Itford Hill 21st Sept

Hi All,
Today, we met at Itford Hill as agreed but a bit earlier at 12:15 - 12:30.
The walk to the top was challenging only because the extremely strong Westerly made the models hard to carry as their bags were being blown all over the place.
Once we arrived, it was agreed to shelter at the very top behind the trees as the strength of the wind was making it very cold and difficult to set things up.
Paul had brought his Merlow and Stingray, Ian had his Jart and Stingray, Mark had his Mirage, Tony had the Wildthing and Rob had a Ninja and re-built Mini-Vec (which stayed in the bag as it was agreed that the weather was not good for a re-maiden flight !).

Paul and Ian flew the Merlow and Jart, Rob launched the Ninja , Mark the Mirage and Tony the Wildthing…. it was very rough and the wind must have been at least 40 mph (I would think), so the lift was great, but landing wasn't so easy unless you let the model get way back up the hill where it levelled off (which is what the mouldies had to do). With the Wildthing and Ninja, we could land them in the lift on the side of the hill but even that was difficult. After a short while, Ian decided that he would fly his Stingray which at 7kg should have been pretty bullet-proof. After a 3-man launch to make sure it was straight and level, the model went like a rocket until Ian announced that he had 'lost' one aileron and had to try to land somehow...… he managed it - way up the top of the hill, using the rudder to keep the wings horizontal and I think with encouragement from Paul who was also making sure there were no people around..... a great testament to Ian's skill that the model arrived in one piece.
After that episode, and various flights by Rob, Tony and Mark with the Ninja  Wildthing and Mirage, Paul decided (bravely) to try his Stingray (which is a lot lighter than Ian's). Again, there was a 3-man launch and the model was away - Paul flew it brilliantly performing all kinds of mad stunts but with such lift it was all done safely and professionally.... the landing was also a textbook one at the top of the hill.... a final few sessions with the Jart and Ninja and we decided that the cold was getting too much, so we packed up and made our way back down battling the wind all the way to the car park almost....
A great day, not really any damage done and everyone had some good stick time.

Thanks everyone--
Rob