A Change
Of Fortune.

Race 1 and Race 2 were by no means easy for the team. The number of flights we completed compared with 2025 was proof of that—we did almost three times more than last year.

We felt more positive after Race 2, but knew that if we wanted to remain a contender in this year’s championship, we needed to make a few changes.

A New Race Venue

Weather was our biggest challenge, and the only way we could change the weather was to change the venue. After some serious consideration, we made the choice to move our racing location for Race 3.

Grahamstown, also known as Makhanda, had been our home away from home for three years. In that time we made good friends, and the hospitality from the Grahamstown Flying Club was always amazing. The support we received from Peter and the flying club was fantastic.

The Edge 540 makes a huge noise when it goes into race mode, which acted like an invitation for the townspeople to come to the airfield and see what was happening. It was great to share our sport and introduce people to aviation. We even had tannies bringing us lunch and snacks.

Greg also became some kind of celebrity. He was added to the horse-riding club’s WhatsApp group so he could tell them when we were flying, while our military neighbours soon had him on speed dial.

Moving racing locations came with challenges. Grahamstown Flying Club had really spoiled us: there was fuel, Brian helped set up and secure the track, there was a hangar for the aircraft, and we had bathrooms in the clubhouse.

Finding Good Luck

Greg spent the next few days on Google Earth looking for airstrips where the weather might be more forgiving. Stuart, who flew to Grahamstown to watch some of our races in 2025, heard that we were considering options and sent Greg the location of a field that might work.

Greg contacted Louis, the owner, and arranged a site visit. We planned to fly there together, but my work commitments and the weather would not allow it.

Finally, three weeks before the Race 3 window opened, we got a day to go and look. I had received the long-awaited call that my GameBird was ready to be collected, so I went to Upington while Greg drove to Good Luck Airstrip to meet Louis and assess whether we could race there.

The new location was roughly the same distance from our home base as Grahamstown, but the drive was an hour and a half longer. The crew faced a two-and-a-half-hour journey. That was fine—I could fly there in 17 minutes.

The Challenges

Following Greg’s visit, we had a clear list of challenges.

The asphalt runway is only eight metres wide, which is narrow for the Edge. There is no AVGAS, so we would have to tow a bowser to the new location. The strip is in the middle of nowhere, with no mobile service or internet—and we need internet to race.

The accommodation was self-catering, so Greg would need to go grocery shopping and we would take turns cooking and doing the dishes.

Then there was the weather. Greg mounted our weather station and left it at the farm to gather enough data to decide whether the move was actually worthwhile. Weather was, after all, the main reason we were searching for another strip.

With just under two weeks to go, Greg was satisfied that he had enough weather data and we made the call to change locations. Now we needed to move. Pun intended.

We collected our pylon markers from Grahamstown—thanks for the help, Peter. We arranged AVGAS and managed to borrow my dad’s bowser while he was on holiday. Then we had to solve the internet problem. Starlink would have been the obvious answer, but we all know Elon and South Africa cannot come to an agreement.

Room For The Team

Accommodation brought another challenge. We had three rooms, but needed space for me, Mark, Greg, Jarrod and a camera operator. I have shared with Greg before. It is not pretty.

With one week to go, Mark had airshow commitments and Conner, Greg’s son, was on holiday. That left four beds—perfect. I would get a room, Greg would get a room and we would put “the youths” in the room with the bunk beds. It was the same team as Race 2. What could go wrong?

A New Helmet In Twelve Days

While all of this was happening, our new helmet arrived. This was going to be a game changer for me. The Lift Aviation AV 2.1 is much lighter than my previous helmet, which means less fatigue and strain on my neck and back.

Greg had been speaking to Lift Aviation for almost a year about an upgrade. We had been waiting for the AV 2.1, a military-grade fixed-wing helmet. When it finally arrived, it still needed a Red Bull paint job, complete assembly and the installation of a Lightspeed H-Mod.

Our previous Red Bull helmet had taken three months to complete. Greg was confident that he could have this one ready for Race 3.

We worked on a design and sent it to Red Bull for approval. After a few changes, everyone was happy and Greg arranged for Glenton from Blizzard Custom Airbrushing to paint the helmet. Twelve days to go.

While Glenton was spraying it, Greg received assembly instructions from Lift Aviation. With three days remaining, we got the helmet back and assembled it. With help from Marius at Seaview Aerobatics, we soldered, tested and finished everything.

Yes—Race 3. New, lighter, faster helmet.

Fastest Qualifier. Race Winner.

With everything ready, the crew left for the new venue carrying the new helmet, Greg’s prototype LED G-meter strip, a bakkie full of groceries and ground-pylon markers, while towing a bowser full of AVGAS.

In the end, it all went well. Greg’s prototype LED strip did not function as planned, but at least we left some room for improvement.

More importantly, we qualified fastest and won Race 3.

That puts us right back into the championship fight for 2026.

Thank you to Louis from Good Luck Airstrip and to Lift Aviation. You made a difference.