Iris McCallum

[intro]

January 1981 started off excitingly which would portend how the year would turn out for me.

On 2 January I took off out of Nairobi Wilson, heading for Keekorok in the Mara, where shortly after I had a left engine failure on the C401, reg N65175. I returned to Wilson and landed safely, to find that the engine fuel pump had failed.

I took the PA 23T 5Y-WKA instead and headed off to Keekorok. Besides my passengers having a day in the Mara, I was meeting up with GK (Goktug Zafer Bayraktar) my very good friend, who was one of the Air Kenya pilots.

GK was Turkish and had had a very interesting childhood as his father had been a pilot in many different countries for the US government. GK had suggested that as we were both at Keekorok, we could do some of my daytime training with Beech Baron BE55 5Y-APO to get me type-rated on the aircraft.

Keekorok Lodge is in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve. It was first built in 1962, making it one of the oldest lodges in the area. It was strategically laced in the direct path of the annual wildebeest migration and hosted personalities like first President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta, Prince Charles, Henry Kissinger. Jackie Onassis did her first balloon flight with Alan Root from Keekorok in August 1974.

Keekorok air strip at that time was mix of murram and bitumen, at an altitude of 5800 feet. My notes give the runways as 10/28 and 1280 x 18 metres with a slight uphill on Runway 10. Being in the Mara, it was always busy with animals and large birds of prey.

Coming in to land, we always flew over the airstrip to check the surface and chase whatever animals (Thompsons, Grant’s gazelles, zebra, impala and wildebeest) were grazing on the side, or just catching the sun.

GK and I had great fun for the next half an hour in the Baron. The Mara is an excellent training base as you are 100% aware and committed on short final with your eyes peeled like a chameleon watching the game close to the runway and praying it stays where it is. Otherwise you have to overshoot, watching out the whole while for birds, and join downwind again.

All of this was in an unfamiliar aircraft. These challenges are what make a good pilot.

Keekorok airstrip was about two miles away from the lodge. There are few obstacles on the way to the lodge. If you and your aircraft were spending the night, or all day, you could taxi all the way to the lodge, park your aircraft and get breakfast or lunch.

Someone decided that putting in a cattle grid on the taxiway was a good way of keeping the animals out. I think the same person also thought it was an excellent idea to fence the runway all the way round.  But antelope and gazelles are not cattle and jumping over the cattle grid was nothing to them. Once in the airfield area they would happily graze on the side of the runway.

Trying to land next to animals which may feel trapped is always a challenge. You never knew if they would calmly continue to graze or, at the last minute, you would have a Thompson’s gazelle flash across in front of your props.

Tony Kennaway, who is a legend in East Africa, is a very good friend of mine. He was using the long taxiway down to the lodge in a C206. Halfway down, he got charged by a male ostrich with its feathers all the way out and making bullish noises at the aircraft. Tony did not want the ostrich to run into the propeller, so he opened the door and shouted and screamed every profanity at the ostrich that he could. Fortunately, all ended well as the ostrich gave way to Tony.

Colin Davis, engineer par excellence, who has put back together most of the aircraft in East Africa that had accidents, relates a story of his part share in a Piper Aztec (5Y-CMO) that was leased to Air Kenya.  The pilot was taxing down to the lodge and went over the cattle grid too fast and banged both props on it and wrote them off.

Many, many years later it was decided to remove the fence, but the cattle grid remained.

So yes, we were all familiar with the challenges of Keekorok. This included the ballon safaris people. Ballooning became very popular in the Mara and Serengeti. The balloons were launched early in the morning close to the lodge. Still air is best for that kind of flying. There was an incident when one of the ground handling staff was late in letting go of the rope and went up with the balloon, holding on for dear life. They were unable to lift him up into the basket, and he eventually let go and dropped amongst the early breakfast guests.

The joy of flying around East Africa has its challenges, as well as the many beautiful places that we have the privilege of visiting.

Back at Wilson, GK and I met at the Top Office of the Aero Club for some well-deserved refreshment. The excitement of adding another aircraft type to my licence was always special.