Topic: Slope Soaring - the next step for me?

Hi All.

I love flying fast model planes. i have a variety of models, electric and IC.

I'm looking for somthing else. I had never considered gliding to be 'fast' until I saw a few videos on youtube.

I love being up on the top of hills, I frequently go for a long walk on the Malvern Hills, so I think slope soaring could be for me.

I was thinking of a powered model to start with, mayy something like this:

http://www.puffinmodels.com/product.php?prod=1137

Any comments/recomendations?

Also I think there used to be a club at Malvern, does any know if it is still in existance?

Regards,

Scott

Hi All.

I love flying fast model planes. i have a variety of models, electric and IC.

I'm looking for somthing else. I had never considered gliding to be 'fast' until I saw a few videos on youtube.

I love being up on the top of hills, I frequently go for a long walk on the Malvern Hills, so I think slope soaring could be for me.

I was thinking of a powered model to start with, mayy something like this:

http://www.puffinmodels.com/product.php?prod=1137

Any comments/recomendations?

Also I think there used to be a club at Malvern, does any know if it is still in existance?

Regards,

Scott

The Malvern club is the Malvern Soaring Association - they have a website. They can only fly on North/table hill due to agreements with paragliders etc.

As for the plane, I'd go for a pure glider rather than a leccy one as it forces you to learn to glide without the boost button safety net.

If you're used to flying then you can probably skip the initial super tough foamies like the SAS Wildthing and move on to an EPP aerobatic job.

I skipped that stage and went to a sports mouldy - in my case the Flying Fish as sold by T9 Hobbysport. The only problem then is that it can break in a bad landing.

Maybe a wildthing is a good bet after all. Tough but still capable of going pretty quick and very agile.

I'll tell you one thing Scott,  I am pretty sure that there is no powered flight allowed on the Malvern hills, so the model is not suitable if you plan to do the bulk of your flying there.

http://www.malvernsoaringassociation.co.uk/

and if you want to go fast    a wildthing will bore you to death

I'd recommend a Speedo Thermo. Cheap, light, easy to carry and resonabaly quick for what they are. Fly's in a wide range of conditions too. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RC-EP-1-2M-Speedo-Pro-Mark-II-Thermo-Glider-Sailplane-/230609761737?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item35b169b5c9

A mouldie is probabaly what you were looking at tho and cost will rise a lot if you set your heart on one of those.

Hi Scott - welcome to gliding!
sometimes slowly floating around - sometimes screaming around extremely fast 

Best thing - contact the Malvern club - get up the hill with them & find out more - blag a flight or two before you go buying models. "Fast" = heavy & sleek, which also = needs skill to land in one piece. Thing to do is learn the slope basics - the air/lift on the slope, where to fly, where not to fly, how to land properly - then progress to the fast stuff.

but always - have fun!

Phil.

I'd recommend a Speedo Thermo. Cheap, light, easy to carry and resonabaly quick for what they are. Fly's in a wide range of conditions too. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RC-EP-1-2M-Speedo-Pro-Mark-II-Thermo-Glider-Sailplane-/230609761737?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item35b169b5c9

A mouldie is probabaly what you were looking at tho and cost will rise a lot if you set your heart on one of those.

I've had a Speedo and it was pretty much as good as a mouldy for light winds...

... however as you can tell from the past tense it's just as breakable - balsa wings and a grp fuselage.

Quite a bit cheaper though.

get a mouldie if you can already fly.   

You don't want to get a wildthing (or a weasel bore machine). 

I'd recommend a Speedo Thermo. Cheap, light, easy to carry and resonabaly quick for what they are. Fly's in a wide range of conditions too. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RC-EP-1-2M-Speedo-Pro-Mark-II-Thermo-Glider-Sailplane-/230609761737?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item35b169b5c9

A mouldie is probabaly what you were looking at tho and cost will rise a lot if you set your heart on one of those.

Thats very cheap, is the quality as nice as in the pictures?

Whats a mouldie?  i thought it was somthing that happened to food? 

Thats very cheap, is the quality as nice as in the pictures?
Whats a mouldie?  i thought it was somthing that happened to food? 

Moldie - All-moulded glider - carbon & glass composites = £££ or ££££££
Fast, fast, and ... fast!
and very breakable, and not nice to repair 
you'll find some nice ones on here:
http://www.sloperacer.co.uk/
and here
http://www.t9hobbysport.com/

3m span moldie, new, fitted out with all the gear = £1000 - 1500+
1.5m span moldie, new, fitted out with all the gear =  £300 - £400

Phil.

I've had a Speedo and it was pretty much as good as a mouldy for light winds...

... however as you can tell from the past tense it's just as breakable - balsa wings and a grp fuselage.

Quite a bit cheaper though.

If a speedo is as good as a mouldy in light winds im giving up,.................

If a speedo is as good as a mouldy in light winds im giving up,.................

probably go well with 2kg in it though Scott

Contrary to the get a mouldie advice I'd say get a foamie of some sort to get the hang of the basics, they are good fun and you can try daft stuff and learn how the air behaves in places you wouldn't want to venture with something expensive and fragile.

Contrary to the get a mouldie advice I'd say get a foamie of some sort to get the hang of the basics, they are good fun and you can try daft stuff and learn how the air behaves in places you wouldn't want to venture with something expensive and fragile.

Good advice, I probably will start with somthing foam, but I am tempted with the speedo being as it is so cheap, but you are right, i have not got a clue how to soar, so just somthing cheap and disposable until i get the hang of it.

Good advice, I probably will start with somthing foam, but I am tempted with the speedo being as it is so cheap, but you are right, i have not got a clue how to soar, so just somthing cheap and disposable until i get the hang of it.

Wildthing 46 it is then 

get one here -->  http://www.freewebs.com/sasepp/Wildthing%2046.htm

You'll have loads of fun with it - extremely tough bouncy EPP - great for learning the slope basics - and a whole lot more!
Speedo is a lovely little plane, but fragile - you're almost guaranteed to break it on your first rough slope-landing

Like I said earlier - make contact with the Malvern club & meet them up on the hill to see what its all about

Phil.

If you want a fast foamy get an M60, will fly in no lift up to a gale, you can also DS it when you want to go even faster! You can buy them from T9 hobby sport

http://www.t9hobbysport.com/item.asp?catid=102&subcatid=204&prodid=573

Tom 

Wildthing 46 it is then 

get one here -->  http://www.freewebs.com/sasepp/Wildthing%2046.htm

You'll have loads of fun with it - extremely tough bouncy EPP - great for learning the slope basics - and a whole lot more!
Phil.

Good advice!

I have learnt to fly on a Wildy, & they are a great confidence builder.

I think the main problem/difference that you will find is with slope landings, compared to your previous flying, but again, this is where the Wildy comes into it`s own.

If you want a fast foamy get an M60, will fly in no lift up to a gale, you can also DS it when you want to go even faster! You can buy them from T9 hobby sport

http://www.t9hobbysport.com/item.asp?catid=102&subcatid=204&prodid=573

Tom 

Plus one to that mate 

Great value, pretty strong and relatively fast (especially close to the ground at the slope edge, it's all a matter of perspective)

Also, definitely get along to a malverns meet and get some first-hand help and advice, it will save you some ball-ache in the intitial learning phase

I think the main problem/difference that you will find is with slope landings, compared to your previous flying, but again, this is where the Wildy comes into it`s own.

Good points.  Just be aware, though, that eventually the WT does the opposite of teaching you to land well, as it soaks up bad landings so well that one seldom bothers to do it carfully.  Not good preparation for faster but more fragile airframes...

Good points.  Just be aware, though, that eventually the WT does the opposite of teaching you to land well, as it soaks up bad landings so well that one seldom bothers to do it carfully.  Not good preparation for faster but more fragile airframes...

But you didnt have a WT for years Chris ..........

lol

Wild thing 46 for sale

Ready to fly just add receiver and battery, futaba servos fitted Recently recovered

see https://picasaweb.google.com/103860586919001843810/ItemsForSale#  for pictures


£40 including postage

and I will throw in 3 metres of 1.5mm heat shrink free

PM if interested

Regards

Phil

Good points.  Just be aware, though, that eventually the WT does the opposite of teaching you to land well, as it soaks up bad landings so well that one seldom bothers to do it carfully.  Not good preparation for faster but more fragile airframes...

It is funny how we differ at flying! I always try & land my Wildy as gentle as possible, but I have seen many others happy with "tent pegging" them.

It is funny how we differ at flying! I always try & land my Wildy as gentle as possible, but I have seen many others happy with "tent pegging" them.

On a landing note, if/when you do get a mouldy, make sure you get one with flaps. A crow landing is much nicer than a long fast skiddy belly landing.

Up on the Hills you do get nice big beds of ferns to land on, but then you have to find it again, or you can land on the grassy bits but they often have inconvenient unplanned bits of granite in them.

Hitting one at 5mph with crow on is much better than 25mph without...

But you didnt have a WT for years Chris ..........

I got one just to keep in sync with my Crasher Chris reputation  ...

Mouldies aren't as fragile as people make out. They are also easier to fly and easier to land, which kind of cancels out the bounciness of foam. Tbh if you're motoring and you slam dunk it into the deck, whether it's high performance foam (M60) or high performance moulded, you won't like what you see when you get there either way!

Z

Mouldies aren't as fragile as people make out. They are also easier to fly and easier to land, which kind of cancels out the bounciness of foam. Tbh if you're motoring and you slam dunk it into the deck, whether it's high performance foam (M60) or high performance moulded, you won't like what you see when you get there either way!

Z

Even my mouldies dont last me long, if you throw it of a hill, you have to accept you may not get it back in the same condition, but why does it always seem to happen to me..........
Scott r

Get a Compact DSX

Even my mouldies dont last me long, if you throw it of a hill, you have to accept you may not get it back in the same condition, but why does it always seem to happen to me..........

Same reason as mine - you go out and enjoy your flying instead of just pootling about nice and safely

Also I think there used to be a club at Malvern, does any know if it is still in existance?

You haven't actually said where you are - if you're South of Mslvern there are some reasonable slopes for most directions around Stroud, and a couple round Cheltenham.

Not sure about other slopes around about and North of Malvern, sadly I didn't get into gliding until after I'd moved away (same with Wales - doh!)

Mouldies aren't as fragile as people make out. They are also easier to fly and easier to land, which kind of cancels out the bounciness of foam. Tbh if you're motoring and you slam dunk it into the deck, whether it's high performance foam (M60) or high performance moulded, you won't like what you see when you get there either way!

Z

Hi Zim,

I might be defending bad pilots here lol, but is it possible for mouldies of the same type to differ in strength?

When I used to do boat fishing, there appeared to be quite a variation in glass thickness & weight on many boats that you would have thought should`ve been the same? 

is it possible for mouldies of the same type to differ in strength?

yes - for strength in the air - but...
when they hit the deck in a not-well-controlled sort of manner - they are just as likely to break - its the stalls & buffeting through turbulence & wind shear and resulting odd arrivals & cartwheels on landing that kill most of em - hence the need to learn about what the air is doing over/around the slope, preferably with a foamy
(YMMV !!)

Phil.

yes - for strength in the air - but...
when they hit the deck in a not-well-controlled sort of manner - they are just as likely to break - its the stalls & buffeting through turbulence & wind shear and resulting odd arrivals & cartwheels on landing that kill em - not so much the full frontal pile-ins - hence the need to learn about what the air is doing over/around the slope, preferably with a foamy
(YMMV !!)

Also bear in mind that Zim sells replacement mouldies to people who break theirs.

Just saying... 

Something like a Wildthing is significantly tougher than the 'high performance' foamies, but at hhe cost of high speed. If you're a total speed freak you will find a wildthing slow, but to fly gliders really fast (100mph+) you need to learn to really use the wind first...

but to fly really fast gliders (100mph+) you need to learn to learn how to land properly first...

there you go - just a bit of editing 

Phil.

it is actually possible to learn to fly to a decent standard without flying foamies you know, but anyway......... 


good conditions = fast

it is actually possible to learn to fly to a decent standard without flying foamies you know, but anyway......... 

Sure, just more expensive?.........

there you go - just a bit of editing 

Phil.

Learning to land properly is definitely part of it.

A new plane every few landings while you learn gets a bit tedious though...

Foam all the way, to start with.

it is actually possible to learn to fly to a decent standard without flying foamies you know, but anyway......... 

OP already knows how to fly - and fly fast (power)
but not on a windy slope, with a turbulent approach & landing area

Phil.

i dunno mate, less frustrating. I've seen a few beginner with zagis and wildies of late (good to see newcomers of course), they all struggled because they couldn't get them set up and spent more time on walls than flying.

If Scott can already fly he will manage fine i suspect, but i'm not sure it's necessary. Still they are cheap and those kind of models always have their place.

OP already knows how to fly - and fly fast (power)
but not on a windy slope, with a turbulent approach & landing area

...and no runway or undercarriage...