Today must have been one of the driest days we have had lately. Given the chance of some flying I grasped the nettle and charged up my batteries and departed for the flying site. I met Robin at the top of the hill around 12:30. Also up on the hill today were our fellow flying colleagues from the Sussex Radio Flying Club (SFRC) who were already flying their gliders. I did notice on the ground that one foam glider had already sustained considerable damage in the form of a complete fuselage break just behind the wing section. I do understand that repairs will be undertaken and the glider will fly again.
Visibility today was excellent but with a very strong wind.
As usual I opted to concentrate on my circuits and landings. Thankfully, this time I did not land on top of any trees but still found it challenging to land my Wildthing where I wanted it to land, more practice for me required, I think. A number of SAS Wildthings were in the air at one time performing formation flying and maybe a little combat.
For me the highlight of the session today was the arrival of the Falcons, we were given the opportunity to watch these magnificent birds of prey flying at full speed. They were being exercised by the use of an electrically powered slope soarer with a lure extending from the aircraft's tail. We watched in amazement as the falcon climbed to height, retracted it's wings and dived down at full speed trying to catch the lure as the aircraft passed below.
After a few hours on the hill it was time to call it a day and go home. In summary, the highlight of the day for me was the super air display given to us by the all time flying professionals..the Falcons.
Tony, I can't believe I missed those falcons - we've seen many in our time flying on the hills, sometimes getting very close to our models, but never anything like your experience - too bad I missed it !
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