Deanw
7th Jan 2005, 12:48
From the Cape Argus of 5 January 2005:
Residents fly off the handle over loud jets
By Henri du Plessis and Sapa
Flying a well-known logo over Newlands Cricket Grounds at one heck of a speed may have a certain public relations benefit, but doing the same over areas, such as Marina da Gama, drives some residents bats.
The pilots of a squadron of classic fighter jets have been hard at work displaying the MTN name for the benefit of cricket fans by flying the historic fighter jets over the grounds at low altitude.
Hawker Hunter fighters of 1960s vintage, looking splendid in bright yellow, have been buzzing around the cricket grounds regularly while the Proteas have been knocking the stuffing out of the English cricket team since the weekend.
'Our cats are going crazy'
But a fighter jet cannot buzz just one small patch of green turf and then disappear like a flash, as residents of Marina da Gama found out, especially since the aircraft's programme also demanded that they overfly Muizenberg.
"For three days now three sandy coloured and one black aircraft have been flying low over the houses, making a loud noise," said resident Jan de Groote.
"Our cats are going crazy. It feels like we are under attack," he said.
The aircraft are called the MTN Yellow Squadron and they have been involved in a major promotion around the country, said aircraft owner Ron Wheeldon, organiser of the event and also a Hunter pilot.
"We have been to Pretoria, Polokwane, Soweto, Atteridgeville, Durban, Port Alfred and down the coast to here, where we worked with Thunder City. We were involved during the Kingsmead Test, soccer and music concerts," he said.
"We had a complaint from Marina da Gama and we changed the routine to avoid that area."
Alas, for aircraft buffs, the flying is over.
"The programme is complete and we won't be flying today," Wheeldon said.
"The full programme was approved by the Civil Aviation Authority well before it started."
Geez, I loved watching them perform almost over my house. :ok: I just wish I was at the cricket or the beach to take photos. I kept running outside every time I heard them ...
and, then, in todays Cape Times:
The plane facts
I am a resident of Lower Crossroads, just south of Cape Town International Airport. We experience the noise every day, but we don't complain. Many of us have never set foot in the airport, let alone on a plane, but we don't complain.
I find it so strange that people who use planes most of the time are complaining about the heights that these jets fly over their homes. Our homes are full of cracks from these jets and passenger aircraft but we don't complain.
No one seems to care aboy people who live in the pathway of the planes. Just imagine if the entire community should suffer from hearing failure. When it is time for the news, we only look at the TV as we can't hear anything because of the noise. Schoolkids too cannot be taught when these planes fly overhead.
Boyisile Mafilika
Philippi East
Yes, he is also from Cape Town.
I say we should track down this gentleman and give him a free flip :}
Residents fly off the handle over loud jets
By Henri du Plessis and Sapa
Flying a well-known logo over Newlands Cricket Grounds at one heck of a speed may have a certain public relations benefit, but doing the same over areas, such as Marina da Gama, drives some residents bats.
The pilots of a squadron of classic fighter jets have been hard at work displaying the MTN name for the benefit of cricket fans by flying the historic fighter jets over the grounds at low altitude.
Hawker Hunter fighters of 1960s vintage, looking splendid in bright yellow, have been buzzing around the cricket grounds regularly while the Proteas have been knocking the stuffing out of the English cricket team since the weekend.
'Our cats are going crazy'
But a fighter jet cannot buzz just one small patch of green turf and then disappear like a flash, as residents of Marina da Gama found out, especially since the aircraft's programme also demanded that they overfly Muizenberg.
"For three days now three sandy coloured and one black aircraft have been flying low over the houses, making a loud noise," said resident Jan de Groote.
"Our cats are going crazy. It feels like we are under attack," he said.
The aircraft are called the MTN Yellow Squadron and they have been involved in a major promotion around the country, said aircraft owner Ron Wheeldon, organiser of the event and also a Hunter pilot.
"We have been to Pretoria, Polokwane, Soweto, Atteridgeville, Durban, Port Alfred and down the coast to here, where we worked with Thunder City. We were involved during the Kingsmead Test, soccer and music concerts," he said.
"We had a complaint from Marina da Gama and we changed the routine to avoid that area."
Alas, for aircraft buffs, the flying is over.
"The programme is complete and we won't be flying today," Wheeldon said.
"The full programme was approved by the Civil Aviation Authority well before it started."
Geez, I loved watching them perform almost over my house. :ok: I just wish I was at the cricket or the beach to take photos. I kept running outside every time I heard them ...
and, then, in todays Cape Times:
The plane facts
I am a resident of Lower Crossroads, just south of Cape Town International Airport. We experience the noise every day, but we don't complain. Many of us have never set foot in the airport, let alone on a plane, but we don't complain.
I find it so strange that people who use planes most of the time are complaining about the heights that these jets fly over their homes. Our homes are full of cracks from these jets and passenger aircraft but we don't complain.
No one seems to care aboy people who live in the pathway of the planes. Just imagine if the entire community should suffer from hearing failure. When it is time for the news, we only look at the TV as we can't hear anything because of the noise. Schoolkids too cannot be taught when these planes fly overhead.
Boyisile Mafilika
Philippi East
Yes, he is also from Cape Town.
I say we should track down this gentleman and give him a free flip :}