You Know You Are In Africa When.....
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Down the airway.
Posts: 689
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Here is a trivial snippet about Eskom, the South African power people.
Johannesburg - South Africa's electricity company expects to be under pressure during the FIFA World Cup. State-owned Eskom says it will regularly update South Africans on supply during the tournament, which starts June 11, and ask them to turn off some appliances if power runs low.
Under the worst circumstances, South Africans will be asked to turn off everything but one TV - so they can continue to get updates - and one light.
and then this little piece of illumination:
Foreign visitors will be warned to conserve power through public announcements on flights and notices posted on airline seat tables and in flight magazines.
Eskom is introducing a new system on public television channels this week with a referee holding up coloured cards to indicate the power situation, ranging from green for stable supply to black when power grid load-shedding begins.
Johannesburg - South Africa's electricity company expects to be under pressure during the FIFA World Cup. State-owned Eskom says it will regularly update South Africans on supply during the tournament, which starts June 11, and ask them to turn off some appliances if power runs low.
Under the worst circumstances, South Africans will be asked to turn off everything but one TV - so they can continue to get updates - and one light.
and then this little piece of illumination:
Foreign visitors will be warned to conserve power through public announcements on flights and notices posted on airline seat tables and in flight magazines.
Eskom is introducing a new system on public television channels this week with a referee holding up coloured cards to indicate the power situation, ranging from green for stable supply to black when power grid load-shedding begins.
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Been around the block
Posts: 629
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
When you're in a country whose main export is their world famous coffee and Nescafe is PROUDLY served. You're under 35 and have drank from a pop top soda can. Rules change daily. Your last sim check was rejected by the civil aviation authority because it didn't have a stamp. You photoshop a star on said certificate and the next day it is approved. The government owned airline has an aircraft down for mx. The required part has been sitting in customs for a week. The only profitable airlines are owned by Indians. The gate agent has sold the jumpseat. You have to teach the "engineer" how to work on the aircraft. You have parts of the Quick reference handbook memorized. You refuse to fly to get last months pay check. Current economic problems are blamed on colonial powers that left 50 years ago. The same colonials left roads and airports that haven't been fixed in 50 years. You don't vacation in Africa because the corrupt visa processing takes weeks and costs $ so you spend your $ in India or Europe instead of contributing to the local economy, further adding to economic woes on the continent. The largest airline around is the UN. Your flight attendants are required to spray an entire bottle of pesticide down the aisle after departure. You have received a letter of warning from the CAA for opening the door without chocks in place when the only chocks in the entire airport are underneath the flat tires of an unairworthy aircraft that is owned by the government and hasn't flown in 20 years. A persons' importance demonstrated by how late they are. The government airline has 400 employees per aircraft and complain that you're overpaid.
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Down the airway.
Posts: 689
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
When the Mayor of Capetown gets bogged down nine days before the start of some football saga or other.
The mayor of Cape Town, Dan Plato, has called on Makhaza residents in Khayelitsha to burn tyres and protest against the ANC Youth League for destroying toilet enclosures last week.
"I want to throw it back at the community... that you need to tell those rude hooligans, those thugs, that you must march and burn tyres against those hooligans," Plato said at a press conference at his offices in Cape Town.
"What is happening now is that the Youth League is taking decisions on the part of the community without the community having any say in it."
Toilets removed
Plato said the unenclosed toilets in Makhaza were removed on Monday morning. They would be replaced once residents had built enclosures themselves.
"We are willing to go back and reinstall the toilets as soon the community reaches an agreement with the Youth League."
Plato said charges were laid against the ANCYL last week for destruction of city property.
"We are also looking at the Youth League's call to make the City of Cape Town ungovernable, and so we are looking at a charge of inciting violence."
He said the case was with detectives. "The detectives and officials have it in hand."
Plato said the ANC's criticism of its youth body was "too little, too late".
"The ANC leadership did not respond immediately to the actions of their cadres. It is a week too late. Their actions were not enough. The damage has been done."
Agreement
Plato said the city had reached an agreement with residents and the ANCYL that it would install the toilets once the enclosures had been built. This had been done in other parts of Khayelitsha with great success.
"In 2007, the city negotiated an agreement that residents would contribute to the project by building enclosures around the toilets themselves," Plato said.
Of the 1 316 toilets provided in terms of this agreement, 1 265 were properly enclosed by residents. The remaining 51 were not.
"Given that the city has been prevented from building the remaining enclosures, we have resolved to temporarily remove the toilets until appropriate enclosures have been built."
Plato said the city had to remove 65 toilets on Monday morning. He said this was because some of the residents in Makhaza had sided with the ANCYL and broke down more enclosures.
But Boris Johnson would probably like to burn a tyre of two form a bendy bus?
The mayor of Cape Town, Dan Plato, has called on Makhaza residents in Khayelitsha to burn tyres and protest against the ANC Youth League for destroying toilet enclosures last week.
"I want to throw it back at the community... that you need to tell those rude hooligans, those thugs, that you must march and burn tyres against those hooligans," Plato said at a press conference at his offices in Cape Town.
"What is happening now is that the Youth League is taking decisions on the part of the community without the community having any say in it."
Toilets removed
Plato said the unenclosed toilets in Makhaza were removed on Monday morning. They would be replaced once residents had built enclosures themselves.
"We are willing to go back and reinstall the toilets as soon the community reaches an agreement with the Youth League."
Plato said charges were laid against the ANCYL last week for destruction of city property.
"We are also looking at the Youth League's call to make the City of Cape Town ungovernable, and so we are looking at a charge of inciting violence."
He said the case was with detectives. "The detectives and officials have it in hand."
Plato said the ANC's criticism of its youth body was "too little, too late".
"The ANC leadership did not respond immediately to the actions of their cadres. It is a week too late. Their actions were not enough. The damage has been done."
Agreement
Plato said the city had reached an agreement with residents and the ANCYL that it would install the toilets once the enclosures had been built. This had been done in other parts of Khayelitsha with great success.
"In 2007, the city negotiated an agreement that residents would contribute to the project by building enclosures around the toilets themselves," Plato said.
Of the 1 316 toilets provided in terms of this agreement, 1 265 were properly enclosed by residents. The remaining 51 were not.
"Given that the city has been prevented from building the remaining enclosures, we have resolved to temporarily remove the toilets until appropriate enclosures have been built."
Plato said the city had to remove 65 toilets on Monday morning. He said this was because some of the residents in Makhaza had sided with the ANCYL and broke down more enclosures.
But Boris Johnson would probably like to burn a tyre of two form a bendy bus?
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: United kingdom / The World
Posts: 47
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You know you are in Africa when..
yep...when on final approach you are suddenly advised by ATC to go around because a cow is being slaugtered on the far end of the active runway.
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: location, location!
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
when you have to execute a fly by to clear the runway of people, see the controller popping up out of the bushes pulling his pants up and running to the tower, and just before shut down at the parking you hear "ahhh DHL123 Spriggs Tower you are cleared to land!"
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Germany
Age: 76
Posts: 1,561
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I had this German Training Captain and Experimental Test Pilot go a bit mental when I asked too many questions about this "Gao, Mali" place they were sending me, as if I didn't trust his pet German flight-planning service or something.
So not long afterwards Captain Pants goes there himself, arriving overhead on Friday afternoon rather tight on fuel. I guess he never heard of Friday prayers before but he sure found out then, the muppet! I guess by the time someone showed up to give him his landing clearance he was running on fumes.
So not long afterwards Captain Pants goes there himself, arriving overhead on Friday afternoon rather tight on fuel. I guess he never heard of Friday prayers before but he sure found out then, the muppet! I guess by the time someone showed up to give him his landing clearance he was running on fumes.
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: South Africa
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
When at ORTIA the security don't want to let you through the gates because you don't have a crewcard but you do have a valid pilot license with you, so the handlers take you through a fire escape door. You go to postnett print a card with a picture of you and in big writing FLIGHT CREW and that works everytime.
You go into Vic falls after hours in the dark everthing and everybody working the next morning a local chater pilot ask how you did that he tried but they refuse to work after 1800lcl and you shrugged your shoulders and realised that you must have transporting someone important.
When you wait an hour for customs because they went into town to get petrol before 18h00 when everything closes and there is a power cut and he can't come back.
You go into Vic falls after hours in the dark everthing and everybody working the next morning a local chater pilot ask how you did that he tried but they refuse to work after 1800lcl and you shrugged your shoulders and realised that you must have transporting someone important.
When you wait an hour for customs because they went into town to get petrol before 18h00 when everything closes and there is a power cut and he can't come back.
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Johannesburg
Age: 64
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
re: "Mayor says....burn tyres and protest against the ANC Youth League..."
This post of "Der absolute Hammer" does not provide the complete picture.
Africa provides more than enough grounds for criticism without exacerbating the problem by quoting news out of context. I have therefore taken the liberty to add some background .
Several South African townships (Khayelitsha included) has embarked on what the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) calls "peaceful protest" against poor service delivery by town/city councils. This includes using burning tyres as ad hoc road blocks, throwing stones at passing motorists, burning public libraries, looting shops, etc.
Cape Town merely said that "We've provided a facility. ANCYL damaged it in the name of "peaceful protest", therefore we are removing the facillity until the community proves its commitment by repairing the damage. If the community doesn't like it, they can do some "peaceful protesting" against ANCYL ...(preferably on ANCYL property ;-)
The "...burning tyres..." comment by the mayor is loaded with irony and not an incitement to violence....
Africa provides more than enough grounds for criticism without exacerbating the problem by quoting news out of context. I have therefore taken the liberty to add some background .
Several South African townships (Khayelitsha included) has embarked on what the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) calls "peaceful protest" against poor service delivery by town/city councils. This includes using burning tyres as ad hoc road blocks, throwing stones at passing motorists, burning public libraries, looting shops, etc.
Cape Town merely said that "We've provided a facility. ANCYL damaged it in the name of "peaceful protest", therefore we are removing the facillity until the community proves its commitment by repairing the damage. If the community doesn't like it, they can do some "peaceful protesting" against ANCYL ...(preferably on ANCYL property ;-)
The "...burning tyres..." comment by the mayor is loaded with irony and not an incitement to violence....
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Here and there...
Age: 58
Posts: 854
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Dumelawena says,
Are those peaceful stones made of foam? Who made the ANC youth league the Traffic Police at road blocks, anyway?
All that incicdent was, was the ANC through the "free spirited and enthusiastic" (read uncontrollable) Youth League destroying public utilities that had been erected by the local government.
Coincidentally, the local government are also the OPPOSITION to the ANC. So, this has nothing to do with anything except being dirty politics on the part of the ANC.
This includes using burning tyres as ad hoc road blocks, throwing stones at passing motorists, burning public libraries, looting shops, etc.
All that incicdent was, was the ANC through the "free spirited and enthusiastic" (read uncontrollable) Youth League destroying public utilities that had been erected by the local government.
Coincidentally, the local government are also the OPPOSITION to the ANC. So, this has nothing to do with anything except being dirty politics on the part of the ANC.
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Stilbaai
Age: 71
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Harare joke
Nightfire,when last have you been to Zim?? This a sad but true joke,you should have seen it when it was Salisbury and Rhodesia!! An African heaven!!Now Mugabe's dung-pit.
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Been around the block
Posts: 629
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No one has added anything to this thread in four months! Are you kidding me? Come on guys!!! We HAVE to keep this one going, it's too good!
Okay, fine, I'll add something. So you know you're in Africa when you get your bags scanned in the x-ray machine and notice that there is only one "officer" manning the post and he's not anywhere near the display to actually "screen" your belongings. He asks you to look at the screen to examine your own bags while he stands on the other side of the secure area text messaging his girlfriend. Happened to me yesterday.
Okay, fine, I'll add something. So you know you're in Africa when you get your bags scanned in the x-ray machine and notice that there is only one "officer" manning the post and he's not anywhere near the display to actually "screen" your belongings. He asks you to look at the screen to examine your own bags while he stands on the other side of the secure area text messaging his girlfriend. Happened to me yesterday.
Join Date: May 2010
Location: UK
Age: 79
Posts: 1,086
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This thread was referred to in Rumours & News 2 days ago.
It has been claimed that a recent crash in the DRC was caused by a live juvenile crocodile escaping from a passenger's luggage and panicing the SLF into all rushing forward during approach.
The claim may or may not have a grain of truth but :
You know you are in Africa when the passengers smuggle dangerous wild animals in their hand luggage in the hope of selling to the illegal pet trade.
It has been claimed that a recent crash in the DRC was caused by a live juvenile crocodile escaping from a passenger's luggage and panicing the SLF into all rushing forward during approach.
The claim may or may not have a grain of truth but :
You know you are in Africa when the passengers smuggle dangerous wild animals in their hand luggage in the hope of selling to the illegal pet trade.
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Dark side of the moon
Posts: 370
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
There is a well documented case of a croc getting loose in a LET-410 in Congo, getting under the captains seat and staying there thrashing. Apparently the first time the FO was allowed to land the plane since the captain had his ankles firmly around his ears. Passengers were all crammed as far back as possible.
Think it was in Vanity Fair or something like that, pretty good article about flying in the dodgier parts of Africa.
Think it was in Vanity Fair or something like that, pretty good article about flying in the dodgier parts of Africa.
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Trailer in BC
Posts: 313
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nairobi, 1991, while on contract to Kenya Airways with a DC-8.
One of our American Captain's who grew up in Africa as a child, did not trust the armed security personal riding with us (during the first gulf War) would demand they leave all there weapons with us in the flight deck during the flight. We would usually have 5 or so weapons on the jumpseat and would return them after landing at our destination. He was very concerned they could possibly use them in flight!
One of our American Captain's who grew up in Africa as a child, did not trust the armed security personal riding with us (during the first gulf War) would demand they leave all there weapons with us in the flight deck during the flight. We would usually have 5 or so weapons on the jumpseat and would return them after landing at our destination. He was very concerned they could possibly use them in flight!
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: germany
Age: 52
Posts: 265
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Some weeks ago, approaching FEFF, the controller asked about the clearance number, which I promptly stated. After some minutes of silence, the controller suddenly bellowed:"your clearance number is not correct, you must divert!" After insisting that our number must be correct, we were sent in a holding and,
after a couple of minutes, finally got the approach clearance...
after a couple of minutes, finally got the approach clearance...