Devils Dyke this afternoon.

After a flight at Ditchling this morning I ventured over to Devils Dyke where there were four others flying. Both sides of the hill was being used to great effect! The first time I`ve witnessed DS`ing..I thought I`d taken a good length of video only to find the SD card was full..oh well...sorry.

Ditchling Beacon (West Side) on a fffrreeeezzingg Dec day!

Wind was a blowing but up at Ditchling Beacon there was a little too much West in the wind to make the main bowl work without a long walk round to the other side. So, a decision was made to go and fly the slope to the West of the car park.

I was joined by Rob, Ian, Graham and Tim (happy Birthday Tim!!). Ian is a very old friend of mine from my gliding days.  He still manages to soar himself to the far flung parts on the country on good thermic days in his full sized LS7 glider. Welcome,  Ian to the blog, the old boys group and hopefully to our new club.

Ian flew his Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet. It looked a handful but after a first wobbly launch it was away and screaming around the sky (not always in full control) but it looked like a challenge. Here is a little video taken.



Rob had his Ninja and Graham had his Mijet. Unfortunately for Tim his glasses broke and he retired back to the warmth of the car. It was bitter up there but worth the effort. Just a pity more of you couldn't have made it up on the hill to enjoy the strong lift and friendly banter.

Flair English Electric Lightning PSS - She Flies !!

Here is a short video of my first flight of a very old Flair English Electric Lightning PSS glider from Ditchling Beacon earlier on today. She is basically naked with no covering other than the control surfaces. We wanted to see if she would fly before going to the effort to bring her back to her earlier glory. It flew like a dog but with a bit of TLC it could look like the dogs do-dars!

I'm loading up more video of todays exploits, should be up here soon.

Merry Christmas Everyone !

Happy Christmas to you all.................

Christmas Eve - Devils Dyke

Yesterday, Graham, Tim and I flew up at Devils Dyke. A brisk NW wind was blowing which looked like keeping the hang gliders at bay. The sky looked amazing with a cold front making its way towards us with an eruption of bubbly cumulus clouds forming over a sunshine bathed December skyline. For the first time in a very long time I left my phone behind so I couldn't capture the amazing vista for you all to share.
The lift was constant and strong and amazingly the area wasn't full of people. They must have all been out doing there final Christmas shopping. This made for an open sky, well for at least half an hour before the first hang gliders took to the air.
It was cold but not bad when you think how chilly NW winds usually are. We had a good couple of hours with Tim continuing to hone those skills with some very good circuits being performed. If you venture up there soon, watch out for the new fence (to keep the grazing sheep in) which runs from the corner of the car park al the way down the slope to the very edge.
Had a great time - Cheers Graham for suggesting the Dyke!

Mild Weather at Mill Hill

Rob, Tim and I met up at Mill Hill this Morning and we were greeted by 12 degrees, sunshine and good lift.

The hill was quiet and not full of the usual crowd thankfully. Another small issue meant that the English Electric Lightning didn't get into the air but we did plenty of other flying. Tim did especially well with a number of solo flights followed by good landings. Me and Rob played silly beggars and I had a great time. It was a good day to practice our landings with a stiff breeze blowing which meant you didn't want to go too far back on landing. Thankfully none of us did. We were joined by Les, a member of the Horsham club who I was introduced to at one of the recent Indoor meets. He was enjoying some combat down in the gulley with a number of foamy Wildthings.
Here Rob demonstrates his accurate landing skills as we had some dog walkers (yes walkers!!) that would not move from behind us and continued to exercise their dogs exactly where we wanted to land. No bloody consideration some people!!

I will be out as much as possible over the next few weeks. Maybe we might see some of you out and about enjoying some flying soon eh??????

Full of festive cheer!

Rob, Graham, David & I went flying at Itford Hill in a good Westerly blow. There was a good selection of models with Rob's Ninja, David had his first flights with his Middle Phase which flew very well up to the point the ground jumped up and grabbed it. Graham had his trusty Fusion and his new floppy wing electric glider that went very well. I had my M60 (fully loaded with ballast) and the old vintage Dragon Lady mouldy.

We all got plenty of flying in. Here is a video 'montage' of the days activities. Look out for the mid-air between my M60 and Rob's Ninja - All Robs fault of course!

Some mucking about with Graham trying to attack me with his Fusion which ended up with a great catch.

A cracking day out with the usual reprobates - thanks guys!

Itford Hill Tomorrow

Hi all
A few of us are meeting up at Itford Hill tomorrow for a few hours of sloping.
Meeting up at 10.00am usual spot in layby.
Good blow tomorrow, so wrap up and bring something heavy to fly.
I was hoping to bring along my latest purchase, a battered and bruised Flair English Electric Lightning PSS but we have just found out that the wing bolts are a strange size and we will need to source some new ones.
See pictures o her below.

The problem is we have no C of G or control throws, so we are working on the basis that it has flown and the RC gear is located in the same place. when its ready we will see if it flies first then if its still in one bit we will cover it and make it look pretty.
Well did only cost me £40 on eBay!!
Hope to see some of you up on the hill tomorrow.

Happy Christmas Guys

Hi All
Just a quick update from all of us on the Isle of Wight, first a big thanks to the guys  that paid us a visit a few months ago, we really did enjoy that day and were so lucky with  the weather, after a very bad forecast for that day,  it was  good to fly with new friends with different models and ideas, we are looking forward to 2015 when we hope to fly together again, we have a few more very good sites to show you.

I have now completed the Moth

It has now had a few flights, and I am loving it, just this last Sunday, myself, Tony and Bill flew up on Stenbury Down in a strong wind, with our  Moths, it was very exciting flying and a wonder that we did not have any mid-airs.

Bill also did fly his Typhoon that he got from you Paul, and really has got the hang of those "Crow Landings" and has had some fantastic fast flying up on Culver, we have had quite a few "South West Winds" so have been on that slope quite a lot of late.

Myself, Bill, and Paul who you met when you arrived last trip, have each got a M60 on the bench at various stages of completion, so watch for any updates when we have the first flights.

Hope your new club flying site is going well.

Thats just about all the news at the moment from us, so I would like to wish all at SSS a very Happy Christmas and a happy New Year.

Chris

50,000 Hits !!

Our blog has had over 50,000 page views to date.

I would like to thank all of you for the support and help to build our blog into what it is today. It has gone from strength to strength and has brought us many new friends and helped us to promote our slope soaring activities not only here in Sussex but to folks all around the world.

We are now an affiliated BMFA model flying club and look forward to welcoming new members as we move forward into 2015. Welcome on board Scott.

A special thanks to Rob and Graham and to our friends on the Isle of Wight who regularly blog post and keep providing us with interesting flying reports and video.

Thanks Guys ............

The Passing of a Dear Friend and Gentleman - Sid Parker

Hi all,
Today I attended the funeral of Sid Parker, a friend of myself, Paul and Tim and a late member of Mid Sussex Flyers. The funeral was held at Worth crematorium near Crawley and the chapel was so crowded it was amazing to see.
Sid had tributes from his daughter, his music friends and of course his flying friends from MSF.

Sid was a brilliant jazz pianist, a piano tuner, an aircraft engineer at BA, a great RC model builder and flier and above all an all-round good egg.

Sid was a gentleman in every respect of the word, he was always willing to help anyone and often repaired other people's models for them after a crash.

Sid, you will be sadly missed by all your friends.

Good bye my old friend.

Rob

Itford Hill 10th Dec 2014

HI All,
Graham U and I met up at Itford Hill today at12:30. Graham was heavily delayed on the way after having shredded a tyre on his limmo. Luckily he changed it and was able to make it to the hill on time. Neither of us had a camera - Graham's on board video had a flat battery , so I used my phone camera to no great good - see  pic of Graham's 'new' 100" glider below  ( out of focus) -

Either way, we had over an hour's flying. I took my Stargazer which flew really well, but on landing (very softly), decided to shed half the tail !
Graham kindly lent me the Fusion , so I did a quick 'bind' and I was away again with my old model which Graham has managed to make fly much better than I remember.

We had a good time, the lift was great and the wind was howling Westerly (ish), Graham landed his 100" model up the top of the hill after we both trekked up there to get a smoother landing area.

Just then I got a text from Captain Hampshire warning of rain on the way, so we left the hill and headed to the cars. Here you can see the rain West and North of us, but coming our way !

Maiden Flight today at Devils Dyke.

This is my latest glider using a Neville Mattingly Phoenix 100s g/f fuselage with an obeche veneered foam wing not perfect but my first attempt of hot wire cutting! The wing was originally built to suit the 100s rules (1970`s) so just plain. Have now reduced the dyhedral and turned it into a four servo wing giving it ailerons, flaps, camber and crow! I imagine the  flight performance has been transformed from just a rudder elevator thermal soarer to a fully controlled machine as it has never been flown in it`s original form..   Two more flights were made very successfully had not even thought of trying the motor.

Finally - A decent flying session for once

 Just the four of us today - Rob, Clint, Dave and myself met up at Itford Hill. Initially it was cloudy and even rained on us for a few minutes on arrival at the top but the cloud soon cleared and the wind picked up beautifully to give us a few hours of great sloping. Lots of flying, a few mid-airs and the occasional model lost in a tree but what a day! Crisp and bright and a pleasure to be out flying. Just a pity more people didn't come along and enjoy the flying.

 

 Some video to follow soon........

Sunday 7th December - Itford Hill

A group of us are heading over to Itford Hill tomorrow (Sunday) to go flying.
Wind looks good and strong so the lift should be the same.
12.00pm (Midday) meet at the car park (lay-by) at the bottom.
All welcome!

'Slope Soaring Sussex' is now a registered BMFA club

'Slope Soaring Sussex' is now a registered RC flying club fully affiliated with the BMFA.
I'm sure the members of our new club would like to join me in thanking Rob for his hard work and efforts in getting the club off the ground and us into the air under our new club banner - Cheers Rob !

We will hopefully soon take control of our new flat field flying site. This will give us all year round access to a large flying site for launching gliders and electric gliders. This will be a seven day a week access and only accessed by 'Slope Soaring Sussex' members and guests.
Membership is now open for those who have not already signed up to join. Please feel free to contact either myself or Rob for membership details. We will be changing the blog slightly to Include a members only area which will be used to communicate club Information, Constitution, Minutes and other club notes.
Please let me know what improvements / changes / additions that our club members would like to see made to the blog. This is after all a blog for us all to use and knowing what you guys want will make it a better site.
We will be having our first AGM shortly but until we take on responsibility for our new flying field we cant really tie down the last loose ends needed for the clubs constitution and rules. Rob will confirm to all of our new members the details, dates etc as soon as we can.
For those members that have taken out full memberships including taking the BMFA Insurance for 2015 please be aware that Rob has paid the BMFA in full (out of his own pocket) and we now need to reimburse him £32 for each member taking the Insurance.
I am very proud to be a part of this new club and look forward to us enjoying plenty of flying together in the future.

Get Off My F-ing Land!!

Met Rob and Tim up at Jack & Jill Windmills on a dull and very cold Monday lunchtime.

 

The lift wasn't great but you could stay up OK. I flew my M60, Rob had his Ninja and Time flew his Moth. We had been flying for twenty minutes or so and there was a JCB digger chugging up from  the bottom of the hill and then over to a fire off in the distance. Then he slowly made his way back along the top and was making his way the exit gate behind us. Tim was flying buddy with his Moth and unfortunately went a little bit too far back during landing and the model came down between the gate and the farmer in his digger. Looking at the landing I would have said the model was in front of the digger but it was one of those times when you think you are nearer than you actually are. The glider never actually touched, scratched, dented the 5 tonne digger nor did it hit the farmer but the farmer was not a happy chappy. I collected Tim's model from beside the digger and started apologising to him. He replied with F-ing this - F-ing that and finally F-ing get off my land!!!
After he had finished swearing at me I walked back to Tim and Rob and we all picked up our models and made our way back to the cars. Myself and Rob went over to again apologise (again!) to the farmer who continued moaning and suggested he should have run the model over to teach us a lesson.
May I strongly suggest you don't fly up at Jack & Jill Windmills in the future as this is private land and we do not have permission to fly from the field in front of the Windmills. I suppose its a valuable lesson to us all that we should have permission to fly from private land and just because it has a car park adjacent and that Slope Hunter lists it as a site to fly from, you do actually need the land owners permission before going flying.
Moving on -
Graham is going to try and get to Firle Beacon tomorrow if anyone is Interested in joining him - See the shout box..........

Northerlies for the next week.

Hi all.
Given the crap weather we have been experiencing over the last month there is a small glimmer of hope for some flying this week. We are due to have Northerly winds up to Saturday (apparently) so it could be an opportunity to get out and do some flying. We have various guys who can get out during the week and I think Rob has a list of all those who can get out, Terry, Graham U, Rob, Tim, Clint and probably more. Why not catch up together and get our and enjoy some flying together.
Rob and I are hoping to go up to Jack & Jill this morning for some flying.
Go on - give it a try, you might enjoy yourself.

It was obviously not meant to be.......

Here is the latest thrilling instalment regarding my 'Airliner' I purchased recently that arrived damaged and with two wings the same.
Andy at Robotbirds has looked at the only other Airliner model he has in stock and found that this has superficial damage and doesn't want to replace this one he has with the one I have. So he will collect the Incomplete kit I have and refund me my money. This then causes me another problem as I have ordered the decal set from China which according to them has already been despatched to me. So I will have a decal set for a model that I don't have - Thanks Robotbirds!
This is the second time I have attempted to purchase a Windrider kit and it will definitely be the last.
Just have to buy something else - Any suggestions?

Sunday 30th November - Could be good!

I getting really fed up with this rubbish weather - are you?
Looking ahead at this coming weekend and we could be in for a good flying day for once!
I've looked at XC Weather and the BBC and both are indicating (finger in the air job) that Sunday should be blowing NE and with a good strength. Too early to be a definite but fingers crossed its a positive sign...........
Who wants to come slope soaring on Sunday at Ditchling Beacon if the weather gods are on our side?

You couldn't make it up.........

Just opened the box with the wings in for another look and then noticed I have two right hand wings !!!!!!!

What the *&%$!! is going on?

Well its arrived but............!!

My Windrider Airliner arrived today from Robotbirds.

To say I am a little disappointed is an understatement. The fuselage was filthy as it has been packed in Chinese newspapers and the print seems to have rubbed off onto the white EPS. From the age of the newspaper I can only assume this model is from 2006 given the date printed on the newspaper used to pack the glider.
Also, the wing has some damage and one of the engine pylons has broken in two!

What to do????
I have ordered the British Airways decal set from China and that's on its way and speaking with Robotbirds they say send it back for a refund but what a palaver anyway if the glider is damaged then its their responsibility to collect the model. Problem is I really wanted this glider after all the hassle and agro I had with the Windrider 737 not turning up from China I don't need the hassle.
I have managed to wipe some of the crap of the fuselage but its not in the condition you would expect a brand new model to turn up in. I surprised it was ever sent our from Robotbirds in this condition. I have emailed them with pictures and I am awaiting their comments.

 

Our New Club Starts

Hi All,
Today I was able to complete the BMFA paperwork to affiliate our new club.
I found out that next year's membership of BMFA is unchanged at £32, so I was able to fill in the final parts of our paperwork and send it off this afternoon.
This means that in 2015 we will be a fully affiliated BMFA club with all the benefits that offers us, as well as having our own field to use for launching gliders and for use in competitions.
We await the final confirmation of our new field acquisition, but are confident it will proceed.
Once we have ownership, we will be busy preparing the gates, access and signage to allow us to fly gliders almost unrestricted throughout the coming year.

We will be holding an inaugural AGM in December for our members, but welcome anyone else who might be interested to come and join in, maybe join up, and definitely join the fun !

Best regards
Rob

Many Thanks for Buying The Typhoon

Very many thanks to the guy from Canvey Island (who I met this morning at Gatwick), for buying my Typhoon. I really hope he has fun with it. We enjoyed flying Paul's while he had it, so I'm sure the new owner will love it . . . . .

Box Hill, a couple of weekends ago.

Colley Hill was clagged in, so had a cuppa at Box Hill and a fly for an hour!

Windrider Airbus A380 Airliner Glider

My new toy.........Windrider Airbus A380 Airliner

Bought from Robotbirds in the UK but having to order the airline's decal stickers from Windrider in China.

Decided to go for the British Airways colour scheme. Should look good! Here is a video of one of these Airbus A380 gliders in flight.

 

Zulu - a new concept in EPP Slope Soaring

Thanks to Clint for highlighting a new (well new to me anyway) 'Zulu' 48'' EPP slope soarer glider with conventional elevons but also having leading edge 'drooperons' that work in conjunction with the elevons. These are available to pre-order from Richard at T9 HobbySport both Clint and I have pre-ordered one each but we still are awaiting confirmation of the price.
Here is an link explanation on how 'Drooperons' work or watch the video below that shows how the leading edge moves when inputs are made through the elevons.

The Zulu looks like bloody good fun!

Tim's been clowning around again!

Tim's been keeping himself busy the last week or so building a new Traceur 2 RC glider. But this one has an aquatic theme based on a Clown Fish. I think it looks bloody good! Just needs some laminate film to finish it all off.

Just Loopy!

Now, I didn't think you could loop a Paraglider?

You have got to be mad!

Thanks Terry for providing us with this link to what is a must watch video for any adrenalin junky or may be just the mentally unstable Individual - I loved it, so I'm not sure which category I fall in too?
Click here to watch.............

Our New Club Is About To Start

Hi Everyone,
As Paul said a few days ago, thanks to our brilliant contact (and potential new club member ?), we have got access to a great field near Burgess Hill. This is a valuable asset for any club, a place to be able to set up our winch, or the bungee to launch thermal gliders. Also a place for electric gliders to be powered skywards before making the best of any thermals or wind conditions to complete that long glide back to earth.
I wanted to bring people up-to-date on the current status of our club - Slope Soaring Sussex (yes I know it says 'Slope Soaring' , but we do a lot of that too !).
Currently we have 8 members who are signed up and ready to go plus 2 potential members, but we would like to have more people if possible. The point being that the cost of the new field, the winch, the bungee, the battery and the charger all have to be covered, plus new padlocks for the field gates, so the more members we get, the cheaper it all becomes.
We are awaiting the BMFA AGM on 24th November, where they decide on next year's membership fees before we can let our new members know what we will be charged for our first year. It would be great if we could get at least 10 confirmed members, thereby making our club one of the cheapest in this area to join !

If you have been considering flying from a flat field with your glider (whether thermal, electric or DLG), please let Paul or I know and we can explain the benefits of  our new field and maybe talk you into joining us ?
I would like to send my thanks to all those who have joined us so far
Very best regards

Rob

New Members Welcome!

Finally we have enough willing members to get our new model flying club off the ground. Five off us have signed up and soon we will be a fully BMFA affiliated club. Today Rob and I met up with someone who has been totally responsible for finding us a flat field site for our new club to use and fly from near Burgess Hill.

 

 

The field is huge (10 acres) I think with large uninterrupted approaches from all wind directions.

We will be able to bungee and winch from here as well as fly DLG or use electric powered gliders. We will need help maintain the field but we do have the use of a tractor and topper to keep the grass down. Our new club will have something to offer everyone with the added bonus of a 7 day a week flying field !

we will be offering training and support to new model flyers as well companionship and the social side of flying to the more experienced flyers.

If you think you could be Interested in joining our brand new club then feel free to contact either myself or Rob for more details.

Some more fast Soaring from the I.W.

Hi All
Here is another report from us on the Island, we went to Stenbury again today as the wind was SW, this slope always lifts well if it is blowing from this direction, myself, Tony, Bill, Roger, Keith, John, Barry, Paul, Brian were all present on the hill.

When we got there the wind was was reading 12mph but soon picked up within half an hour to 30+, the two Moths of Tony and Bills were the star performers again, they seem to love the strong winds, I wanted  to setup my Whisper, but really need about a 15mph tops I reckon to be safe until I have the Crow set up properly, so that stayed in the car.

Barry flew his Jet....... for about 20 seconds, watch carefully and you will see it go in, not really any damage though.

Hope you enjoy the footage.

Chris

Anyone for sand dune flying?

Yesterday Clint, Graham and I spoke about the possibility of slope soaring sand dunes. I mentioned the nearest ones I knew off where down at Camber Sands in East Sussex.

Here is a little video of someone flying a mouldy off the dunes at a location in Kent.

Looking at Google Earth the beach faces Southerly and gently bends round SW. What do you guys think of taking a trip to the dunes for some beach soaring?
Do you know of any other dunes worth visiting in Kent / Sussex?
Here is a map link to Camber Sands if you are Interetsed: http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=595825&Y=118867&A=Y&Z=120
Here is a video of full size gliders and Paragliders soaring sand dunes in Holland.

Just when you think everything is against you!

Me and Clint struggled through the traffic to get to Newhaven Fort and we arrived twenty minutes late. On arrival there was no parking at the Fort due to a Halloween party with tons of horrible kids with painted faces. Floating above us where loads of Paragliders skimming over the top of the cliff and looked too low to have us and them flying in the same airspace. Rob had been there but decided the whole situation was too stressful and took himself off home. After a quick chat with Tim we decided this was not the place to fly and Tim went off home as well.. We caught up with Graham by phone only to find he had been up on the cliff flying but said it wasn't the best and had wandered back to his car. We all drove along the cliffs to towards Brighton Marina but the wind was too Easterly. We eventually ended up at the back of Ditchling Beacon. Me, Clint and Graham flew the Southerly bowl for a good half an hour to an hour. With two M60's and a Libelle. The M60 without ballast went surprisingly well in what was gentle lift. It wasn't a bad end to a some what frustrating afternoon.

From Chris on the Isle of Wight

Hi Guys, this is just a short update on what we are doing on the IW at the moment.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was just perfect slope soaring weather, myself Tony and Paul went up to Culver Down in the morning and over to  Stenbury in the afternoon, it was 12mph up to 20 on Stenbury.

Tony had some good fast soaring with his Moth, I went with my Wildthing as my Moth is still on the workbench, Paul's Zagi went well.
I am still trying to get to grips with the Headcam at the moment, the angle being the problem........too much Sky...........too much Ground!!!! but I will improve, I promise haha!

This is a better video! Vagabond/Colley. 28/10/14.

Best viewed in full screen YouTube HD.

Newhaven Sea Cliffs

Here is a compilation of yesterday's flying from the cliffs at Newhaven Fort with Rob & Clint.

The Three Amigos - Newhaven Fort

Clint, Rob and I enjoyed a few hours slope soaring up on the cliffs at Newhaven Fort. blowing a good 25mph SW wind which provided strong lift as well as the usual turbulence coming in and pushing out over the cliff edge. M60's proved an excellent choice (again) with them being ballasted they tear through the sky and make light work of the strong winds. Rob flew his Ninja and we all flew my old and dated PSS P-51 Mustang.

Newhaven Cliffs from the air

Rob's Ninja caught from on board the P-51

Smile Guys - On board the M60

Rob & Clint

Yesterday at the Dyke! 21/10/14.

`twas a mite breezy!!

Culver Down Cliffs (Eastern Flank)

You will be pleased to know this is my last video from our Isle of Wight expedition yesterday. Here we all flew near the end of Culver Down on the edge od a 600' chalk cliff.

St Catherine's Point - Storming Lift

Here is another video from yesterdays I of W sloping trip. This one features Jack with his Ninja and me flying the M60 fully loaded with brass ballast slugs. I loved this flying site. Strong lift, amazing views and a challenging to fly at. Landing was particularly interesting as the model just fell out of the sky from about 20' high.

 

On Board Video - Culver Down & St Catherine's Point (Isle of Wight)

Here is the on board HD video taken during our Isle of Wight trip yesterday. The first site is flying at Culver Down (Western end) flying the M60, then off to a slope over looking St Catherine's Point and Lighthouse again flying on board with the M60 and then finally back at Culver Down but this time flying on the Eastern end on the slope.

More 'Helmet Cam' video to follow.

Rain - What Rain!!

Isle of Wight - Sat 18th October 2014

 

Due to Rob being ill over night meant that both him and Clint couldn't come with me and Jack to the Island. We left with a bright dawn and no rain. On the ferry over there was some rain but on arrival on the Island there was no sign of the forecast heavy rain but just a dull sky and a good wind blowing.

We met up with Chris, Bill, Tony and Paul up at Culver Down for our first flying session on the cliffs. Its not the easiest of places to fly as you have to push way out through the turbulence and find the good lift much further out. We played here for and hour or so and then the guys took me and Jack to have a look at some other flying sites. We pitched up near BlackGang Chine to a site over looking St Catherine's Lighthouse. A steep slope over looking the lighthouse and the sea - WOW !!

What a blow on top. 30 - 40mph I would say and the lift was mega. The M60 fully loaded was screaming around the sky. Here's a picture of Jack, Chris, Bill & Tony up at the top.

From here it was down hill all the way to a beautiful 16th Century pub (Buddle Inn, Niton) for a spot of lunch and some lovely bitter to wash it down with! Then after our break the Intention was to drive down to Freshwater Bay but looking down towards the cliffs in the distance they were covered in Rain and cloud. Back off to Culver Down but this time to the far end where the wind was good, the lift was better and the scenery was wonderful.

Myself and Jack had a great day out on the Island and many thanks to Jack, Chris, Bill and Tony for their help, advice and bloody good company - Cheers guys!!!

Lots of video to follow but it will take me a day to load it all up.

Not long now.......

This Saturday the famous four will be once again off to sample the delights of the Isle of Wight and its many cliff top slope soaring sites. Here are two videos that was taken in May and I know most of you have seen them but I loved the day, so here it is again, sorry!!

We will be meeting up with Chris, Bill and hopefully some others for some more white cliffs adrenalin.

Wind currently looks good with a forecast of 18 - 28mph S wind with overcast skies and the chance of showers but we all know that can and probably will change.

Tim's Traceur maiden's in very light conditions.

Here is a video from yesterday's flying at Seaford Beach. Tim's new Modelbau Traceur Ultrabatic glider had its maiden flight. It flew very well in marginal lift with just a 5 - 6 mph wind up against a 15ft high sea wall. Tim said it cost just £75 Including the delivery to the UK from Maodellbau Joost in Germany.
http://shop.modellbau-joost.de/modelle/segler/traceur-epp.html

Light Weights at Seaford Beach

Rob, Graham, Tim and I met up at Newhaven Fort to be greeted by rain and a weak Westerly wind. We gave up on flying the S-SW cliffs and headed to Seaford beach. On arrival there we were greeted by heavy rain but this soon blew through.

The wind that should have been 15mph was ay best 7mph but more like 5mph. Out came Graham's Libelle and my Vagabond. Graham showed us how it should be done and very slowly the wind increased hugely by a few mile an hour. Here was our first flights captured on video.

Rob flew my Vagabond for a bit and then Tim rigged his newly built Traceur. It weighs the same as a Vagabond and looks very much the same so in theory it should fly in the same very light lift as the Vagabond. Well, after a little Incident with the elevator being reversed and me not noticing it, I launched the Traceur into the 5 - 7mph light breeze. The sea wall produced enough lift to keep her up - Just!!. She flew very well. Maybe a little more twitchy than the Vagabond but gained more in the small band of lift than the Vagabond. Look forward to flying it in much better lift.

Rob rigged his Vagabond and we flew it for a few minutes and trimmed it out to fly in the light conditions and landed it on the beach below.