Due to the expected South West wind forecast it was decided to meet up at Beeding Bowl which is situated about 2 miles North of Mill Hill. Rob S the Club Chair was the first to arrive at the slope with the Club trainer and buddy box as we were expecting a potential new club member called Mark to turn up. Rob also had his Coyote glider but unfortunately during the pre-flight checks Rob noticed that the canopy was insecure and did not want to loose it during flight.
I arrived with my Wildthing and Rob and I spent sometime having a chat while waiting for other club members to arrive. We then decided to go to the ridge and set up the windsock and made a few exploratory flights. Although, there was a stiff breeze coming up the bowl there was not a lot of lift available but the air mass was very smooth indeed. During one of Rob's flights he was accompanied by a rather inquisitive crow that would not leave his Wildthing alone and followed it around the bowl. Fortunately, it must have become bored as it re-joined its flock and moved away.
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| Rob in Formation with a Crow. |
Scotty our Club Treasurer turned up with his Dreamflight Ahi and Weasel. He also admitted to me that in his car he had his Chris Foss Middle Phase which he would like to fly when the conditions were right. Come on Scotty "What could possibly go wrong". Only joking mate.
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| Scotty's Models. |
It was good to see Richard W on the slope today along with a Wildthing and a Chris Foss Phase 6. His Wildthing is equipped with a gyroscope and with his excellent flying ability gave us an impressive display of how to control a Wildthing. Unfortunately, the prevailing condition were not sufficient for his Phase 6 so he re-located down the road to Mill Hill.
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| Richard's Phase 6. |
Rob P was on the slope with his rather nice Ridge Runt. Apparently, according to Rob it weighs a little more than it should. This became evident whilst on finals to land when it just nosed in and had a very heavy landing causing a rather large crack near the nose. Rob said it was a very heavy landing for a very heavy Ridge Runt. I do expect Rob will repair the model in due course.
Despite it being early October it was surprisingly warm with a little breeze. I was surprised to see Nick V approaching the slope just wearing shorts and a tee shirt. Thinking about this later I then remembered that he once worked for the postal service, so probably wears shorts all year round. Nick brought along his Wildthing and another glider which he called "Abit" or something like that. Apparently, it's built from a bit of one glider and a bit of another, so it could be justifiably called a Hybrid.
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| Nick's "Abit" Glider. |
Another Wildthing appeared owned by Martin J, he also brought along his Blob. The non flyers who were at this time standing behind the active flyers noticed that Martin was now attempting to land his Wildthing. We all watched as the model got closer and closer to him before he had to employ some fancy footwork to prevent being taken out by his own glider. The consensus of opinion was that he should be entered into "Strictly" doing the Foxtrot. Well done Martin.
Mike G had thought of everything as he most importantly brought along a chair so he could relax and watch the flying. His model of the day was a rather nice modified Wildthing. He also gave us a really good brief on the maiden flight of his Tony Nijhuis TSR2, which unfortunately ended up in a tree, requiring the services of a Tree Surgeon to facilitate its recovery.
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| Mike's Modified Wildthing. |
As a Club we are very aware of our surroundings and are conscious of the effect that model aircraft can have on passing horses. Once we see riders approaching we either land or position the model as far away as possible. While Rob was allowing Mark to get some stick time some riders appeared and Rob decided to land but the model ended up in a bush. The riders were most appreciative but stated it was not necessary to always land in the bushes.
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| More Models in the Glider Park. |
On the last flight of the day we had a mass launch by the members still on the hill. I followed Scotty's Weasel and unfortunately we had a coming together. Although his battery pack was jettisoned along with the cover he was seen to actively try to control the model despite having no control. Both models landed safely and all part of the Weasel were recovered. I am happy to confirm that the Weasel only suffered superficial damage and Scotty is still friends with me.
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| My Wildthing and a Club Windsock. |
In summary, a rather nice morning's flying with many of our Club members being present. Most members went home with undamaged models but some have repairs to perform before our next outing.
