Thursday Flying Session

Unlike my previous very windy flying session the day before with Rob Thursday weather was completely different. The wind was light and the sky was bathed in lovely warm winter sunshine.
Scott and Ian joined me up at Itford. I went fully kitted out for the cold which meant I was roasting when I reached the hill top and collapse in a heap of too much Festive cheer (must start that diet soon!).
It was a later than usual start and we started flying around 1.00pm. No gloves were needed and no hat. There were already some of the locals flying with there models getting a little bit too close to us especially as they were flying right at the top behind the trees.
I had my Expro which seemed to be the perfect machine for me with the generally light lift but bolstered by some nice winter thermals. Scott was trying to keep his light foamy up but it proved a little too light at times. Ian had his Starlight cruising around from thermal to thermal. I topped out around 100 metres and was getting bored floating around so I took Ian's advice and rigged my Valenta Carbonara. I was convinced the wind was too light for the Carbonara but as ever this huge model didn't fail to amaze me. She is heavy but very efficient and soared away in what must have been a 5 -6mph light breeze. Had a great time flying her and I feel we understand each other a bit better now. Lots of rudder in those turns needed but she has a real presence in the air - love it!
As the time ticked by the wind eased and the lift fizzled away. At times I could just about stay up with my Expro and having to tuck it into the hill just to stay airborne. Its silly how you can get excited over just gaining a metre in height and then getting disappointed making a turn and loosing it again.
These are the days that I really enjoy. Not masses of lift but enough. Where you have to fly accurately and use your whit's to find the lift and use it efficiently.
It was one of the most enjoyable days out for many months, just a pity we had such a poor turnout.

M60 versus Ninja

Hi All,
That was today's flying - M60 versus Ninja....

Paul and I decided to go flying despite the snow and sleet and 40 mph NW winds...
We met at Devil's Dyke at 13:00 but had to sit in the cars until the rain had passed - about 15 mins.
Then we got the models out and braved the massive wind - it was very difficult to walk to the edge, but we did and Paul threw my Ninja for me and it was away followed by his M60.
Because the wind was so constant, the lift was immense and it was very exciting flying against such a strong headwind without being blown back to the car park. There was no problem staying aloft but as I said making forward headway wasn't always easy.
We lasted about 7 or 8 minutes before the weather beat us back to the cars.
After a warm up, we tried  again and this time we lasted about 15 minutes.
Time, then for a break from the biting cold and Paul had some soup before the weather cleared and we had a third go.
This time it was a little less cold without the rain/sleet so we were able to stay up for about 20 minutes or more. During this time we tried some impromptu combat (mainly because we couldn't always control where the models were going) and Paul managed to execute 13 rolls in a row across the hill - a record !!! (we think).. then in the distance we could see a load of 'stuff'' coming from the sky so we landed and retreated to the cars and home...
In all I had a fantastic day - only 1.5 hours but what a blast (literally).....

Thanks Paul for suggesting it - it reminded me of the Ninja in 50 mph at Mill Hill that day - remember that ??? (there's a video of it somewhere on the blog)


Rob

Rough as olds boots

Rob, Ian and myself flew at Itford Hill today. Not a bad wind strength but really bad turbulence led to some interesting flights. My 4 m Carbonara was being chucked all round the place and it would suddenly drop out of the sky like a stone. Had to make sure you carried plenty of speed. Ian had the same treatment with his Jedi. Poor Rob was not so lucky and his Mini Vec had a slight incident with the ground and as usual the ground won. I understand a new fuselage has been purchased and will be with Rob soon. at the end it was drizzling and getting rough but strangely light lift. Even had great trouble keeping the M60 up. Roll on after Chrimbo for some more flying.

Flying over the Christmas period

Ho Ho Ho..................and a Merry Christmas to you and you're loved ones.

Anyone flying over the Christmas break?

I am fortunate to have nearly two weeks off and will be out flying as and when I can get out.

If the relatives are getting on your nerves and you fancy some flying then text me or use the shout box to let us all know you are going flying.

I'm available to give some Instruction if anybody needs a helping hand or wants to practice those landings.

I am hoping to get out flying for an hour or two tomorrow, maybe at the Dyke as its a light NW wind forecast.

If I don't see you before the big day, I would like to wish you all the very happy Christmas and hope you have a great festive period with your families.

Enjoy and stay safe!

Paul
07834 859018

A lovely morning flying at the Dyke

Saturday brought us a lovely chilly morning at Devils Dyke with just Ian and myself flying from our club. The temperature was around freezing and add a little wind chill and conditions were a little nippy, so you had to wrap up warm and enjoy the fantastic. The wind was light at first so my Expo got some flying plus the newly built Highside. Ian flew his beautiful Jedi. She cruised around effortlessly in the weak conditions, Then as we went back to the car to change models the wind picked up the handgliders and paragliders started to climb away and the lift improved. Ian then flew his Jart and I flew the Highside again. I am really impressed with the Highside. It is a brick with wings but it behaves really well. Will roll, loop and just fly inverted but for me its still a pleasure to fly. If you are after something to build and that responds well but is stable in flight then you must consider the Highside. Not the best in penetration or energy retention but is does what it sais on the can. I'm well impressed with it.

We met up with Mill Hill Mike and Chris who flew there big mouldies with Chris maidening his DG300. We watched a very nice landing by Chris with his new glider.

After getting a little cold but not too bad we retired back to the Plough at Plumpton for some lunch, a pint and a warm by the fire.

Thanks for the company Ian.

2018 Membership

Hi All,
I am now in a position to be able to send out all the 2018 membership cards to those who have paid their club subscriptions. Further, for all members who are also insured with BMFA through the club, I have received all your BMFA membership paperwork for next year, so I will be sending that out as well in the next day or two.

I would like to thank you all for your continued loyalty to the club.

Best regards
Rob Stanley
Hon Sec

Flying this Saturday (16th Dec)

Hi all
The plan is to fly this Saturday morning. The wind currently looks as if its going to be a NW wind around 10 - 15mph maybe a touch more. The wind chill is expected to be around -4 degrees.
Speaking with Ian we hope to meet at Devils Dyke car park around 10.00am for some flying then to defrost in the Plough pub in Plumpton with a pint and some lunch.
All welcome but make sure you wrap up well and then you can defrost in front of the fire down the pub.

Coyote Build update

Hi all,
I have made some more progress on the Coyote -

the update is to be found here - Coyote Glider Build

Rob

New Members

Hi All,
I am pleased to announce that we have two new members to the club, they are -

John Marchant from Burgess Hill and Robin Strange from Worthing.

John was a member of Ardingly Fliers (which became Mid Sussex Fliers) and has quite a lot of flying experience of both power and gliders.

Robin is a member of SRFC and is fairly new to slope soaring but has flown at Mill Hill and Devils Dyke in the past.

I'm sure you will join me in welcoming both of them to our club and look forward to meeting them on a slope fairly soon.....

Rob Stanley
Hon Sec

Coyote glider build

Hi All, I have made some progress with the Coyote,

the update is to be found here - Coyote Glider Build

BMFA 2018 Renewal

Hi All,
Many thanks to all of our members for helping us process our BMFA renewals in a prompt manner.
Today Scott and I reviewed our renewal paperwork and the emails you sent us about your requirements and we've now sent off the paperwork to BMFA along with a cheque with all our renewals.
I expect to get the new BMFA membership documents in a week or so (depending on their workload), and I will then send them on to each of you with a new Slope Soaring Sussex membership card for 2018.

Many thanks to you all for your continued support.

Best regards
Rob and Scott

The weekend ahead

Hello all
I will be enjoying the snow and ice of South Wales this weekend so you will all have to enjoy the peace and quite without me. I was hoping to get up to the Bwlch to enjoy the delights of those big slopes but I fear the freezing temperatures and the threat of snow might scupper my plans.
Anyway, if you do get out flying then please don't forget to let everyone know when and where you will be flying and let us all know how it went.
Cheerio for now.
Paul

A satisfying struggle.........

Another one of those 'not a clue where to fly' days. Wind was forecast to be variable but between 5 - 10mph. Well that was a lie! Max wind speed must have been around 3mph. Anyway, Ian and I ended up at Firle Beacon. Lots of Paragliders  and Hangliders sitting on the floor or packing away when we arrived. We wandered over to the main Paraglider launch site and said hello to the guys just standing around chatting. Ian launched his Blaster for a few quick flights and I gave my Xpro a mammoth chuck out into the completely dead air for a circuit.

Then we walked along to the usual model flying bowl where Ian had a little more joy with his DLG but nothing special so we carried on over the stile and along to the next bowl which neither of us had ever flown at. Lined with trees and bushes to our left and just a small clearing and open route in for a quick landing ahead of us. This bowl would have been more into wind if there was any!

You may have noticed our main blog banner has changed to this image of Ian's Blaster 3.

Ian was flying his Blaster and just about hanging in there and on occasions the sheep below us would fart and a tiny bubble of rising methane would get you another metre of altitude. Well this was enough to try out the superb glide of my 3.6m Xpro. The first launch was out round and down. The next was a wee bit longer and in the end I managed to get all the way up to 39m above launch height. Wohooo! Watch out for the ice on the wings..........It was hugely satisfying to able to float around in what felt like no wind trying very hard not to lose any height on the turns and eking out every little drop off sheep fart thermal you could. Ian was flying his heavier Super Starlight at the time and he was doing just as well as me but carrying far more weight. You can't beat a really good battle to stay up!

We wandered back over the stile to find two other glider guiders standing around. They launched a powered glider which did need it motor on many occasion's. Ian couldn't resist showing him how it should be done with his DLG. Another difficult soaring day but a very satisfying struggle to stay airborne. 

SLEC Coyote Kit Build

Hi All,
After the not very successful Limit X, I have moved to a SLEC Coyote.
For the build log click here:  'Coyote Glider Build'



More progress as it happens ......

Rob

Saturday's flying and Highside Maiden

On Saturday we weren't 100% sure of the wind direction. So we decided to all meet up at Devils Dyke and make a call on the wind direction. Too west and too little for the model slope to work apart from Ian's Blaster which flew for a while. We watched the Paraglider sink down below the slope and decided it was time to move on.
Scott, Ian and myself arrived at Cissbury Ring and wandered up to near the top. I was time to give my Highside glider its maiden but the wind wasn't that strong or even directly on the hill.
Well here is a video of it flying:

It didn't fly bad but was a little nose heavy which meant it had a load of up trim which in turn led to limited elevator movement. A little weight on the tail will sort this out. Given that the model is really a bright orange brick it went alright. Rolled well with plenty of aileron movement. Landing was difficult given the amount of tree's everywhere and the rough ground with brambles and tree stumps all over the place. Ended up with a few tears in the solarfilm after a ground slide into some brambles.

Scott was having fun with his Wildthing and then got some good stick time with his MiddlePhase and Ian was giving us a great aero display in relatively weak lift flying his Starjet.

BMFA Renewal for 2018

Hi All,
BMFA have announced that the renewal for 2018 will be £34 - that's an increase of just £1 - seems reasonable !
I have sent a renewal email to all our members to remind them to let me know about their renewal requirements so that I can get the ball rolling for next year.
Our 'search' for a club field hasn't managed to identify anywhere , so the club subscription for 2018 will be £10 as agreed at the EGM on 5th August this year...
I would like to thank all of you for your loyalty over the last 12 months and hope that you will renew through us for next year..

Rob Stanley
Hon. Sec.

Anyone Interested in a fantastic weekend?

A friend of mine has two tickets for the Formula 1 final race of the season the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at the Yas Marina circuit on the weekend of the 25th - 27th November. They are box seats and include flights, hospitality, and hotel accommodation.
He didn't realise when he bought them that this is the same day as his wedding.
If you're interested and want to go instead of him, it's at St Margaret's church Lowestoft at 2.15pm on the 26th.
Her name is Janet. She’ll be the one in the white dress.

Take a look at what fun we had in November over the last 4 years.

Here's a link to the November posts from the last four years. It's great to look back and see what we were all up too and the faces that were around then. I though it might be good idea to do this each month as a rolling thing but I would appreciate some feedback from you all if you like the idea or not?

November 2016

November 2015

November 2014

November 2013

It's amazing to think that our blog has been going since October 2013!

Highside Glider almost finished - now covered

I set aside this afternoon to complete the covering of my Highside glider. As most of you know I do like bright (easy to see) colours. So you should not be amazed that I have carried on the theme with fluorescent orange and black. Take a look at the build log and see how I got on.
Build Blog - click here.

 

 

Sunday's Sussex Safari

Myself and Ian took an hours drive West to try a new slope (for us) down at South Harting. On arrival the wind was obviously not directly on the slope in fact probably 30 degree's off but the strength of the wind meant it really had to work. It was blowing about 25mph+.
I loaded the Willow up with it's maximum ballast and Ian had his Jart with a good portion of its ballast hidden within.
Well I launched my Willow and immediately wondered if it was switched on. The turbulence meant it was getting battered around and only full deflections at times would bring the wings level. A little further out and much higher is began to calm down a bit. After ten minutes or so my fingers were getting cold and I decided to land as Ian was already on the ground. The landing was what you would call 'Interesting'. Turned finals and into wind around 100' above and just behind the slope and the Willow aimed itself at the deck. Quick chuck the flaps away and get some speed back on and with lots on full control inputs she was back on the ground. Time to head back to the car I think.
We stopped off at McD's for a hot chocolate and headed of towards Cissbury Ring.
We parked at nearly the top and walked the final hundred feet or so to virtually the top. The view was fantastic and you could make out Culver Down on the Isle of Wight. The slope wasn't huge but the lift was strong but rough again. Both Ian and myself flew our M60's fully ballasted up (as normal). Flying around was fun but when it came to the landings this again was difficult in the now 30mph + wind.
I enjoyed the change and the new slopes. Here are a few pics from yesterday.

South Harting (Harting Down)

 

Cissbury Ring

 

Highside Glider Update

Met up with Rob this morning who wanted to check up on my progress of my Highside Glider. It's coming along really well with the wings nearly finished and probably about 80% finished.

To see all the latest pictures of the build blog and to see the progress so far - click here

Something a little different......

Here's an interesting site for you guys to have a look at. Its called 'Spot the gliders' and gives live positioning plus height, ground speed, vertical speed and glider type etc. Obviously not many gliders flying at night and on a winters day but take a look when we get a Northerly wind and watch live the gliders running along the ridge plus zoom out and see what gliders are flying around the wold. Modern technology eh!
http://live.glidernet.org/#c=51.08816,-0.26856&z=10

What a lovely model

Am I getting soft in my old age or is it the fact I'm doing some balsa bashing myself at the moment but I was really impressed with this model. John is an acquaintance of mine on Facebook and this is a design of his very own. A two channel beauty.

Watch how easy it gets airborne.........Its called an Airstream. Here it is on its maiden flight.

Some of my Mexico memories

I know its nothing to do with slope soaring but it was one of those special moments in life when you just want to share it with everyone.
I completed my PADI open water diving course in Mexico. You may notice me (the fat bloke with black and blue fins together with my daughter who has the black and bright yellow fins next to me. We got to dive with sharks, turtles and eels. I have attached some other pics and a little Tequila video that I hope makes you chuckle!
Hope you enjoy something a little different?

Veteran Car Run London to Brighton 5th Nov

Hi All,
This Sunday 5th Nov, the London to Brighton veteran car rally takes place and it runs pretty much right through the middle of Surrey and Sussex, so it's going to mean closed roads if you're flying on Sunday. As you can see from the route below it's going through Pease Pottage, Handcross, Hassocks, past Jack and Jill (Clayton) and onto the A23 at Pyecombe.
If you're planning to fly on the S. Downs, be aware that the roads on the route will be closed mostly.....
Here is the route itinerary from the RAC website -   RAC veteran car route

The Route
The route spans 60 miles starting in London, travelling
through the Surrey and Sussex countryside and finishing on Brighton
seafront.
7.02am - 8.15am: Hyde Park, London, W2 2UH
• Wellington Arch
• Constitution Hill
• Buckingham Palace, The Mall
• Westminster Bridge
7.10am - 9.15am: Lambeth, A3203
• Kennington, A23
• Stockwell, A3
• Clapham Common, A24
7.25am - 9.45am: Tooting, A24
• Colliers Wood, A24
7.35am - 11.00am: Morden, A24 – A297
• Rose Hill, A297 – A217
• Banstead, A217
• Burgh Heath, A217
• Reigate, A217 - A25
7.45am - 11.15am: Redhill
• Earlswood, A23
• Salford, A23
• Horley, A23
8.15am - 2.00pm: Crawley, A2219 – High Street
- A2220 – A2004 – A23
• Pease Pottage, B2114
• Handcross, B2114
• Staplefield, B2114
8.30am - 2.15pm: Hammer Hill, B2114
• Whitemans Green, B2115 – B2036
8.45am - 2.30pm: Cuckfield, B2036
• Ansty, B2036 - A272
8.55am - 3.00pm: Burgess Hill, B2036
• Hassocks, A273
9.00am - 3.30pm: Clayton Hill, A273
• Pyecombe, A273 – A23
• Brighton, A23
10.02am - 4.30pm: Madeira Drive

Itford Fun

Rob and I met at the parking area at the bottom of the hill at around 9.30.  Rob had his Phase 6 and his Moth and I decided to take my Weasel just in case the wind did not materialise and my Middle Phase which I had since February and never flown.  We started to walk up the hill and there was hardly any wind and it had not improved much when we made it to the top of the west slope.   Shortly after we were joined by Ian with his brightly coloured Super Starlight, M60 and Jart and then Russell arrived with his Sierra and newly built Omega.

With very little wind the only model flying to start with was my trusty Weasel.  The wind started to pick up so Ian gave his Super Starlight a go which floated around very well and only need a little blast on its motor to keep it afloat.  As the lift was sporadic Ian gave the motor a final blast to gain some height and with the whirr of the motor the model shot up like a rocket!  Russell then Maidened his Omega which went very well and hardly needed any trim adjustment at all, well done Russell! The wind finally picked up and Rob flew his Moth.

A couple of short videos of Ian’s Super Starlight floating around and with its rocket boost…

As the wind strengthened it turned slightly more north westerly so we moved camp over to just below the trees.  By the end of the session all of the models that we took had been flown and all had landed safely.  This included my Middle Phase which I landed safely with Ian’s excellent instruction.

All in all it was a great session, we all had fun and every model went home in one piece!

Scotty

Just checking in........

Hello guys from a not so sunny Mexico. I’m glad that you are enjoying the flying in my absense. Have you missed me? What do you mean NO!
We have had tropical storms, wind and lots of rain over the last week but the weather seems to be improving. They have 3 huge Eagles here in the Hotel (Porta Del Carmen, Cancun). These fly free during the day and I’ve been watching them soar high above the buildings and jungle, I knew I should have bought my DLG with me.
Anyway, just wanted to say ‘Hi’ and I hope you get some good flying in over the weekend.

The Limit Ex Maiden Flight

Hi All,

Today I went to Ditchling Beacon with the Limit Ex to maiden fly it.
Paul has flown his and found it twitchy in quite a high wind, it would roll far too much, so I toned down my ailerons to compensate for that experience.
I threw the Limit straight into wind and it went away straight and level, no trim needed - so far so good.
I wanted to turn left and as soon as I put in a little aileron, the nose dipped wildly and it went into a spin. I could not recover it from this despite trying my best at such a low altitude, so it landed a little way down the hill.
The model is fine - no damage at all, but it was very disconcerting to fly it with such weird characteristics.
I've never flown a model like it before - so unpredictable.
I have checked the C of G and the control surfaces and everything I can think of, but all seems fine.

I would be interested to see how the others come out in the air, compared to Paul's and mine.

I am prepared to be told what's wrong and have a go at fixing it, but my impression having flown many models, is that it's not good at all.

Anyway, that was the first and last time I fly the Limit Ex, move on to the next model ........

After that experience I launched my DLG and it flew brilliantly in the lightish wind.
I was joined by Richard W with his 5.3 mtr (yes - 5.3 !) ASW 22 and it was the bees knees.
From a distance the ASW looked just like a full sized glider and when it was making low , fast fly-bys it screamed and the wings were bending alarmingly - although at 5.3 mtrs you would expect that.

I left Richard there after 2 hrs and in the car park were a load of fliers getting models ready, but I didn't know them....


Rob

Turbulent Day

I was a little late getting up on the hill and when I arrived Ian and Mark were already up on the hill.  Ian had his Eurphoria and Jart and Mark had his Vector and another Mouldie.  I took my Dragon and “comfort blanket” aka the Wildthing.  For the record I was late as I doing some repairs on a Middle Phase which I acquired although I took the Wildthing in favour of the Middle Phase as I ran out of time doing the repairs!

We were joined a little later by Russell with various models, one of our newest members Marc with his Wildthing and another flier with a mouldie.

When we started flying there was excellent lift however it was a little bumpy and we were all encountered the twitching of wings when we flew through the turbulence.  As the morning progressed the turbulence became worse and towards the end of the session flying became extremely tricky and was almost too much for Marc and my Wildthings to cope with. 

Ian knew it was going to be a bad day when I asked him for assistance with the Dragon! It got worse when he looked round to prepare for a landing with his Jart and realised that all of the cows had congregated on the best landing spot at the top of the hill forcing him to make a landing to the side of where we were flying.  The final straw was when he decided to fly the Euphoria in the worst of the turbulence and Euphoria hit some particularly bad turbulence which was too much for the wing and broke the aileron section of one wing.  Ian managed to limp the Euphoria around for a landing but the damage was too bad and the heavy landing snapped the fuselage.

Here’s a video that I took of Ian landing the Jart, just to give you a reminder of the great flying and great weather you are missing out on Paul! (if you squint you can just about see the plane).

Scotty