Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I would like to take this opportunity on Christmas Eve to wish all our club members and our wider readership a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The Committee would also like to thank all our members for their continued support during a very challenging year. I do hope that tonight Santa delivers the model glider of your dreams. We are all looking forward to the coming year and hopefully better weather conditions for slope soaring and I do hope to meet up with many of you during the next few weeks. All the very best to you and your families.

It's Renewal Time Again

 Hi Everyone,

It's that time of year again when we all have to renew our various memberships.

For us , we have to renew the BMFA , the CAA and the Club subscription.

The BMFA and CAA are done online now through the Azolve system (Go membership system) and it's really simple whereby you pay online with a card.

The club subs are renewed via the club bank account and the details can be found on the recent renewal reminder  email from the club secretary to each member.

The Committee would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members for their support and loyalty throughout the last year and look forward to a better year coming up.

Best regards

Rob Stanley

3 SAS Wildthings go Wild at Itford Hill

Another spontaneous decision to join up with Mark J and Kevin M at Itford Hill this morning. I arrived at the layby around 10 and commenced the long walk up the slope. Mark J was well ahead of me, and we both met up with Kevin M who was hiding in the bushes trying to keep dry as a rather large rain shower passed overhead. Conditions were very good with excellent visibility and a good winds, but it was cold. 

Flying started well but Kevin’s Wildthing seemed very twitchy in the conditions. It was decided to remove some weight that was added last time his model flew. The results of this worked well and a little re-trimming did the job. Kevin continues to improve, and he achieved considerable stick time today. One of his landings resulted in a loose fin, reminded me of one of my landings last week. I continued to practice circuits and landings, happy to either go left or right now. Landings still need more practice. 

Mark J was happy giving both of us guidance and instruction which was really appreciated. The highlight of the day was without doubt Mark J performing a “touch and go” followed by hand catching his model. If I wasn’t there, I would not have believed it happened. We spend a good hour and a half before being joined by a chap with his Peregrine Falcon using and EDF powered wing to exercise the bird. After another few launches, we decided that it was getting a little cold and went home.

In Sum, a successful day with Kevin improving greatly, me getting some circuits and landing practice in and Mark trying to get the both of us to fly better, which I do believe he did. Thanks, Mark, for your efforts today.

Firle Beacon 25th November 2021

I made a spontaneous decision this morning to flight test my SAS Wildthing after its mid-life update and re-covering. I met Robin A on the slope at our usual launch point. Visibility was great and the wind strong, but it was very cold indeed. The temperature here in Sussex has dropped significantly over the last few days and is expected to drop further. Robin A was away flying his Mefisto 1.9-meter slope soarer but he had also brought along his Chris Foss Phase 6 and the Bugatti that he has built from a plan.

The view from Firle Beacon looking West

I had a few trial launches with the Wildthing just to set the trims. Then away she went. Again, I attempted to practice my landings with a 50:50 achievement rate, not sure if it was luck or judgement or possibly a combination of both. More practice needed me thinks.

The view looking North

Robin A however, flew the Bugatti really well in the smooth conditions and pulled off a very impressive landing. It was without doubt the highlight of my day and I think Robin A was very proud of his achievement. I look forward to seeing it fly again soon.

Robin's Phase 6 and Buggatti

One of my inverted landings un-stuck the fin so I decided to call it a day and return home. Leaving Robin A still flying his Phase 6 in the great but cold conditions.

Tony's SAS Wildthing

Slope Soaring Sussex Annual General Meeting (AGM)

 I am very pleased to say that we have recently convened our club Annual General Meeting (AGM). The first date we selected had to be postponed due to the fuel shortage crisis. However, the second date selected was a success despite low member numbers at the actual meeting. We did in fact meet the lower amended quorum as noted in the Club Constitution.

We are also pleased to announce that we now have 39 members which is an increase of 14 members over the past year and a bit.

It was decided that “Event Days” would be organized using the flat field site and maybe competitions may also be run. The Chairman had resourced all the equipment required to fully exploit the use of the field using both winch and bungee. The field being totally waterlogged earlier in the year prevented us holding a flat field training day.

Discussion was had about encouraging members to strive towards achieving their BMFA “A” certificate in slope soaring and this was well supported by all. We will investigate the training program required for this in the New Year.

Student training continues a pace with the Chairman taking on the lion’s share. Obviously, Covid-19 has had a major impact on the backlog of our training pipeline. We have had some students being allowed to fly solo this year and we have also appointed a new club instructor who will take the students to the next level.

Several proposals were brought to the table, one being setting the fee for the 2022 club subscription. Another was lowering the junior membership fee to encourage more younger members to join the Club. Also, we have decided only to charge 50% of the senior membership fee after 1^st July as we felt it was not fair to charge the full amount later in the calendar year if a potential member wants to join.

The date for the 2022 AGM would be held in October. Venue yet to be decided as we now have a lot more members scattered around the South of England and not only just based in the 'mid-Sussex' area, we may need to change the venue to accommodate the geographical needs of our members.

Sunday 7th November - Itford Hill

 Today Rob S and Kevin M met up at Itford Hill to try out Kevin's Wildthing and Middle Phase.

On arrival at the top of the hill, there didn't appear to be too much wind (or lift either), so Rob launched the club Wildthing to check out the conditions.

It turned out that there was sufficient lift to enable the club Wildthing to fly for a reasonable time and at times there was also slight thermal activity which lifted the model to a good height.

It was decided the there was insufficient lift to try out the Middle Phase.

We were briefly joined by a guy from Newhaven who had an old Secret Weapon model, but that too wasn't getting a lot of lift so he decided to go home and come back with a 4 mtr glider.

We tried Kevin's Wildthing but despite a lot of trimming we just couldn't get it to fly correctly, but by adding a small amount of weight to the nose it became much better (despite the C of G being exactly where it was meant to be), this made the model much better to fly and enabled it to penetrate a lot better. Kevin decided to leave the Wildthing until he could adjust the C of G at home. We then both flew the club model for some time.

During our session, we were joined briefly by John I, who chatted to us and explained that he was going to try the NW bowl , so off he went and we never saw John again but hope he had a good flying session.

A mediocre day's flying but it did teach Kevin how to keep the model up despite a lack of lift, so all was not lost.

Rob Stanley

Friday 22nd October at Itford Hill

 Today we decided to try out Itford Hill as there seemed to be a break in the rotten wet weather and the wind was forecast as a Westerly.

Rob S and Kevin M met at 08:30 at the layby and walked up to the top by the bushes. There wasn't a great deal of wind but Rob launched the club trainer and surprisingly it found lift and was going really well. Kevin then decided to launch his Wildthing and that also was doing very well. Rob and Kevin made some adjustments to Kevin's Wildthing because it had been set up for him as a novice flyer and was feeling a bit unresponsive. After making the adjustments to the control throws it behaved very much better and Kevin had over 2 hours of flying. Kevin also brought his Middle Phase which he had re-worked since last time to make the ailerons independent by using 2 micro servos. Rob and Kevin both flew it for quite a long time but on landing it Rob managed to hit the ground a little hard and the tail section now needs re-gluing.

After nearly 2 hours they were joined by Mark J who also had his Wildthing and an Erwin carbon-fibre model. Mark flew both his models and by then the wind had picked up and was getting pretty strong.

They were then joined by Chris C who brought his mouldie 2.7 mtr which had flaps and airbrakes. Chris only had time for 1 flight today but he really enjoyed himself and his landing with the flaps and airbrakes was textbook !

At 12:00 Rob, Chris and Kevin left but Mark was staying on to take advantage of the beautiful weather and great lift.

Rob STanley

Saturday 9th October at Ditchling Beacon

 It was decided to try Ditchling Beacon on Saturday 9th Oct, but on arrival there was very little wind.

The view was spectacular because there was fog down at the bottom of the hill and only tall trees could be seen poking through the gloom. At the top it was pretty good weather so we tried out our DLGs.

There was Paul H, Rob S, Bill H and Gordon S (who didn't have a model with him).

Rob and Bill tried out Bill's HK DLG which needed  some fine tuning but was flying pretty well.

Rob tried out his Loola and Paul H took the RX to trim it as it hadn't been flown for well over a year, Rob then took it back but after a good few flights it managed to come together with the barbed wire fence and sustained a small dent in the carbon fibre LE.

Paul flew his Fireblade DLG and it flew very well, each flight was longer than the last , Paul was in the air for at least 15 minutes at a time.

After a while Paul went to the car park to get his Sapphire, but just before launching it was discovered that the battery was flat, so it had to go back in the car.

Overall we all had a good morning at the Beacon and although the wind did pick up a little, there was no opportunity to fly any other models which stayed in the cars.

Rob

Awesome Morning at Itford Hill

Rob S and Gordon S were up with the larks this morning at Itford Hill. They brought along the Club SAS Wildthing trainer and training commenced with gusto. Understandably, Gordon expressed a wish to train on his hand built Soarceror. Apparently, Gordon has built a number of these models over the years. It’s clear to all that Gordon is continuing to improve.

As I parked up in the lay-by, I noticed Mark J loading his gliders into bags ready for the stroll to the top of the hill. We were presented with excellent scenery looking Westwards, probably the best visibility I have seen so far at this slope, especially as it’s late in the year.

Approaching the top Mark J and I noticed that a group of our Club members and 2 potential new members had gathered at our usual haunt known as “Hampshire’s Hollow”, and we noticed Robin A was based at the very top behind the bushes for some shelter. A decision was made to join Robin A further up the hill.

Today’s Club group consisted of Rob S and Gordon as previously mentioned, Robin A had his Mephisto and a Chris Foss Phase 6. Mark J was equipped with his SAS Wildthing and a Max Thrust Aggressor, I brought along my Dream Flight Ahi. Kevin M had his Wildthing and a Chris Foss Middle Phase, our 2 potential new members, Rob who had a Dream Flight Alula and Mike had a Middle Phase newly built for his grandson.

Some Gliders From Today

Visibility was excellent but the wind was light and variable, even when the wind picked up the lift produced was variable.

Gordon’s training was going well until his Soarceror suffered a heavy landing which resulted in some minor damage, but the glider is repairable. Kevin M’s Middle Phase also suffered some mechanical issues in the form of a broken clevis and a servo failure which resulted in the glider being grounded.

Gordon's Broken Glider

Rob one of our new potential members who is self-taught impressed the group with his flying ability employing the Alula and Mike another potential member has built 2 Middle Phases, 1 for his son another for his grandson.

Flying this morning was sporadic as the conditions favored lighter foamies but our experienced Wildthing flyers also managed some good stick time.

Mike's Superb Middle Phase

Around 11 the early starters began to go home and soon only I and Mark J were left on the hill. Mark J being one of our continuation instructors gave me some demonstrations of landing which was most appreciated. I continued to fly my Ahi on 2 flights this time without causing any damage. I need to perform several technical adjustments such as adding “Expo” to the Ahi setting to make it a little less sensitive. Mark J stay on for about 1.5 hours after I left and I understand that the conditions improved and several thermals came through.

Kevin's Broken Middle Phase

In Sum, an awesome day with even better company. Some good flying but some damaged gliders taken home for repair. The weather was exceptional, and it was very surprising that only tee shirts were needed this late in September. Not a great day for the guys who had traditional built balsa gliders such as the Phase 6 and the Middle Phase. A big thank you to all who attended today. 

Dane-RC Leprechaun 2 glider for sale

Anyone interested in owning a beautiful Leprechaun 2 glider?

Built by myself and you can see the step by step build process here on the blog

This is a real floater with a huge wing area and a 2.8m span (but it does have a two piece wing and removable tail plane).

Comes with ailerons, rudder & elevator.

Kit alone costs around £290 + decent Servos and about £120 worth of covering.

She is a beauty and just doesn't get out enough so I'm looking for a new home for her.

If you are Interest then I am open to a sensible offer...............

Paul Hampshire 07834 859018  paul.hampshire@shelf-space.co.uk

The superb John Woodfield flying his Leprechaun. 

Friday Morning Flying at Bopeep

 It’s been a while since I was last at Bopeep and due to the North Easterly wind, it was chosen as today’s flying location. I met Robin A at the East side from the car park, usually used by the paragliders but with the strong wind we took the opportunity to fly here. 

Robin A brought along his Phase 6 and the Mesfisto gliders. I had my Dream Flight Ahi. Robin was first away and enjoying the experience. I tried to sort out the trim of my Ahi before launching it off the slope. Unfortunately, it did not go well as I turned the glider it struck the ground nose first. Our more learned members would probably say the conditions were near the very edge of the envelope for the Ahi. Some minor damage occurred but nothing that a large tube of glue won’t fix. 

Mark J arrived with a SAS Wildthing and his Max Thrust Aggressor which were ideal for the conditions of the day. A little later Richard W joined us from the West side of the car park, bringing along a FS4000 and his magnificent Carbon Dorado glider. Nick G arrived with his Phase 6.

Phase 6, Mesfisto and Ahi.

We had a message from a fellow club member to keep an eye out for a canopy cover from a Middle Phase that came to a sticky end yesterday. As I had now had an opportunity to search for it, I went to the crash site and luckily found it. 

FS4000

I decided to call it a day and go home, leaving behind the group still enjoying the day's flying and 2 very optimistic paragliders waiting for the wind to drop. 

Max Thrust Aggressor and SAS Wildthing.

Drone Video from Firle Beacon 16th July 2021

Michael, has kindly produced a short video of our outing to Firle Beacon on 16th July 2021. Many thanks go to Michael for allowing this video to be published on our Club Blog site.

Just click on the link below to view the video.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AlcdXQOwq65D3BJ97yWV9oikbbq8?e=MrgQZN

                                            Thursday 2nd Sept at Ditchling Beacon

Yesterday Rob S and Bill H  went to Ditchling Beacon at 08:30 to avoid the crowds in the car park. As it happened there was no crowd and the car park was pretty empty all day.

We started by trimming the old club Spectre which Bill has remade and improved. It only really needed a little up elevon adjustment and it seemed to fly pretty well albeit a bit twitchy. We found a problem with the battery connection so it was grounded until Bill can fix it.

Then I got the club Wildthing in the air and Bill took over , he was doing remarkably well for his 4th or 5th flight ever, I didn't really have to intervene except for landing. In fact I got Bill to practice a few landings and they went pretty well, so he's coming along quickly.

Then I got out my re-covered Ninja (I have 2 , but this is my original one) it didn't need any trimming at all and it flew brilliantly, so I've now got my faithful old Ninja back with a new colour scheme.

After nearly 2 hours we decided that we would pack up for the day, so we both left. The car park still wasn't full by any means but there was a very optimistic ice cream van up there waiting in vain for customers.

                                         Model Glider Found at Ditchling Beacon

************** Owner found and will be re-united with his Ahi ASAP ****************

A local power flying club has found a lost Ahi model glider at Ditchling Beacon.

The Ahi was found in tact and seemingly in working order. There was however, no Operator ID on the model so it couldn't be traced back to the owner by that method (through the CAA).

If you have lost this glider, please contact our club secretary or chairman and we can put you in touch with the person who has found it.

Chairman - Rob Stanley 

 Secretary - Tony Crawford

Rob

                                         Itford Hill Sunday 22nd August 2021

Today we decided to fly the NW bowl at Itford Hill. The wind was forecast as WNW so the NW bowl should work pretty well. On arrival the wind was straight onto the bowl but very light. It soon picked up and we were able to fly our models.

Today there was just Rob S, Kevin M and Gordon S.

Firstly Rob flew his Traceur - designed for light winds as a VTPR , it worked pretty well, but when the wind picked up it was a bit too blustery for the light model.

After that the wind was sufficient to try out Kevin's newly built Middle Phase. Rob took the transmitter and gave it a few short test flights which went very well, on the third test Rob decided to let the model go out into the bowl and it was away , flying very straight with good response to the controls. On landing we increased the throws on the ailerons to make them a bit more responsive for the next flight.

Then Rob gave some instruction to Gordon and Kevin in turns, Gordon is making good progress and he will soon be in a position to try some landing manoeuvers. Kevin then had a go and made 6 landings with the Wildthing , they weren't all perfect but pretty good and he will make quick progress next time I reckon.

I didn't take any pictures but will remember to do so next time.

A great day and all models survived intact...

Rob

MAX THRUST AGGRESSOR RIDGE BUILD AND REVIEW.

Mark J has kindly provided a short build log and a review of the Max Thrust Aggressor Ridge. Many thanks to Mark for his submission.

I was after a replacement for my Multiplex Blizzard after a machine ground interface event which left it being more PU glue than foam. I’ve a ST Model Blaze in the loft, but as I prefer a cross tail I decided to give the Max Thrust Aggressor Ridge a go. 

Overall the quality isn’t bad, the foam is smooth and hard with few injection mould marks. Though one of my wings looks to be a Friday afternoon job, the colour is slightly different, the stickers were not well applied and there was a bit of an upward curve to the trailing edge at the root. A bit of heat with the iron and bending got it straight. The servos are generic no name Chinese jobs with the all-moving  elevator being digital metal gear.

The rudder has a hidden servo linkage so no control horns sticking out the back. The wing is held on with M4 countersunk metal bolts which I replaced with nylon. There’s a 5mm carbon spar about 1 meter long to join the wings, with further carbon spars in each wing half, the wing is quite stiff. 

The linkage to the ailerons is a bit bendy so I put a small carbon tube over them to stiffen them up. I also moved the linkage down one hole to get more throws. I cut down the ballast tube from the Blizzard and printed up a rear mount for it and used  epoxy  to fit it in over the C of G. It takes a couple of slugs of ballast  - weights are  80,120,160,240 grams. There’s a lump of steel in the nose to replace the motor, I removed the foam nose cone and printed up TPU (soft and squidgy) replacement. If you have a 3D printer you may as well use it. I also printed a bracket to hold in the battery which, pushed to the front, gets the C of G about right.

The maiden was at Firle in not perfect conditions, the aileron response wasn’t brilliant so I got it down and made the changes above. Second flight at Itford in much better conditions was more successful. It flies well on a par with the Blizzard. Roll rate is now OK. Inverted required a touch of down. The stall is pretty benign and easy to recover. It can be made to fly quite fast and it has a faint whistle on fast passes. I put 80 gms of ballast in it which made it slightly faster, with no wing flex. I think, like the blizzard, it benefits from a bit of ballast when the wind picks up as the overall weight is about 1kg. I set the ailerons as spoilerons (both up) for landing, they have an effect and slow it down a bit, no elevator compensation was required.

So on the whole I’m pleased with it, build quality is OK, longevity of servos and airframe we will have to see. For about £110 it’s reasonable value. I think it would make a good step on from a Wildthing, without too much expense or time investment to get it in the air -  a halfway house to a mouldie? The changes I’ve made are not needed to get it in the air, I just like playing, but I think it benefits from the ballast.     

A Sunday Morning at Beeding Bowl

The Chairman decided yesterday evening to select Beeding Bowl as todays flying location as the weather forecasts earlier yesterday were somewhat changeable.

We met at the car park at 9AM and I for one had not flown at this bowl before, so I was very excited to attend however, due to model unserviceability I was unable to take any model to fly. This was quickly rectified by the Chairman offering me a session with the Club trainer.

Present today at the bowl was Rob S with the Club Wildthing and taking on the demanding role as Duty Instructor, Tony C, Kevin M who brought along his Wildthing and a modified Lidl’s chuck glider, Gordon S, Mark V with a Middle Phase and Robin S with his Aztec.

Beeding Bowl looking towards the sea

To start with the wind was very light but did increase as the morning wore on, visibility was excellent. Flying commenced. Gordon S continues to improve and managed a considerable amount of “Stick time” this morning flying the Club Wildthing while coping with challenging conditions with the lift just dropping off at times. This was all under the expert instruction of Rob S. Some of Gordon’s family came along to offer support. Mike had a trial flight, once again under the supervision of Rob S. Mike being a professional pilot was a natural flyer and took to it like a “Duck to Water”. Kevin M was doing well until his Lidl glider had a hard landing and ejected the ballast weight. He then continued to fly his Wildthing. Mark V also has a small issue with a broken control horn on his Middle Phase but did get some flying in before the broken horn. Mark then had a long flight with the club Wildthing. Robin S flew his Aztec expertly and had a very good flying session. I managed some flying with the Club’s trainer, this Wildthing 46 is slightly different to mine as it has a greater chord length but in my opinion flies very well.

Kevin M's Models

Gordon S in Control of the Wildthing

The rain then started, and I decided to call it a day so made my way back to the car. In the car park I met Rob and James P assembling a Ridge Runt. As it was raining by then, they decided to wait till it cleared and proceeded to Mill Hill where they had a good session of flying.

In summary, a very nice morning’s flying with excellent company as always.

 

Firle on Friday 16th July 2021.

 As the expected wind direction for Friday was to be slightly East of North, Firle Beacon was chosen as the flying site for the day. Upon arrival we were greeted with unlimited visibility in all directions, light winds, and gorgeous views all around and no need to wear a coat. A great day in all respects.

View to the North East

The turnout was exceptional with 9 Club members, 1 potential member and a colleague from Sussex Radio Flying Club (SRFC). This I think is the most members we have had at any one time for a very long time.

Participating were Rob S with the Club SAS Wildthing trainer who was instructing Gordon S who performed well and has continues to improve. Rob S also brought along his Mini Phase and Traceur glider. Robin A had his Phase 6 and the mighty Mefisto. Mark V brought along a rather stunning Topaz 2 which flew well. John I had 2 gliders 1 being a SAS Blob and the other a SAS Wildthing with a rather unique oriental colour scheme. Mark J’s collection included a Middle Phase, SAS Wildthing and his Phoenix 5 3D printed glider. Clive U from SRFC had a Sprite glider. Arriving a little later on was Nick G with his Phase 6. Michael K a potential new member was invited to join us with his Veron Vortex S100 that had not flown for many years. The first flight of this glider was a challenge as it seems that the glider could only make left hand turns. Once back on the ground the trims were rechecked and adjusted plus more aileron authority was added, subsequent flights were successful. Only at the end of the flying session it was noticed that a couple of cracks had appeared around the cockpit area. I took along my Dreamflight Ahi for its maiden flight. Being reluctant to just chuck it off the slope I took it to the crest and made a few exploratory flights so I could set the trims. When happy with the settings off it went, and it went well. Second flight was not so good as I tried the out the flaps and the glider departed from controlled flight. I managed to regain control, but the landing was rather hard on the left-hand wing tip. This resulted in a broken servo wire extension lead which needs to be replaced before the next flight. My SAS Wildthing still has limited nose up trim available, either I have the C of G incorrectly set or the servos need to be reset to give me more control movement.

Gordon S with the Club's trainer.

                                                          

Some of the models on show at Firle.

The star of the show without a doubt was Robin S with his “Lockdown” built HW-4 Flamingo by Chris Williams. This 1/5^th scale vintage sailplane with an impressive 3.5 m wingspan and length of 1.57m looked impressive both on the ground and in the air. Rob S was instrumental in launching this fabulous glider and with a magnificent heavy throw it was away. Robin S is a very competent flyer who controlled the Flamingo extremely well on its maiden flight. We all hope to see this fine glider taking to the skies again very soon. I have a vested interest in this model as a I have the same kit yet to build.

Robin S with his impressive HW-4 Flamingo

                                               

The pilot ready for launch

                                                                                                    

Rob S doing what he does best.

Most flyers departed Firle Beacon around midday, but some members pressed on despite the drop in wind strength. In summary, probably one of the best Club days we have had recently. My thanks go to all who came along and I look forward to our next outing.

Slope Soaring Sussex 2020-2021 Club Update.

 

It is great to know that it is not only Club members who view this Blog but also many other model aircraft enthusiasts outside of the Sussex area. As of April, I have taken on the role of Secretary and will endeavor to routinely update this Blog. My intention is… at least monthly and each time I meet up with other Club members on a slope. I would like to take the opportunity now of giving an update of what has occurred over the past 16 months or so.

Going back in time to Christmas Day dinner in 2019, who could have foreseen what restrictions were to be put in place within 3 months. Some individuals took on the siege mentality that caused a shortage of toilet rolls, frozen foods, pet food and flour to name only a few scarce items. I also add balsa wood to the list as it seems most of it was going into the production of wind turbines in China.

We were all instructed to stay at home but to also go to work if we can but stay at home. Only go outside your house once a day but for only 1 hour’s exercise. No 2 households could meet up. Granny could not be hugged. The roads were empty as were all the pubs and restaurants. Luckily for me the Pinot Grigio wine supply was still readily available, and it supported me well through the tribulations of the Lockdowns. All non-essential shops were closed which for us included Sussex Model Centre (SMC), I consider SMC to be essential, I am sure you all agree with me. Despite obvious difficulties they continued to provided and excellent on-line service as well as a click and collect service for us locals.  Masks had to be worn in shops. Shame I did not have any shares in hand sanitizer or Perspex shield companies.

As a result, all slope soaring was curtailed unless anyone happened to have a decent slope in their rear garden as you could only travel locally. Several of our members used this time very wisely and have produced some magnificent “Lockdown” builds which are now starting to be seen in the skies of Sussex. Some of the completed builds have been shown on our very site. It is recommended that you take time and have a read of their articles and there is lots of learning to be had.

As expected, the “After School Club” at Warden Park School in Cuckfield had to be suspended but this is to resume in the autumn term. Rob S has asked that if any other Club members wish to assist and help with these sessions, can they please contact him directly. Remember, these youngsters could be our future aircraft engineers/designers or the next F35 pilots, they all need to be encouraged to be the best that they can be.

A planned outing in 2020 to Wales had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic hopefully when it is possible for life to return to normal, we can re-instate this visit if there is enough interest.

This Blog has now been viewed some 462 thousand times since conception. The half a million views will be the next big milestone. Credit for this must sit with Paul H who has continuously published many build logs, interesting articles, and all the excellent videos and more importantly, he has kept the Blog up to date.

Now that “Freedom Day” approaches, whatever that means we are all looking forward to getting out much more than in the past few months. The weather down here has not been kind to us, resulting in almost no flying.

A change in the Committee has taken place and as mentioned above I have taken over from John M as Secretary, Rob S continues as Chairman and Scott T remains the Treasurer.

We held a Committee Meeting recently to discuss several agenda items and the future AGM which we hope to hold later this year. We also welcomed a surge of new members over this past year, and we have grown from 25 members in Feb 2020 to 37 in July 2021, including one junior member.  

This has caused a massive surge in our training pipeline and due to the pandemic, a backlog occurred. I am pleased to say that this is starting to ease slightly as Rob S undertakes much of the ab initio training and when able to fly, the student is passed down the training pipeline to our continuation flying instructors such as the newly appointed Mark J who has taken to this new role like a duck to water. Being a very experienced flyer himself, passes on valuable instruction and advice to the nervous trainee. Being relatively new to the hobby myself, I too have benefitted from his sage advice and guidance. A big thank you goes out to all involved in our training program.

The polo shirts have gone down very well with Club members, and I regularly get asked for more. A further order will be placed soon but I need a minimum order of 5 or more to make it viable. So, during the next AGM I will start a new order list.

Mark J has taken the plunge and has invested in a 3D printer. He started with some small projects first such as a WW2 pilot bust and cockpit detail for his Cambrian Fun Fighter Spitfire. Being content with the results of these he has now produced a fully 3D printed glider called a Phenix 5.

The Committee are to review and update the Clubs Constitution and all policy documents, hopefully being published on this site early next year. We hope to have all documents encompassed within one single book available for all to view on this Blog.

That’s about all the news from Slope Soaring Sussex over the past 16 months. One of our members said to me at the start of the pandemic “health matters more than hobby” I totally agreed with him and am sure you do to. As we slowly emerge from a post-pandemic world, it is hoped more members will venture out and join us on the sunny slopes of Sussex in the future as the weather improves but in a safe and comfortable way for everyone.

Bird of Time

Last year before we went into this latest lockdown Rob  sent a message out on our WhatsApp group saying he had a number of models looking for new homes and included in the list was a Bird of Time kit. At the time I was just completing the Phase 5 build so it was a timely message one which I could not turn down. So after a visit to Copthorne to get a car serviced and MOT'd I dropped into Chez Rob and picked up the said kit. The Bird of Time has a 118" (3 m) wing span, it's an old design and is intended for flying off a winch or bungee and has four tow points built in to the fuselage. However, many people fly them on the slope so I've built the tow hook locations in but intend to fly it off the slope for which I have added a spoiler to each inner wing.

This is the first time I have built an American kit so a few words on the kit: the kit is well presented and the wood to be of good quality the only gripe I had was the quality of the die-cut parts, which was poor in comparison to current standards of laser cut parts. The poor cutting wasn't too bigger an issue it just meant I had to be more careful in taking the parts off the sheets and a fair bit of sanding was then required, something they advise you to do anyway.

The hardware was of good quality. The supplied push rods for the rudder and elevator controls are substantial, I ended up modifying my approach because getting the elevator control in place in the recommended way left the rod so badly bent the servo was using all its energy just to move the rod in the conduit. This was a great pity and for the rudder I replaced the supplied rod with a lighter weight one in order for it to freely move in the conduit where it exits the rear fuselage.

Building it wasn't much of a problem other than getting the wing roots correct. The spar is substantial and obviously aimed at winch launching as there is a 3/8" thick vertical grain web between the upper and lower hardwood spars in the inner wing. Epoxy is used extensively at the wing root and the dihedral changes and other than the wing 'D' box which uses pva most of the gluing uses cyno.

The instructions are good and a lot of information is provided on how to set up the model, something often left out, so in short I've enjoyed building it and as I'm planning to use it on the slope I've covered it in nylon to add strength. Now all that's needed is for me to be able to go to the slopes and fly it along with my other lockdown builds.

Februarys Gone by.......

Looking back over some of our February flying sessions over years gone by....

Feb 2019

                                                                Feb 2018

                                                                     Feb 2017

Another lockdown build - Phase 5

Last spring I bought a set of ribs and plan for a Chris Foss Phase 5 from Nick and when I had finished the Flamingo I started it. Talk about chalk and cheese, building the Flamingo and Phase 5 could not be more different but still interesting.

I looked at the previous Phase 5 build log and noted the areas to be wary of and off I went. I’m not intending to do a re-run of the build as Paul more than adequately covered that, I just want to highlight a couple of differences between his model and mine and to answer one question that Paul had about the tail plane - each side is made from two pieces of balsa cut at different angles to the grain to add strength.

I’ve hinged the inner ailerons at the bottom rather than the top and shaped the upper LE so they can still operate as ailerons but still allow me to get 80+ degrees of flap.

Finishing has been done the traditional way in nylon for the wings, fuselage and fin and all flying surfaces are covered in tissue paper as per Chris’ original ‘70’s design. The wing was covered in two pieces of nylon the fuselage in a single piece. Ah! the smell of dope takes me back a decade or two or perhaps five. The model is going to remain in its natural state as I like wood, so here it is.

Now all that's needed is to be let out to play safely.