the regulations regarding RSVM regulations as promulgated by your FAA. I have flown a Boeing 737-200 once as P2, quite exciting. I toyed with changing careers to flying full time, but i am not a spring chicken & only have 17 years left of commercial flying available to me in terms of the law. I have 2 businesses, one is a consulting company, repairing large printing machines from an electronic point of view & the second business is an online commodity supply business including delivery all over the country.

Bak to SA lifestyle. This weekend starts at 15h00 tomorrow. I am meeting friends for supper. Saturday morning, I am working & Saturday afternoon I have a business meeting, through to Sat night & Sunday I am spending the day with my children. We have a few friends & their children meeting up for a days fun, hunting each other in the bush with our paintball guns. I usually get shot at least 10 times because my kids love to see me in pain

& the bruises take 2 weeks to dissapear. I end up with dye all over my clothing after a day of Paintballing. If I get one shot in with my kids, I am lucky cos they are much quicker than the old man & they run like the wind. Sunday evening I help them prepare for school the following day. In 2 weeks time we are camping, our winter is almost over & it will be warmer & much more pleasant. We have a very full life together because I do not see my children much & we cram loads of activities into our time together. I am not happy with my kids roaming around the shopping malls, there are many undesirable people out there, we tend to get out of town.

How long ago were you in JHB, it has changed dramatically over the last 10 years?

Cheers for now, it is 23h00 local time & time for a dvd & bed.

Mikey · 07-30-2009, 04:29 PM

Wow really cool what I read about your flying and the planes you own/owned.

That must be one crazy trip being a pilot, how was it flying the Boeing 737? And P2 means you were the 2nd pilot?

And how come you only have 17 years left of commercial flying I didn't understand that part.

Flamingnun · 07-30-2009, 04:43 PM

Afaik the FAA states that commercial pilots must retire at the age of 65. I think it was successfully raised from 60 to 65 in 2007. Not sure how that affects South African aviation authority's, but I'd imagine they follow a similar procedure, mandatory retirement at X age.

Anyhow, welcome to Yahooka. Thumbsup at the twin commanche

.

**kitch** · 07-30-2009, 10:02 PM

so from what I've seen and read, it seems like SA is still pretty heavily divided along racial lines. I assume you're white (correct me if I'm wrong). If that is so then how do you feel about the black people who make up the majority of your country but still probably don't enjot as much priviledge as a white person? What were your views on apartheid while it was going on? Who told all the white kids in Johannesburg to dress up like the lived in America in the 80s? We don't do that anymore, we learned better the first time.

**SageTree** · 07-30-2009, 10:59 PM

Thanks for the informantion, I can't really say I know much at all about South Africa, so I quite enjoy the topic started.

Cheers

Twinco · 07-31-2009, 04:02 AM

Originally Posted by Mikey

Wow really cool what I read about your flying and the planes you own/owned.

That must be one crazy trip being a pilot, how was it flying the Boeing 737? And P2 means you were the 2nd pilot?

And how come you only have 17 years left of commercial flying I didn't understand that part.

Thanks Mikey, it is a huge rush & a wonderful sense to be flying high enough to be in still air, yet being able to make out ground features clearly.

Flying the 737, difficult because it is very precise & one mistake leads to a chain of events very easily. That said, they are wonderful to fly, but I will enjoy the Citations more.

Twinco · 07-31-2009, 04:13 AM

Originally Posted by Flamingnun

Afaik the FAA states that commercial pilots must retire at the age of 65. I think it was successfully raised from 60 to 65 in 2007. Not sure how that affects South African aviation authority's, but I'd imagine they follow a similar procedure, mandatory retirement at X age.

Anyhow, welcome to Yahooka. Thumbsup at the twin commanche

.

Hi Flamingnun

You are quite correct, I can still fly commercially after 65 for gain, but I may not be pilot in command after the age of 65 if I fly cross border.

How come you know the Twinco, mine is a beautiful example of this fine aircraft, very well equipped & extremely fast. They are mooted as 6 seaters, but I have long range tip tanks installed which reduces my payload. The 3rd row of seats are very small, so I have configured her as a 4 seater normally, only installing the last row when necessary at the expence of range. It was avery sad time when the Piper factory at Longhaven got flooded. All the jigs were damaged & they discontinued production of this fine aircraft. They are quite scarce, mine is the 2nd best example in SA, the most pristine is a CR model with turbo charged 200hp motors counter rotating props. Mine has clockwise rotating 160 hp motors. When I test flew it, I lost the left engine on take off, crank broke between 2 & 3, this is the critical engine due to gyroscopic forces acting towards the dead motor & the aircraft spinning very easily if not handled correctly. I overboosted the other motor & climbed out at 200fpm & declared an emergency & landed safely back on the runway. I bought it immediately because that was the most severe acid test I could have done, I could have lost it & died. I replaced both motors for new ones from the States & have never looked back.

Twinco · 07-31-2009, 05:28 AM

Originally Posted by kitchkinet

so from what I've seen and read, it seems like SA is still pretty heavily divided along racial lines. I assume you're white (correct me if I'm wrong). If that is so then how do you feel about the black people who make up the majority of your country but still probably don't enjoy as much priviledge as a white person? What were your views on apartheid while it was going on? Who told all the white kids in Johannesburg to dress up like the lived in America in the 80s? We don't do that anymore, we learned better the first time.

Hi Kitchkinet

You are correct, I am white.

It is difficult to even begin because we & our forefathers did deplorable things to the black person. Our government declared apartheid which basically labelled their actions & brought attention to our own bad judgement, yet rascism exists all over the world, but this is not an excuse.

The demographics of the country is that we have approximately 50 million citizens & the ratio between black & white is approximately 20 to 1.

SA is still divided along racial lines to a certain extent because mostly of large cultural differences, but I have a few black friends, but they are friends because of common ground, not to make my conscience feel better with window dressing.

As a child, my exposure to black folk was indifferrnce. I have never had political affiliations & did not have any as a child. At the age of 17, I was conscripted into our military forces for a compulsary tour of duty for 2 years. At the time our government was fighting Cuban sponsored soldiers in South West Africa, a war we should never have had. I lost many friends too during this time. I was very highly trained & ended up in that war for over 5 years of my life. I was called up annually for 15 years thereafter to fight in the military. At the end of my military days (which I hated) I ended up patrolling the black townships during the time when the ANC was challenging the government & eventually won the battle & took control of the government.

It was during this time that I got to know the herb. We were usually mostly stoned when we were fighting, it was a way to keep ones sanity during a terrible time. I am not proud that I killed many people in the name of the military on orders. I was also wounded twice during this time during skirmishes. Suffice to say, I would probably have been killed now that I am more aware f the situation if I was born black. I would have been an activist & would have been right next to Mr Mandela if this were the case. I was simply ignorant. Apartheid was a disgusting setup & damaged the country badly because there is a lost generation of black people because they were so poorly educated in order to ensure that black people did not go out & accomplish anything meaningfull in their lives. Fortunately this has changed & I feel positive about the future. My children attend the same school as their black counterparts & have made some very good friends who are black, one in particular is a lovely child who hails from the States near Oshkosh. I have become good friends with her father & we correspond regularly & spend time together when he is in SA.

My sister is married to a good man who happens to be coloured, we believe in building the future because we cannot change the terrible past. Luckily, the majority of black people just want to provide for their families & are willing to be part of the reparation process.

Crime, huge problem because it is usually violent involving AK47's. The criminals have no regard for human life, quite scary. If there is interest, I can describe typical scenarios. I have been the victim of crime many times, but you become very aware of your surroundings as part of second nature. If anyboby is interested, I would be quite happy to relate my own experiences. I would also enjoy some insight about life generally in the States.

Cheers T

**Pharm Girl** · 07-31-2009, 05:31 AM

Me.......I have deep interests in the Diamond Mining History in SA.

Mikey · 07-31-2009, 08:04 AM

Awesome post Twinco.

I have a question though, I didn't want to ask before because I figured it'd be a touchy subject but seeing as kitchkinet broke the ice I might as well ask.

Are all white people from SA filthy rich or very well off?

Twinco · 07-31-2009, 10:12 AM

Originally Posted by Pharm Girl

Me.......I have deep interests in the Diamond Mining History in SA.

Hi there

I had a share in a diamond company in Lesotho & lost a fortune there, prospecting rights, mineral rights, licenses etc etc for a yield that never managed to pay the costs. I got out about 5 years ago but my neighbour at the coast worked for De Beers for many years & went on his own for a few years before retiring. The diamond business is tough. What is your SA diamond connection?

Twinco · 07-31-2009, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by Mikey

Awesome post Twinco.

I have a question though, I didn't want to ask before because I figured it'd be a touchy subject but seeing as kitchkinet broke the ice I might as well ask.

Are all white people from SA filthy rich or very well off?

No problem Mikey

I am willing to discuss any subject, I enjoy debate.

Nope to answer your question, an interesting change in SA is that affirmative action was made law, meaning that a previously disadvantaged person (black, coloured indian, asian, white women etc) would have a better chance of employment. This got the white masses up in arms because there are many levels of education amongst whites & very diverse personalities, some have entepreneurial spirit & make a success of a business venture & others fail. There is a segment of the white population I guess at about 35% that fall into the poverty segment, the previous middle class suburban type white
takes up a further 40% & the balance are wealthy.

What is interesting to note is that the middle class white is being marginalised & an upper middle class black has risen in the ranks above his white counterpart. The previous black suburbs have some whites living there now & there is a massive influx into the previous white suburbs by black people. The road in which I live has 14 properties & the nationalities are 2 black families, 2 portuguese families, 1 italian family, 1 german family, 2 greek families & 6 SA families. in my suburb we certainly do not have racial friction, we all know each other & greet each other & chat when we run into each other. Our road is blocked off & allows only private access & the kids all congregate in the street after 16h00 & play soccer etc together & ride their bikes & quads etc up & down the road.

It is different in rural areas, there is not much work & the black population to white population ratio is 90 to 10 approximately. Consequently many black people are unemployed The wealth lies mostly in white hands but this has also been a consequence of apartheid. It had so many facets. Black people were encouraged to do subsistence farming & were not taught the basics like contour ploughing & allowing the land to lie fallow & rotating crops. The results are self explanatory but there is a generation of black commercial farmers rising up now, much to the charign of the white farmers. Many of these guys still believe in the old ways, but to me, the old fifo principle applies to the white farmers generally.

I hope that answers your questions.

bizong · 08-01-2009, 11:40 PM

Twin. My family tends to eat a lot of red meat, potatoes, and vegtables. we grill almost every thing.... now for music. We have American Woman by The Who. What song do you have?

Mikey · 08-07-2009, 10:47 AM

what kinda meat

**kitch** · 08-07-2009, 11:04 AM

bush meat, duh.

**Pharm Girl** · 08-07-2009, 01:17 PM

Originally Posted by Twinco

Hi there

I had a share in a diamond company in Lesotho & lost a fortune there, prospecting rights, mineral rights, licenses etc etc for a yield that never managed to pay the costs. I got out about 5 years ago but my neighbour at the coast worked for De Beers for many years & went on his own for a few years before retiring. The diamond business is tough. What is your SA diamond connection?

I'm in a tad of a hurry...........but I'll be back!

Were you into hard-rock mining or panning? What else came up with the D's?

A little platinum perhaps, gold, copper?