Last call for our Wales trip

This is a last shout out for anyone Interested in joining us guys going to Wales next Friday (7th August). These trips are always a huge success and lots of fun. Travelling up on Friday morning and flying as much as possible until Sunday afternoon when we travel home.
As most of you are aware by the many posts I have uploaded we will be flying at the world famous 'Bwlch'. A fantastic location with slopes available to fly in most wind directions. You dont need to be a super flyer to fly here as there is loads of room to help with those landings and the slopes are huge. I'm always available to help with training if required.
Well that's the sales pitch over !
Scott has a spare seat travelling up there on Friday if anyone is Interested in sharing the travelling costs or alternatively you could take your own car.
Dont miss out on a fabulous sloping trip with an ace team of guys.

If you are interested feel free to call me on 07834 859018

Club Update

Hi All,

I thought I would issue another update for you all because we have now had some significant progress during this last week.

Firstly, Paul and I have changed the club's date for paying subs, this is now April to reflect when we got the field.
HOWEVER this does not change the date for your BMFA insurance and membership payments which are due on 1st January, so if you have your insurance through us, you must let us have your renewal payment some time in December ( I will remind you by email nearer the time).

Secondly, we now have another new member this week - David Taylor from Hassocks - who is most welcome. That makes our 4th member who can walk to our field from home !

Thirdly - I have heard that Chris Marlow (our landlord) is going to cut the field for hay this week, so we need to be aware that there might be activity going on at the field if you want to fly. However, I have also had confirmation from Chris that Paul and David Gore are allowed to use his tractor to mow our landing areas and BMFA have confirmed that we are fully insured too, so that's good news all round.

Finally, I would like to thank you all for supporting our (your) club and making our first year a very successful one !

Best regards
Rob Stanley
Hon Sec / Hon Treasurer

Beach Soaring Vids - Hope you enjoy these as much as i did?

Anyone fancy a flying trip to the beach?

Just need a some beach and a gentle breeze to make it happen ! Maybe this weekend?

Les's Cliffwhacker Maiden

Sorry for the delay Les, finally got the video loaded up on Youtube.......
Here is a video of the long awaited Cliffwhacker made lovingly by Les. The wind was blowing and at times must have topped 30mph but Les got it in the air up at Ditchling Beacon on Saturday.

General Update

Hi All,
Just thought I would issue a general update for everyone about the club and what's going on....

We have two new members in the recent weeks - Roger Harris from Hove and David Gore from Burgess Hill they are both most welcome. David will concentrate on electric gliding at the field and will hopefully be able to use the tractor to keep the landing areas short. I am waiting confirmation from the owner that one or two of us can use the tractor for this purpose. I also checked with the BMFA and they confirm that providing we are using the tractor for the flying field, we are fully insured to use it.
I also went to the field yesterday to trim the hedges along the roadside in London Road because on leaving the track it was impossible to see to the right. I have now cleared all the overgrown hedging and we can now leave more safely.
While at the field I met a potential new member - David Taylor from Hassocks. I hope David will join us and come and have some fun with us.

I also managed to get hold of an old Zagi foam wing yesterday from a colleague in Haywards Heath - we can either use this as a club 'trainer' or let one of our newer members buy it as their own introduction to sloping. It's pretty good and only cost £15 !
It has two working servos and only needs a battery and rx to get it going....

 

STOP PRESS - Roger Harris has bought the Zagi !!!

This week I am also collecting an old Spectre (just like Will's), so we can do the same with that - either keep it or sell it to a new member....

Paul and I have made some minor changes to our constitution namely in the area of the date for paying subs. I have changed it from January to April to reflect when we got the field. I have also now added Paul and I as the nominated club instructors as we are both BMFA club instructors now.

That's all for now
Best regards

Rob

Discretion is the Better Part of Valour

Hi All,
I have no idea what this means as it's so old it even pre-dates me !
In fact it's from Shakespeare and it's 'The better part of valour is discretion'..... Henry IV

However, this afternoon Roger and I met up at Mill Hill to try to fly the re-modelled Stargazer, but the wind was far too strong and despite waiting for at least an hour, it never subsided, so we decided to put it back in the car.
While we were there, we saw quite a bit of combat going on down the hill and eventually they came up to join us.
One of the locals (Jeff) decided he would give us a lesson in landing and after showing us how it 'must' be done, kindly gave Roger the TX to take over his Fusion.
Roger made a great job of flying and eventually landing the Fusion  - well done Roger - I never doubted you.

The point of all this is -

1. The Stargazer didn't fly because it was too windy
2. Roger proved himself a competent and sensible member of our team
3. Roger needs a foamie

If anyone has a spare foamie for Roger, please let us know.

Best regards
Rob

Epic HUGE Scale Fighter Slope Soarers

Just saw this. Amazing!!!

Our Field - Update From Today (Weds 22 July)

Hi All,
As I said, I went to the field to day to undertake some maintenance - I spent a lot of time hedge-trimming the access track from the road so that we can all now get along there without scratching our cars, etc... Then I moved to the actual field which had grown remarkably long since I was there last.
I surveyed the work that Bernie had done for us and decided that I would never be able to run over it with my garden mower seeing as Bernie has mown an enormous landing area with the tractor. However, I decided that the access gate and parking area needed a severe haircut, so I spent 1.5 hours doing that area until the petrol ran out (thankfully).

As you can see, we now have a manicured parking lot and a pit area where we can park before we fly our models on the area mown by Bernie.
I hope this helps to make access a bit easier for everyone.
Best regards
Rob

Walking in a (EPP) Winter Wonderland

It was with a mixture of trepidation and excitement that I made my first shaky incisions into the precision-made, laser-cut foam fuselage of the Traceur – an aerobatic slope glider kit from Modellbau Joost in Germany.

Up until now it had been all about the flying – learning the basic maneuvers, controls and orientation of a radio-controlled aircraft. Building remained shrouded in mystery and intrigue. The preserve of people who actually know what they’re doing!

So when Rob kindly offered me his un-made Traceur, I accepted with both the relish and abject fear of a mountaineer eyeing up their next seemingly insurmountable peak. Either way, I was now committed and my fear was soon displaced by more tangible considerations about how to actually build the thing.

Fortunately for me, I was armed with a copy of Tim’s detailed Traceur build guide. Having painstakingly pondered over the optimal placement of the on-board components, I soon found myself engulfed in a man-made blizzard of EPP snowflakes, like a caricature snowman a winter wonderland shaker toy.

Battery, servo and receiver-shaped crevasses slowly started to emerge in the fuselage, as the EPP flakes formed a light dusting of powder snow on all surrounding surfaces. Like the cliché that Eskimo languages have an unusually large vocabulary for snow, I think modellers ought to develop a specific set of adjectives to describe the various techniques used to cut, carve, scratch, scrape, pull and prize away stubborn EPP.

There was now no turning back and I ploughed on with the “build”. I know some purists may dispute my use of the word build here – but I’m not a purist and it certainly felt like building to me! Following a couple of (thankfully non-consecutive) all-nighters, things started to take shape. Including the red and navy colour scheme designed, upon specific request by my three-year old, to resemble one of his favourite T-shirts (see picture below).

I now need one final push to construct the tail plane, attempt the laminate covering (another terrifying prospect!) and commence the final assembly. After that it’s just the small matter of checking the C of G, making sure everything’s trim and level and, not lastly, seeing of the damn thing will fly – just some of the thoughts that have plagued my dreams these last few weeks!

The Traceur beginning to take shape and some books finally getting used!

After another push! Just the covering to do now!

Our Field and How To Use It

Hi All,
Before we had the field our club was free to join, but now that we have gained this valuable asset it was necessary to charge for membership, both to cover the cost of the field, the cost of the upkeep and the outlay for the winch, bungee, battery, charger, etc....
Originally the plan was to have the whole field 'topped' regularly by the tractor so we can fly it pretty much all over, but that hasn't happened and despite my best efforts to contact the owner I haven't been able to get access to his tractor or the toping equipment.
So, our friend and fellow member Bernie Jones has mown several strips and a big circle in the field to enable take-off, landing and DLG launches.
I am going there tomorrow to maintain these areas and to make sure that the access I cleared back in April is still good ( I know it mostly is good because I was there the other day).

However, I rarely hear from any of our members about them being at the field or using it , so I wondered whether there is something I can do (or we can do together), to make it more appealing. After all, that's the only reason we pay any subs to the club and without the field we would be free (or maybe not even a club) !

Both Paul and I have flown at the field and I know a number of you have also used it but maybe only once or twice - it's our resource and we need to be happy with it, so please let me know by email what you think is wrong or is needed.
rob@littlehobland.co.uk
I would love to get your views on this topic, in fact I really need to know what you think.

Best regards
Rob
Hon. Sec. / Hon. Treasurer

Mountain Soaring in Pembrokeshire

Just about the highest point in Pembrokeshire at over 1500ft. A bit of a walk to get to the top. The most superb view over the west of Wales. Given the height, slope and wind speed you would have expected some good lift - wrong!

Poor lift with the odd strong thermal pushing through. It was worth the walk just for the view. The mountain was called Forl Eryr. 4 miles South of Newport, smack in the middle of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Dina's Head Cross Country Cliff Soaring

ThWhat an amazing flight. Drove down to the pub car park beside a lovely sandy beach. Followed the cliff path up for about 1/4 mile and was probably about 100ft above the sea. Launched the Ninja off a little bit of rock over a steep sided cliff. The lift was good but as I followed the cliff path it moved away from the cliff edge. Staying high and stable I moved on up and along all the way to the point at Dinus Head. Took me half an hour walking and flying and I covered about a mile and a half! The longest cross country flight for me (so far!). Landing wasn't pretty due to the mega sink behind the 450ft steep cliff edge at the Head.

Strumble Head Cliff Soaring

The Ninja flying in a 30mph breeze. Flying over a huge bay next to the Strumble Head Lighthouse. An interesting landing! Grey seals swimming in the bay below me.

Spartacus the flying horse

Had a fantastic canter on the beach on a horse called Spartacus. Should be called Pegasus!  

Vagabond Maiden

Will and I made it up to Long Man on Saturday, the lift was great and the sun was shining.  Roger was planning on joining us but unfortunately he had problems with his Cularis and didn't make it. 

After warming up with flying my Mamba I decided it was time to maiden the Vagabond, my first non wing slope soarer.  I was a bit apprehensive but I needn't have worried as with the excellent build by Tim and the very conservative rates I had set she flew great without any nasty surprises.

Will had a rather heavy (unplanned) landing with his Spectre after trying an inverted manoeuvre and sustained some damage to one of the wings.  Not to be defeated he did not hesitate at burning up the sky with my Mamba straight after crashing. 

All in all a great couple of hours flying in lovely sunshine and I can't wait to fly the Vagabond again and up the rates a bit.  I must also learn what this rudder thingy is for!!!

Sorry about the picture but I did not fly very close to the slope so the best picture was of me holding the Vagabond!

The Stargazer moves on

Hi All,
You know how much I have loved flying my Stargazer which I got from our friend Clint. Anyway after many flights and a few accidents, it's still going well. Our new member Roger Harris has bought it from me because Roger hasn't really got a slope model at the moment and therefore I sold him the Stargazer so that he would have something to use when we go to the slopes.

Many thanks Roger and best of luck, as you can read from old posts, it's had a completely new back end so be careful with it !

Best regards
Rob

Day 1 -Fishguard

On our first day on holiday in Fishguard (West Wales) . I managed two flying sessions.the first at a secluded cove with a nice grassy cliff above and the other off a shingle bank along side a huge but beautiful sandy beach. Only flew the Ninja as landing space was always tight!

Then we went horse riding along the beach. Haddent ridden in years _ legs are killing me now! cantering along in the surf - Mega!!!!

Welcome to Roger Harris

Hi All,
We would like to welcome Roger Harris to our club. Roger joined yesterday.

He and I spent an hour yesterday at Mill Hill testing out Roger's Cularis and home-designed foam wing. Both flew but the Cularis went very well after a lot of trimming. The landing cross-wind caused a minor bend in the tail, but I hear it's all fixed again.
The foam wing was not as successful, mainly because it needs more ballast up front, but it survived a few hard landings and has the makings of a good strong combat model.

Primarily we would like to welcome Roger as our latest member and hope you can all meet him soon.

Rob

Nearly finished.

Here is a picture of my (nearly finished) Willow 2.

Tim has worked hard to get her ready with some Input from Ian Mason (who is the designer and manufacturer of the all new, Willow 2). She needed around 140 grams of lead shot in the nose to balance at 108mm from the leading edge (as recommended by Ian).
Hopefully she will soon maidened.

Itford - The 3 R's

Today up at Itford I was joined by Rob, Russell and Roger as well as 400+ Macmillan walkers proudly striding up the hill. Beautiful day with a swinging wind which started w or WNW but at times seemed to be coming straight of the Sea SSW but most of the time the hill together with some good thermals made it work well most of the time. Rob had his Stargazer and Moth, Russell had a foam wing and Roger brought along his friendly personality!
I had a great time with loads of flying done. The Dragon was screaming along and then slowed up nicely to become a thermal soarer. Even managed some decent landings with her. Played silly beggars with my Tracuer with lots of close up mucking about. So I was happy and it was nice to meet up with the two new guys Roger and Russell.

If the lift is strong enough anything will fly!

Here is the 'Zombi'', its my own design. Its a mixture of EPP, fibreglass and Vodka! Flies rather slowly but with a 48'' girth  it gives plenty of cushioning on landing. Does need a good blow (oh er misses!) No ballast required !

Correx PSS Model

Hi guys

I'd like to share my latest build with you. It's the Aermacchi MB-326 Impala jet trainer built entirely out of correx as a PSS glider.

I did give it its maiden flight last weekend and it flies well, very stable and looks very realistic in the air, but I hadn't covered it. But now it's covered, it does look so much better.

The colour scheme is from a previous life where it was privately owned in the USA. Now it's a static piece in a aviation museum in Austria.

It appears that correx is beginning to become a popular material for fun fly models as I now know of one other Impala flying, two Mig 3's flying and two more being built, and a Hawker Sea Fury being built. And there is no reason why sports models cannot be built using correx, not just PSS.

Free plans and build video's are available on line HERE for anyone interested.

And here is my Impala.

For Sale : LEG Guppy Slope Soarer

For sale:

LEG Guppy - 48" EPP aerobatic slope soarer.

Smaller version of Le-Fish

Comes complete with Spektrum 6 channel rx.

Bind and fly.

£150.00

Contact Tim.

t.hampshire@tiscali.co.uk

The weekend ahead

Hi all.
It been weeks since I last flew and I'm in need of my flying fix. The weather for the weekend isn't looking bad with a good Westerly forecast for Saturday with sunshine in the morning. So, a trip to Itford Hill is on the cards. We always have a good time at Itford with it being a superb hill to fly from together with some stunning views.
Maybe an early (ish) start. How about meeting at the car park around 9.00am?
Will,  if you need a lift just let me know!
I'm always happy to offer any help or assistance / training if any of you guys need any help up on the hill. Its a great place to learn from as the lift is generally reliable and there is plenty of space up there.
Hopefully the regulars in the group will join me and hopefully some of our newer flyers as well?

Rob's Ninja Lives Again

Hi All,
After 2 years of continuous battering my Ninja was getting tired and eventually went through 2 servos after crashing. I decided to retire it and give it 2 new metal-geared servos and a complete re-cover and refurbish.
The project got stalled (don't they all ?) and the Ninja has sat in the attic workshop for a long time.
Finally I got round to fixing it up this last week and having spent quite some time on it, it's now looking as good as new (I think)
Anyway , gone is old Orange and Blue colour scheme to be replaced by Aqua Green (whatever that is ?) and Black.
It's now RTF again and I can't wait to get it in the air

See you all soon

Regards
Rob

Les' s New Cliff Whacker

Hi All,
After reading all about Les' s build of the Cliff Whacker, we now have some great pictures to show you -

It has been in quite a saga between Les and Scotty (who's also got one nearly finished). But Les came out first to complete his - now he's got to fly it !!!

Rob

Tim's having a clear out !!

Rivington Hawk
Very little use. Excellent flyer.
Complete with all servos,battery and switch.
Model £110 or £130 with Spektrum 6 channel rx.

Me 163 Komet
One test flight only. As new.
48" EPP combat model.
Complete, ready to fly, includes Spektrum rx.
£120

SAS JetStar - SOLD!
Two flights only.
Complete with servos,battery and switch.
Model £50 or £70 with Spektrum 6 channel rx.

Contact Tim on  t.hampshire@tiscali.co.uk

Nant-y-Moel Weather Station - For The Bwlch

Hi guys

For those of you travelling to Gods playground, (S Wales) next month, you may be interested in using the Nant-y-Moel Weather Station

Happy flying
Steve
A470soaring