Sunday 10th September 2023 - Flat Earth Society Meeting at the Flat Field.

Once again an amazing number of club members turned out at the flat field site this morning, in fact it was a 1/4 of the entire Club Membership. To be fair the weather was not great, it was very humid with no wind and only the occasional breeze coming through.

Car Park.

Glider Park.

On a personal note, I do not, as yet own an electrically powered thermal glider or a bungee equipped one and I was using this mornings flying as research to what types of gliders are available for a future purchase.

By the time I arrived at the field many of the members where in the process of building and assembling their aircraft. There was a large selection of gliders to look at.

The Club Chair, Rob S took on the role as the Field "Supervisor" for the morning. As an experienced flyer he was able to provide much guidance to the less experienced flyers amongst us, myself included. He was also in charge of bungee launching.

Robin S brought along his Friendly F5J 3.6 meter glider and also his Cirrus Prelude 1 (CPI) 3 meter glider. I consider Robin to be very knowledge regarding gliders and he provided me with some sage advice on the different aspects of powered gliders from thermal types to hot ships. I am now in a far better position to decide which type to choose. My only problem now is that there is too much choice.

Robin S in Full Launch Mode.

Scotty T, was there with his repaired Elektro Junior S glider. Apparently, the previous tail section damage was caused by a faulty servo which melted the foam. He was a little reluctant at first to fly it but with some strong encouragement from Club members he decided to give it a go, under the supervision of Nick V he had an enjoyable flight but erring on the side of caution allowed Nick to land the glider for him.

Scotty T.

Kevin M was flying his Arora with great aplomb until he unfortunately landed out in an adjacent field. However, recovery was not that easy as Kevin disappeared behind the hedge row. Rob S remained in mobile phone contact with him and soon Kevin reported that the first obstacle to negotiate was a rather large, water filled ditch with a barbed wire fence on the other side of the ditch, then mobile phone communication was lost. Rob was concerned that Kevin had come to some harm and asked if I would  try to find him. Fortunately for us, his model glider was still visible to us looking on, so we could guess which route he might have taken. I followed Kevin's route and came across the aforementioned ditch and walked a bit further along the path. At this point I noticed Kevin had managed to get himself on to the other side of the ditch. After a cheery wave I returned to the flying field and reported back to Rob that I had seen Kevin and all is well. Further phone calls and lots of arm waving to Kevin giving him directions resulted in him recovering his model. A couple of interesting points were noticed during this event, one was that his orange glider was easy to see and that Kevin was wearing a red club polo shirt which made him very visible to see when he was in the hedgerow.

Kevin M's Glider.

Mark V was flying his Maxa 4 and Joy 2.5 meter glider and was enjoying the day. 2 very distinctive gliders.

Mark V's Gliders.

By the time I arrived Nick V was in the process of assembling a rather nice ASW28 scale glider. He came prepared with a picnic table along with a model aircraft stand, quite the professional aeromodeller. In addition he also had a Twin glider. It was great to have the entire Committee attending the session. I think Nick was a little confused between flights as I saw him fishing. By the size of the reel I dread to think of the size of the fish that he was attempting to catch but I can say he needs "to get a bigger boat". Having said that he Nick was awarded "Fisherman of the day".

ASW28

"I Need a Bigger Boat"

Paul H was at the field before me and had brought along a Phoenix 2400 and an Omei 2000 EP. He too enjoyed the mornings flying. The Phoenix 2400 is on my short list of a possible purchase and it was great to have a look at Paul's, we as a club also have one of these for members to fly.

Phoenix 2400.

Robin Ad, a regular attendee both on the slope and at the field had his Thermik Dream and a nice Malibu Pro DLG. 

Robin Ad's Thermik Dream.

Robin At who is one of our newest members was warmly welcomed by all. Always great to have new members joining us for a mornings flying. He was flying a Radian 2.6 (XL) and a very nice scratch built glider.

Radian 2.6 (XL).

Keith M another new member brought along a Radian Pro, a Thrush 1.6 and an Avia. 

Keith M's Glider Collection.

In summary, a fantastic mornings flying with even better company. All members went home with their undamaged models. High points of the day were Kevin M's recovery of his glider and Nick V discovered a new hobby of fishing for river monsters. He commented to us that "You should have see the one that got away". Now Nick is in the market for a rather large fishing pole that his orange reel can be fitted to and a much bigger boat!! All of us are looking forward to the next Club meeting.

I can also confirm that all Committee members have a Club windsock for use on the slopes.

Our thanks go to Paul H for some video taken on Sunday morning. I believe it was taken by his Phoenix 2400 glider.

Here's a video from Paul's Phoenix

https://photos.onedrive.com/share/DFA8E6216E5B5A7F!7284?cid=DFA8E6216E5B5A7F&resId=DFA8E6216E5B5A7F!7284&authkey=!ABV1wZYXxq3VH-U&ithint=video