Topic: South East Flyers

Crikey, 30 gusting to 38, that's almost 4 times what I had in Surrey.  

I reckon 30mph is fantastic fun as long as I have a plane I'm not too worried about.  

I see tomorrow might be another 30mph day with West winds.  I have the parents-in-law over for lunch so I can't make it, but I bet the west slope at Long Man will be good, or even that rumoured west slope off the road that goes from the A27 down into Newhaven.

To anyone who makes it out, may you fly fast and land slow.

I would like to try & make it to Mill Hill but I have to go in to work around lunchtime 

Oh yeah, I forgot Mill Hill can work perfectly well in west winds despite being a SW slope.  I like really like that slope, it always works so well.  Though the winds are usually higher there than the forecast, which is not so good if the forecast is high.  I've flown there in 35mph and it's excellent except for the landing...

Long man was excellent yesterday - plenty of lift and i didn't break anything  ::cc

The Salto was very impressive although i wouldn't have fancied the long man walk carrying something like that in that much wind 

Aldij (spelling  ) was very impressive fully ballasted in that much wind 

a Salto indeed (German for 'loop' I believe)

looks like he even had the scale dive brakes.......superb!

that's what there called?
I must say when he showed the brakes i was shocked to see they hinge at the middle not the front hence being up and down at the same time
(hard to describe in words)

I like the sound of those brakes, they sound very effective.  A bonus feature is that if you could set them to be able to tilt slightly in flight in opposite directions they might act as extra ailerons! 

Here's a real dodgy pic but you get the idea

He said she just stopped but was very likely to tip stall

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1PE0AWljn0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1PE0AWljn0</a>

this shows the brakes in full effect, it's interesting to note that the Salto also deploys the drouge chute in the dive so the guy who's had the frontal labotomy can catch up with him.....

I enjoyed really smooth soaring with my little Multiplex Fox on Saturday between Castle Hill and Hollingbourne..

We went for a 'stroll' along the North Downs and I went prepared with the little fox and Tx in tow. About 2 miles from Castle Hill we settled down to our sarnies and tea on a little beaut of a slope above Broad Street farm. The Fox climbed like the clappers and a 30 minute smooth flight was enjoyed before the wind started gusting to probably near 20mph. The model handled it ok but Julia didn't..

Back at Castle Hill, the paraglider's had all but vanished and some pretty nifty piloting was seen...who had that electric model that climbed vertical to a dot in seconds... ...my little fox was well up there some of the time (when I could get it away from the gusty turbulance at the edge of the slope) and this missile was climbing past me out of sight..!

Sad day Paul.. ...I heard it but didn't see it mate. Hope things weren't as bad as you first thought...

Cheers......

Hi David

Terminal I'm afraid, looks like there could be a replacement in the offing though.

I've long fancied having a go at a cross country from Thurnham to Hollingbourne, looks like Deryck could be up for it too so this year could be it! I walked the route last summer and with a bit of forward planning I think
it's possible.

I think it was the other Paul ripping around with his hotliner.

Umm...sorry to hear that Paul, never mind mate, look forward to flying the replacement...

We went about 3/4 of the way to Hollingbourne and turned back this time, next time we're off to Hollingbourne to do the same (when the winds right of course.. )

The route looks really good for cross country to me. You'll have to be field side of the fence a lot of the time though or you'll be surrounded in trees if you stick to the path. They went right over our heads and even without leaves on the trees, a lot of the time we couldn't see the slope. The early fields nearest Thurnham are full of lambs already so you may need to leave it a little while to save annoying a farmer or 2..

Here's the path on Streetmap, plenty of SW contours to play with along the way... That campsite looks inviting for a night or two halfway along the route...

Streetmap - Homepage+[Town]&searchp=ids.srf&mapp=map.srf

I saw Simon and Jon launching their flat field soarers the other Sunday using a winch, very impressive and a bit daunting for someone not used to seeing that. There must be some serious wing joiner in them.. Similar to what must be in Paul's hotliner I should imagine..

You'll have to be field side of the fence a lot of the time though or you'll be surrounded in trees

Yes, I think the trickiest bit is between Thurham and Coldblow you'd have to fly round the back to the eastern most bowl at Thurnham, then walk to the bottom of the hill, fly from the bottom til you're past Coldblow then pickup the path on the ridge again.

I haven't been able to fly lately due to work commitments but today after a meeting in Wiltshire I took the opportunity to check out Watership Down.

It's a very pleasant area with two quite good slopes (NW and NE) and okay landing zones.  I'd say the slopes are about as good as Castle Hill and the landing not as good as Castle Hill.  There are also cross country soaring opportunities.  The area consists of private land with public access managed by the council (the land is mostly owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber apparently).  Some cross country slopes are limited by 'Keep Out' signs.  Another limiting factor is that race horses are sometimes exercised there and soaring isn't really feasible when that occurs, mainly because the best landing spots are also the best horse running spots.

All in all a very pleasant site, if you lived within 10 or 20 miles you'd really enjoy it, especially considering there are so few other sites around there.  But it's not quite the sort of site you'd travel a long way for.

Paul, you lost a plane?  The toplight?  What caused it?

I always like to hear what went wrong, not in a grisly way, but just to learn what to avoid, what bits can fail on planes etc.

When I think back to how I have damaged planes, here's my top 5 -

1. Tip stalls too close to the ground (which is my idiocy - too slow too low)
2.  Aerobatics too low (ie idiocy again)
3.  Receiver wire broken internally so it still looked fine externally (which is idiocy again, coz it means I didn't range check)
4.  Mid air (nobody's fault, or perhaps it's my idiocy again for flying in crowded skies)
5.  Landing too fast in a cack handed attempt to prevent 1.

So it's mostly brain failure, not component failure!

It was the 2.7m Brisk bitsa that bit the dust Gary, had a mid-air with a Wildthing at the bottom of a fast pass. I took his fin off and came out inverted, I rolled back upright and the model dove straight in from about 100ft (no elevator response at all) so I must have dislodged the v tail.

One wing was split open along the it's length, the other seriously creased, I had to split the nose cone in two to get it off and disconnect the battery. Four servo gears stripped and the carbon wing joiner cracked in half.

Scroll down to the bottom of this post for some fotos-
Goodwind Slope Soaring: like a bus

Bit cheesed off because I'd put a lot of work into it, but at least pilot error wasn't involved.

I should be picking up a second hand 3.1m Cobra as a replacement on Friday.

That two mid-airs in, what a month?
What are the Odds ??
 
Not flying with you again 
Just kidding its always been a pleasure

Just bad luck i guess

they don't come along very often! the last time I wrote off a model in a mid-air was the early nineties, so that's pretty good going I think

we'll have to have another session down your way sometime Allen

Yeah would be great, need all the practice i can get at the mo
My club has its F3F on the 22nd
But i think this year i will just stick to clean and steady and hope for a reasonable time
there's no point in trying to win when I'm flying against the like of john (the welsh open winner of last year) and other well seasoned F3F pilots not to mention some nice airframes
I'm just gonna think of it as a change to watch, learn, have a go and enjoy, I'll be leaving any competitive streak i may have at home that day

Sorry to hear the Bitsa bit the dust, Paul, especially after you took so much care building the custom wing joiner etc ... but nice to hear you're consoling yourself with an even better plane.  Look forward to seeing the Calypso Cobra.

He always had a bad feeling about  that glider. Unfortunately it turned out to be right !

He always had a bad feeling about  that glider. Unfortunately it turned out to be right !

I dunno what it was, I'm not superstitious or religious....it flew beautifully....but it just gave off an aura of bad juju. I feel a kind of relief that it's written off and not hurt anyone in the process.

I never get that feeling ... until about one second before they impact ...

I never get that feeling ... until about one second before they impact ...

Me too 

Paul, I see a Cobra came 17th in the recent Hole of Horcum race league (ROBERT CARSON Calypso Cobra 5489.37), so it's still a competitive model despite all the new Needles and Vikoses and what have you, I bet you're going to really enjoy that one.

It's got a very interesting 'old school' feel to it, mines the full carbon version so it should take a bit of stick. I'm not too bothered about it being competative, but I suppose it's good to know it can hold its own still.

It's got the same section as the Brisk, so I'm hoping it'll have a similar feel to it.

I'm waiting for replacement servo gears before I can do the install so I may do a bit of tarting in the mean time. But yes, I'm looking forward to giving it a go...if nothing else it's a lovely looking model and I'm not keen on flying something that's dog ugly!

By the way Simon on your Cobras, have you done any work to the wipers or skin to increase up aileron deflection?

By the way Simon on your Cobras, have you done any work to the wipers or skin to increase up aileron deflection?

bottom hinged ? why do they do ailerons like that, can someone explain....

I'm waiting for replacement servo gears before I can do the install so I may do a bit of tarting in the mean time.

No wonder you're up the slope every SW'ly and can afford these model beauts....

I enjoyed it up there again today with the little fox, bloody cold though compared to Wednesday I thought..!

I counted 9 paragliders up when I drove along the bottom road earlier...doesn't ANYBODY work anymore..

A little flapperon undercamber on the fox made it go up like a lift today, a little flap-down elevator mixing to stop the ballooning and it's a goer. Got the idea from talking to you on Wednesday Paul over your light wind model's undercamber...

Cheers all.......

...doesn't ANYBODY work anymore..

I know what you mean, I find it hard to get up there of a weekend let alone mid week 

Paul, I think I did on one but not all 5 of the Cobras i have owned!  I would try it as is for starters, and think about modifying if you find it too slow in roll.  With full span mixing it shouldn't be too bad.  What servos are you using?  Did it come with ballast & spacers?  Is it a screw on or slip on nose?

Simon

slip on nose Simon, and the guy gave me a length of tube to make up my own ballast

I'll see what the roll rate is like before I do any 'sanding' then

servos will be HS85mg

the way the wing attaches is novel!

You can make ballast spacers from the white plastic conduit you get in B&Q (the larger size).  Good luck and will be interested to hear how you get on.  With the pylon wing it is a really easy model to hold and launch.

Simon

You can make ballast spacers from the white plastic conduit you get in B&Q (the larger size).  Good luck and will be interested to hear how you get on.  With the pylon wing it is a really easy model to hold and launch.

Simon

thanks Simon, I'm hoping to have it ready for next weekend pending replacement servo gears.......

Julia and I walked the stretch of the NDW from Hollingbourne to Broadstreet farm on Saturday and I found a couple of good little west facing slopes to fly the Fox from, it was quite blustery and a little turbulent but all went well.

On Sunday we ventured down to see what all the fuss is about on the South downs and in the NW'ly, we headed for Devil's Dyke, we could see paraglider's by the bucket load off to our right as we went along the A23 and our worst fears came true when we got up there only to find 33 paragliders in the air and no parking at all at the top. Absolute nightmare.

We about turned and headed off to Jack and Jill hill but there were no fliers there only three modellers dabbling in aerial photograghy with a heli, electric glider and a weird 4 b/l motor camera platform. They got some cracking pictures of the windmills and as the wind has veared more westerly about 2ish, they steared me to Mill Hill.

That was more like it... ...plenty of models screaming about with what looked like bucket loads of lift. The occasional piston engined full size would come overhead and float down to Shoreham airport's strip below, following the meandering river. About the best view from a slope site I've ever seen there at Mill Hill.

The Fox got it's next airing and belted about like a good 'un, mainly over the left side of the slope due to the sun. I found the lift a little turbulent up to about 30 yards out then it was very smooth and powerful. Apparently, a local said there is a step futher down the slope and that's what I felt.

The local's standard of flying was to be commended and they had obviously been at this game for a long time. It was good to see their confidence in the lift as a lot of their full aerobatic flying went on below eye level.

80 miles home from there for me though which would sadly make it a special occasion site if I flew it again, the locals were very friendly and welcoming though and made us feel at home straight away. A very busy site on a Sunday with a constant 6 or more models up all the time, excluding the combatters who flew away from us further down the ridge to our left....

Thanks go to Slopehunter's printed off pdf slope guide for effortlessly getting us to the differnet sites...

33 paragliders in the air and no parking at all at the top. Absolute nightmare.

yeah, I'm not a big fan of the Dyke too busy by half!

Good to hear you found the slope guide useful (Home - Slopehunter guide to slope soaring sites)  

I've flown at Mill Hill quite a bit and I really like it.  Mill Hill and those other great south downs slopes not too far from the M23 (Devils, Ditchling, Firle, Bopeep) are about 50 miles for me, which is just a bit too much for frequent use.  Pity they're not on the north downs.

The Dyke can be excellent at quiet times but not at peak times, it gets ridiculous.  I've had 2 midairs there and I don't think I've ever had a midair anywhere else.

I reckon we should do a "Summer Solstice South Downs Soaring Session", what so you reckon?  Fly whatever slope on the south downs is best on the first sunday after June 21 or whenever the summer solstice is.

That sounds like a damn fine idea, I'm up for that.

 Fly whatever slope on the south downs is best on the first sunday after June 21 or whenever the summer solstice is.

The 21st is a sunday and the summer solstice   

Allen.
Don't forget that weekend is the ESSA round for the BMFA 60" and F3F league.

Mark J

Allen.
Don't forget that weekend is the ESSA round for the BMFA 60" and F3F league.

Mark J

we could work round that, there's enough hills around to find an alternate location if there's a clash

shall we do it in style with BBQ and everything then?