Thanks for a great flying session guys !!

Well I don't know about you but I had a great time yesterday flying up on Ditchling beacon. It seemed like it had been months since I last enjoyed some slope soaring with you blokes (actually, I think it was). A huge turn out with over 2/3rds of our club out enjoying themselves. Great to see so many of our new members there too. Well here is a poorly edited account of my flying with a little bit of others squeezed in for good measure. Sorry it's mostly of my flying. Next time we must share the 'Hard Hat of Shame' and get some video of every person flying. That will make for a most enjoyable video!

When watching the video, open the video up in 'Full Screen' (the square box bottom right hand corner) then click the little cog wheel in the bottom right hand corner. This will give you HD quality and hopefully lots to see.

There was a lot of Interest in the Zulu glider I was flying and you can see a lot of in the video.itsa   fun and very manoeuvrable glider that's cheap to buy and flies in light conditions. Here's a link to where you can purchase the Zulu: http://www.t9hobbysport.com/zulu-48inch-epp-glider. Maybe we could do a mass club build if there's enough Interest. Richard at T9 might give us a little discount for a quantity order. Let me know if you are Interested. Its a fantastic glider for less than £50.

Thanks again for all the support and making our new slope soaring club bigger and better.

Brilliant Session Today at the Beacon . . . 30th Aug 15

Hi All,
We just had one of the best times up on the slope that we've ever had !
We had 10 club members and 1 guest plus 2 others we didn't know.....
Basically from what seemed like it would be a low lift day, the conditions just got better as time went on and by the time we left the hill was working very well.
I arrived at 08:30 with Will, we were met by Jim (a new member). We had the Zagi, a new Traceur, the Spectre and a new Middle Phase... I chucked the Zagi off and after a little bit of trimming, it was flying as good as a Zagi can ! Will's Spectre went well, but his new Traceur was a triumph right from the start - well done Will.... We had to wait for Paul before we tried Jim's new Middle Phase, but it flew very well. Jim also flew the Zagi a few times.

We were then joined by Paul, Tim, Les, Graham U, Roger, David G (non-flyer today) and David T.

Almost everyone flew the Zagi and we all agreed it was worth getting as the club hack model.. however, the wingtips came off, so I've now re-covered them with a new lot of tape ---

Everyone flew one or more of their own models and they all came home in 1 piece. There were so many models I can't remember all of them......

I know we've had some great turnouts in the past  - one time in 2013 we had 15 people together , all doing combat, etc.... , but today, because we're now a club, I was very much heartened to see such a great and loyal turnout from our members - I am most grateful to you all......

Paul will load up some video later - - - - -

Rob

y = ax^2 + bx + c (or in other words, Algebra!)

Hello all, I'm Roger Harris - new to the club and to slope soaring. I did a fair bit of power flying around 15 years ago but found it a bit 'samey' after a while. I needed something with a challenge and a goal - soaring seems the ideal thing!

I started with a Multiplex Cularis - good fun but a bit fragile to fly off the slope (especially when one's landings are less than optimal...). Then Rob S. kindly sold me the Stargazer - much better but still breakable! Finally along came the Spectre. Somewhat tatty but almost indestructible. So I've got a nice stable of models for the slope.

On the thermal side, I had nothing other than the Cularis. Paul H., however, had a couple of big boxes hanging around which he wanted to move on, so I bought them from him. They comprised of a full kit for an Algebra 3m thermal soarer, a glass fuse of unknown provenance and another set of wings and tail, various other oddments.

Exciting prospects indeed!

Finally I got a chance to sort it all out and indeed there's a full Algebra kit. The glass fuse is something called a Diamond, from Clive Hall Models. 

I plan to build the Algebra first, as standard, then the Diamond with straight wings, single dihedral and a mid- or T- tail.

After this morning's great meet-up at Ditchling Beacon, I came home enthused - a 3m Algebra would've gone beautifully in today's conditions. Of course, once I get it built we'll be into Winter and constant 50kt winds... ;-)

The first thing to sort out was a building board. My workbench, being made out of recycled pallets, is not level in either direction so I built a board, which I lay on top of the workbench, with tapered battens on each edge to bring it level and keep it flat. A flat and level surface on which to build is vital for a straight aeroplane and it's worth the effort to get it right. I actually checked mine with a spirit level!

Here you can see the building board with the first few wing components ready for assembly. The board itself is plasterboard over a 12mm chipboard base, all kept square and straight with 3/4"x2" battens underneath.

On the left of the photo above, you can see a small paint brush and a plastic pot towards the back of the board. I watered down the PVA glue slightly to allow me to apply it more thinly, then painted it on with the brush. A thorough rinse with tap water after use means both the pot and the brush can be re-used.

Note I've laid out the components in handed pairs - less chance of making two left wings that way!

The parts shown are for the wing-joiner boxes. I carefully sanded down the parts to remove any traces of plywood release-agent from the surface, then glued together the first two bits of each wing box:

Next will be the second ply web seen at the top of the photo. After that, I have to cut the slots in the foam wings. Eeek! Not done that before!

I'll try to keep you all posted if interested. Any comments and advice will be welcome.

Cheers for now,

Roger.

Beautiful Scale Glider

I found this on Youtube - Chris Williams flying a lovely 1: 3.5 Scale Slingsby Kite 2a on White Sheet in Wiltshire.

Bank Holiday Weekend Flying

Hi all, looks like another classic Bank holiday weekend coming up!

Looking at the BBC weather forecast - here's a round up of there predicted weather.

Saturday - Overcast S - SE winds but not very strong
Sunday - NE - NNE (early on) 10mph then rain in the afternoon
Monday - Rain in the morning but drier midday and drying up to leave a 10mph NW wind PM
Now as we know this can all change and it could be better or worse than forecast.

We have a number of aircraft that need there maiden flights but will this weekend be any good to see them soar away from the slope?

My Lasham weather forecast for glider pilots said that Saturday will be 15mph S which would be superb for Newhaven Cliffs or Mount Caburn but this is far stronger than the BBC are forecasting.

Sunday morning early (say 9.00) could be OK at Ditchling Beacon but the wind is due to swing more E and lighten up as the rain comes in by around Midday.

How about we have a list of people and their mobile numbers who want to go flying and we leave it till the night before or even on the day. Flexibility will be the key to some flying over the BH.

Maybe someone could print off the 'A' slope exam sheet and we could try and practise the test?

I will be dashing around up to Heathrow very early on Sunday morning and all those other house hold chores plus gardening needs doing but I want to take the opportunities as and when they appear!

Are you in?

Leave me a message on the 'Shout Box' or text me and lets see what we can do to get in the air.

Nothing to do with sloping !

Hi All,
I just took my dog for his 3rd walk today and saw this dog with much better toys than mine has got !
How much money is there in the world ?

 

 

 

I really need to upgrade my dog's toys some time soon !

 

Rob

 

Club Zagi is ready to fly

Hi All,
I have been re-covering the Zagi I got from Phil Reeves and it's now ready to fly - with new covering and colours to make it stand out on the slope plus it's available for any of our members to have a go with any time - it's very light so will fly in lesser wind conditions -

I hope someone will want to have a go now that I've made it fly-able again ???

Rob

A Phase 6 is born (with flaps!)

Here is the latest model to come off Tim's production line - A brand new Phase 6 (Sport) but with the addition of a set of decent flaps (or should that be descent flaps) together with Crow on the ailerons for those controlled landings up on the hill.

Looks good Tim !

Field Update Sunday 16 Aug

Hi all, Great news - today Bernie and I managed to remove all the horses from the field and Bernie fixed the gate last night for us (many thanks Bernie), so we now have a working gate with a padlock.
If you want to fly today, please call me 07917  472166 or Bernie Jones O774O 181861and we will give you the combination number.
I will confirm the number to all members by email later today
Many thanks for your patience.

Rob Stanley

Field Update Saturday 15th Aug

I have found out that our gate is broken again and that horses are in our field.
I offered to padlock the gate last Monday but the owner told me that he would do it after removing the horses as there is no water in our field. I told him to do it asap.
It appears that he has NOT done this and therefore I have to try to remove them myself and then padlock the broken gate (I have no idea how).
I will also try to get the gate fixed once again.

IN THE MEANTIME , PLEASE KEEP AWAY FROM THE FIELD FOR SAFETY REASONS

Many thanks and sorry for the inconvenience.
I am as frustrated as all of you.

Rob

Last weeks flat field flying

Sorry for the delay in editing the video from last weeks excellent flat field flying.

Hope you enjoy the footage? Thanks to all who came along and made it a fab day.

Old Hay Aviation Boogie.

This video was taken before the airfield was invaded!                                                                           I`m very pleased the Club meet went well, hopefully will be flying there soon.

Field Update - Wednesday

Hi All,
I have not heard from our landlord up to today (Wednesday), but have been asked not to fit our own padlock. As we don't own the land, etc... I will comply but I'm trying to get our gate locked by the landlord as soon as I can........ otherwise it can be left open and allow the horses in. I am trying my best to get it done for us......

                                             
                                                     IN THE MEANTIME

                                             IF you find horses in our field 

                       DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MOVE THEM OR FLY AROUND THEM

        This will be resolved as soon as I can get it done with the landlord.

Rob Stanley Hon. Sec. / Hon. Treasurer

What a turn out!

Today at the field we had over half the club out enjoying the summer sunshine, with nine off us flying.
With a wide variety of models being flown from the Whippet DLG up to electric mouldy F5J's and a host of gliders in-between. The bungee was out too, with both Jacks Gentle Lady and Rob's Ka8 taking advantage of a high start.
Thanks to all who attended for making the day a huge success. Lets hope we get some calmer days soon so we can all get down there again for some more flat field flying. I got lots of video of the flying but just need a little time to do some basic editing and load it up onto the blog.
Chris (the farmer) has now fixed the gate and we have a fully functioning gate into our flying field.
If you were down there today share your thoughts either respond below with a comment or leave a comment in the shout box.
Cheers, Paul

Slope Soaring Sussex Flat Field Flying Day - This Saturday (8th)

Hello all......
After us having to cancel our Wales trip I am now at a lose end for a few days. The weather looks great for some flat field flying on Saturday. So why don't we make the very best of the calm, warm conditions and have a full day of flying at our own club field.
Its forecasted to get up to 22 / 23 degrees with light variable winds.
I will bring down the winch and bungee for high start gliders and we can also fly electric gliders and have some serious fun with the DLG's.
I propose we start around 10.30am and go on through the day as long as we can (or as long as people want to fly).
If you don't have something to fly - don't worry, we will find something for you to try your hands at.
So please make the effort and come along on Saturday and enjoy the benefits of having a large flat field flying site.
If anyone fancies bringing a BBQ along then feel free. Deck chairs or a rug to park your bottom on is a must. Bring along some lunch and drink (cold beers please!) a hat and some sun cream.
We could organise some informal comp flying. Longest duration of a bungee. Longest DLG flight. Nearest the spot landing. You name it we can give it a try! I might even donate some prizes.
So Saturday morning start - 10.30 am onwards.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU PLAN TO COME ALONG...................

Why ??

Why is it that we have had the windiest few months for many years and the one weekend we plan to go up to Wales for some serious hill soaring the wind decides it doesn't want to blow?
Calm on Friday and Saturday with rain on Sunday in Wales..........
TRIP CANCELLED !!!!!
Really peeeeeeed offfffffffffff.............................................................