Well, Another Amazing Club Turn Out at Beeding Bowl - Tuesday 20 Feb 2024.

Considering it's mid February and a rather damp dismal and overcast morning almost 25% of the Club membership attended today's flying activities at Beeding Bowl. As usual by the time I arrived the "Early Birds" were already committing aviation. 

Today's Hardy Team.

The hardy Club members who braved today's conditions were, in no particular order: Martin J, Paul H, Mike G, Kevin M, Russell H, Bob C, Robin A, John H, Mark J and me. We also had a eclectic range of models on display including the ubiquitous SAS Wildthing, Hawk, Coyote, XModels Blade, a modified Ridge Runt, Starlet and Easy Trainer, Wing Bat 48 and a Pzazz Mk2.

Russell's Wing Bat

Kevin's Models.

Paul's Hawk.

Paul just about to launch.

John H with a distinctive colour scheme.

Both mine and John's Wildthings.

The weather forecast was again not as expected. The usual panoramic view looking West across the South Downs was obscured by low cloud and mist. However, the flying was fairly decent but at times the lift just melted away. As the morning progressed more and more Club members arrived. As I mentioned above we had ten members by the end. Across the bowl we could observe something coloured blue in the grass. We were all joking that in could be a lost model, probably a mouldy that was lost from a fellow flier at Mill Hill. Martin J who commented that to keep warm he was going to walk around the bowl to investigate. We watched him go along with Paul H disappear into the gloom and walk behind the tree line. Eventually, they re-appeared and carried out a visual investigation before re-turning to the group. The verdict was that the blue coloured object was indeed just a blue bucket. How on earth it got there nobody knows, maybe the recent deluge of rain water took it down the slope.

The Glider Park.

Mike H probably had the best idea of the morning by taking along a small stool to sit on while watching all the activity. John H, one of our newest members brought along his SAS Wildthing which has a very similar colour scheme to mine. Bring on the Royal Air Force Red Arrows Wildthing Team, we only need another seven appropriately coloured Wildthings.

Around 11 O'clock the the weather started to turn rather unpleasant with a wall of low level cloud coming our way. So we decided to call it a day and return back to the cars. By the time I was back in the car the entire bowl had now disappeared into the gloom.

In Summary, a fantastic Club turnout on a rather wet and damp day but as usual the company was exceptional. Thanks go to all who came out to play this morning.

Final view from the car.

First Outing to Itford Hill This Year - Sunday 4 February 2024

As we were expecting a good westerly blow on Sunday morning we opted to meet at Itford Hill for the first time this year. Walking up the chalk path to the second gate, which I may add is the steepest part of the route to the top of the slope. I stopped to take a breath and glance up to the top. However, it was completely hidden by low cloud and mist. At that point I thought of going back to the car and driving home. One of the reasons for yesterdays outing was to meet up with 2 potential Club members, so I carried on up the slope. Once at the top I took the opportunity to have a cup of tea and recover, it seems to get harder each time I walk up the hill. 

I found a number of Club members hiding behind the bushes trying to keep themselves and their equipment dry. The Club Chair Rob S, Committee Member Kevin M, Club Members Bob C, Paul H were already there followed by Ian M and Robin A.

The early birds Rob S and Kevin M had to stop flying as the conditions were not favorable, at one time Rob was seen to be wiping the moisture of his TX with a paper towel.

However, when the visibility allowed flying resumed. I, as usual had my trusty Wildthing and to be honest it was probably the best choice of model as the conditions were not great. I must admit it was a lot wetter and colder than I had expected.

Later in the morning David S and John H our 2 potential Club members arrived and we had a chat about how the club functions. I must say that John's Wildthing has almost the same colour scheme as mine. We will see how that works out when we are both in the air at the same time. David S did not bring along any models this time but as he has now joined the Club we will be seeing a lot more of him.

A number of the members had some really nice mouldies but the conditions were not right for them yesterday such as Paul's Mini Vec and Robin's very nice but a little weighty DS mouldie.

In Summary, a very dull wet and cold morning at Itford but great company. Looking forward to the Spring and Summer.

An Afternoon with Rubber and Lube - 28th January 2024.

Today's Competitions.

Our Club Chair, Rob S who is also a major player on the BMFA South East (SE) Committee, last year volunteered to identify a new site to hold the 2024 BMFA SE area indoor flying competition and fun fly. His nomination for a venue was the Triangle Leisure Centre in Burgess Hill. This facility comprises of a number of large sports halls, swimming pool, rock climbing frames, a cafe and it has ample parking. What's not to like? Rob has come up trumps with this venue.

The Venue.

As there was no planned sloping for us today as the weather conditions were not favorable, a number of Club members decided to support our Chair and see what is involved with Free Flight aircraft. I for one have had no experience of rubber band powered planes. 

Stuart W and Rob S.

Rob, was found at the hall taking the entrance fee in exchange for a coloured sticker identifying that you have paid. I met Stuart W who is the Chair of the BMFA SE Committee who was preparing his model for flight. 

Stuart W.

In the hall I also found Martin J, Paul H and Scotty T so in total 5 club members were present. I walked around the stands observing the multitude of different classifications of models.

Static Models on Display.

I have taken a number of photographs of the models on the desks as you may appreciate taking a photograph of a translucent model up in the rafters or near the floor with a mobile phone is quite challenging. 

First Competition.

The competitions commenced and started with the extremely lightweight models. I noticed a chap with a very long pole who job was to either rescue the models when they became suck up in the rafters or to prevent it happening. Some of the competitors were very professional, spending time getting the models ready. I even noticed some had tri-pods with mechanical winding gear at one end with torque meters at the other to ensure correct winding of the rubber band, lubricant is used on the rubber band.

Professional Tri-Pod.

I did notice a slight disadvantage of not switching off the air conditioning system in the hall in that when a model flew beneath the air duct it experienced severe turbulence that caused the model to depart from flight and spiral earthwards until it managed to recover stable flight.

Just Landed.

On the table was a number of trophies and glasses to be awarded to the winners of each category. I had left the event prior to the awards being handed out. I do hope all enjoyed the afternoon, I certainly did and now have a better understanding of Rubber band free flight models.

I will no doubt attend the event next year, well done to all those who organized the event.

A Massive Multi Club Gathering at Firle Beacon - Sunday 7th Jan 2024.

The day started off bitterly cold, instrumentation in the car displayed 2 degrees out side air temperature and I was having to use the windscreen de-icing system, lucky for me I also have heated seats.

Firle Beacon at it's Best

The first club member I met today was Ian M, this was most fortunate as I then gave him a club sweatshirt that he had recently ordered. The consignment of new orders was collected by me last week and I am in the process of delivering them to club members who have placed an order.  

Looking North

Frustratingly, the new pay and display system was not in operation this morning as both machines where faulty. It was impossible to use the machines to pay either by cash or card and many individuals not only flyers had problems using the App, myself included.

I could not believe the amount of gliders and slope soarers being unloaded from the rear of cars. Many flyers on the hill today were unknown to me but I quickly realised that many flying clubs had turned up for a session this morning.

Many Fellow Flyers

We made our way to the usual spot, going a bit further on than the first slope and managed to get some respite from the wind behind some bushes. Onwards and upwards I launched my Wildthing and off it went in the good lift and strong breeze. After only a few minutes I decided to land and attempt to warm up my fingers which by now were frozen. This gave me an opportunity to see which other club members had turned up and I could mooch around the glider park.

All Well Wrapped Up

I will take this opportunity to apologise to any  club member that I missed saying "Hello" to this morning as it was so busy and with many other clubs on the hill.

I met up with David K with a glider called a Star, whilst chatting I found out that he lives very close to where I grew up in Worthing. 

David's Star

We also had Tim a potential member who travelled down all the way from Reigate who brought along a flying buddy. Great to see so many slopers on the hill.

Paul H brought along his very nice Mini Vec, having seen it fly today it's inspired me to get mine flyable this year but I am still perplexed regarding the installation of the wing servos. I just don't get the idea of just gluing them into the wings. If anyone out there has an alternative solution I would be interested to hear it.

Paul's Mini Vec

The next photograph shows him about to launch the Min Vec, I did offer to launch for him given the conditions of the day and he had a successful flight.

Paul thinking of launching

A rather magnificent Erwin 5 was on the hill, owned by Rob P one of our longest time served club members and an excellent flyer.

Rob's Very Nice Erwin

Michael H joined the SAS Wildthing club flying event this morning, a rather large number of "Foamies" were in the air at the same time.

A rather nice Eliminator SR and a Chris Foss Middle Phase was brought to the slope by Nick V. Usually, with the environmental conditions experienced this morning I was expecting Nick to be attired in his rather fetching "Onesie" but alas no, he said it was not cold enough to come dressed as an explorer going to the South Pole.

Nick's Gliders

Mark J had his usual Wildthing and a Magnus slope soarer. It's a shame he did not bring along his rather exquisite Fun Fighter Spitfire as the condition were ideal today for it to shine.

Mark's Wildthing

A rather unusual glider found in the glider park was a Electric Glide owned by Bob C. He also had a Wildthing with him to fly.

Gliders Belonging to Bob C

Martin J completed the ensemble of club members today with his Blob and a Sierra.

Martin J's Slopers

As I said above I apologies to anyone who I have missed off todays Club flying report but I can say with some confidence that we had around 25% of the Club membership on the slope this morning. That cannot be bad as it was bitterly cold.

Also as a reminder to club members I have your polo and sweatshirts ready for those who have placed an order. Happy to deliver to you within the Worthing area or you can collect from me if that's easier for you but I will always bring them along when we go out flying.

Busy Morning at Firle

In summary, a really good turn out of club members on a very cold morning. I only managed a few flights as I was so cold that I could hardly feel my fingers. I would like to thank all for their company this morning and I look forward to our next outing, hoping it will be slightly warmer.

2024 - Happy New Year and Happy Flying

 Hi All,
Happy new year for 2024 and here's to another successful year for our club.

2023 was a very successful year for the club, our numbers grew to 43 members and there was a lot of flying activity both on the slopes and a couple of days at our wonderful flat field site - on one occasion we had 11 members flying with bungee or electric motor gliders at the field.

This year our numbers are expected to rise by at least one or two as we have already met 2 prospective new members in December and are hoping that they will join us.
Our website is our primary source for gaining new members and continues to get many visits (601,843) as I write this.

2024 is looking to be another year when the BMFA/LMA have to wrangle with proposed new rules from the CAA and many of our members have risen to the BMFA 'Call to Arms' and filled-in a response to the CAA Consultation document online. The more people who respond, the more the CAA will have to take notice of us.

Anyway ,  I wish you all a happy and healthy 2024 and thank all our members for their continued support.
And as our Secretary always says - 'happy landings !'

Best regards
Rob (Chair)