Cycle Assisted Slope Soaring

I'm a great believer in the principle of 'keep it local', and I like the idea of popping out for a quick spot of slope soaring without a lengthy car journey. My favourite local slope is Wolstonbury Hill, just two miles from my front door and a lovely spot for gliding when the wind is from the northeast.
I can walk all the way in under an hour or park at the bottom and walk up, but why walk when you can ride...

Cycling up Clayton Hill was tough going, with the added aggravation of heavy Friday-morning traffic, the driveway up to the Three Greys stable was steeper still and when I reached the bridleway I gave up pedalling and pushed on to the top. At which point I was greeted by a chorus of skylarks, which made it all seem worthwhile.
After a short breather I unpacked my specially adapted two-piece-wing PMP Stage 2 Mk2 slope soarer...

...and spent the next hour happily flying and knocking off the tail-plane with heavy landings.
Eventually I decided to take it home and fix the tail properly. With gravity on my side the return journey was much quicker and easier.
That afternoon, while the epoxy was setting on the Stage 2, I loaded up the Ridge Runt and Xeno (in nylon bag) to repeat the exercise while the weather was still favourable...

The wind was quite gusty and turbulent, but flying and landing these models was less 'eventful' since they are lighter and slower than the Stage 2. I'm told that the Stage 2 soarer can perform spectacular aerobatic manoeuvres, but unfortunately I (as its pilot) cannot, so I'm always looking for convenient opportunities to practice.

 

Russell H