A Good Crowd at Long Man

Hi all,

Had a good blow-out of the cobwebs at Long Man today - only the second time I've been flying this year!

I got up there about 1000, expecting a crowd, only to find I was the first up. 

My trusty Spectre and I had a great first flight - the lift was a little patchy but the odd raggedy thermal was coming through to give me that little bit of height occasionally.

I was soon joined by Lloyd, who'd come over from Essex to fly at Long Man (and we sometimes think it's a long way to drive...) - let's face it, if you live in Essex, being a slope-soaring enthusiast is always going to mean mileage...

He was flying his own-design, scratch-built clone of an Aussie design called Stormchaser - weighing in at only 240 grammes he was a little concerned he might get blown back, but the model is a clean as a whistle and its streamlined shape with few appendages penetrated nicely. It flew very well and  looked impressively smooth. It's quite small and I was concerned it'd be difficult to see, but being black it stood out well against the background and was easily visible at sometimes quite large distances. It's built mainly out of carbon fibre and Lloyd and I had a good chat about building with this material - he's a bit of a dab hand at it as you can see, having vacuum-bagged the wings and fuz himself.

Shortly after Lloyd and I had finished our flights, a couple of guys from London turned up - Michail and Tomas, both hailing originally from Poland but living and working in the big city. 

Tomas had a Zagi and Michail had an Avia 315 and an Art Hobby Lotus 260, both of which were a little light for the conditions, so they moved further down the slope where the wind was lighter, rather than trying to fly from the top, where the increasing breeze was beginning to whip over the summit somewhat! As I was walking back down the hill at around 1230 I saw Michail and Tomas down in the valley, Michail maidening the Avia with a hefty heave and catching a low thermal for a quick flight to about 70ft, before circling slowly and gracefully back down. Nice maiden, Michail.

Shortly after we were joined by Matt (with two 't's), a regular at the slopes this end of the Downs, sporting a rather natty Bill-and-Ben hat and a mini-Weasel donated by a mate.

The weasel flew well despite its diminutive size (as did the Stormchaser, up again) in what was now a good breeze - good enough for yours truly to manage 3 consecutive loops!

I've found with consecutive loops that it seems to help if I release some of the back pressure on the stick as I go over the top, allowing the loop to flatten at the top and allowing a bit of a dive before commencing the next one. Any advice or comments on this much appreciated.

Lastly just before I left we were joined by Mark who's escaped the rogue's gallery because my phone stopped working - but Matt (with two 't's) lent me his camera and has promised to email the mugshot over, so I'll add it later. Being preoccupied with my phone, I forgot to write down details of any of the three models Mark brought with him - sorry Mark, but if you _will_ turn up late....

A great morning's flying, good breeze, good company, a bit of banter and a load of nattering about rc gliders, carbon fibre and Matt (with two 't's)'s hat. 

Cheers for now!

Rog.

STOP PRESS - pics just in: Mark stalked by Phantom Model Glider Hurler of Bexhill on Sea.