White Sheet Hill Fly-in

Hello all,

Having just purchased a second-hand Carrera Draco from Bristol on Ebay, and what with my Brother-in-Law's band playing on Saturday night in Taunton, plus my increasing guilt at still not having seen my sister's new house (they've been there 8 years...) I guessed it was time for a trip to Charlton Adam.

Along with all of the above was the idea that I'd never flown from two local slope-soaring "Meccas" - namely White Sheet Hill (whitesheet.org.uk) and Crook Peak (westmendipsoaring.org.uk).

So, in no particular order:

My sister's house is very nice. Quiet Somerset village, pub inside 200yds. Sweet.

My Bro-in-law's band is very good. Stones, Beatles, Brit-Pop and light Punk. Weddings, Bar-Mitzvahs...

The Draco (delivered to my sis's house and paid-for in cash) is very nice, clean, no damage or repairs - but can you spot the deliberate mistake?

Or try this angle...

Hmmmm... no ailerons, no dihedral.

Unfortunately, the wing joiner rods are straight. The tubes through the fuselage are continuous and straight, so if I bend the joiner rods I won't be able to get them into the tubes. Not sure how to cure this one.

Suggestions on a postcard please...

I really _must_ stop buying models on Ebay sight-unseen for cash!!!!!

Lastly, I got to fly on White Sheet Hill. Didn't manage Crook Peak due to a rather late night on Saturday...

When I got up there I discovered to my delight that I'd arrived on a sport fly-in day. I got there at gone midday (see comment above about late night) and it was still going strong. A few people were thinking of leaving so Chris Lamming, the chairman of the club, took a group photo. I'd literally just arrived so I felt like a bit of an imposter, but photo-bombed anyway!

There was an extremely warm welcome and I'd recommend it - perhaps a club visit one day when there's another fly-in? Show them how we do it in Sussex... 

For me, early on a weekend morning, it was only 2h30 from Pevensey Bay, so much less from the Brighton area - maybe under 2 hours? The hill is awesome - equalling the best we have on the South Downs.

You may spot from the photo that I'm holding a blue and white flying wing. This is my old, tattered Spectre which used to be red and yellow seen below on the left.

The poor old thing had been getting progressively more tattered as the months went by and I kept saying to myself "I really must re-cover it soon". There were bits and pieces of covering and tape hanging off it and it was definitely affecting the speed and ability to penetrate in strong winds.

Well with the prospect of a fresh SWly on White Sheet I decided to go ahead and re-cover. Decided, that is, at lunchtime on the day before I was leaving home at 0600. 

Surprising what you can do if you're motivated!

The wind at White Sheet was 20kts, gusting more, and with the models' previous performance in mind I was a bit apprehensive about chucking it.

I needn't have worried. I learnt very quickly how much the tatty covering had been affecting it before. Suddenly it was a different aircraft. I no longer was falling out of loops, rolls were a lot snappier and the plane was generally faster and crisper than before. I really wouldn't have believed it'd make so much difference but was very pleasantly surprised.

Once again a great weekend's flying.

Lessons learned:

1) Really, really, _really_ stop buying models for cash, sight unseen!

2) The South Downs offer awesome flying - we are soooo lucky to live near them. But there are other venues - the Bwlch for instance. White Sheet is close enough for a day visit and is an impressive hill with a very friendly club.

3) Re-covering a model improves the performance markedly - I would not have believed the transformation. If you have one which needs re-covering - do it, you will be astounded at the difference it makes.

Cheers all!

Roger.