Taking Advanatage of the Dyke

This morning I was unable to join the group who were flying, but took advantage of some last minute found time this afternoon.
I arrived to find a constant NWW wind of around  16 mph, which I think is a perfect strength for my SAS Wild thing 46 and a handful of hand gliders.
I've found my wild thing struggles below 12mph and you have to work the best of the lift you can find to make it fly at its best.
These conditions were perfect for me, I did my pre-flight checks and found my elevons were out of position, this is an issue I am having every time I flying this model, but with the advantage of dx7 I quickly made the required changes.
I had installed some cheap metal gear servos from ebay (tower hobbies, probable fake) during the build, I was suspect about them and before installing them, I had done a function check and made sure they centred.
The strange thing I had on a previous flying session, was I  had to use some sub trim to make corrections, but this flight had to take it all out to centre the flying surfaces. I plan to replace these servos in the future.

I launched the model, trimmed and had a great time, there was loads of lift, joined by the local birds of pray I had the best flying session with this model yet, carry loads of speed I was able to run low passes, rolls and it would just soar straight back up to do it all again.

I am finding Devils dyke is one of my favourite flying sites, when its not busy with Para gliders and people, it has a nice wide open slope so you can see all around you and a large flat landing zone.

 

Good lift but rough at the Dyke.

Paul and I met at the far end of the Devil’s Dyke car park where unusually for him he had only brought along his recently completed Phase 6 and I with my Wildthing. We made the short walk to the ridge and I started to unpack my transmitter while Paul assembled his glider. It was at this time Paul noticed that he had inadvertently left the battery switch on after charging and therefor had no power. No flying for Paul. This shows it can happen, even to our most experienced member of the club and maybe a valuable lesson for us all here to re-check our equipment before we set out to the flying site so as to avoid any disappointment. Along then came Scott with his Me163 Komet and we started to fly. The lift was good but rough and cold with gusts of 21 mph. I continued with my glider while Paul instructed Scott on inverted flight with his model. Paul decided to leave us at this time, so Scotty and I continued to enjoy the mornings flying. By late morning it was getting busy with ramblers and dog walkers and a few fast-moving model gliders just above us, so we decided to return home. On the way back to the cars we noticed that apparently it was not only Paul who had battery problems this morning up on the Dyke. Only joking Paul.

A superb Easter Sunday at The Bwlch, South Wales

As most of you know I was up in Wales over Easter. I met up with Ian on the Saturday afternoon at his new home. The place was just amazing. The views were stunning and the place just oozed relaxation.
The next morning (Easter Sunday) Ian picked me up and we headed on up to The Bwlch. We met up with Steve (A470 Soaring) and Nick Rees. The wind was very light but luckily both Ian and I had our big winged floaters. We started on a slope called 'The Wrecker' and looking over the sheer drop and very limited option to land if you don't make it back on top of the slope, you could see how it gets it's name.
I rigged the Expro and chucked it off and luckily the lift was there as well as some nice thermals. Ian flew his Shadow and we played on the Wrecker for half an hour or so until the wind started to swing from NE to SE, so we moved up and over to the other side of the hill which is aptly named 'the back of the wrecker'.

This slope is again a very steep sided slope with no hope of landing anywhere other than back on top or you will have a very long walk down into the valley to find your model.
Nick flew his Blaster DLG and Steve flew his Multiplex electric glider. Lots of banter and time spent watching Ian show off in very light lift. It was sometimes a very big leap of faith to chuck your model off the edge and hope the lift was working.

The thermals were coming through thick and fast but with this good lift came the sink. A few times I had to dump it in short lower down the slope on top rather than get below hill top.
The lift became a little more reliable at times which meant I could even get to fly my Phase 6 in the stronger lift.

I really enjoyed the weather, the banter and the good company. I hope its not going to be too long before I am back up in Wales with my flying buddies and to catch up with Ian again. The Bwlch is a stunning place to fly with a flying slope in nearly any wind direction. Make the effort and go and fly there!

Happy Landings

Today was my third successive day for flying off Wolstonbury Hill, that has to be a record, but this warm NE wind was too good to waste. I cycled again in spite of feeling tired after my previous outings - I like to think I'm getting fitter, which is the whole point of the exercise.
The Xeno and the Stage 2 took turns in the air, which provided ample lift.
I discovered a new (and hopefully reliable) landing method. Standing in the middle of the north facing slope I flew straight and level from right to left and aimed at the top left corner of the field where the grass is smooth and the ground gently rises. Sure enough the ground rose up and caught the model smoothly without any further manoeuvres on my part - a very happy landing indeed.
Happy Easter
Russell H

Shorts and cows on Ditchling Beacon

On a glorious morning at Ditchling Beacon I was joined by Rob who brought along his Zulu and his recently completed Coyote for its maiden flight. John was also present today with his repaired Phase 6 from last weeks little incident and his fine Strega model. Very much like yesterday the lift was weak but the forecast suggested stronger winds a little later in the morning. Rob was the first to fly and his Coyote flew straight ahead and true with only some minor trim adjustments being required, it is a very nice and professionally built balsa glider. My Wildthing struggled as usual with the conditions but I pressed on regardless.

View to the East

Robin joined us bringing along his usual two foam models but additionally today his Malibu Pro DLG which was ideal for the early conditions. Mark arrived at the slope with his Irwin and Mamba and of note was, for the first time this year, Mark was displaying his knees to the world as shorts were the order of the day. Scotty and his nephew Tyler came to join the fun and Tyler is now a budding model aircraft pilot who enjoyed his “Hands On” experience flying Scotty's Wildthing whilst employing the buddy box system. Tyler later stated that “the flying gets easier the more you do” maybe a lesson for us all. Last to arrive was Bernie one of our potential examiners for our “A” Certificates who gave some of us a quick brief on the content of the examination and then he flew his Super Starlight with aplomb. 

View to the North

As the lift increased the air was now full of gliders. John flew his Phase 6 which went well and looked great flying again, well done to John for the quick repair. Mark was happy with his Mamba and gave me some advice regarding downwind turns prior to landing. Scotty soon built up the confidence to fly his Middle Phase with Bernie giving him advice and being there to land it for him. Scotty and I also managed to perform a re-enactment scene from late on in WW2 of a Royal Air Force and German Luftwaffe aircraft in combat, obviously the RAF won the day. 

Our only hazard today was the herd of cows encroaching the landing area a few times but one look at Mark’s knees and they were off like a shot the other way, only joking Mark. In Sum, a very nice day had by all with much flying taking place over possibly the warmest Easter Saturday we have had for many years. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our club members and the many followers we have of this blog a very Happy Easter.

Phoenix MP Snowy ~ Maiden Flight

Two months after finishing the model the weather and opportunity finally arrived and she took off today.
With due credit to the designer I have to say that this glider exceeded all expectations.
I have built a few rudder/elevator 'trainer' models in my time and their flight performance is typically slow to move and slow to respond especially to rudder input. Not so the Snowy, from the moment it left my hand it was clear that this is a surprisingly slippery ship, with no penetration issues in spite of its low weight. The rudder looks small, but it is remarkably effective and Snowy will turn on a sixpence if required, then only a dab of down elevator is needed before pulling back for a tiny tight loop or two. All this and my thumb was barely moving the stick - I think I need to reduce the throws or set 50% exponential, which I have never needed before.
There was a warm NE breeze on Wolstonbury Hill this morning, it was very light, but no need to worry because Snowy needs barely a whiff to take it aloft and when the wind picked up it didn't want to come down at all. So it's an ideal model for marginal conditions.
The two-piece wing made for easy transportation:

Assembly was very straightforward:

And she's ready to go:

There are no landing aids, like airbrakes or flaps, so you have to bring it in straight and level and hope for the best. As you may know Wolstonbury Hill is very lumpy, so the impact resilience of this model is very welcome. The wings popped off a couple of times - on the first occasion they left all the rubber bands in place on the fuselage (a very neat trick); the second 'abrupt' landing bent the wing joiner slightly, so I'll get some spares for next time.

Happy landings,

 

Russell H

A Good Friday's flying

I arrived earlier than expected so decided to cross the road and go to our normal flying location only to find a solitary paraglider trying to inflate his flying wing without much success. I moved further across the ridge which provided some deconfliction between the two of us. I made a few attempts to fly my Wildthing without much luck. Scott joined me with his Weasel and Me163 Komet.  His Weasel flew very well in the light conditions and he even managed to attain some considerable height at times and even mixed it up with the local bird life in a weak thermal. As the morning advanced the wind strengthened and we moved further across the ridge. I managed to get my Wildthing flying but I stayed close into the top of the ridge as the lift was still very weak which allowed me the opportunity to land quickly if required but I must admit I had to recover my aircraft from the lower path a number of times due to the lack of lift or maybe it was my lack of experience. Scotty managed to fly his Komet but also suffered a similar experience to me with the lack of lift but he managed to land within view. He persevered with the Weasel and we had a pleasurable flying session in the very nice warm weather with both our aircraft flying around at the same time. It was now getting very busy with walkers, cyclists and such like so we decided to return to the cars where we met two guys from Switzerland who told us they were here practicing for a F3F competition and were staying locally in Eastbourne.

Six for Wolstonbury Hill

Due to the prevailing wind it was decided that Wolstonbury Hill would be our location for today’s flying. I met Scotty in the New Way Lane parking area and strolled up the side of the hill. Upon reaching the crest we could see Paul directly opposite us on the other side of the bowl. With much frantic waving of arms and shouting to ascertain the best flying point we turned to technology and used our mobile phones instead which made communication with each other much easier. Paul said that he would fly his Phase 6 and judge the lift…we watched in anticipation from afar. After a successful flight we joined Paul at his location where John joined us with his Strega followed by Rob with his Validimir’s Models Graphite 2e. The wind was at this time very light at about 7 mph and we all had several short flights and with stronger winds forecast later in the morning, we waited expectantly. At this point Robin joined us with his Alula and his scratch-built wing he also tested the available lift, which was still marginal. 

The result of this was that he had to recover one of his models from way down the hillside. Scotty brought along his Middle Phase but that stayed firmly on the ground due to the lack of wind, but he did manage to fly his bright red Messerschmitt Me163 Komet very well and made some good landings. Paul was awesome today by hand launching my Wildthing several times giving me the opportunity to perform some low-level circuits and landings in the very challenging conditions. Paul was also on good form displaying his exceptional flying skills with his Ascot but unfortunately while landing his newly built Phase 6 it hit one of the many lumps that are abundant on the landing area and popped off its wing causing the attachment bolt to shear. Rob had the greatest advantage over us all as his electrically powered propeller on the Graphite 2e came into very good use at times. At one point John’s Strega, Paul’s Ascot and Rob’s Graphite were all in the air at the same time. Unfortunately, Robin’s Alula suffered a broken servo horn during this mornings session. The wind direction now changed as expected and it was almost unflyable from our current position, so we decided to pack up and return home. On the way back down the hill Scotty and I met Robin who was now surrounded by a large heard of cows. Robin had managed to find a good spot further around the bowl and was happily flying his scratch-built wing despite his attentive bovine audience. In summary, a nice day but more wind next time please.

Chris Foss Phase 5 Build Blog

I have today created a new build page (which you will find in the horizontal menu above) called 'Chris Foss Phase 5 Build 2019'.

Its name really gives it away but I wanted to share with you my next journey on the way to be a model builder.

So what's a Phase 5?

Here is one I found online

Thank you to Mike Brinkworth the owner / builder of the lovely Phase 5 model shown above for the use of his image.

73'' span plan built aerobatic slope soarer. Comes complete with flaps and ailerons.

Find the Phase 5 build blog here.

Dithcling Beacon Phase 6 Maiden

Wasn't sure what we would be greeted with up on top of Ditchling Beacon this morning. The visibility was very poor but at least the wind was steady. Rob, John, Tony and I walked across the road and dodging the dog poo we set up next to the fence and stile.
Time to maiden my new Chris Foss Phase 6. It had been finished with visibility in mind and today you needed it. The mist was rolling across the slope so I decided to stand the other side of the fence and then you have plenty of hill to play with beneath your feet.
Here is my Phase 6 Maiden video.

It performed perfectly from launch. Absolutely, no trim was needed. I kept it close by as the vis was so rubbish. The lift was reasonable and the bright colours made it stand out well. The landing flaps worked well with decent control on landing.

Nick turned up with Robin to join the happy group. Nick and Tony were the other side of the fence enjoying flying their Wildthings. I spent some great time with John working on his landings. Rob flew his big white floater Impulse glider that purred up and down the slope for about fifteen minutes with Rob flying very smoothly.

Later a technical fault (we are not sure why) John's Phase 6 ploughed into the hillside with no obvious reasons why it did. Sad when a model goes in through no obvious reason why. Sorry John!
Robin flew his new Mefisto mouldy and showed much skill during practising his landings.
I have a load of additional video that I will put up later which show a load of others flying.

Two for Wolstonbury Hill

This morning I met Robin at our pre-arranged parking spot at the bottom of the hill and after a 25 minute casual stroll we found ourselves at the top of the bowl. This time we chose a flying position behind the wire fence. The wind was directly up the bowl at a steady 12mph with good lift but with hazy visibility. Robin and I had our usual models and flying commenced. Both of us decided to practice our landing skills and it did seem that on this side of the fence line there seemed to be fewer lumps in the landing area but only just. At one point I did find myself well below the rim of the bowl but managed to recover the situation. Robin flew really well today and performed many good landings. I must admit I impacted the fence on two occasions. More landing practice for me is obviously required. After about 1hr 20 we decided to return back down the hill. In summary, a very enjoyable flying session was had by both of us.

50mph at Rhosilli

Here is a video taken August 2017,when I flew with Steve Houghton up at Rhosilli is a stonking Westerly wind. I am hoping to meet up with Ian Ashdown over the Easter weekend to get some flying in. Lets hope its a Westerly wind again!!

Might even see Steve and his mates as well.

What's Next?

I enjoyed the Phase 6 build and looking for the next challenge and I think I have found it!

Having spoken with Ian A, I have made the decision to try and build a Chris Foss Phase 5. I'm not in a hurry to build it as Ian is thinking his will be a next winter build.

I have purchased a rib kit from eBay : https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chris-Foss-Phase-5-Slope-Soarer-Rib-Sets/293032153719?hash=item443a13d277:g:vn4AAOSwQItUHC~j

I'm just waiting on collecting two plans for the Phase 5 from Chris himself: http://www.chrisfoss.co.uk/#/constructional-plans/4538948935

Anyone else interested in building one of these with me and Ian?

I think this build will be a real challenge as it comes with no instructions but just a plan. I will just have to keep asking for help from you guys...……