Another Flying Session at Itford Hill

As I drove Eastwards along the A27 I could see that Firle Beacon was ensconced in low level cloud and looking towards Itford Hill, the top of the hill could only just be seen through the murk. Whilst walking to the top I was encouraged by the sound of the skylarks that could be heard but not seen and the brisk breeze that was moving the clouds along. At the top I met Rob S with the Club trainer in his position of instructor for the day. Along with him was Kevin M with his Wildthing and Let 13. We waited a while for the cloud cover to clear before flying the models.

The view when the clouds cleared

Kevin M experienced some difficulties with trimming his Wildthing as on Thursday he had added some weight to the rear of the fuselage. Today, the model could not be trimmed to fly correctly so he removed the previously added weight to good effect.

Kevin M's Wildthing and Let 13

Robin S arrived with his immaculately built and presented Chris Foss Phase 5. This aircraft flew well in today’s conditions.

Robin S's immaculate Phase 5

The Club’s newest member Martin J brought along his newly built SAS Wildthing for its maiden flight. Rob S gave Martin J some stick time on the Club trainer before he launched his own Wildthing and with all things considered he performed very well slope soaring as this being a new discipline to him but he is an accomplished power pilot.

Martin J's Wildthing ready for it's maiden flight

I too benefited from Rob S this morning as he provided me with one-to-one tuition with him teaching me to be more consistent with my landings. The good news is that I did not land in any bushes or trees today. My thanks go to Rob for his patience with me this morning, I do feel that I am slowly improving but I still need more practice.

My trusty trainer

We were all surprised by the number of independent flyers that turned up this morning, one flyer I spoke to used the internet site “SlopeHunter” to find an appropriate slope and decided to give Itford Hill a try.

We all were honored to see that the great slope soarer Alan Head had come to join us this morning and gave us all a display of how to land model gliders.

 

 

Wildthings Over Itford Hill

Once again due to the prevailing winds we gathered at Itford Hill. I met the Club Chair in the lay-by and commenced the stroll to the top. At the top we found Kevin M flying his Wildthing. He also brought along his Let 13 foam glider which flew well in the conditions. The wind and lift were strong but diminished through the morning. Rob S and I both brought along Wildthings too. Rob had the Club trainer as he was expecting to give a trial lesson and conduct more lessons with existing club members.

Kevin M's Let 13 Foam Glider

Graham H, a potential member arrived next and brought along pastries for us to enjoy. Our thanks go to him for such a nice thought. Maybe this could become a trend for other potential members to adopt, only joking. Graham H had the opportunity to get hands on a Wildthing under the supervision of Rob S.

Mark J arrived also with his Wildthing and displayed a different landing technique than his normal perfect arrivals. Without causing any damage to the airframe.

Mark V Ready for Launch

The largest model of the day without doubt was Mark V’s Diana 2 molded glider that looks awesome and flew well but as reported last time he again landed short of the landing area and sustained minor damage on the same barbed wire fence that he had landed on the last time. Hope the repair goes well. Once he had packed up the Diana 2 he flew his Middle Phase.

Diana 2 Glider - Most Impressive

Again, it was great to see Gordon S out and about on the slope getting more stick time with Rob S on the Club trainer.

Martin J paid us a visit this morning with a view to joining the Club. Although an experienced powered aircraft flying pilot with another club he has a desire to branch out into slope soaring. We do hope that he will decide to join our club.

Robin A was also present this morning with his collection of his Phase 6, Micro Lunak and a scratch-built wing. I must say the Micro Lunak looks very impressive in flight, especially in it’s bold colour scheme.

At one time I counted four SAS Wildthings airborne at the same time. I am continuing to practice my landings but as always ended up in the trees and bushes again. More practice needed.

Itford Hill, once again. Patchy Flying but Great Socially.

According to the forecast we should have expected 25-30mph westerly winds today but woke up to still air and frost on the car windscreens. Rob S and Kevin M were the first to arrive and started to make their way to the top. I caught them up about halfway to the top of the slope. The visibility was to die for but alas no wind.

Once at the top I tried an exploratory flight with my SAS Wildthing 46 and as expected the flight did not last long. My version of the Wildthing is the short wing chord type. However, the Club trainer is also a Wildthing 46 but with the greater wing chord which seemed to do better in the conditions this morning.

Club Chair - Rob S in Full Launch Mode.

Kevin M also experienced difficulties getting his Wildthing airborne. Kevin also brought along his Let 13 foam glider. 

Kevin M with his SAS Wildthing.

Robin S was next to arrive with another Wildthing and a Phase 5. Robin is currently building a large scale Kirby Kite which is a follow on from his Chris Williams 1/5 Scale Flamingo. We are all in the Club looking forward to its first flight. I understand that the Wildthing creator, the great Alan Head has now decided to finally retire, and apparently no more SAS Wildthings are going to be produced, a sad loss to the hobby. We all here at Slope Soaring Sussex wish Alan a very happy retirement.

Are you sure you two know what you are doing?

Scott T our club Treasurer was next to ascend Itford Hill along with him was his trusty Me163 Komet and a SAS Mamba. I have seen the Komet fly before many times and am so impressed I have purchased a kit from Cloud Models. 

Scott T deciding to launch or not.

Scotty attempted to fly the Mamba first but noticed servo flutter on one of the control surfaces. Technical discussions were had, and it was decided to turn everything off and switch on again, as this usually works. However, not in this case, no Mamba flying for Scotty today. So, the Me163 Komet by default was the model of choice, in the past this model has always performed very well in light wind conditions but even today struggled to stay aloft. Scott took over the Club Wildthing trainer and had some great flying with that.

Me163 Komet in flight over Sussex.

Rob P displayed his recently built Ridge Runt and along with him was a 3 mtr Graphite and a 1.8 mtr Mini Graphite. The Ridge Runt flew very well but it was the 3 mtr Graphite that performed the best in the light conditions today. 

Rob P with his Ridge Runt and 3mtr Graphite.

Another club member arrived, Mark V with a Chris Foss Middle Phase which flew well today and a super looking Diana 2 scale sailplane. Unfortunately, the Diana landed short of the landing area and suffered minor damage to the rudder. Nothing that cannot be fixed.

Mark V with his Middle Phase and Diana 2.

One of our club instructors, Mark J arrived with his Wildthing with extra ballast. Mark is the Club’s 3D printing expert, and he has manufactured an external ballast fixing (see photographs below).

Mark J's Wildthing. Just visible in white is the 3D printed ballast

Our last club member to arrive was Robin A with his Phase 6, a scratch-built wing and a Micro Lunak constructed from foam board. 

Robin A with his collection of models.

All were very impressed with the flying ability of the Micro Lunak. Shame that he did not bring along his fabulous Bugatti but I suppose there was not enough wind to keep it up flying.

Robin's Micro Lunak coming in low.

Robin A enjoying the day.

Due to the conditions the flying by any measure was patchy. However, this outing resulted in 9 Club members attending which is almost 25% of the membership. It was great to meet them all especially after the last 2 very difficult years. We have started on a high note as this is the highest number of members, we have had this year at a slope, I do appreciate it’s only the first week of January but it’s still very encouraging. 

A selection of our valued Club Members.

To Sum up today, the flying was not that good, but it was great to get so many club members on the slope at the same time and catch up with them all after such a long time.

Friday Flying at Itford Hill

 Slope Soaring: Easy to Learn, Difficult to Master.

Itford Hill was chosen today due to the forecast westly wind. I met Rob S (Club Chair) in the lay-by and strolled up the easier track to the top of the slope. On the way up we could see Kevin M actively engrossed in flying his models. However, by the time we had reached him, he told us his Lidl glider had suffered a major mishap, see photograph below. Nothing that a large tube of glue wont fix.

A Broken Lidl's Glider

Luckily for him he had also brought along his SAS Wildthing. We had a quick discussion regarding the expected rain shower that was expected coming from the West. Fortunately, it passed us by to the South. I must admit conditions were not great although there was a significant blow between 25-30 mph the air was very bumpy, and launching was at times problematic. 

Great Views

Mark J joined us a little later and he came equipped with a SAS Wildthing and a RCRCM Sunbird. Due to the conditions the Sunbird was not long out of its bag and Mark stuck with his SAS Wildthing. A potential member paid us a visit today, Graham H was given an overview of the Club but unfortunately due to the conditions trial flights were not an option. It was great to see Gordon S back on the slopes after a few months off. However, he thinks he may have left his transmitter on a slope, possibly Firle Beacon or Beeding Bowl. So, if anyone finds a Spektrum DX6e please contact me as a substantial reward may be on offer. Another option it might be in his car or indeed inside his house, but he is not sure. The search continues. 

After a few hours only Mark, Kevin and I were still on the slope. Once again, we started to practice landings under Mark’s supervision and guidance, all I can say he must have the patience of a Saint. My excuse was that the conditions were difficult, but all said it was very good practice for the both of us. Poor old Kevin once again experienced a very loose fin which seemed to detach after every landing. My flying today could be summed up as…. To coin a phrase from the late, great Eric Morcambe, I was inputting all the right stick movements but not necessarily in the right order.

In Summary, a very good mornings flying with great company. Awesome stick time in difficult conditions practicing circuits and landings. Many thanks again to Mark for his tolerance and best of all the rain stayed away.