Thursday, 26th June 2008
Microlight aircraft make first landings on Gozo airstrip
The first microlight aircraft to touch down on the airstrip in Gozo yesterday morning.
The first of three microlight aircraft touched down on the airstrip in Gozo yesterday morning.
The aircraft was piloted by Alfred Pace, a member of the Island Microlight Club.
Mr Pace achieved this without much effort, realising a dream of allowing microlights to make use of the disused airstrip.
Major Alex Dalli and Major Mark Said, from the Armed Forces of Malta, then followed.
One of the three later took off to conduct familiarisation flights for other pilots of the Island Microlight Club, who crossed over to the sister island to witness the event.
All proceedings took place under the supervision of Charles Triccas from the Department of Civil Aviation, who was also on board one of the microlight aircraft.
The main aim of the historic flight was to evaluate the possibilities of bringing life back to the airstrip, which, since the termination of the helicopter service, has not seen any aviation activities.
"With a considerable sum of money having been spent on building the strip and the surrounding supporting buildings, it makes a lot of sense to make use of such an area," Joe Ciliberti, coordinator of the evaluation flight, said.
Fire trucks provided cover for any emergency but the whole event went well and the three aircraft departed in the afternoon.
Having pioneered the first microlight landing in Gozo, the Island Microlight Club plans to make further use of the airstrip in the future, subject to permits from the competent authorities.
Mr Ciliberti thanked the Department of Civil Aviation, Malta Air Traffic Services, the Civil Protection Department (CPD) and the various ministries for the support they extended in making the event possible.
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Comments
It is not the critic who counts;
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles,
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood,
who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again;
because there is not effort without error and shortcomings;
but who does actually strive to do the deed;
who knows the great enthusiasm,
the great devotion,
who spends himself in a worthy cause,
who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement
and who at the worst, if he fails,
at least he fails while daring greatly.
So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls
who know neither victory nor defeat.
--Theodore Roosevelt,
"Man in the Arena" Speech
(April 23, 1910)
Just for the record, been there, done that, and got the "T"-SHirt to prove it. Notwithstanding this, all those concerned in the recent events are commended for their efforts and persistance to arrive where they have today.
Lastly, let us never forget those who were the pioneers in Malta for this Sport and paved the way for those who followed:
Mr. Tua (RIP) -Raven Hornet Weight Shift ( Amphibian) & Power Chute
Henry Rota - Power Chute, followed by Weight Shift 9H-UMB ( FIB)
Mario Pandolfino - Home made Power Chute (no registration)
Enrico Casolari - Weight Shift (no registration)
John B.Vincenti - Weight Shift 9H-UMA
Just for the record, unless proven to the contrary, I would like to boast a few Maltese Microlight firsts:
1. First to fly around Filfla
2. First to Fly around Gozo and Back to Malta
3. First to Fly from Ta Qali to Luqa Airport
4. First to Fly around Malta
5. First to fly to 5600 feet (Do I still hold this local altitude record?)
6. The only Micro Light Pilot to have a Mid-Air Collision with a Chipmunk Biplane and live to tell the story (lol)
Blue Skys everyone
A toast to Alex Dalli and Mark Said for their efforts and also for those members that are out the limelight such as Adrian Pace and Justin Farrugia for keeping up the pressure when the rest of us threw in the towel. Expect beers from me (much more from your skeptics!) in the not too distant future.
Never say Never.
As to commercial flying to and from Gozo......forget it ,it had been tried and tested and didn’t work. There simply isn’t enough traffic to make it financially viable and a government subsidy would not be justified.
The Heliport ought to be converted into something useful forthwith and the government should declare its position now. Stop kidding yourselves.
Former General Manager
Malta Aircharter
To start with, people seriously involved in local aviation would like to see single engined aircraft like Cessnas, Pipers, Rallye just to mention a few, make use of this airstrip.
If anything in case of emergencies, Nothing against microlights, but these 'paper planes' cannot transport sick people from one island to the other.
Again the pilot of light aircraft might find himself with engine problems when flying over or near Gozo, and it would make more sense to access a decent airfield overthere than trying to risk his way to the Malta airfields or making a forced landing in some farmer's field.